Senior Construction - A New Niche
As we live longer because of better diets and better health care, a unique niche in the construction industry has been created meeting the
residential construction needs of seniors.
If you don't already offer this service, consider adding services such as the making ramps, rails inside and outside of homes and other additions that make seniors able to continue to live independently with a little help.
You will find that ramps are in big demand. They are simple to design and are in big demand for the outside of houses both front and back. Offer a number of different designs and remember that people in wheelchairs may get a better grip if they are able to grip a rail that is a little lower so a double rail with an upper and lower bar is a good idea.
Indoor construction can be offered as well. Safety rails in bathtubs, by toilets and along walls such as hallways where the person may need a little support to get down a part of the home that requires a longer walk will be helpful.
If the home has a sunken den, consider offering a ramp beside the stairs that will allow easy use of a wheelchair or motorized scooter. The incline should be gradual and not too sharp, additionally hand rails are a good safety feature to offer.
Knowing the basics of framework and wood construction will allow you to offer these services to your customers and expand your construction business even more.
posted by Contractor Guides
Gear Up Now for the 2007 Painting Season
As a residential contractor for painting, you know how seasonal your business can be. While you can squeak out a very nice living during the winter months by doing interior painting jobs, the real meat of your business exists in the exterior of homes to paint.
Minimum wages are set to be voted on and may be raised in many areas in November. Gasoline prices affect the overall pricing of materials as they must be hauled and people must be paid to do so. While those people don't make minimum wage, if the minimum wages goes up, the need to be pay for increased overhead will make many businesses raise prices on goods and materials. As some of your suppliers may be affected, you need to get a good idea if you need to change your standard way of calculating your quotes. Otherwise, you may wind up bidding on a job to low or worse, having to tell the client when you're in the middle of completing the job that you didn't take a certain item into consideration and the bid will be different.
You can get a jump on what your price increases need to be and make your bids even more accurate with the help of a guide such as a
cost estimating guide. This helpful guide is on CD and you just put it in your computer and start filling out a bid. It will automatically bring up details such as items you might have missed and also calculate how many gallons of paint per square foot you will need.
Make the most profit possible in 2007 and still remain competitive with a helpful cost estimator.
posted by Contractor Guides
