At a 2013 Remodeler’s Advantage Summit, attendees were asked what advice they would give to construction professionals about running their business. Business management is a facet of the construction industry that often gets neglected resulting in poor service or low profit margins. Here are a collection of the best business tips professionals in the construction industry had for their peers.
Floors expand and contract with changes in moisture, heat and season. This movement can pull tiles apart creating cracks or push them together so that they pop up or ‘tent’. Proper planning and preparation of the subflooring will help to prevent tenting and cracks in tiled bathroom floors.
As a business owner or site manager, you know the value of competent employees and the costs associated with getting rid of those employees who compromise the quality of your workmanship. Not only can incompetent employees reduce the quality of a build, they can also compromise the relationship you have with your clients and may cost you thousands in referrals.
The 2015 blizzards have had a calamitous effect on housing over the winter, causing damage and destruction to many roofs. After several feet of snow, buildings across the country began to buckle under the added weight, prompting officials to encourage home owners to clear their roofs of snow. The record-breaking snow, ice and freezing temperatures wreaked havoc on homes with older roofs causing collapses and sagging.
From job safety to waste reduction, almost every problem onsite can be solved with effective management. Take the time to work as hard on your business and you do onsite and you will see your construction company grow from strength to strength. Here are some best practices on how to be a better manager for your team.
Every successful business owner will tell you that you need to be getting a little better every day in every way. Businesses require constant tending and nurturing if they are to grow. Here is a list of improvements you can make to your construction business to help it to grow from strength to strength.
Biological and bio-chemical hazards are present on just about every construction site and should be effectively managed in order to comply with safety standards and to keep your employees and trades safe. Not only should you ensure that safety comes first, but accidents on site can cause costly delays too, even if no one is injured.
From flooring to wall decor and everything in between, unfinished OSB is the latest trend in modern interior design circles. The ‘unfinished’ look takes advantage of the rich texture and pattern that OSB provides to add a little flair. Plus it’s cost-effective and eco-friendly.
Nearly 40,000 nail-gun injuries are reported to emergency rooms across the US every year and OSHA claims that nail gun injuries account for 14% of their reported injuries. Not only operators are at risk of injury; 12% of nail-gun injuries happened to bystanders. With these staggering results, it may be time to rethink nail gun safety.
Frozen pipes on construction sites and in new homes are one of the issues builders face over the winter. Burst pipes, especially when they go undetected, can wreak havoc as they spew water into the building or erode the surrounding landscape.
Burst pipes occur during extremely inclement winter weather when water in the pipes expands and places so much pressure on the inner walls of the pipe that it bursts. You can avoid burst pipes by either preventing the water from freezing in the first place or by managing pressure when it does.
