Water Closet Mysteries Revealed
WHILE ON MY way to check an antique shower valve, the homeowner remarked, Hang on a minute, the first floor toilet is running again. The exasperation...
Who's Doing the A/E's Job?
MOST CONTRACTS for larger projects are written using standard form documents, such as AIA or EJCDC forms, or forms that are derived from them. Nearly...
Bottom-line Opportunities in Productivity Gains
IVE SUSPECTED FOR years that several utilities and consolidators got into the mechanical contracting business for some of the same factors revealed in...
Your People Should be Better and Highly Paid
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND a most emphatically happy New Year. Over the holidays I would hope you have some quiet time to think through your goals for next year....
Children, Toys, Toilets and a Christmas Past
CHRISTMAS EVE AND its the answering service paging me to report a regular customer has called with a clogged toilet the only one in the house. Snow crunched...
Get Minority Discounts On Your Firm's Stock
ITS ALWAYS A good day when you can beat up the IRS legally. Its even better when you can pummel it with its own rules. The issue concerns the value of...
Honesty and Ethics are Profit Centers
CAN YOU BE HONEST without being ethical, or must you be ethical to also be honest? These are not questions just for philosophers; theyre points of bottom-line...
Is a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Generator In Your Future?
AS OF THIS DATE, no less than 120 companies are directly or indirectly involved in the research, development and deployment of combined heat-and-power...
Office Network, Web site Need Maintenance
BOTH YOUR OFFICE PC and your company Web site will benefit from periodic maintenance and updating. Fortunately, software solutions for both take into...
Holiday Cards to Customers Make a Difference
SINCE I WAS 14 YEARS OLD, I have always had a plan. For a while in my youth, I forgot the plan and was temporarily sidetracked. More on that later. After...
What's Fair Regarding Additional Insureds?
THE COST OF INSURANCE has gone up and coverage seems to be shrinking. Is it any wonder that owners and general contractors want to make sure that their...
Web service connects unrelated data
SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS who provide solutions for contractors are frequently among the early adopters of evolving computer technologies. Eager to expand their...
The risk/reward paradigm on tough jobs
THROUGHOUT MY project management career I've been known as the "project garbage man" because I am usually willing to take on jobs where other companies...
When you see a claim coming, prepare
JUST AS FLORIDIANS learned to put up plywood to protect their properties in September, contractors have to learn to take steps to protect their rights...
When employees are present and unproductive
I RAN INTO two of my favorite people in the contracting industry during the recent PHCC convention and ISH North America trade show in Boston. I discovered...
Ground-source heat pumps for radiant, DHW
IN ORDER TO USE the relatively low-temperature water available from ground-source heat pump systems, the designer must consider all the parameters required...
We need accurate data on water heaters
THIS INDUSTRY NEEDS a standard by which all water heaters are judged. My frustration began more than a decade ago when manufacturers turned down the storage...
CO detection protects your customers
NOW THAT SUMMER is over and a slight chill is in the air, estimates for new heating systems are once again on the front burner. During the course of each...
Must you wait when a sub can't perform?
EVERY ONCE IN a while you may find yourself in a subcontract with someone who shows signs of not being able to perform. Sometimes it's very clear-cut...
'Don't expect me to listen to your rage'
IN THE PAST MONTH, I've heard a well-known political commentator and a highly regarded economist tell two different groups in the plumbing industry how...
Do estimating and more with handhelds
HERE ARE THREE uncomplicated new software solutions that, like Dr. Seuss's Horton the Elephant, pretty much say what they do and do what they say: MyInvoices...
The case of the misplaced blame
by Patrick Linhardt Hydronic Heating Wholesaler THE PHONE CALL: It was strange for summer. A service manager was concerned about repeated automatic water...
How to really create a charitable endowment
WHEN I ASK my clients, "What is your charitable intent?" most of them respond with something like, "Nothing significant." But when asking the same clients,...
Ground-source heat pumps
IN THIS MONTH'S column we will begin looking at ground source heat pumps as a means of providing efficient heating and cooling to buildings of all shapes...
How to properly document accident reports
IT'S AN OLD but true clich in our profession that if you work long enough in the trade, it's not a matter of if you'll get hurt but when you'll get hurt....
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