With housing starts beginning to slow down, home remodeling is becoming more popular. It's estimated that homeowners spent $210 billion on residential remodeling last year, a 5.8 percent increase from 2004.

It all started with a conversation. A conversation between Dan Holohan, hydronics guy extraordinaire, and Judy Garber, executive administrator of the National Association of Oil Heat Service Managers. A conversation about how to help people in need get heat for the winter.

Transforming a business from “good to great,” working with family members in a business, recruiting and hiring people, succession planning, selling a business, retirement planning, personal finances - all were topics discussed at the Quality Service Contractors' latest Power Meeting held Feb. 23-25, St. Pete Beach, Fla., where retirement and la dolce vita may have crossed some members' minds.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) announced Jan. 11 that it would conduct environmental and safety tests before approving the widespread use of chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) pipe in the state.

Cell phones. They're with us all the time. And we use them all the time to talk … to co-workers, to family, to friends, to the cable guy, to the doctor, to the kids' teachers, etc. We can text-message on them, or take photos, or play games. But did you ever think you could use cell phones to pinpoint where your techs are, or have them quickly and safely process credit cards onsite?

Think of it as a diet for your company. That's the thought behind “lean construction” - eliminating waste and wasteful practices from your business - and the subject of the keynote presentation at the Fall 2005 Construction Contractors Alliance meeting, Oct. 12-14, Atlanta.

Nashville, Tenn., was the location for the second Women In HVACR conference, Sept. 13-14. The conference kicked off with a cocktail reception, then launched into a full day of educational seminars and speakers.

In the final part of this series on recruiting future workers for the construction trades, we focus on how to attract young people and students into the industry.

How this plumbing company took a proactive approach for its future.

Part 2 of this series continues the discussion of finding new avenues to recruit future workers. While the first part dealt with immigrant/ethnic workers, this installment concerns recruiting women into the industry.