Category: Kitchen Renovation

There’s little doubt that COVID-19 has radically transformed the residential remodeling, housing and kitchen/bath landscape.

For one thing, remodeling demand is reportedly at record highs, with both short- and long-term forecasts overwhelmingly positive. At the same time, new lifestyles emerging as byproducts of the global pandemic are proving responsible for the current mindset driving home design, product preferences and consumer purchases. Homes have literally been transformed, doubling in many cases as offices, schools, playgrounds and multi-generational residences. Wellness, sanitization, biophilic design and an emphasis on outdoor living have become more pronounced than ever. Multi-functional kitchens and eco-inspired baths remain high on the list of remodeling projects favored by homeowners.

But there’s more to the impact of the coronavirus than simply that.

Businesses on every rung of the product-distribution chain have been forced in the past 18 months to essentially reinvent themselves, implementing virus-mitigation strategies ranging from masking and showroom protocols to an increased emphasis on remote employees and digital-connectivity tools. Product costs have risen sharply, while labor shortages have been exacerbated and supply chain disruptions continue to result in project delays. Home prices have also spiked amidst shrinking inventories and a pronounced flight from the cities.

And now there’s yet another COVID-related issue that’s increasingly impacting the residential construction trade: the profound impact that the public-health crisis is having on workplace mental health.

Indeed, throughout the months-long pandemic, employees and business owners alike have faced an unprecedented confluence of issues threatening their physical and mental wellbeing. Routines have been disrupted, relationships strained, fears heightened over personal health and the health of loved ones. Feelings of isolation have led, in many cases, to a pervasive sense of loneliness and vulnerability. Anxiety, uncertainty, depression and stress have similarly taken a toll. While many remote employees are handling the disruptions well, others miss the sense of connectedness they had once in offices, factories and showrooms.

The subject of workplace mental health has been thrust into the public spotlight in recent months, particularly now that the nation is experiencing a resurgence of the coronavirus amidst contentious differences regarding issues like masking and vaccinations. And now, with no end to the pandemic seemingly in sight, many people are experiencing a sense of “horizonlessness,” the lack of a firm reference point regarding the future, as well as a sense of déjà vu regarding potential job losses and business closures.

All of this has had a cumulative effect. Indeed, workplace mental health is being described by experts as an “invisible crisis” that has yielded a palpable rise in chronic pain, fatigue, substance abuse, loss of productivity and suicide.

It has also yielded, thankfully, some decisive action.

The National Association of Home Builders, for example, is actively attempting to change the culture regarding mental health awareness by providing resources tailored to employees and business owners in the residential construction trade. As evidence, the NAHB recently launched a multi-faceted initiative focused on helping business owners support healthy work environments and turn mental health awareness into action. As part of that effort, the NAHB partnered with other trade groups and mental-health experts to develop specific tools for business owners to learn more about employee wellbeing, help eradicate the stigma associated with mental illness, and encourage employees to utilize the resources available to help navigate this complex, sensitive issue.

This effort is more than simply commendable. Indeed, it should serve as a model for others.

Business leaders and industry trade associations have an important role to play when it comes to balancing worker health with the ROI that can be realized by focusing on wellness through the lens of lower healthcare costs, reduced absenteeism and increased productivity.

Corporate management should fully understand why mental health is essential to the success of their companies. They should also understand how they can be proactive in incorporating mental health into a company culture that prioritizes the wellness of employees as much as it does revenue and profits.

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I am frequently contacted by business owners who are dissatisfied with their digital marketing efforts. The number one reason I hear time and time again is “My phone isn’t ringing.” The owners want more customers, and their marketing efforts are not achieving that goal.

I have pinpointed three categorical reasons this disconnect occurs. If you are spending money on digital marketing and your phone isn’t ringing, read on for a guide to garner more customers. As an advocate for businesses, my hope is to empower owners with educational insight from independent sources so they can make informed decisions with confidence.

Reason #1: Agencies Selling the Work Wanted

To understand the business/agency disconnect, we must explore the typical marketing agency business model. Most are structured around a staff that includes website builders, social media marketers, graphic designers and copywriters who often work on search engine optimization as well. The website builders are project oriented and need an ongoing supply of work to justify their pay. Conversely, the social media work is typically ongoing.

The most common occurrence I see is building an entirely new website for a client when a less expensive update would suffice. If a website builder is needing new work, unscrupulous agencies will begin pitching websites to all their prospects, and statistically they will get work. I personally discovered one agency that designed a website template programmed to increase additional billings and work. They created internal coding on the website that overrides automatic search engine optimization (SEO) from working so they could bill for SEO work separately after the website build. I had the uncomfortable task of informing the client of my discovery and the cost of re-coding the website.

Green Light: An agency that produces documented reporting that shows your website needs SEO work and provides a market share report that demonstrates a deficiency in your website visitors compared to your competitors visitors is an indicator they have the expertise and have done research to support the suggestion. Reporting that clearly shows the deficiencies that need correction is a good sign.

Red Light: When the agency relies only on the visual appearance of the website, or wants to produce a website that is photography based with no supporting analysis of your site. Websites that serve as a photo album with little or no written content will not increase new visitors from Google searches.

Hint: You can check your website’s SEO score for free on many websites. This one scores on a scale of 100: https://www.seobility.net/en/seocheck/. This is the perfect tool to utilize to double check agency website work for integrity. This tool (or a similar third party) should also serve as a deliverable to achieve prior to final payment for website work.

Hint: If you are rebuilding your website, insist on an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant website. This ensures disabled visitors can access all the information. Websites are legally required to be ADA compliant; additionally, ADA-compliant websites are more SEO friendly, as the requirements of ADA and SEO overlap. Following is a link to a free ADA website checker: https://wave.webaim.org/

Reason #2: Owners Believe Digital Marketing is a Finite Process

Digital marketing is an ongoing process of pivoting with the additions of experiences on social media. Instagram Live video feeds and Facebook Business Suite are a few of the latest 2021 additions. Additionally, building traffic to a website is an ongoing process of deliberate growth dictated by Google, Bing and others. All of these show your content based on algorithmic updates that change how they choose, and who to show, your content. To add to the complexity, your competitors are actively adding content to drive visitors in tandem.

I demonstrate this to clients by showing them their market share of the products they offer, as it is an effective benchmark. For example, the search terms “cabinet hardware” and “kitchen cabinet hardware” total 124,000 per month. If your website generates 4,000 monthly visitors, you have 3% of the total market. By showing this data in numerical form, it speaks a language most owners can understand and they can then develop a budget. After a website is built, there is work to be done on the SEO side, digital advertising, or both, to drive people to it.

Red Light: Business owners who think a website just needs to exist to increase visitors, or they sporadically post on social media with no brand campaign.

Green Light: Professionals who have market share reports to determine the growth potential and the credentials to grow, and will supply references for website SEO initiatives. Social media posting plans that encapsulate more than one post type, ie: Stories, videos AND Feed posts.

Hint: Consistent Blog Posting is the perfect vehicle to connect with your customers and provide new content that search engines want.

Reason #3: The Marketing is Lacking

Targeting the correct audience is easier than ever with the amount of demographic and geographic data that every digital platform collects. When advertising on Google, Bing or social media, the success is in the details. If you are spending on digital advertising, you need to be guided by the reporting that shows the success rate by your audience demographics and geographical location. If your phone is not ringing, dig deeper into who exactly is being targeted to view the ads and adjust it accordingly.

Hint: Request reporting that shows the detail of the audience, the platforms the ads were shown on and the geographic locations.

A consistent brand identity provides consumers with the confidence of knowing the caliber of your products and the service associated with it. Does your social media brand mirror your website and printed collaterals? Does the customer experience stand up to the message? Are your employees educated on your brand identity? Having a solid, well-defined brand identity that clearly demonstrates your unique value is crucial. It ensures the customers are receiving the brand experience they expect.

Hint: Train your employees to ask customers qualifying questions. How did you find us? How was your first experience with us? How can we improve?

Savvy business owners view marketing as an extension of their business, and managing it with loyal partners and a staff that is accountable is a pathway to success. Trust your gut if there is any hesitation on your part and educate yourself with the help of third-party consulting when needed. Digital marketing is complex and is a powerful tool to grow your business, and make your phone ring.

Denise Grothouse has an extensive background in international business, branding and marketing. She specializes in digital and social platforms and integrating them with traditional marketing and branding strategies. No stranger to the kitchen and bath industry, she is best known for her work as chief brand officer of Grothouse, Inc., and is the current president of the marketing firm Perfect Six.

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An innovator not only because of his designs but in what it means to be a professional designer and how that translates into a design experience for clients, Nicholas Vanderhovel is one of the youngest designers in the country to have achieved his Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer from the NKBA. Vanderhovel, CMKBD, CAPS, CLIPP, the owner and designer of Kitchen NV, in Pinckney, MI, achieved the certification at age 32 and is said to be one of only a handful of people in Michigan with the title.

The designer is a purist when it comes to function and aesthetics and curating a space. He has worked on every side of design – from installation to drawing to material selection – in order to anticipate client needs and educate them.

Vanderhovel believes that luxury doesn’t have to be unobtainable. Rather, luxury has to do with how a person is treated and whether that person’s needs are met. He always wants a client to leave with that feeling, and that is what has led him on his quest for knowledge, reaching out to other leaders in the industry to learn more, and working with manufacturers to improve processes and products. He is dedicated to mentoring others, as well.

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WASHINGTON, DC — With builders continuing to grapple with lumber price swings and supply chain disruptions, the National Association of Home Builders has once again appealed to the White House to redouble its efforts to address lumber price volatility and address supply chain bottlenecks for lumber and other building materials.

The Washington, DC-based NAHB this week sent a letter to President Biden, requesting that government officials address three key issues that, if unaddressed, “will severely hamper the ability to provide affordable housing and provide jobs to strengthen the economy,” said the association, which has already conducted several meetings on the subject with top administration officials.

“While lumber prices have fallen precipitously since peaking in mid-May, prices have been moving upward over the past month,” said the 140,000-member NAHB, urging the Biden administration “to make it an important priority to address lumber and building material supply chain issues that are contributing to price volatility and harming housing affordability.”

The NAHB urged U.S. officials address the current congestion at the ports and to “return to the negotiating table with Canada and develop a new softwood lumber agreement that will end tariffs on lumber shipments into the U.S.”

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COSTA MESA, CA — Fisher & Paykel, the Costa Mesa, CA-based supplier of high-end appliances, has launched a Trade Resources platform, a “next-generation solution” for the brand’s trade partners, the company announced.

Improving upon The Kitchen Tools interface that had previously served as a gateway for product access files for the A&D community and builders, the company developed the new program with leading global BIM software “to ensure a better user experience,” corporate officials said.

“The Trade Resources portal offers everything a trade professional might require, from project concept and modeling capabilities to post installation with specification documentation,” said Kevin Dexter, North American president for Fisher & Paykel. “We’ve developed this improved platform to ensure that architects, designers, builders, specifiers, developers and other industry professionals have a seamless experience with our brand from start to finish.”

Technical content available to users include 3D files for Revit, ArchiCad, Sketchup and Rhino, 2D CAD files in ‘dxf’ and ‘dwg’ formats, specifications guides, data sheets and planning guides, the company said. In addition, hinge articulation files, a higher level of dimensional information and alternative installation files, are available, Fisher & Paykel added.

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ATLANTA — MoistureShield, the Oldcastle APG-owned manufacturer of composite deck boards and related products, has expanded its distribution throughout the northeastern U.S. with the addition of several BlueLinx branch locations, the company announced.

BlueLinx locations in Charlotte and Raleigh, NC, Denville, NJ, Yaphank, NY, Burlington, VT, Bellingham, MA and Portland ME will each offer the full line of MoistureShield composite decking products to its dealers, corporate officials said.

“We are excited to continue to grow our national footprint with BlueLinx with this significant expansion from North Carolina to the Northeast,” said Matthew Bruce, v.p./sales for MoistureShield. “As our portfolio and brand awareness continue to increase, we believe that the partnership with BlueLinx provides an amazing platform to support growth and share gain in the composite decking category.”

Oldcastle APG, North America’s largest manufacturer of Outdoor Living Products, is part the Building Products division of CRH, a leading global diversified building materials. MoistureShield serves a range of retail and distribution customers across North America and several international markets. BlueLinx is a leading U.S. distributor of residential and commercial building products, including lumber, panels, engineered wood, siding, millwork, metal building products, and other construction materials.

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CAMBRIDGE, MA “Strong growth” in home improvement and maintenance expenditures is expected to continue over the coming year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

The LIRA projects year-over-year gains in annual improvement and repair spending will reach 9% in the fourth quarter of this year and maintain that pace into 2022.

“Residential remodeling continues to benefit from a strong housing market with elevated home construction and sales activity and immense house price appreciation in markets across the country,” said Carlos Martín, project director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Cambridge, MA-based Joint Center. “The rapid expansion of owners’ equity is likely to fuel demand for more and larger remodeling projects into next year.”

“With these tailwinds, annual improvement and repair expenditures by homeowners could reach $400 billion by the third quarter of 2022,” added Abbe Will, associate project director of the Remodeling Futures Program. Will warned, however, that “several headwinds,” including the rising costs of labor and building materials, as well as increasing interest rates, “could still taper the expected growth in remodeling spending.”

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NEWPORT NEWS, VA — Ferguson, LLC, the Newport News, VA-based distributor of plumbing supplies and related products, has partnered with a leading organization in an effort to “rebuild” the skilled trade pipeline, the company announced.

Ferguson and Explore The Trades, a nonprofit organization whose aim is to recruit individuals to the plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical trades, has unveiled a partnership to “introduce the skilled trades to a new generation,” Ferguson officials said.

“Our country urgently needs the next generation of plumbers and HVAC technicians to build and maintain our aging infrastructure,” corporate officials observed. “However, lack of investments in education, training and the skilled trades over the last 30 years created a labor shortage, driven by an exit of baby boomer retirees.

Ferguson and Explore the Trades have partnered to create “Explore The Trades Skills Lab Built by Ferguson” – a program that “will provide support to career and technical education high schools across the U.S., as they establish new plumbing and HVAC career pathways,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson committed $300,000 to the partnership and will assist primarily with products and tools for teaching and training, while Explore The Trades will tap into its network of contractors to serve as advisors for aspiring plumbers and HVAC technicians, program organizers said.

“Teaming up with Explore The Trades and its extensive network of experienced contractors is the success factor in this program,” said Melissa Hazelwood, Ferguson’s senior manager of sustainability. “We are excited about educating young people and encouraging them to embrace the artistry and ingenuity that comes from engaging their minds with their hands to build, craft and construct the future.”

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WASHINGTON, DCArchitecture firms, including those focused in the residential sector, continued to report increasing demand for design services in September, according to a new report issued by the American Institute of Architects.

According to the Washington, DC-based AIA, the association’s monthly “Architecture Billings Index” (ABI) score for September was 56.6, up from August’s score of 55.6. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings from the prior month, the AIA said.

“The ABI scores over the last eight months continue to be among the highest ever seen in the immediate post-recession periods that have been captured throughout the index’s history,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker.

Baker cautioned, however, that it’s “unlikely that revenue increases at architecture firms can sustain this pace.”

“Given that growth in both new design contracts and project inquiries have moderated in recent months, we expect to see a similar path for the ABI,” Baker said.

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WASHINGTON, DC Strong consumer demand helped push builder confidence higher in October despite growing affordability challenges stemming from rising material prices and shortages, the National Association of Home Builders reported.

According to the Washington, DC-based NAHB, builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes moved four points higher to 80 in October, according to the latest monthly NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released this week.

The NAHB also reported that single-family housing production held steady in September, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.56 million units, as strong demand helped to offset ongoing building material supply chain disruptions.

“Although demand and home sales remain strong, builders continue to grapple with ongoing supply chain disruptions and labor shortages that are delaying completion times and putting upward pressure on building material and home prices,” said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke.

“Builders are getting increasingly concerned about affordability hurdles ahead for most buyers,” added NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Building material price increases and bottlenecks persist, and interest rates are expected to rise in coming months as the Fed begins to taper its purchase of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed debt.

“Policymakers must focus on fixing the broken supply chain,” Dietz observed. “This will spur more construction and help ease upward pressure on home prices.”

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