Mark Clement: Measure Twice

May is Deck Safety Month

Mark Clement — 2008-05-12T15:53:14-05:00

The easiest disaster to prevent is the one that never happens.

But deck disasters do happen. And with loads of decks reaching the end of their useful lifespan -- and spotty building codes for decks--there could be more of them.

Store It All

Mark Clement — 2008-04-17T18:15:27-05:00

My world has been pretty storage -- and irony -- focused lately.

Before. I built out a bedroom with no storage. Ironically, it was full of stuff that needed to be stored -- while I built new storage. (That sound is my hair falling out in a single clump.)

Solution: a temporary--but bomb-proof--rolling storage rack made from 2x6s. When I dis-assembled it, I re-used the 2-by. Sweet.

Building: a Search for What's Best in Us

Mark Clement — 2007-12-10T13:42:24-05:00

Back in April 2007, I volunteered in New Orleans. It was a thoroughly moving experience -- from witnessing the systemic chaos that you can practically smell in the air to good people working hard to a level of poverty I can barely imagine. And then there was the http://
French Quarter flowing with drinks and cash (evidenced by booze aplenty on the one hand and Sotheby's Auction House Realty signs on the other.)

Economics and Financial Management

Mark Clement — 2007-12-04T13:35:54-05:00

The only people who might know less about the topics above than I do are pundits who say they know everything about the topics above.

Nevertheless, they touch every aspect of my life every day. Despite the story I tell at parties that I'm fabulously wealthy (would you like to visit my island some time?), I need to manage dollars. Who doesn't?

Tight

Mark Clement — 2007-11-16T16:14:14-05:00

I once heard a classic car that had been lovingly restored referred to as "tight."

I could tell right away the exact meaning: the doors closed tightly, the motor purred, the car cornered with grace, yadda, yadda, yadda.

So when I find something that's tight, I like to talk about it, if only for the chance to use the word.

Rigged Up: Contractors and Trucks

Mark Clement — 2007-10-29T17:32:10-05:00

It might be generational. It might be Napoleonic. It might be utilitarian.

It's probably some combination of the three, which is usually the case with big picture life-stuff. But whatever the source code, big trucks rock.

Keep On Truckin'

Mark Clement — 2007-10-25T16:59:00-05:00

I drive a 2003 Nissan Frontier. It has served me well-ish. I wouldn't suggest it as a full-on contractor truck (and neither would Nissan, I'd bet.) It has a crew cab, six-foot bed and 4x4, but it's too small and light duty. And the model has since beefed up to a mid-size truck (a model size I find worthless, incidentally).

Who Buys Quality?

Mark Clement — 2007-09-27T10:19:41-05:00

In my years building (and living), I've been in what I'd consider unique neighborhoods. I've worked on custom homes in toney places. I've remodeled in working-ish class row houses and simple but individually built homes. Some are great. A few junk but…

…not a single home or neighborhood I've mentioned was built by a big builder. And it shows.

I took a 7-mile run around a budding big-builder community recently. En route -- and the route was over old farms being converted to housing to serve a spiking population -- I saw names one might expect: Toll Brothers, KHOV, Pulte, and others.

Penny-Wise or Pound-Foolish?

Mark Clement — 2007-09-20T13:06:35-05:00

So here's a customer-service lesson I learned this weekend; it starts with traveling:

Between building projects, I travel around the country to give demonstrations and talk about home improvement (wowing audiences with flare and panache too. And if you believe that … ).

The travel site I used made an error booking my ticket. Actually, I made one error, then called to fix it (which it seemed like I did); then they made another error leading to the proverbial comedy of such.

Greening Trend

hgtvpro-admin — 2007-09-03T14:29:21-05:00

We report all the time here at HGTVPro.com that green is a growing trend and there are indicators that green will one day -- sooner than anybody probably thought a decade ago -- become a new status quo.

Client Relations: Building with the homeowners

hgtvpro-admin — 2007-08-29T14:28:00-05:00

I'm periodically approached by customers to use them as labor on their projects. "We're trying to save money, so Biff will work with you," they offer. "Rex has already started the project and wants to help finish it." Often the homeowners are depending on sweat equity as a line item to afford the job.

Raise the Roof

Mark Clement — 2007-08-21T11:43:21-05:00

I admit a certain prejudice when I see truss roofs -- especially in custom homes that are supposed to be, well, custom.

It's All You

Mark Clement — 2007-08-14T10:12:35-05:00

So this is my fifth blog entry and it recently occurred to me that -- just like that mouthy guest who shows up at a barbeque or dinner function -- I've been running my yap, rudely neglecting to ask you a single question about yourself.

Big Impact with Cordless Drivers

Mark Clement — 2007-07-31T10:16:49-05:00

Bottom line: Cordless impact drivers increase my productivity -- from decks to windows to drywall, I'm using the same tool -- an 18 volt Lithium Ion powered tool. It rocks.

Journeymen

Mark Clement — 2007-07-24T10:14:59-05:00

Youth is the future of any industry and keeping an eyeball on the young guns is smart.

If you're running crews or bringing a new guy on, getting the work to keep them busy is likely top of mind. But while ours is a service industry, we must build a product that performs. And that means mechanics, carpenters, apprentices and journeymen that learn.