ProConstructionGuide

Construction Pros tend to think of themselves as craftsmen. They work hard to become the best they can be at what they do, whether that’s installing or patching asphalt shingles, drywall, kitchen cabinets, tile showers or wood flooring. Do the work right, on time and on budget, they figure, and word will get around and business will take care of itself. And they are right. All these are fundamental to their success as independent contractors.

If you are in the home remodeling, repair and maintenance business these days, it’s critical to keep an eye on the stars by soliciting customer reviews. If you see your Google review score has less than 3.3 stars, it may be time to ask customers for more feedback, according to Podium, which helps companies manage customer reviews. Podium’s research indicates consumers won’t engage with businesses that don’t have an average customer review rating of at least 3.3 stars.

If you are planning on financing your work vehicle, either a truck or van, shopping for loans is as critical to saving money as shopping for deals. Full-size truck sticker prices start at around $28,000, but the average price paid is closer to $40,000, according to Kelly Blue Book. Few small businesses can afford to pay cash for such expensive vehicles. Following the steps below in their given order, however, will help you secure the best financing deal for your next commercial vehicle. 1.

Behold the mighty hammer, the trusty vise grip, the handy box cutter and the versatile duct tape — they’ve stood the test of time. Neither lithium-ion batteries nor lasers have displaced them from the Pro toolbox. Even the smartphone has failed to diminish their indispensability. You can’t say that about many tools in the building trades these days, but there is another that contractors have used for decades to improve their profitability. It is the SWOT Analysis for construction companies.

For painted wood floors, first clean and isolate the area to be painted. The last thing you want is for the family pet to wander through the area. Next scuff the existing floor. This is very important and serves two purposes. First, it dulls the sheen of the floor, which facilitates the adhesion or bonding of the paint you’ll apply. And second, the scuff sand removes any cosmetic imperfections and smooths the floor surface.

By Michael Shymerlyuk Whether it’s figuring out where to park or dealing with plans, remodeling apartments in downtown high-rise buildings is a bit more complex and unpredictable than your typical single-family project. In this article, I will discuss the steps we took when remodeling a high-rise bathroom as part of a full apartment remodel in downtown Chicago that we completed in spring 2018.

By CARL SORENSEN Let’s start off with what an online citation really is. Online citations in the search engine world could be considered “mentions” of your name, address and phone number — or NAP to us marketers — on other important webpages, such as trade-specific directories, local business directories, consumer review websites and more. A citation still counts for your business, even if there is no link to your construction website.

Thanks to the internet, remodelers and other building pros know much more about what the materials, tools and services they use should cost, but few seem willing to pass that information along to their customers. Newsflash — homeowners can get that information online, too, and are using it to evaluate contractor estimates. Whether or not they are applying that information correctly is beside the point; contractors are under much greater pressure than ever to justify their prices.

Community partnerships remain potent tools for building your contractor’s brand locally. If they were not, Fortune 500 companies would not invest so much in partnering with non-profits, sending employees to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and sharing their efforts on social media.

Construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in America, and some of that risk occurs before you or your crews even get to a job site, according to data from the federal government and insurance companies. Construction workers accounted for 12 percent of work-related driving fatalities on U.S. public roads in 2016, or about 150 deaths, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.