Warranties or guarantees – no matter what you call them – define and limit your responsibility for work and/or repairs on any project, both during and after...
Imagine a slew of tiny saws and chisels, all working together to strip a surface of debris, old paint, and primer. Each tiny blade working with the next to...
If you’re a contractor and a business owner and you don’t have a website, you absolutely need to develop an online presence. No business is too small to be...
“I just fired my contractor.” This is not a typical statement when you answer the phone. Once I ask my qualifying questions then the real answers start...
In the contracting business, most of us think difficult customers and situations just “come with the territory.” Whether dealing with them face-to-face or...
Ask nearly any homeowner what they need more of, the answer will probably be storage space. Closets, cupboards, and cabinets are at a premium in most modern...
Few things are more disturbing to a contractor working on a construction site than to have the OSHA inspector arrived for a surprise inspection. These...
Saving 20 minutes installing circuit breakers in a load center sounds impossible. We’ve been there, we know it’s hard to imagine but it’s not impossible...
Which glove is the right glove for the job? As a professional contractor, you know well that it depends on the job! And not only that, you probably also...
You can’t run a successful contracting business without clients, and you can’t keep clients without providing quality customer service. Taking care of your...
Whenever a contractor is working in a home, clear communication beforehand between the contractor and homeowner can help avoid a lot of the...
There are few places in the United States where homeowners don't have to be concerned about severe weather. From hurricanes on the Atlantic coast or...
With more workers turning to the trades as a way to make an honest living, it shouldn’t be so hard to find good help. And yet it’s a problem many...
Instituting a dress code for your construction workers gives a cleaner, more professional look to your team. Homeowners and business owners often visit...
“I need to get more estimates for the bank. Can you help?” I absolutely love getting these phone calls. They should just say, “Hey you, I need a guess for...
No matter how expensive or modern the cabinets, someday they'll look outdated. Maybe they already do. Perhaps a busy family has left its mark on the...
We have all had this question before. It can be phrased several different ways, “Ball Park Pricing” or “Approximately” are the most common examples. I...
All cars eventually develop oil leaks that spit and drip all over the garage floor or driveway. Your teenager’s old clunker, the lumbering delivery truck...
The Philosophy of Family Business Managing any business involves a series of seemingly unending challenges. But creating and managing a family-based...
As a contractor, you already wear a lot of hats. Business owner. Manager. Master of at least one construction skill. For the most part, you focus on the...
If someone strikes up a conversation with you about the secure sockets layer, would you assume that they were talking about something that belongs in your...
Workers fall. And when they fall, some of them die. There were 887 work-related fall deaths in the U.S. in 2017, according to the Bureau of Labor...
Forget the cheap, ugly window films you may have grown up with. Brittle, easy to bubble, and peel – but nearly impossible to remove, it seemed – they didn’t...
Thinking about hanging up the tool belt and calling it a career? Sure, you'll still tool around the house (see what we did there?) fixing this and making...
When your workers are outside sweating in the sweltering summer temperatures, you need to keep a close eye on them for any signs of heat illness. Heat...
In early March, President Donald Trump announced that he was enacting new tariffs on both imported steel and aluminum, at 25 and 10 percent, respectively...
Everyone knows that bleach whitens laundry and disinfects surfaces, among other household uses. But not everyone is aware that bleach is a useful tool for...
Just when you think you've completed a flooring project, you realize you have one more thing to think about: finishing. Finishes ensure that all the hard...
The COVID-19 crisis has affected essentially every business sector in the world. Predictions of a recession and future uncertainty are making customers...
No matter how new or how seasoned a home may be, as long as it contains drywall, it's vulnerable: nail pops – those small bubbles or blisters that broadcast...
As professional contractors, you know that nail guns exist for every situation: brad and finish nailers, roofing and siding nailers and heavy-duty flooring...
Construction workers - fairly or not - are known for their rowdy behavior, especially on construction sites. Catcalling, staring and off-color jokes and...
The potential for injuries occurring on your jobsite is a thought that should always be considered – something to prepare for but hope never happens...
As contractors, your tool bag accompanies you to the job site or on every service call. You need to make sure that the one you choose is the right one for...
While grout is simply used to fill in the space between tile joins, its appearance and durability play a large part in the life of a tile installation...
Every good worker knows the right equipment is essential to the completion of a job, and the same rings true for footwear. Having the proper work boot not...
Building permits aren’t usually a popular topic of conversation among contractors. There’s little common ground because the rules can vary so widely from...
Once a thing of science fiction, home automation technology is common enough now that you can even buy some home automation products at home improvement...
Not all contractors like to or want to travel outside their traditional service areas unless they can do so in their work vehicles. But occasionally...
Before you begin to staff a particular job – or even your entire company – there are several considerations you need to give thought to before deciding...
In the construction industry, finding work may not have been difficult for you - it’s a demanding field and many people aren’t up for the long hours and...
The 2017 hurricane season wasn’t kind to some of the major lumber producing regions in the United States. With Harvey putting Texas out of commission, Irma...
Doing construction work can be incredibly rough on a person’s body. Over the years, injuries or arthritis can make working more difficult. Many contractors...
When you land a new gig, one of the first things you generally do on the first day of the job is let everyone in the neighborhood know you’re starting a...
No matter which contracting industry niche you specialize in, chances are that at some point, you’ll probably consider buying a trailer to haul equipment...
Construction can be hard on the soil. Job sites often have vehicles moving in and out, portions of the land being excavated for structures or utility...
As a professional painter, you know the type and grade of paint that you use determines both the ease of application and the final quality of the job. Most...
The holiday season is tough for many families going through hard times. Worries about keeping warm and fed, making sure their kids don’t go without warm...
At some point, every contractor has had a homeowner complain that what we say they need in order to comply with code is ridiculous. Occasionally, we may...
