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January 8, 2013How your moulding is made: VIDEO
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December 16, 2012
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December 3, 2012
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May 7, 2013
VIDEO: What contractors earn – Outrank Salary Survey
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May 2, 2013
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January 16, 2013
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April 25, 2013April 30 tax filing deadline: Who can claim self-employment
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April 10, 2013
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January 22, 2013
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The product that keeps basement floor installations dry
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Maxwell’s pick for cordless drills
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Drop your lumber package on the dumpster? Yes!
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We like this stuff
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Accent the Old with a Little New
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Marvelling at Marvin
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Reiner’s letter from Germany
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Varrrooommm!! 5
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Varrrooommm!! 4
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“Your tailgate just got ripped off, Ivan.”
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Varrrooommm!! 3
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Varrrooommm!! 2
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Dewalt’s shrouding protection
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Varrrooommm!! 1
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Milwaukee Compact Bandsaw
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Why ‘R value’ is not accurate
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Broken? Or just an R9 super efficient French door
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Killer clothing, literally
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Cleaning and servicing the macerator
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No-VOC Flooring Adhesive
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The ABCs of ICFs
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Footings done different
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Getting into a Froth
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The “little black dress” of kitchen products
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Hanging Fire
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Hilti Brushless Power
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What’s the ROI on this excavation?
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The shower that does everything
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The death of home heating
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HurriQuake Nails
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Maxwell’s magnificent 7
Home inspection: a new revenue stream for you?
Home Inspection is a growing industry for which renovators are well suited
Help for contractor inventors
You have a great idea for a new product but how do you get it to market? Dragon’s Den? No, just call Steve Sennik
VIDEO: Mike Homes Interview (7): The products you buy
Mike goes to bat for you on products
A website contest…A trade gives his employee back to Ontario
Here’s a chance to improve your website. And here’s a contractor that is giving his employees and their families back to the government of Ontario to look after.
VIDEO: Mike Holmes recalls his bankruptcy, Part 5
Some contractors knock Mike Holmes because he once went bankrupt while he was a full-time contractor. He did, but he has something to say about that.
VIDEO: Ontario College of Trades threatens Alberta electrician’s Interprovincial License
Think you are unaffected by the tax grab in Ontario? Not so fast.
Mike Holmes interview Part 4 (VIDEO)
Mike’s insurance and how he estimates his jobs
Are you on the first page of Google? (VIDEO)
If you are not, you are a dead man… or woman. Carrie Shaw tell us why.
Mike Holmes interview Part 3
Mike turns his beefy guns on customers
Contractors protest Ontario WSIB Bill 119
Contractors from across the province are saying enough is enough and they will no longer accept the WSIB’s effort to dig into their pocketbooks to deal with the $14.5 billion unfunded liability.
The next issue of Canadian Contractor
Why parents don’t want their kids to be trades people. And what to do when your customer owes you $100,000
The real battle we face: Keynes vs Hayak
Do we need central planning or should we let the free market sort things out?
Mike Holmes interview Part 2
The curse of TV and the help of sponsors and contractors working for free
Protesting Bill 119 in Hamilton, Ontario
Independent operators in Ontario mobilize to tell the Ontario government how they feel about the increased cost of doing business as a result of Bill 119
Mike Holmes Interview Part 1
What Mike really thinks about contractors
Rob and Steve VIDEO: Moonlighting firefighters. Mike Holmes answers his critics.
The first segment of our exclusive interview with Mike Holmes, as he responds to a barrage of criticism from Canadian Contractor readers. And Steve and Rob talk about moonlighting firefighters doing renovations for cash in their spare time… while they pocket gold-plated, public sector benefits packages.
Rob’s 3 biggest mistakes as a renovation contractor (VIDEO)
Rob learned the hard way as a renovator. His 3 biggest mistakes will never be yours if you watch this.
How your moulding is made: VIDEO
See how they make moulding at Royal Woodworking, a moulding manufacturer in Bradford, Ontario.
The product that keeps basement floor installations dry
A “Made in Canada” product you will want to install in your customer’s basement
Tree protection, good and bad
Keeping the site neat is a very good way to leave a good public impression
Video: Rob, Steve and readers weigh in on the Ontario College of Trades’ fees for “compulsory” trades
The College will be invoicing lots of you in April. $120 for licensed trades in certain categories, and $60 for apprentices. Many readers of Canadian Contractor are angry about this, saying that the College is offering little or no value in return.
How does a video like this get over 30,000 views!!
No offense to this guy, really, but how do five tips on bathroom renos that start with “Make sure you have a really, really good plan” get 30,162 hits? How desperate can we…
Epic fails in construction
You thought your mistakes were bad!
Readers respond to Mike Holmes’ comment that 70% of contractors are “bad” and 10% “ugly”
Mike Holmes hammers Canadian contractors in the latest issue of Readers Digest. “What percentage of contractors are doing good, honest work?” he’s asked in an interview about his new show, Holmes Makes It RIght. “I call it the good, the bad and the ugly: 20, 70 and ten percent, respectively” Holmes replies.
Building your employee loyalty: lessons from WestJet
If you can learn from anywhere, learn from WestJet
Why wood is better for building everything
And why Life Cycle Assessment is the only way to know what is truly “green.”
Your personal invitation to RenoSummit
Make a lot more money as a renovator, without burning yourself out. Attend our RenoSummit one-day seminars in Vancouver (Nov. 12), Calgary (Nov. 14) and Winnipeg (Nov. 16)
R Values: Often misleading, sometimes useless
R Value credibility takes another serious beating
Maxwell’s classics
Tools editor Steve Maxwell is the Tip King where building is concerned
Slamming the Ontario College of Trades: VIDEO
Sean Reid of stopthetradestax.ca responds to Ron Johnson of the Ontario College of Trades
Maxwell’s Rant
Our tools editor surprises us
The Marvin story: Part 1
What was it like to build windows 20 years ago?
We like this stuff
One of our favourite parts of Canadian Contractor magazine is Stuff We Like. We had a chance to enjoy a whole room full of stuff we could like at a recent showcase event…
Can-saving your butt
When timing is everything, this Can Save
Marvelling at Marvin
Marvin Windows and Doors shows you two of its favourite products
A Contractor Joke
What would you do if you won a million dollars?
Rotating skyscrapers
Lake view, mountain view, city view…all in 90 minutes.
“Your tailgate just got ripped off, Ivan.”
Master Lock’s products for contractors Part 1
Take a break
When was the last time you danced on site?
Contractor shorts 6
Could this be Reiner Hoyer?
Help a food bank. It will take one minute
Watch a video, feed someone
The White Knight’s triumph
We follow up on our December 2011 issue story of the project that the experts said couldn’t, or shouldn’t, be done
Contractor Shorts 5
Mark makes some extra money
Contractor Shorts 4
Making a deposit?
Contractor Shorts 3
Two contractors walk into a bar…
Broken? Or just an R9 super efficient French door
This tilt-French door has “German engineering” written all over it.
Contractor Shorts 2
A contractor walks into a bar…
Contractor Shorts 1
WARNING: This post will not help you build better, increase your market or help you make more profit.
The Anti-Angie’s List
Customers have had the chance to comment on your business online. Now it’s your turn.
Super smart home
Viewer warning! This video is five minutes long, but it was too hard to cover the smart homes system’s features in less.
What’s the ROI on this excavation?
Digging out a basement with radio controlled diggers and dump trucks a not-for-profit exercise
Why Velux stays on top
Want to be successful? Be like Velux. Roll with the punches and stick with what you know. Then make a product like this.
Ottawa firm gets in front of the curve
Retirement living will be the biggest trend in renovation and custom homebuilding over the next 20 years. Don’t miss it. Healthcraft isn’t www.healthcraftproducts.com/
The IBS show in three minutes
You couldn’t make it, so here’s your tour.
Who attracts the most attention at Orlando’s IBS?
And he used to write a column for Canadian Contractor…when he was still speaking to us.
IBS Orlando, 2012. Design that makes you look up
The cool design idea that puts you above the competition may be over your head.
The shower that does everything
How to make your client feel like $6,000 of clean and fresh for only $700. Kohler scales its highend shower control system for the masses.
Salary Survey preview: What you are doing online
The number of online contractors has not increased. It may even have gone down.
Salary Survey: What reduces profit?
In the Canadian Contractor Salary Survey, you said it was mostly competitive pressure that hindered profit. But that’s not all…
Decorenza
A one stop shop for renovator clients
Salary Survey: What you earn
Why are you making so little money?
Go Rici Construct Canada Reno Roundtable: Part 4
How would stand up under the scrutiny of The Reno Coach?
Go Rici Construct Canada Reno Roundtable: Part 3
More and more, there are third parties getting involved in cleaning up the renovation industry.
Go Rici Construct Canada Reno Roundtable: Part 2
Who is the bigger danger to the renovation industry, the guy with the fancy website or the guy working for cash?
Go Rici Construct Canada Reno Roundtable: Part 1
You’re not a renovator, you’re an educator
Health as a profit strategy
A few days in hospital focuses the mind.
What you need to think
Where do you reload? Reboot? Repair yourself? What thoughts do you have? What thoughts should you have?
The death of home heating
If you hate installing furnaces, you’ll love Reiner’s house.
The Johnny Cash School of Decor
When colour is your thing, maybe you should use some.
Bad Santa
Take a look at what Santa left in this neighbourhood
One contractor’s opinion on home sales and renos
We asked yesterday how changes in home sales affect renovation activity. Here is one contractor’s reply.
Does it matter to renovators when housing slows?
When housing slows, is it better or worse for renovators? There are good arguments on both sides.
Cost-side smarts
An example of how one contractor reduced his cost.
Profit is not a dirty word
In 2012, you’ll finally make a profit
Reiner’s House
The Reno Coach Reiner Hoyer has some tough words for the contracting industry.
A new way of selling to homeowners arrives
As if there were not enough ways for consumers to go shopping, a one-stop-shop option for renovations is coming to a town north of Toronto. The 600,000 square foot space will house dozens…
Motivating your staff without money
There is more to life than money
- Home inspection: a new revenue stream for you?
- Help for contractor inventors
- VIDEO: Mike Homes Interview (7): The products you buy
- A website contest…A trade gives his employee back to Ontario
- VIDEO: Mike Holmes recalls his bankruptcy, Part 5
- VIDEO: Ontario College of Trades threatens Alberta electrician’s Interprovincial License
- Mike Holmes interview Part 4 (VIDEO)
- Are you on the first page of Google? (VIDEO)
- Mike Holmes interview Part 3
- Contractors protest Ontario WSIB Bill 119
- The next issue of Canadian Contractor
- The real battle we face: Keynes vs Hayak
- Mike Holmes interview Part 2
- Protesting Bill 119 in Hamilton, Ontario
- Mike Holmes Interview Part 1
- Rob and Steve VIDEO: Moonlighting firefighters. Mike Holmes answers his critics.
- Rob’s 3 biggest mistakes as a renovation contractor (VIDEO)
- How your moulding is made: VIDEO
- The product that keeps basement floor installations dry
- Tree protection, good and bad
- Video: Rob, Steve and readers weigh in on the Ontario College of Trades’ fees for “compulsory” trades
- How does a video like this get over 30,000 views!!
- Epic fails in construction
- Readers respond to Mike Holmes’ comment that 70% of contractors are “bad” and 10% “ugly”
- Building your employee loyalty: lessons from WestJet
- Why wood is better for building everything
- Your personal invitation to RenoSummit
- R Values: Often misleading, sometimes useless
- Maxwell’s classics
- Slamming the Ontario College of Trades: VIDEO
- Maxwell’s Rant
- The Marvin story: Part 1
- We like this stuff
- Can-saving your butt
- Marvelling at Marvin
- A Contractor Joke
- Rotating skyscrapers
- “Your tailgate just got ripped off, Ivan.”
- Take a break
- Contractor shorts 6
- Help a food bank. It will take one minute
- The White Knight’s triumph
- Contractor Shorts 5
- Contractor Shorts 4
- Contractor Shorts 3
- Broken? Or just an R9 super efficient French door
- Contractor Shorts 2
- Contractor Shorts 1
- The Anti-Angie’s List
- Super smart home
- What’s the ROI on this excavation?
- Why Velux stays on top
- Ottawa firm gets in front of the curve
- The IBS show in three minutes
- Who attracts the most attention at Orlando’s IBS?
- IBS Orlando, 2012. Design that makes you look up
- The shower that does everything
- Salary Survey preview: What you are doing online
- Salary Survey: What reduces profit?
- Decorenza
- Salary Survey: What you earn
- Go Rici Construct Canada Reno Roundtable: Part 4
- Go Rici Construct Canada Reno Roundtable: Part 3
- Go Rici Construct Canada Reno Roundtable: Part 2
- Go Rici Construct Canada Reno Roundtable: Part 1
- Health as a profit strategy
- What you need to think
- The death of home heating
- The Johnny Cash School of Decor
- Bad Santa
- One contractor’s opinion on home sales and renos
- Does it matter to renovators when housing slows?
- Cost-side smarts
- Profit is not a dirty word
- Reiner’s House
- A new way of selling to homeowners arrives
- Motivating your staff without money
RenoSummit is BACK! Mark your calendars – Nov 5 Barrie, ON; Nov 6 Toronto; Nov 8 London, ON
In one day, you will learn all kinds of ways to make more money as a renovator.
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May 16, 2013
Joe — Hi rob
I can't agree more
Us experienced contractors know the real time required to complete a job
I have in...
May 16, 2013
Denise Power — I am a home owner and have been so for six years, when we bought our home we had two...
May 15, 2013
Alec Caldwell — On that article in the Toronto Star Business section on Monday 13, 2013. The spin doctors said:
"there are almost 300,000...
