This last week, I made my annual pilgrimage to the ICSC Recon convention in Las Vegas in support of our retail group. At any convention, I have always found one gets as much out of riding in a taxi or a visit to coffee shop as one gets on the convention floor. This year was …
I’ve held a few titles over the years, but this weekend I’ll have a new one: “Father of the Bride.” My oldest daughter is getting married Saturday, and has chosen our place and barn for her reception. Today, the barn is filled with florists, caterers and others getting it ready. I wish I had something …
This week, a couple of us were reviewing an article about a building contractor that let things get out of control on a large high school project. The Board of Education had just announced the school would not open in the fall as planned, delaying until December. (Every surety’s nightmare.) We then started discussing large …
When I was younger, things seemed more black and white. Like many at that age, my answer was either “yes,” or “no,” and not much in between. Over the years, I have learned that there is also the right place to say “maybe, but not yet.” To me, learning to be direct and definitive is …
Fifteen years ago, I was officially broke and near bankruptcy. The good news was that only our CFO and I knew it. It was a perfect storm. My marriage was breaking up, my business partner wanted out, and the company had a negative net worth. The bank called me and told me they did not …
In our industry, it’s common for project superintendents to start as carpenters, earning their positions as managers through years of hard work. Many of our guys advanced this way, but we do have a handful of folks who took a different path into construction. For example, one of our superintendents was a music major in college, …
You have probably seen the PSAs on television, the ones that show a child sitting alone at lunch. Years ago, when my parents moved our family to a new city, there were times that I felt a little bit like that boy. While everyone was certainly nice to me, they all had their buddies of many years …
I was talking with our CFO this week about analytics, technical knowledge and soft skills, and we both decided a close partner to these should be “character.” It’s something we look for when we hire folks, and also something we try to figure out with prospective customers when talking about a new project. We ask …
I was in Jackson this week, meeting with Duckworth Realty, and got to visit a cool restoration project that their company did nearly 15 years ago, the Electric 308 Building. The restoration was well done on this circa 1930s building. Among other things, they brought back its original façade and the period wood windows, in …
We are in the final stages of a multifamily project where our customer was rightly concerned about sound transmission, unit to unit. They asked that we investigate the use of Cellulose in the walls and floor/ceiling assemblies to reduce sound transmission, and for insulation. Cellulose isn’t exactly the new kid on the block. In fact, …
I was recently traveling down a main street, when I came across what I call a “beer wagon.” You know what I am talking about: it’s a self-propelled vehicle, where people sit on a stool with bicycle pedals, around what looks like a conference table, drinking beer. Everyone is supposed to be peddling to help …
With the stacked multifamily projects we have built, we have either had a structural steel or a concrete podium and retail, office or parking below. The apartments start above the podium, and wood framing is used if the over-all building height is less than 75 feet. Regarding the wood framing, we have found it is …