The restoration of an antique Laver Kirman carpet from the collection of Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Calif., by Restoration by Costikyan required a deft touch, deep knowledge and almost 8 months to complete.
More than four years in the making, the new IICRC S520 mold standard is now on the street. Before I get into the improvements, enhancements and other official stuff about the standard, I want to share some personal thoughts and give you a bit of the “inside scoop”
Restoration companies continue to expand and enhance their contents processing division. The goals of a successful, profitable division are to expand their capabilities to be able to restore more items in-house, increase productivity, and increase volume processing while minimizing liabilities and increasing profitability.
I continue to be amazed at the wide variety of estimators working in the industry today. Even more amazing is the range of opinions people have as to what they want an estimator to do and/or be capable of doing.
In “Will Your Contracts Be Used Against You? Gosh, I Hope Not!” in the fall 2008 issue of R&R, I explained that many restorers continue to use inadequate contracts.
Roseland Property Co., a residential and commercial developer headquartered in Short Hills, NJ, purchased the Vail Mansion in Morristown about four years ago. Working closely with local and state public officials, Roseland intended to restore the mansion.
Our national economy is in distress; the real estate market has radically changed; major banks have become insolvent; cash and lending is not readily available and it appears as though we are about to enter a prolonged recession. This scenario sounds rather bleak, so what is the best way for a restoration contractor to respond?
Have you noticed that your business is a little slow? Are you wondering what you can do about it? Did you read about the multi-count indictment of a contractor by the state of Colorado? How is this earthquake in our economy going to affect the industry?
The Chinese proverb in the
title of this article expresses the reality that we currently may be
experiencing in the restoration industry. We feel our industry is immune to
business cycles and the economy in general, yet we are finding that today’s
economic troubles are having a real impact.
When a business is started,
it is assumed by the owner-operator that it will be successful in that, as an
owner, they will make more money than they have previously earned as an
employee. Most entrepreneurs haven’t thought about whether or not they want to
run a business for profit or run a business that is not for profit.
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