Message from Doug

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 2017 has been a good year for the Metro Atlanta construction market. Home sales are brisk, commercial construction is solid, and the construction tower crane is once again the unofficial state bird of Georgia.

Since you and I ply our trade in the construction industry, we are – to a large extent – dependent on the ups and downs of Metro Atlanta’s construction economy.

While a healthy economy presents us with presents us with challenges in manpower, scheduling and cost control, it is still a lot better than the challenges we face during a slow economy. Let’s all be grateful for the challenges we’ve had this year.

When there is a lot of work to be done, worker productivity is crucial. For trade contractors, the biggest area for improvement is on the labor side. Once the material costs are established, they rarely fluctuate enough to have an impact. The labor component is what determines if you make money or lose money on the job.

At Herbert Construction Co. we think a lot about having systems in place that improve labor productivity. How can we remove obstacles for our field crews? How can we reduce lost time due to waiting on supplies or not having the right tools? Where can we eliminate re-work due to changes or incorrect information?

All of these areas represent opportunities for improvement and profit – if we work on them. This is especially important as labor becomes more difficult to find.

Here are some ways we set our crews up for success, and how it helps our customers:

Foundation Checklist – We fill out a 39-point checklist before starting the job. This ensures that we have the correct information for the project.

CAD Plan – Every project we do is first drawn with our own in-house CAD system. This allows us to find dimensional discrepancies before we get to the jobsite. It also puts all the information in a clear, simple plan that our crews use.

Jobsite Meeting – During the footing layout, we meet with our customer to establish wall heights, determine water & sewer sleeve locations, and to gather any last-minute information. This is the one and only time our customer has to meet us on the site.

Robotic Layout – Each footing and wall is laid out with our Robotic Total Station layout instrument. This is a much faster and more accurate method than the ancient method of layout with tape measures and string line. The robotic layout ensures our foundations are straight, square and correct.

Stocked Crew Trucks – Each evening, job-specific tools and supplies for the next days’ projects are loaded onto each truck by our shop crew. With everything already on their truck, our crews leave earlier in the morning, which reduces their wait time in traffic and gets them onto the jobsite earlier. We are more likely to finish the job that day, which keeps our customer on schedule.

In what areas of your company can you create systems that reduce wait times, minimize mistakes, and increase productivity?

To Your Success,

Recent Referrals - Thank you!

It has been a great year for us at Herbert Construction Company. As we prepare to say goodbye to 2017 and hello to a brand new year, we just want to make sure that we thank each and every one of you for your continued support in referring our company to others. It makes a big difference and we truly appreciate it. We hope that all of you have a blessed holiday season.  Thank You!

Jeff Raw, Black Dawg Construction – Homebuilder  www.BDCAtlanta.com

Eric Koehler, Southland Development Services – Homebuilder www.SouthlandDevelopmentServices.com

Liz Davies, ESD Homes – Homebuilder  www.ESDHomes.com

New Technology Comes to Herbert Construction!

This year we purchased an incredible assembly line that will speed up the cutting of our rebar reinforcing.

Our new high-tech sheer line uses a belt to feed the rebar into a powerful cutter. After cutting the steel rebar to the correct length, another belt will move the rebar away from the cutter and then tip it into a rack. Once the right number of pieces are in the rack, they can be taken away with a forklift and readied for delivery to our jobsite.

This year we used 100s of tons of very large diameter rebar on detention pond projects and on a 28’-0” tall house foundation. The rebar sizes ranged from #8 (1” dia.) to #11 (1 3/8” dia.).

Those sizes of rebar are difficult and time-consuming to cut. This new sheer line will allow us to cut all of our rebar much faster and reduce manpower.
Other concrete contractors have to hire a rebar fabrication company to cut, bend and deliver rebar to their jobsites. We get our rebar directly from steel mills. It is delivered to our office where we cut and bend the rebar before bringing it to the jobsite. We also create our own shop drawings for the rebar placement.

By cutting out the rebar fabrication company, we reduce costs to our customers. It also allows us to start projects sooner because there isn’t the typical lead time required by the rebar company.

This new investment means we can start your job sooner, and get it done quicker than ever before.

OBIE Awards

Congratulations to one of our clients who was a recent winner of several OBIE awards presented by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and the Atlanta SMC. 

Vincent Longo Custom Builders/ Longo Homes Inc. 

Single Family Builder – Detached (Gold Winner) $700,000 to $799,000, Country Club of Roswell

Single Family Builder – Detached (Gold Winner) $800,000 to $899,000, Smyrna/Vinings

Best Building Design – Detached Model (Gold Winner) $800,000 and above, Smyrna/Vinings

Longo Design Associates

 -  Marketing (Gold Winner) $800,000 and above

Turkey Giveaway

Every November for the last 6 years Herbert Construction has sponsored a Turkey Giveaway. This year we personally hand delivered 3 holiday turkeys to the first three people who called Doug after our November newsletter was distributed. This has become one of our favorite traditions because each year it allows us to show our appreciation to our readers. Thank you all very much and best wishes in the New Year!

Ashley Hollifield gives a turkey to Bob Poole of David Weekley Homes.

Herb Sierra of Must Ministries receives his holiday turkey.

Venture Homes’ James Tillman reserved a turkey for Must Ministries.

Stories of Christmas Past

The Mail Train’s Gift: A Life-Changing Message

My mother told me this story from World War I many years ago. Christmas 1917 was coming, but because her brother Archie Clikeman was missing in action and presumed dead, the family was not going to celebrate.

The townspeople of Parker, South Dakota, always joked that the small-town postmaster read all the postcards whenever the mail train came into town. On that Christmas Eve, he lived up to his reputation.

The family was always grateful that the postmaster, instead of waiting for the rural mail to go out the day after Christmas, called my grandmother and told her that Archie was being held as a prisoner of war. Archie even wrote on the postcard that he was well.

Of course, my mother said, that turned out to be the best Christmas ever. Archie came home after the war and lived to a ripe old age.
—Kay Johnson, Parker, South Dakota

Fate Threw a Tree at Us

During the hustle and bustle of Christmastime 1958, we told our children, ages 3 and 4, about the beautiful Christmas tree we would have in a few days. On Christmas Eve, at the bakery we had recently purchased, we counted the receipts, cleaned the shop and headed for home with our two sleepy children.

Suddenly, we remembered we had not gotten a tree. We looked for a vendor who might have a tree left, to no avail.

About a mile from home, we stopped for a red light. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, and something hit the front of our truck. My husband went out to investigate.

The next thing I knew, my husband was throwing a good-sized evergreen into the back of the truck. He went into the mom-and-pop store at the corner where we were and asked the proprietor how much he wanted for the tree. He said he wasn’t selling Christmas trees that year.

We never did find out how the tree got in the middle of the road, but somehow we feel we know. Incidentally, it was the most beautiful tree we have ever had.
—Gertrude Albert, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Our Pennies Made All the Difference

Many years ago, when I was making 75 cents an hour, my three children asked for bicycles for Christmas, but I couldn’t afford them.

So that January, I put three bikes on layaway. I paid all through the year, but a week before Christmas, I still owed $14.50. The Saturday before Christmas, my son Ricky asked how much I needed. When I told him, he asked if he could pour the pennies out of the penny jug we kept.

I said, “Son, I don’t care, but I know there’s not $14.50 worth of pennies in there.”

Ricky poured them out, counted them, and said, “Mom, there’s $15.50 worth of pennies.” Ecstatic, I told him to count out $1 for gas so I could go get the bikes.

I’ve always thought of this as our little miracle. It was as blessed a Christmas as anyone could ever have.
—Dot Williams, Canton, Georgia

Message from Doug...

Market Report

Some interesting information came out recently about the national housing market, as well as the Atlanta market.

Metrostudy recently released its National Residential Economic Report for the third quarter of 2017. Here are some highlights regarding the national outlook:

¨ Housing starts will continue to slowly climb, likely peaking in 2020.

¨ The market is significantly undersupplied, and will become moreso through 2020.

¨ In most markets, the window for land purchases and land development will remain open through 2019.

¨ A surge in the remodeling/renovation market will continue in the near term, partly due to the lack of new home supply.

¨ The market is headed toward over valuation and some markets are already over valued. Still, national values are nowhere near the levels of over valuation seen in 2005/2006.

The Professional Builder Design Innovation Survey revealed homebuyer preferences. Here are a few.

The most important things homebuyers want in kitchen spaces are:

1. Kitchen island

2. Walk-in pantry

3. Breakfast bar

4. Breakfast nook

The most important things homebuyers want in bathroom spaces are:

1. Dual vanities in master bath

2. Additional storage areas

3. Secondary bath or shower only

4. Walk-in, roll-in, or door-less shower

The most important things homebuyers want in living spaces are:

1. Walk-in closet from master bedroom

2. Great room (kitchen/living/dining spaces)

3. Energy-efficient features

4. High ceilings/first floor (9’-0” or higher)

The Atlanta Realtors recently published their Real Estate Market Report. Here are some findings as of September 2017 –

¨ 14,980 Active Listings

¨ 4,517 Unit Sales

¨ $301,000 Average Price

¨ 4,450 New Listings

¨ 3.1 Month’s Supply

¨ $243,000 Median Price

The Holidays Are Here

The Holiday season is upon us. Where did this year go!?!

While driving home on November 6th I saw a home fully lit with Christmas lights. I think that’s a little too early for Christmas lights, but to each his own.

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, there are many things to be thankful for. It has been a busy year for our company, which has been wonderful. I want to take this opportunity to thank YOU – our clients, friends, associates, and everyone that has referred our company to others this year. All of us at Herbert Construction Co. are thankful for all of you.

Throughout the upcoming weeks, I hope you are able to spend time with your family and friends and truly enjoy this holiday season.

To Your Success,

In late September I accomplished a long-time goal of completing an Ironman 70.3 triathlon. After five months of training, I finished the 1.2 mile
swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run – and even beat my goal time by
10 minutes. It was a great experience!

Recent Referrals - Thank you!

It is amazing how quickly the months have flown by!  It doesn’t seem like it has been a whole year since we last celebrated Thanksgiving, but here we are. At this time of year people reflect on the many things that they are thankful for. We are very thankful all year round for the many people who refer our company to friends and colleagues. It is always greatly appreciated!  THANK YOU!!

Rhett Bonner, Bonner Buchanan Custom Homes – Homebuilder

www.BonnerBuchanan.com

Michael Claggett, Firelight Homes – Homebuilder  www.FirelightHomes.com

Rhett Palmer, Palmer Construction Consultants – Engineer  www.PalmerCCI.com

Technical Bulletin #21: How to Prevent a Steep Driveway

A steep driveway like this home in Cobb County could
have been avoided by utilizing one of four options.

Steep driveways leading up to a garage are like a bad gift given to the homeowner from their homebuilder.

The effects are irreversible and pose a constant problem for those that live with them. Children can’t play on them, yard sales are out of the question, and grandparents have a hard time getting out of their vehicles when they visit because their door keeps closing on them.

It doesn’t have to be this way! With a little foresight and planning by the homebuilder, the steepness of the driveway can be minimized.

Lowering the overall elevation of the lot is the best option. If that isn’t possible, here are four additional options that can prevent a steep driveway.

1. Lower the garage floor elevation

For houses with a basement foundation, instead of placing the garage floor near the top of the basement wall, lower the garage floor. This will reduce the slope of the driveway while keeping the First Floor elevation where it needs to be.

When you drop the garage slab you will have to add additional steps to get from the slab up to the First Floor. Many garages built in Atlanta aren’t big enough to accommodate the additional steps. So, the garage has to be made larger to allow room for the stairway and the cars.

For every 7” you drop the garage floor, you need to allow for 11” of stairway tread. To prevent a long stairway extending into the car area, you can create a 4’-0” x 4’-0” landing at the entry door, then have the stairs run parallel to the parked cars.

If you are going to choose this option, make sure you have enough room for the treads and risers in your garage.

2. Set the house farther back from the road

When you set the garage farther from the road, you decrease the angle of the driveway. This may not be possible if your lot is small or your house is already positioned close to the rear building line.

Production houses in metro subdivisions usually have enough room to move the house back, which reduces the angle. Some of the custom homes on infill lots inside the perimeter are very close to – if not touching – two or more of the building setbacks and this isn’t a viable option for you.

When the house is in a subdivision, then the other houses may have already created a typical setback distance from the road. However, if you can move the house just 5’-0” farther back, it will help minimize the slope of the driveway.

Another option similar to this is to keep the front of the house in the same place, but modify the house plans to slide the garage back farther from the road.

3. Lower the house and basement elevation

In most of the houses built in Atlanta with a basement foundation, the walkout level of the basement is what establishes the elevation of the entire house. Builders, land planners and surveyors start by locating where the walkout level will be, and then add to that the height of the basement walls, plus the height of the First Floor flooring system and arrive at the elevation of the house.

An often-overlooked option is to lower the basement floor elevation farther into the ground, which lowers the whole house. This means the basement level is set into the ground and it is no longer a walkout onto the grade.

The basement can be lowered as much as 3’-0” into the ground and still allow for legal egress windows to be used without window wells. In the Midwest this is called a “Daylight” basement. If the plans call for an exterior door in the basement, then a short area well can be added to the outside of the basement to allow the homeowners to walk up and onto their yard.

One thing to note with this option: If the lot topo doesn’t allow for positive drainage of the foundation drain tile to an open area, then a sump pump may be needed to pump any drain tile water up and away from the foundation.

4. Shorten the height of the basement walls

If the original house plans call for 9’-0” or taller basement walls, then those walls could be reduced to 8’-0” tall, which would lower the First Floor elevation.

Basement walls used to be 7’-4” tall (because that is the height of 11 8” cmu blocks). Then, as cast-in-place concrete walls became more popular, 8’-0” tall walls were common because wall form manufacturers made 8’-0” tall forms. Later, 9’-0” tall walls became the standard because they made the basement feel less like a root cellar and more like a comfortable living level.

Recently, we’ve been constructing more 10’-0” and 12’-0” tall basement walls for our luxury custom home builders. 8’-0” tall basement walls are still seen in some production homes across Atlanta.

Even though an 8’-0” tall basement is less desirable, it is an option that will allow you to lower the First Floor and garage elevations.

Planning is key

Before you start grading the lot, determine if the slope of the driveway will be an issue. If so, see if you can implement one of these ideas to minimize that slope and give your homeowners a driveway they can enjoy.

Message from Doug ...

A New Strategy for the Labor Shortage

Finding laborers for our company has been an increasingly difficult situation. With Georgia’s unemployment rate the lowest it’s been in nearly a decade, it’s not hard to see why.

In June, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.8%. The last time unemployment was 4.8 percent in Georgia was September 2007.

I’ve previously mentioned in this column that when we need five laborers for our jobsites, we will have to hire 17 people. Then, over the course of a few weeks, that group of 17 will be whittled down to five.

Many of these new hires will simply stop showing up for work. I will fire some for tardiness, unexcused absences and for being unproductive on the jobsites. We will end up with about five people that manage to stick it out.

The cost of the 12 people that only last for a few weeks is staggering. Some of these costs are the hiring, orientation, training, and administrative costs. Since the new laborer doesn’t know how to do the work effectively for the first few weeks, there is almost no return on the money we pay them for their time on the jobsites. These are massive costs that we have to cover.

Over the past six months the hiring situation has gotten even worse. It has become very difficult just to get people to apply at our company. Where we once would hire 12 laborers at one time, it has been tough to assemble a group of five to show up for their first day of (paid) orientation.

We have been wrestling with this problem. We’ve increased the number of ways that people see our help wanted ads. We’ve tried many things. Finally, after much discussion, we recently increased our starting pay for unskilled laborers by 40%.

This is a huge jump in our starting pay. And, the increase has had a ripple effect on some of our employees that have been with us for a year or two. Some of their pay had to be increased to stay in proportion with the starting wage.

Our strategy is that—while it will have a significant short-term negative effect on our profitability—the increased wage will attract more (and better) employees to our company. We also believe it will allow us to retain the best of the new laborers.

We hope that this improvement in our laborers will allow us to be more productive on each jobsite, add new clients, and complete more projects in any given week with our current amount of trucks, forms and equipment.

If all of this happens, then it will eventually have a positive impact on our profitability.

Of course, this strategy is currently just our hypothesis. If the increased pay does not produce the results we expect, then we’ll have a bigger set of problems.

However, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.

We needed to do something significantly different in order to change our situation. Let’s hope this will do it.

To Your Success,

 

In July, we attended the Concrete Foundations Association Convention in Nashville, where we learned tactics to improve our business.  I was also one of the speakers at the event. I gave a presentation about how to hire a salesperson and the importance of follow up.  At the event, both of the projects we submitted to the Project of the Year competition won an Honorable Mention. See more about that in this post.

Recent Referrals -- Thank you!

Although summer will last far into September, the lazy days by the pool, vacations and playing video games all day has come to a close for the kiddos. It’s time again for backpacks, homework and early bedtimes. Sad to see it go so quickly but there are still some fun summer days to be had before it gets cold. As usual we would like to take a moment to thank those of you that continue to refer our company to others. Your confidence in our services is always something to smile about. THANK YOU!

Mitch Morris, Morris Drywall Inc. – Drywall Contractor  770-974-9910

Scott Auer, FrontDoor Communities – Homebuilder  www.FrontDoorCommunities.com

Richard Greene, Richard W. Greene Inc. – Homebuilder  678-414-7507

Herbert Construction Welcomes More New Clients

By: Ashley Hollifield

Bradley Hall

Hall Design Build

Bradley Hall

Bradley Hall of Hall Design Build has had a love of building for as long as he can remember. Starting in middle school, and later in high school, he worked on construction sites during the summers and on weekends.

After graduating from The Citadel with a degree in Business Administration, he immediately began his professional career as a Project Manager for Elegant Properties in Atlanta. With this company, he gained experience while building in many Atlanta Metro neighborhoods. These included Hamilton Mill, Wild Timber, St. Ives, Govenor’s Towne Club and Brookmont.

Hall Design Build was established in 2008 and has primarily been building impressive custom homes, along with major renovations and large scale additions. The majority of these projects have been located in Buckhead, Sandy Springs, East Cobb and Smyrna. The projects that Hall Design Build completes are typically in the $million+ range.

Bradley Hall has had a good working relationship with our Sales Account Manager, Carey Bullard, for many years. After speaking to Carey he asked us to pour the foundation for a project he was working on in Cobb County.

This particular site required poured garage walls, a rear walk-out basement and a free-standing retaining wall behind the home. This is a pretty standard task for our company and we were able to get it done for him right on schedule with very little trouble.

When the work was complete we asked him, in normal Herbert fashion, what he thought about his basement. He replied, “I’m extremely satisfied with the work you guys did here. Your company is right on target with your sales estimate, execution, your follow-up and particularly the equipment you use to ensure accuracy every time. I will definitely be using you guys again for my foundations.”

This is exactly the type of response that we always shoot for! Thank you Brad for your confidence in our company. We hope to help you with more of your foundations very soon.

Dave Durham and Doug Tolleson

Chattahoochee Enterprises

Doug Tolleson

Chattahoochee Enterprises is the homebuilding company John Wieland established after he sold the assets of John Wieland Homes & Neighborhoods. John Wieland has been a homebuilder in the Southeast for over 45 years and has focused more recently on a “Boutique Collection of Unique Atlanta Neighborhoods.” This iconic brand has produced a legacy of innovation and quality and this tradition continues in Chattahoochee Enterprises.

Dave Durham is the president of Chattahoochee Enterprises and has been with John Wieland since 1991. Doug Tolleson is the Vice President of Special Projects and our point of contact while working on a recent home.

Chattahoochee Enterprises is in a specialty slot when it comes to homebuilding. They choose to focus on ideas that others have not thought of yet. They like to create unique concepts that are conducive to the needs of the surrounding area.

These homes are usually highly detailed, smaller in-town locations. The idea is luxury in-town living that is walkable, urban, and defined. Most of their projects are located inside the perimeter or near unique infill locations such as Roswell or Woodstock.

The types of customers they attract are those who want the lifestyle that they offer. People who like the lock and go type of lifestyle, who like to travel and not have to maintain their living spaces. Half of these people already live in Atlanta and just want to downsize. For many of them, their children are already grown, but they want to live in the same area they have always lived. Chattahoochee Enterprises offers a high quality home without the hassle of maintenance.

They had a house in the planning stages that would be located in Vinings. The house would have a large, complicated foundation. They were referred to our company by a long time mutual friend who told them of our ability to handle technical projects and difficult jobsite conditions. Doug Tolleson sent the plans over and we got to work.

In order to build this foundation we needed to construct exterior and interior columns that would raise the back of the house 8’ out of a flood plain and level with the basement floor. There were numerous wall heights, thicknesses and structural details that made this project more technical than most. Access to this jobsite was also a challenge, we poured 9 cubic yards of concrete just for an access drive.

This was a unique project and we definitely wanted to know what their thoughts were once the work was completed. Doug Tolleson, the project manager, told us that, “A big part of my decision to go with you guys was your ability to fabricate your own rebar in-house. This project was a heavy rebar project with highly technical structures and we really felt comfortable with your knowledge. We never had to wait on the material. It was impressive.” 

Dave Durham, the company president, added that, “From a professional standpoint, you guys were definitely above average. Your trucks are clean and organized, the jobsite was kept clean, the surrounding areas were protected and your crew was extremely knowledgeable and consistent. I’ve always thought that a good transaction is a boring one, and that’s exactly what it was.” 

We are glad you guys chose us for this project. We specialize in the technical ones and we were happy to help. We hope to help you with many more in the future.