January 26, 2012 | Click the image below to view the invitation!
January 26, 2012 – Covington, GA | Nyloboard is headed to the prestigious NAHB International Builder’s Show in Orlando, FL, February 8th-11th. NyloDeck will be featured in Professional Builder’s Show Village, which features three distinct model homes. Visitors to the Show Village can see NyloDeck up close and in person on one of those homes, the Infill Duplex, which caters to the tastes of the urban and dense-suburban buyer.
“We are glad to have NyloDeck represented on the Infill Duplex model, this allows visitors to touch, test, and talk to our team. And also, most importantly see the NyloDeck ‘difference’ installed on all eight of the decks.” says Doug Morse, President & COO of Nyloboard.
NyloDeck is the only decking on the market made using 100% recycled carpet fibers and is the cutting edge of offering a new generation deck product and a superior alternative to Wood Plastic Composites (WPCs) and PVCs. Additionally, the company’s mission is to be the market champion in customer value and satisfaction.
January 23, 2012 | Last month I had the opportunity to accompany Edward Peterson and Michiel Graswinckel of Element Materials Technology, to Whittier, CA, home of ICC-ES. At first, I felt intimidated and was not quite sure why Edward asked me to join him? Nonetheless, I was curious as to why a person like Mark Johnson, President of ICC-ES, and his senior staff members would be interested in what I had to say.
With this opportunity in front of me, I set out to discover, who is ICC-ES? Do they really care about deck builders such as our NADRA members? Did they know NADRA existed and what we stood for? ICC-ES appears to most of us as this untouchable force behind a curtain, making calls without consideration of the women and men who have their boots on the ground. I was excited to peek behind the curtain and see what really goes on at this place of mystery.
I was shocked to hear that the ICC-ES shares many of the same concerns as we NADRA Members do when it comes to costs and feasibility of code implementation. ICC-ES also shares safety concerns and understands the importance of building sound structures. It was enlightening to hear them speak of cost implications which NADRA members face when new codes are implemented and enforced. People at the ICC-ES office realize; you can have the very best codes in the world but if they are not feasible, nobody will follow them. It was refreshing to hear their perspective, as we sometimes scratch our heads and wonder, “Who thought this code was a good idea?”
With the help of the Edward and Michiel from Element, we had a very productive meeting. Areas of discussion were:
• ICC-ES and Element working closely in the future to develop a streamlined and cost effective process for deck, rail, and accessory manufactures to acquire an ICC-ES-ESR number.
• ICC-ES working closely with NADRA on its educational endeavors such as:
- Kaplan training
- Deck Expo
- Certified Deck Builder Program
NADRA will keep you posted as these programs develop. These are exciting times for members of NADRA. The fine people at ICC-ES now understand that NADRA members are the voice for the Deck and Railing industry. ICC-ES is not something to be nervous about but rather our partner in building and growing the future.
Shawn Miller
January 23, 2012 |Railing Dynamics, Inc. (RDI) is pleased to announce an agreement with Parksite, Inc. to distribute their complete line of products in four of Parksite’s nine locations, including North Brunswick, NJ, Louisville, OH, Bolingbrook, IL, and Tampa, FL. RDI will supply the entire Endurance® family of products, Titan Pro® vinyl-clad metal railing systems, and the new pre-assembled Metal Works™ Excalibur railing system to Parksite. With Parksite’s reputation for distributing superior products and their exceptional service, RDI feels Parksite to be an ideal partner, especially with both companies sharing similar corporate cultures and a dedication to the building material dealer, their builders, contractors and consumers.
“RDI is extremely excited over the establishment of this agreement with Parksite.”, said Jay Penney, Director of Sales for Railing Dynamics, Inc. “Parksite’s business model, forward thinking, and overall commitment to its customers and employees is so similar to our own approach to business, that this alliance is a perfect fit for us. We are confident that our products will be very well represented in the markets they are serving and we look forward to growing our businesses together.”
Parksite is energized by the prospects that the RDI lines hold as well. “We feel that the RDI brand and product line-up provides tremendous value to the dealer, contractor and end user. The combination of those forces and the fact Parksite and RDI align philosophically make this a very exciting opportunity for us”, commented Bob Higgins, Parksite’s Director of National Sales. “It is important to Parksite that we can offer the leading brand names in all areas of decking; and that includes railing, fasteners, and accessories. The RDI brand fully compliments that strategy,” Higgins continued.
The Perfect Crew Size by David Elenbaum
January 17, 2012 | Whatever the typical job size for a deck contractor is varies but all contractors deal with the same decision. How many guys should I send out? Running different size crews for different size jobs is usually in the cards but sometimes the workload doesn’t come in the right order. You might end up with four 16 x 20 quickie treated decks to build this week, projects that would not support a four-man crew that typically builds your porches and big composites. Four decks in a week these days is a blessing for many guys, but if it’s just you and a helper running your production, now you’re out three weeks or more. In either case depending on how much you sold those decks for, you may have a profit disaster on your hands or worse, a production disaster. I’ve always maintained that one of the best ways to sell a deck for your competition is to have too much or too little lead-time. Managing crew size and efficiency is essential to the health of your business. So what is the perfect crew size? I don’t know. What I do know is that removing yourself from the equation, the crew size that seems to work the best and be more efficient is an odd number.
January 10. 2012 | Simpson Strong-Tie is holding a workshop in Cherry Hill, NJ on Thursday, January 19th.
What: Simpson Strong-Tie 2012 Deck and Porch Workshop
Registration: 8:30am
Online: www.strongtie.com/workshops
By Phone: Call 800.999.5099 and ask for ext 4016
By Fax: Fax the info found HERE to 614.876.1631
Workshop: 9:00am – 3:30pm Lunch Provided
About: (For a full description and registration form, click HERE.) The free workshop is designed for Architects, Engineers, Specifiers, Distributors, Sealers, Building Inspectors, Home Inspectors, Contractors & deck Builders. Meet with fellow NADRA members on Jan 19th in Cherry Hill for a chance to network with other industry professionals.
Links:
Registration Form
Itinerary
January 9, 2012 | In late 2011, Duradek, the original Walkable Roofing Membrane introduced two new colors in its Ultra Cork line of 60 mil Vinyl that caught on faster than any other color in the company’s 37 year history.
Joining the initial, organic-looking Ultra Cork Natural that launched this popular pattern, the Ultra Cork Macchiato and Ultra Cork Espresso offer deeper, richer color options to the earthy texture of the Ultra Cork line.
With the market demonstrating a desire for naturally inspired colors and textures, Duradek also introduced its newest product line with Ultra Forest Floor. The flagship color for this line is Birch’ which offers a distinctive blend of subtle earthy, neutral tones with a gentle fossilized leaf pattern throughout, reminiscent of an actual forest floor.
This unique product is an innovative example of Duradek’s leadership in outdoor flooring.
Exclusively installed by specially trained professionals, Duradek has been the leader in waterproof roofing membranes for over 35 years and provides low maintenance, stylish solutions for outdoor living space.
Duradek Canada 1-866-591-5594
www.duradek.com
December 19, 2011 – Wilmington, OH | ProBuild, the nation’s largest supplier of building materials, has named TimberTech as a preferred national provider of decking and railing materials. This arrangement strengthens an already long-standing relationship between these two companies and ensures that TimberTech products would be available to all of ProBuild’s distribution centers in 45 states.
“Our partnership with ProBuild has enabled us to reach industry professionals for a number of years. This enhances the commitment from both parties and will continue to drive TimberTech’s market share gains,” states Craig Hyatt, national sales manager for TimberTech.
TimberTech offers the widest selection of outdoor living solutions with an extensive array of decking, railing, fencing, low-voltage lighting and under deck storage products. ProBuild has been serving the needs of national builders, local contractors and do-it-yourselfers and has quickly grown by offering the advantages of national reach with the reassurance of local expertise.
“While innovation has been vital to TimberTech’s success as a leader in the decking and railing categories, it is our partnerships with strong distributors that have made TimberTech a leader in the categories we serve, through increased reach of TimberTech products and brand awareness of the TimberTech name,” explained Stu Kemper, CEO of TimberTech.
and a Thank You from an out-going president…
December 11, 2011 – Atlanta, GA | I sincerely hope all of you enjoyed our event at Maggianos on 12/8/11 as much as I did. We had a total of 85 industry pros in attendance! I thought the food and atmosphere were great and the guest and company that shared the room even better.
Thanks so much to Great Southern Wood Preserving, Timbertech, and Fortress Railing, for their generosity in sponsoring this event. They all stepped up to the plate in a big way for this one to make it possible to celebrate our year -end event as we did. Thanks to Maggianos for providing us Five Star service as well.
I hope all involved realize how fortunate we were to have Mr. Jimmy Rane, the founder and CEO of Great Southern Wood Preserving take the time to attend our event and serve as our keynote speaker.
The story of his and Great Southern’s history are not only extremely interesting but also very inspiring. Success stories of this magnitude are rare and to be in the presence of someone who has started from scratch and taken a business and industry to such a level was a true privilege. His manner of speaking and the humbleness he demonstrates is impressive, admirable, and refreshing. I hope Mr. Rane knows just how much we appreciate him spending the evening with us.
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