News from the Web
Remodeling Business Improving in Western Mass.
By Joseph Bednar, BusinessWest Online
Business is picking up for remodelers, but cautious consumers are focused on needs, not wants.
Kansas City Suburbs Ripe for Remodeling
Suburbs look for solutions as they show their age
By MARK WIEBE, The Kansas City Star
The houses that began spreading across northeastern Johnson County in the mid-1940s represented a vanguard suburban movement in the Kansas City area…But the houses left in the wake of that boom — which lasted from the post-World War II years to 1970 — didn’t stay new forever. By today’s suburban standards, many of them seem small, lacking adequate closet space, large master bedrooms and enough bathrooms.
Prairie Grove Considers Requiring Remodeling Licenses
By Scott F. Davis, Northwest Arkansas Times The Prairie Grove City Council tabled on second reading an ordinance requiring a residential remodeler’s license from the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board for contracts greater than $20,000.
Dramatic Powder Room Remodel With Granite Slab Floor
Remodeler Mark Daniels of Mark Daniels Kitchen & Bath in Manassas, Va. installs a single slab granite floor in his sleek powder room. View the final project and a slide show of the step-by-step installation.
Homeowners not afraid to splurge for remodels
RenovationHouse projects increase as many decide to get creative BY TIM FALL (The Oklahoman) Inventory stack-ups in new and used homes are causing sweat beads on the foreheads of many Realtors, builders and sellers, even in Oklahoma’s relatively chipper housing market. In one sector, though, things are looking decidedly up: Renovations and remodels.
Existing Home Sales Hit Bottom
Kitchen & Bath Design News
Existing-home sales dipped to their lowest annualized level in years during the first quarter of 2009…Housing analysts believe, however, that existing-home sales are now beginning to stabilize, amid signs that first-time buyers are responding to low mortgage interest rates and tax credits.
Free Building Permits in Denver
Friday, June 5, 2009 Denver Business Journal Denver residents have pulled 291 free building permits for $1,422,198 in home-improvement construction during the first week of the city’s two-week offer of free permits, officials said Friday.
Composite Decks Recalled by Louisiana-Pacific
Decks Can Deteriorate and Break, Posing Fall Hazard
Remodelers build on spark of recovery
By Lisa Rauschart, special to The Washington Times Drive around the neighborhoods of the greater Washington area and you may literally see more signs of economic recovery.
Contractor Conundrum
by J.N. Sbranti for the Modesto Bee, Modesto, CA
Nailing down jobs hard when rivals are unlicensed