August Home Mortgage rates

Finally rates are back down to where they were pre summer when rates were 4.91%. Rates should help bring buyers back into the market to absorb some of the growing inventory.  Clearly the market for real estate has a long way to go despite some of the overly optimistic expectations by over paid economists.

Having lived through the real estate recession in the early 1990’s it took until 1995 before we actually felt some stabilization in the market.  It took another 3 years before many people stopped feeling sorry for real estate professionals for being in such a sluggish industry.

This round will require easier financing before we start to see a recovery.  Did someone just ask my opinion? Well I thought so. Having lived in the trenches of real estate for the past 22 years I’ve learned to hear the pounding hooves of buyers by putting my ear to the ground. Right now the pounding is very faint. Most residential markets around the country are hurting and will soon be joined by the stampede of commercial foreclosures that are starting to hit the market.

There is still quite a bit of life out there . Even though Lowes and Home Depot reported reduced second quarter profits they still are producing billions of dollars in revenue.

Having seen this movie once before I look forward to the amazing opportunities during the next few years. Certainly reduced August home mortgage rates are a step in the right direction and should provide some needed stimulation.

Home Depot and Lowes Second Quarter Profits

Results for second quarter profits at Home Depot and Lowes were just released indicating that the market for property improvement is generally still weak. But what does that really mean to you? Lowes second quarter results were down 19% and are down 9.5% from this time last year. Home Depot was down 7% in the second quarter.

I guess if your are a stock investor that is good news. You can by stock fairly cheap. Look at the charts here. Don’t we all want to buy things cheap. Well then, buy now. The positive news is that Home Depot and Lowes still are doing billions of dollars of business. To me that means that the market for improving property is here to stay. The only problem is that there are 30% less buyers than there were a few years ago. They will be back.

If history repeats itself and you were around in the early 1990’s you would recall a lack of activity and depressed prices. However starting around 1993 new real estate businesses were formed, investment funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts were being created in record numbers, new home builders, building product manufacturers started to slowly expand. Contractors and real estate brokers started building their businesses. The next 15 years created unprecedented wealth.

Home Depot 3 year stock chart

What I think is interesting is despite weak Second Quarter profits at Lowes and Home Depot we’re not seeing their stocks tank. There is still demand. Properties wear out and constantly need maintenance. Rising forclosures mean prices well below real value. Discounted sales and a rise in sales means new improvements need to be made.

I speak to many contractors around the country and see a continual pattern. Those contractors who are specialized, work in a defined local geographic area and have made the effort to learn how to run their business like a real business are doing great.  Those who don’t have a plan, just grab business wherever they can for short term profits  are just chasing projects and not building their local network and struggling or going out of business.

Lowes 3 year stock chart

Conversations with real estate and mortgage brokers seem to indicate the same results. I think the important thing to consider when you read about Home Depot and Lowes Second Quarter results is what it means to you. Let us know what you are seeing in your market.

Burlington Vermont Chimney Flue and Chimney Liners

The last thing you want on those cold Vermont nights is whether or not the fireplace is possibly unsafe. If you’re like me you assume that once it’s built it’s there to stay in perfect condition.

What most of us don’t know about our fiery friend is that when a chimney flue and liner is first installed that is the best condition it will be. Eventually hidden dangers may develop that compromise the safety and efficiency of your chimney.  Gasses can accumulate between the flue tile spaces, an ideal environment for soot, corrosive chemicals and carbon monoxide.

Degeneration of your chimney flue tiles (spalling) due to settling, previous fires or even possibly lightning strikes will cause pieces to flake off.

To work properly chimneys must be gas tight, free of gaps and cracks. Brickliners Heatshield  repair and resurfacing system includes a specially formulated chimney liner that restores the integrity of your flue venting hazardous gasses from your home. And to ensure peace of mind each includes a 20 years warranty.

Burlington Vermont based Brickliner owner, Jake Loeffler, is the one to call at  802-872-0123 . Jake will provide you with a comprehensive Chimney Flue and liner needs analysis.

(Visit www.gfonecoatings.com for more on this topic)

The 2,000 square foot concrete floor needed a unique surface.  This particular floor was directly adjacent to the companies board room and seperated by a glass wall. When the company executives bring their customers in for a demonstration they  watch the manufacturing and presentation through the glass so the floor needed to be decorative. The industrial flooring needed to be high impact and dust free for the delicate and technical assembly of the cameras. It also needed to be safe and non skid. Finally it needed to be completed in a narrow time frame.

Again as you may have read in other articles here the One Day Floors Polyaspartic floor coating came ready to perform and perform it did. High impact, check – dust free, check – decorative, check – quick  (1.5 days) check. I almost forgot to mention that a major amount of carpet glue had to be removed first. The GF1 designed monster of a grinder removed the nasty glue as easily as wiping off your kitchen counter. Not to mention that it grinded off the top layer of concrete getting that “Pure Bred” Polyaspartic ready to do it’s thing.

As you can see in the photos Garage Floors 1 did it again transforming another Minnesota industrial flooring nightmare into a beauty that is guaranteed to last for years. Looking for the Rolls Royce of industrial flooring? Give Joe a call at    651-748-5999   .  Whether it’s 500 square feet or 500,000 square feet GF1 and the One Day Floors network will provide you with what you really want. A floor that performs!

Kitchen Flooring Houma Louisiana

Here’s a unique cost saving application for thousands of properties nationwide. Mike Hollohan of Custom Stone Manufacturing provided new kitchen flooring in a Houma Louisiana residence.

The product was a self leveling concrete applied 3/8 inch thick right over existing ceramic tile. The product used was Param 5500 from Duraamen a product manufacturer and distributor owned by Victor Pachade.

After the self leveling concrete was applied and cured the floor was stained using Deco Dyes in Salmon and Burleywood. Finally the floor was sealed with Texture Seal and Waterbased Epoxies all products in the Duraamen line.

The kitchen flooring project in Houma Louisiana only took a few days. The finish result saved the owner thousands of dollars and countless hours searching for solutions to a potentially complicated project. 

All products used in the Kitchen Flooring project were supplied by Duraamon. For additional info contact Custom Stone Manufacturing in Houma La. www.customstoneconcrete.com

Victor Pachade can be reached at www.duraamen.com

Lake Ozark Pool Deck and Boat Dock Resurfacing

E’Dee Johnson of Designer Concrete Coatings submitted this story about her companies specialization, Lake Ozark Mo. Pool Deck and Boat Dock concrete resurfacing.

The concrete was in rough shape from years of wear and tear. The pool deck was approximately 1,100 square feet and was completed for about $5.00 psf.

Lake Ozark is a resort community. Many of the houses in the area are second homes and well maintained. There is strong demand for maintaining and resurfacing swimming pools and boat docks and a great niche business for Designer Concrete Coatings.

The process was to clean the surface, repair all the cracks in the pool deck and do an acid wash to open up the pores of the concrete. Then the first coat of the concrete overlay was applied to the pool deck concrete surface in a light color. The first coats color will show as the grout line color.

After the first coat cured a brick stencil was positioned on the surface. The second coat was mixed in the color of the brick and was sprayed on with a hopper gun. A hopper gun is hooked up to a compressor with an air feed. Concrete is poured into 1 gallon bucket with a gravity feed into the gun. Various tip sizes and air flow can be adjusted to regulate flow of concrete.

After the brick coat has dried the stecil pattern is removed. The grout lines visible are the first coat. After concrete fully cures sealers are applied.

Decorative Concrete Coatings based in Lake Ozark specializes in Pool Deck and Boat Dock resurfacing as well as resurfacing concrete , patios, walkways, walls in both residential and commercial properties. Decorative Concrete Coatings specializes in Stardek Products a leading manufacturer of Decorative Concrete Products since 1972.

New York City Concrete Design

When I was at the recent World of Concrete show I met Jane Reamer of Iron Age Designs a designer and builder of custom Iron grates. My first thought was what an excellent New York City concrete design idea. The iron grates have an old historical high function appearance.

As you can see in the photos they are ideal for adding a decorative functional solution to concrete.  Notice the photo with the fish inlaid into the concrete. That one is from a walkway in Boston Massachusetts.  In New York City a concrete design idea is for decorative grates around trees that line the avenues like Park, Fifth or Lexington.

Iron Age Grates has found a unique niche in the big concrete market. Like with many products mentioned in Metrocrete concrete is not a stand alone product. There is always something that works with concrete that makes concrete better. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Is it the grates that make concrete look so good or is it the concrete that makes the grates look good. (I’d rather use the word great rather than good but too much?)

Anyway I liked the grates and thought that since I’ve spent so much time in New York City that they are a notable Concrete Design idea in any classic urban area.

For more information contact Jane at 206-276-0925 or visit their site at Iron Age Grates . Just click the link.

Real Estate Rehab and Restoration

At the recent World of Concrete Show in Vegas this company caught my attention. Something Better Company based in Arizona has an interesting line of concrete resurfacing products that will add value to real estate. If you are in the real estate rehab and restoration market you should contact them.

They have various products for resurfacing concrete floors, creating rock formations, water features and countertops. What Really caught my eye was their system for resurfacing cabinets called Cabinet Crete.

I think of all the apartment buildings I’ve rehabbed and all the cabinets I’ve replaced. With this product I would have saved countless thousands. Their methods are a huge solution to economically remodeling all the foreclosed properties that are coming on the market.

Check out their video here from the 2009 World of Concrete. If you are an investor specializing in real estate rehab and restoration this might be your solution.

Polyaspartic Floor Coatings

Visit www.gfonecoatings.com for more information about GF One Coatings of Minnesota.

During the past six months I spent a lot of time learning about Polyaspartic floor coatings from Joe Sheehan. Joe is based in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.

Polyaspartic Floor Coatings are a two component product that when mixed and applied to concrete floors creates the highest quality finish on concrete today. A lot of epoxy professionals will get steaming hot mad at me for saying this but polyasrtic floor coatings blow the doors off epoxies.

However not all polyaspaics are the same. Joe is a partner in One Day Floors who has worked with the master blender to develop the highest quality polyaspartic on the market. It’s not just the polyaspatic that works but the unique combination of concrete surface preparation and application of the poly.

Joe along with Steve Conklin a distributor of One Day Floors Polyaspartic Floor Coatings in Colorado and owner of Garage Dekor have developed a state of the art surface prep system. They took the best of numerous floor grinding machines and diamond blades to come up with their own proprietary surface prep system. The system is fast and effective. It enables One Day Floor applicators to provide a unique product for their clients.

The reason surface prep is critical is that Polyaspartic Floor Coatings will absorb into the concrete when proper grinding opens up the pores. This enables the poly to harden as part of the concrete rather than sticking to the surface. It will not delaminate like epoxies. It also doesn’t collect dirt and yellow like epoxy coatings.

The photos above are of a 10,000 square foot floor that was completed in 3 days. The owner an auto collector was able to drive on the floor the fourth day. Depending on the size of the floor and challenge with surface prep floors can be completed in one day and driven on the next even with fork lifts.

Polyaspartic Floor Coatings are the ultimate industrial application but are highly decorative and ideal for retail stores and restaurants.

One Day Floors Polyaspartic Floor Systems are available nationwide for any size floors from 500 square foot garages to 500,000 square foot aircraft hangars and everything in between.

Joe Sheehan can be reached at 651-748-3626

Joe Sheehan

Flooring Insurance

I ran into this company in Vegas at the World of Concrete. Ram Board. It seems that this product is always needed when it’s needed. No one seems to think about ordering a product like this ahead of time.

It doesn’t matter what kind of flooring is put down in a construction project there will always be contractors doing finish work after a floor is put in. Lighting, painting, signs whatever. Contractors want to do their job and if you don’t protect yours too bad.

If a floor is not protected it will get damaged. It’s going to cost someone and I’ve never seen the client eat a contractors mistake.

Whether you’re the client, general Contractor or sub bookmark this company. Ramboard