The worst thing about a deep recession may be the inevitable stupid pricing that follows. By stupid prices, I mean bidding or pricing goods and services that are below a company’s cost. The second worst thing about a deep recession is below-cost pricing drives the entire market price down and it takes two to three times as long for them to return to a reasonable level.
The push for green buildings is happening so fast and with such urgency that it is difficult to keep up with all the latest developments. Since the USGBC launched its green building rating systems, several more have cropped up and are in various stages of development.
One of the many beneficial characteristics of gypsum board is the ease by which it can be cut to fit a specific dimensional application. Score one side of a sheet with a sharp blade, snap the core, and you can split a board in about ten seconds.
Tough times can alter an industry. Is it possible that this recession may again alter our industry? Anyone familiar with the walls and ceilings industry may remember how the last deep recession in the late 1970s resulted in the craft unions losing the major share of their market. In 1975, the trade unions made up to 80 percent of all construction; today, the union share is about 13 percent.
One of the first LEED certified buildings I ever toured was a large corporate office headquarters building in Wisconsin. My tour guides, the building’s architect and corporation executive, proudly announced that the building had achieved LEED Gold.
In most industries, franchises have a much higher success rate than independent companies. That’s because franchises leave nothing to chance. Virtually all of their operations represent best practices that have been written into a series of procedures governing everything from “how to keep the books” to “how to greet customers” to “how to perform technical tasks.”
“Open Issues” are situations that impact the timely completion of a job and in almost every case cost the wall and ceiling contractor money. For example, a simple open issue for an acoustical ceiling contractor could be getting clarification on the ceiling height in a hallway.
Location: Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre, Sydney, AustraliaArchitect/Specifier: Harry Seidler and Associates Contractor: Custom Ceilings Builder: FRH GroupManufacturer: Hunter Douglas CommercialProduct/Finish: Luxalon 84R Interior Linear Ceilings; HD Color-Cote Polar White
I’m going to stick my neck out a bit in this month’s column; it contains my opinions from a lot of experience. But in doing so, I hope it will help you. Over the years, I’ve heard a zillion tales about EIFS and a lot of them are not true. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice but I think you’ll agree with my secret observations.
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