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August 2020 another record-setting month for many Canadian housing markets
Statistics released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)…
Record lumber prices adding thousands of dollars to new home building costs
Soaring lumber and wood panel prices are adding thousands…
Pella Corporation releases free e-book ‘Building For Success: A plan for continued growth in building and remodeling’
During these uncertain economic times, home builders and contractors…
StatsCan building permits report: June 2020
The $687 million dollar Oakridge Centre mixed use redevelopment…

Building Better Estimates – Five ways to make the most out of every job before it starts
This is a sponsored post from Painter’s Mate Brand® Building…
Paradigm introduces automated takeoff technology for lumberyards
Lumberyards and building suppliers looking to spend more time…
Addressing higher construction costs during COVID-19
This article is intended as an update of a…
Pomerleau wins U of T Scarborough passive house student residence bid
Pomerleau is pleased to announce it has been awarded…

RealSpace3D – Five ways to use 3D renderings improve your next project
This is a sponsored post from RealSpace3D In the…

StatsCan building permits report: April 2020
The total value of building permits issued by Canadian…
B.C. begins new round of affordable housing projects
Government officials in B.C. are asking non-profit and Indigenous…
ECI Software Solutions acquires BuildTools
ECI Software Solutions has announced that it has acquired…
2021 colour trends, pantone palettes explored in webinars from IHA
The key to attracting consumers’ eyes in the coming…

Point and click measuring? Stanley has an app for that!
Stanley’s new TML99 and DML99 laser distance measurers, combined with the Stanley Floor Plan App, will help you create precisely accurate floor plans without moving from a single spot in a room.

The Rule of One Third: Are you making a minimum of 33 per cent gross margin?
Markup on direct job costs (labour and materials) to reach One Third gross margin (33 per cent) is 50 per cent.
A new slick scheme called Straightforward Pricing
“Under straightforward pricing, contractors go away from charging by the hour but, instead, go by a price list with different tier levels at that also includes a diagnostic fee, as if they were doctors,” Kevin Koch reports to us.

Renovantage’s Mike Draper on turning leads into customers
“Never email a quotation,” Draper counsels. “Always visit with the client to go over the details so that you can make adjustments to include or exclude changes the customer wants to see.
RenoSummit seminar report: How much should you be marking up your work?
Contractors should be marking up their direct job costs (labour and material) between 50 and 65 per cent, if they want to make a good profit, Remodelers Advantage president Victoria Downing told contractors in Whitby, ON
VIDEO: Mike Holmes interview part 8: Educating your customer
“Too often I’ve seen contractors walk in with a pad, out of their pickup truck, and they listen to what the homeowner wants. They give them a price and ask for a down (payment). And there’s never enough education there.” – MIKE HOLMES

The case for flat-rate pricing for service and repair work
“Until flat rate pricing becomes the industry standard – and realistically that would take a long time to bring about – there are bound to be customers who will ask how much you charge ‘per hour.’ “
CMHC Housing Report Q4, 2011
It looks like Canada won’t hit 200,000 starts this year,…