Guest blog post by Mario Greco, Prudential Rubloff
These are challenging economic times. Consumers facing soaring gas prices, tighter household budgets and a work environment in which they are just as likely to get laid off as they are to receive a cost-of-living increase are searching for ways to save money. USA Today, in its May 1 edition, reported that stick-shift cars are making a comeback, largely because they are less expensive than their automatic brethren.
But there are times when looking for the least expensive alternative is not always the best choice. It’s why I tell my clients to never skimp when it comes to hiring a contractor.
Whether my clients need to update their kitchens or bathrooms before putting their homes on the market or are ready to build their dream homes, I always recommend that they work with a qualified contractor.
Before hiring a contractor, I tell my clients to seek out a professional company that has experience in the home-building and remodeling business. A newcomer to the industry might charge less. But consumers take a significant risk when they hire an inexperienced contractor in an effort to save money.
I tell my clients, too, to only work with contractors who are licensed and registered to do business in Illinois and have both liability and worker’s compensation insurance protection.
My clients also know how important it is to ask the contractor they interview for a list of references. And I emphasize that my clients should contact these references once they have a list. Past customers, after all, can tell my clients whether contractors showed up on time, completed the job when they promised, turned in quality work and cleaned up after themselves. They can also tell my clients how quickly contractors returned to fix any problems or add the final touches that are sometimes missed in the rush of construction and remodeling.
Finally, I advise my clients to look up potential contractors with the Better Business Bureau. This is a great source of information about whether contractors have a history of performing their duties well.
This may seem like a lot of homework. But few of my clients have investments that are more important than their homes. And whether they’re preparing a residence for sale or building a new home, I want to make sure that my clients receive the best service possible. That service invariably comes from a professional, qualified contractor – not necessarily from the cheapest.
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We’ve recently been awarded an exciting new project by a prominent Chicago trader and real estate developer to renovate a beautiful existing 11,000 square foot, 3-story brick and limestone building back to its original grandeur. The building, which is located on Roscoe Street in the Lakeview neighborhood, will have all of the amenities the marketplace expects while still maintaining some of the original appeal and character of the building. The original staircase in the building will be re-finished. The mosaic tile and stained glass in the main entrance and the striking limestone facade will also be restored. Once completed, the building will feature 12 units that range from 500-1,100 square feet.
The final intended use of the building has been up for debate for quite some time. Before it was decided that the building would be developed for residential use, there was talk of utilizing the space to create a private sailing club and lodge for the Chicago Match Race Center. While the initial plans for the building never came to fruition, we feel confident that the owner will be very pleased with the new space and that it will once again be brought back to the same vitality as when it was built around 100 years ago. Stay tuned for more updates on this special project over the coming months!
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Guest blog post by Michael Schmechtig, Schmechtig Landscapes
With spring arriving early this year, it’s time to walk around your property and evaluate your outdoor living plans – your lawn and garden clean-up should be first on the list. Midwesterners enjoy the warmer temperatures and longer days of spring so a comprehensive clean-up is instrumental in preparing your home’s exterior environment for an enjoyable season of outdoor living. The spring clean-up should include removing all winter debris from plant beds and lawn areas, edging plant beds and tree rings and cutting back perennials and ornamental grasses. It is a great idea to compost all debris or bring it to an EPA approved facility for organic processing and recycling. Examination of all hardscapes on your property for safety issues due to winter settling, especially walkways and patios, along with inspection of seat walls and stairs for missing grout or mortar is recommended at this time. It is also a great time to power wash your decks, patios and outdoor furniture.
Your lawn is an important element of your home’s landscape, providing open space and a place to enjoy the views of your garden. Examine and identify the damaged areas that need renovating. You will achieve success when applying seed or sod in the spring as it grows well at this time and fills the bare spots quickly. Lawn fertilization including crab grass preventer should be applied, avoiding your newly seeded areas. The last significant consideration for a great looking lawn is aeration. This is the secret weapon in making your lawn healthy. This process allows fertilizer and other nutrients access to the root system, helps break up thatch and gets oxygen to the roots and soil, allowing it to breathe.
The plants and trees you have invested in on your property need attention, too. Just like your lawn, fertilizing your plant beds provide the nutrients to assist in plant growth and flowering. Consider composting your beds to provide an organic slow release fertilization. Applying a weed control pre-emergent for plant beds will support your attempt to conquer the war of the weeds. Ornamental and shade trees benefit from root feeding and preventive fungus control. Last of all, uncover your perennials and roses and apply shredded hardwood mulch to your garden beds and tree rings. Mulching will assist in moisture retention, inhibit weed growth, regulate soil temperature and give aesthetic beauty throughout the growing season.
A certified landscape technician can answer any question you have or perform any or all of the services listed above.
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If you read through the article on pages 24-26 of the spring 2012 edition of Chicago Home + Garden magazine, you’ll notice there’s a company mentioned that goes by the name of Tandem Construction! We are so proud to be featured in this article, “C’est Magnifique!”, about a unique roofdeck we constructed in the Lincoln Park neighborhood for our good friend and neighbor, Stephane Rambaud. We completed the 2,000 square foot space along with landscape architects Hoerr Schaudt and Eiserman & Associates. The space has such special features as two 12 foot tall iron pergolas, Ipe decking and planters, stone paving and a wood-burning masonry fireplace as a focal point. In addition, the space features a breathtaking view of the Chicago skyline. To learn more about this project, you can purchase the digital edition online or you can casually pick up a hard copy while on your next shopping trip to a local grocery store.
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Guest blog post by Bob Wierema, Assurance Agency
Understanding the dynamic role insurance, specifically liability, plays in the construction industry is vital. Many contractors hire subcontractors to perform specific tasks or vendors and suppliers to provide materials, which often leaves liability and vulnerability in the form of contractual agreements. How can Illinois contractors protect themselves from liability associated with the acts of subcontractors and vendors or suppliers?
The first step is to transfer risk through contracts. Although Illinois prohibits contractually transferring your liabilities to other persons/entities, the state does permit contractors to require other persons/entities to purchase or carry insurance that will protect the contractors’ interests. Often times, you will see requirements for Workers’ Compensation, Employers Liability, General Liability and Umbrella insurance coverage. Where appropriate, Auto Liability, Pollution and Professional coverage might also be required. Limits can be mandated based on trade and exposures or can be comprehensively required for all persons and entities involved in the construction job.
In addition to specific coverage and limits, contracts should require waivers of subrogation, primary/noncontributory language and additional insured status on appropriate policies. Once the contract is in place, the next step is to require each subcontractor, vendor or supplier to provide evidence of insurance. Review the evidence to validate that the coverage provided matches the requirements of the signed contract. One of the most important portions of the review is to confirm that the contractually required parties have been properly named as additional insured on the subcontractor’s, vendor’s or supplier’s policies and that the status mirrors the contract.
Most contractors don’t consider this process to be a priority until it’s too late. In such cases, and assuming the contractor’s own policies provide the necessary coverage, the contractor can rely on their own insurance carrier to protect their interests; however, this impacts the contractor’s loss experience and defeats the purpose of contractual risk transfer.
If you do not have the time or expertise internally to validate whether the coverage provided meets contractual requirements, outsource the process. Various companies, like Assurance, offer services to review certificates to ensure they meet contractual requirements. Talk to your insurance advisor to find out if outsourcing your risk transference process makes sense for your business.
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Although the calendar will soon be turning to March, we’ve just declared our new year’s resolution for 2012 – business development. While the term may sound fancy or perhaps a little intimidating, it simply boils down to creating new opportunities. We’re taking the initiative to do just that! In the past month we’ve joined two new organizations, the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce (LPCC) and the River North Business Association (RNBA), to help get the ball rolling! In addition, we’ve been a proud member of the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association (GNMAA) for over a year. With the help of these professional groups, we’d like to focus more time and energy on networking, advertising and increasing our exposure in Chicago and beyond. It’s groups like these that help businesses of all shapes and sizes to develop. There’s always room for growth, and we encourage others to join an organization or two that they are passionate about. Beyond simply joining, it’s important to take advantage of each group’s diversity. You never know who you could meet and forge a relationship with.
The one thing we need to keep in mind is that business development takes time, and this is just the beginning. Equipped with this knowledge, we are ready to “get out there” and develop new partnerships, expand our client base and increase our brand recognition. If all goes well, our efforts will pay off well beyond 2012.
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Guest blog post by Alena Cloud, Marketing Artisan
Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn groups. Video. E-blasts. Blog posts. These are all social media tools that companies have started to add into their marketing mix to increase their communication within their target market and current clients. All of this takes time, resources and a financial commitment to get it done right. Is it worth it for small businesses to make this investment? It can be, as long as you keep in mind that people hire a small business for personal attention and client service; so make sure that your new online communication is an enhancement to your offline efforts, not a replacement for them.
Your company is great at what they do, however, so are your competitors. Clients and prospects need to get a chance to know you beyond your amazing portfolio and the helpful information that you can provide. They need to know that you are someone they can trust, that you have their best interests in mind and most importantly, that you are someone they enjoy working with. It’s very easy to become disconnected with others when your only communication is through a tweet, a LinkedIn conversation or a Facebook post. So while your marketing plan may outline a schedule for updating social media and sharing information, make sure it also provides a plan and guidelines for regular client and prospect offline communication.
Offline communication can be as basic as developing a habit of not answering every email with another email, but by taking the time to pick up the phone and have a conversation. Alternate regular conference calls with a face-to-face meeting, perhaps followed up by a non-working lunch. Attend networking and educational events and invite your contacts and clients to come with you. Deliver your holiday gift in person rather than through a messenger. Budget permitting, host an annual company party where your clients and people in your network can come enjoy an evening out.
Your online and offline relationship building will pay off by developing brand ambassadors through your network and clients. Positive feelings about your small business and you will result in repeat clients and increased referrals both online and offline. So go ahead and tweet, post and email. Just make sure you also call, meet and network to keep your relationships strong and your brand top of mind.
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Tandem has recently been contracted to build a model unit in the ultra-luxurious Ritz-Carlton Chicago, a Four Seasons Hotel downtown. The hotel, which is situated on the world-famous Magnificent Mile, is currently undergoing construction to add 89 new homes (collectively known as The Ritz-Carlton Residences) to the space. At the end of February, Power Construction will be handing over the building to five designers from around the country, who will each complete a model unit.
Tandem will be working with award-winning, Chicago-based Frank Ponterio Interior Design on the project, which is anticipated to be completed in the spring. The unit we will be working on is an approximately 1400-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment. Each home will include such special features as high ceilings, private recessed balconies and archways. Residents will also have access to a full-floor private club, which will include a salon, spa, private dining room, wine cellar, screening room and more. Home prices will start at approximately $1.4 million.
“Simply Magnificent: A Showcase of Homes” will feature tours of all the completed model units from April 20 – May 13, 2012 and will be open to the public. We are honored to be part of such a special and prestigious project, working with one of Chicago’s best designers in a world-renowned property. We are very interested in completing more work within the luxury hotel industry, and we hope this experience will allow us to take on similar projects in the coming years!
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Guest blog post by Dave Ferguson, The Growth Coach
I spent most of my professional career in the construction industry. In that time technology radically changed how projects were designed and built. We now do things faster and better. Questions can be answered instantly. Measurements can be accurate to the thousandth of an inch. Design alternatives can be drawn in hours rather than days – and CAD programs can do material takeoffs and price each as soon as it is drawn.
The one thing that hasn’t changed much since the building of the pyramids is the human brain. That’s where design actually happens; where problems in the field are actually solved. In our rush to be faster and better we sometimes forget that the brain work takes time. No computer can equal its abilities to take disparate facts, weigh and combine them, and arrive at unique solutions. The process takes time but it often results in a blinding flash of inspiration. The challenge these days is to allow time for that process to happen.
What I have found over the years is that there are things that can improve that process. Focus on the real issues and eliminate distractions. What’s the objective? If that can be clearly stated, the solution will appear sooner. Get people involved. Don’t exclude possibilities; merely rate them on how well they address the objectives. Sometimes the seemingly impossible, with a little tweaking, suddenly becomes possible. My favorite moments are when we arrive at an elegant solution – a perfect balance of form, function, cost, and time – so obvious that we all wonder why it took so long to appear.
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‘tan·dəm’: a group of two or more working together or in unison; working as one
Have you ever wondered what design-build means? According to the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), design-build is a method of project delivery in which one entity works under a single contract to provide both architectural and construction services. The result is one united flow of work from initial concept through completion.
The benefits of adopting a design-build approach – for both the owner and the designer/builder – are numerous. Design-build controls costs, saves time and streamlines project delivery. The result is an improved product in the end. Tandem has been more apt to adopt this type of building methodology in recent years over the traditional design-bid-build method, which involves two entities and two contracts. We prefer the design-build method because it implies a relationship built on trust. Design-build allows any changes in the project to be controlled and helps to eliminate any surprises that may arise throughout the duration of the project. For example, a builder can help the designer to choose materials within the budget of the owner. Likewise, an owner can have all the details of their new space agreed upon before construction begins. It’s this notion of collaborating together (or rather, working in tandem) which makes design-build a win-win situation for all, especially the project owner.
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