The mitigation is done, but our restoration job continues. It is interesting to see this process through, as my dear friend ICS columnist Steve Toburen says, "the customer's eyeglasses.”

This is no major flood or restoration job by any stretch of the imagination but even I was surprised at just how much remediation is involved from the seemingly benign water leak under my kitchen sink. 

Construction and maintenance pros, do you have what it takes to takes to excel today? I'm not talking about aggressive cost cutting or crazy-efficient management techniques. Chances are you are already doing those things.

Al Levi could have packed it in, gone to Arizona, and led the good life. After all, he sold his contracting company back when the economy was still vibrant.

Last week I spent a couple days at the Coverings Show in Las Vegas. Usually, I’m very focused at trade shows on meeting readers or advertisers and talking about their specific interests.

The last two years remind me of running in the San Diego Marathon. It was a brutally hot event. At the starting line, race organizers distributed salt packets and issued dire warnings to slow our pace – or face the consequences.

The International Builders Show (IBS) always delivers panache. Building product manufacturers use the industry’s biggest stage to unveil their latest and greatest designs, often with the excessive exuberance needed to stand out among the sea of products on display.

Canvassing the International Builders Show (IBS) usually is like drinking water from a fire hose. Fortunately, this year’s version was easier to ingest.

At first, I did not notice the all-access design of the NextGen Experience house. But then I spotted Waldemar Alameda, a 39-year-old father of two. He was using a walker to navigate the crowded house.

Blame it on the recession. Concerns over water quality seem to drop from the public’s radar for much of 2009 and 2010.