Winning Strategies for Contractors

You are a commercial construction contractor that markets your services to find new business. In the past there was an abundance of work; not anymore.

Whether it’s through a hard bid or negotiated bid process, today’s environment is more challenging than before. More contractors are vying for fewer projects. Dr. Jim Haughey, Chief Economist at Reed Construction Data, forecasts that construction spending will decline from April to December of this year by about 7 percent for nonresidential and heavy projects.

How do you avoid spinning your wheels? If you are using a lead service, how can you use.....
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Authored by Building Design & Construction, the leading provider of solutions to inspire building teams to design and construct great places for people, this feature series reviews the “state of the industry” with regard to severe weather. Various building industry contributors to the series include a cost analysis by RSMeans engineers based upon 2007 cost data.

Green Building Insulation:
The Environmental Benefits

For commercial and institutional buildings, sustainability has become an overarching and highly important project driver. Key attributes associated with high-performance green building — including high energy efficiency, occupant comfort, material durability and increased property values — have led to the adoption of best practices in construction materials and methods. Among those is the use of more efficient insulation systems, air barriers, and seamless monolithic roofing systems. One such system, closed-cell spray polyurethane foam (ccSPF) is the subject of this white paper. Closed-cell spray polyurethane foam has been shown to offer improved life-cycle analysis and environmental performance, in addition to superior control of the building enclosure and the indoor environment.....

Topics in this whitepaper include:

• Green Building Drivers
• How ccSPF Stacks Up to Green Building Criteria
• Selection Criteria and Industry Standards for Green Building
• Green Building Case Study: Texas A&M University
• Action Plan: Using SPF for Green Building — New Construction and Renovations

Read the rest of the whitepaper>>>

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Credit constraint on US recovery soon ahead

The forty basis point jump in long term credit rates, including mortgages, from early May to early June has now been reversed. But we should not forget the immediate impact this had on mortgage applications and bank lending volume, including commercial mortgages. This was a preview of what will happen when the credit constrain becomes binding sometime next year.

The quick spike in credit rates, premature as it turns out, was possible because lenders are nervous about the adequacy of credit when the recent drop in GDP is largely reversed. Lenders are also, for the first time, especially concerned about the ability of the US to attract credit in competition with.....
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