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.
This column first ran in Walls & Ceilings in July 2005. Our technical service hotline has recently received several calls that this article addresses, so we have decided it’s time to revisit the topic. We have updated the article in a few places to ensure that the information is current and germane to today’s circumstances.
Consumers are awash in green product marketing claims, and often have no way to verify the validity of claims being made. This problem is something green building practitioners face on every project. Without time and resources to verify green product claims, designers are forced to rely on the honesty and integrity of the manufacturers making the claims-sometimes with unpleasant results.
About a decade ago, I attended a seminar by businessman and author Jack Stack. He is known as the father of “Open-Book Management,” a methodology centered around sharing financial and decision-making duties among all employees.
This month, instead of having the column be a single topic, I’m going to have a lot of small topics. Most of these are things that I have seen or heard over the years; a compendium of bits and pieces of information about EIFS.
It’s been about five years since model building codes were initially modified to limit the use of water-resistant gypsum board (“green board”) in shower and tub areas. Accordingly, it seems like a good time to review where the code language rests at present and to discuss some related misconceptions.
The question is: Will you survive? And if you answer yes, what did you learn during this bleak period? Only a few years ago, most contractors can remember having all the work they wanted, possibly even turning away jobs or bidding them so high.
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