In hospitality, a door is more than a way into a guestroom. It contributes to privacy, acoustics, durability, life-safety performance, and the overall impression a guest has of the property. That makes the choice between solid-core and hollow-core doors an important specification decision. What Is a Solid-Core Door? A solid-core wood door uses a dense engineered or mineral-based core beneath its face material. The added mass gives the assembly a substantial feel and can suppo

For decades, commercial roofing contractors have operated in a market dominated by a relatively small group of major manufacturers. These companies have built strong brands, extensive distribution networks, and proven roofing systems. But the roofing industry is changing. Contractors today are under pressure from nearly every direction. Labor remains challenging. Material costs affect already-tight margins. Building owners expect more options and greater value. And contractor

Every construction project is built around controlling risk. Schedules are planned. Materials are tracked. Subcontractors are coordinated. Safety procedures are established. Millions of dollars can depend on keeping a project moving according to plan. Yet every night, construction sites across America are left holding an enormous amount of valuable equipment, materials and tools, often behind little more than fencing, locks and cameras. The result is a theft problem measured

I've spent a lot of my career in business development, and the longer I do this, the more convinced I become of something pretty simple: People trust people, not sales techniques. There are countless books, seminars, podcasts, and training programs designed to teach us how to build rapport with clients. Ask this question. Mirror their body language. Use their name. Find common ground. Follow this process. And I'm sure some of those techniques have value. But there's also a po

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to work with some exceptional sales leaders. I've also worked for a few who taught me just as much, just in a different way. One experience reminded me that there's a significant difference between holding people accountable and helping people succeed. Every sales organization wants better results. That's not the challenge. The challenge is how leaders respond when those results aren't there. Public Accountability Isn't Always Leadersh

For years, triple-glazed glass was viewed as a premium product. It was specified primarily for high-performance homes, cold climates, and specialized buildings where energy efficiency justified the additional cost. Today, that conversation is changing. As building owners face rising energy costs, stricter building codes, increasing occupant expectations, and a growing emphasis on renovating aging buildings instead of replacing them, triple glazing is finding its way into proj

As our cities continue to grow, we've unintentionally created something known as the Urban Heat Island Effect. Every new parking lot, road, concrete sidewalk, steel structure, and glass building absorbs the sun's energy throughout the day. Instead of reflecting heat or cooling the surrounding environment, these materials store it and slowly release it back into the air long after the sun has gone down. The result is cities that can be 5–12°F (3–7°C) warmer than the surroundin

Construction has always been a global industry. The buildings we design and construct are local, but the materials that make them possible often come from around the world. Steel. Aluminum. Glass. Electrical equipment. Cement. Aggregates. Over decades, the industry has built supply chains that balance cost, quality, availability, and logistics. That's why the recent 50% tariffs on Canadian cement and aggregates are about much more than the price of concrete. They raise a much

Yesterday, I had a conversation with a developer working on a large mixed-use multifamily project on the West Coast. Like many projects today, it wasn't waiting on financing. It wasn't waiting on contractors. It wasn't waiting on materials. It was waiting on approvals. The project is still making its way through the entitlement process, and it reminded me of one of the biggest challenges facing housing today. Everyone agrees we need more housing. The difficult part is agreein

If you've been in construction long enough, you've probably noticed something strange about this market. Ask ten people how business is going, and you'll get ten completely different answers. One contractor says work has dried up. Another says they're booked solid for two years. One supplier is sharpening their pencil on every bid. Another can't produce product fast enough. One developer is putting projects on hold. Another is racing to break ground before demand outpaces sup

For years, discussions around solar and wind energy tended to follow predictable lines. One side talked about carbon emissions. The other talked about costs. The debate often centered on environmental priorities versus economic realities. What's interesting today is that those two conversations are increasingly becoming the same conversation. Because renewable energy is no longer being deployed simply because it's cleaner. It's being deployed because it makes economic sense.

When most people hear the words "data center," they think about technology. Servers. Artificial intelligence. Cloud computing. The digital infrastructure powering our increasingly connected world. What they don't think about is how data centers are quietly influencing projects that have absolutely nothing to do with technology. A school in Texas. A hospital in Tennessee. A manufacturing facility in Ohio. A municipal building in Arizona. Yet all of these projects are increasin

For years, construction has been talking about the labor shortage. At this point, it's become the industry's version of discussing the weather. Everyone knows it's happening. Everyone is experiencing it. And everyone is trying to figure out how to work around it. The challenge is that this isn't a temporary problem anymore. It's becoming a structural one. As we move through 2026, Associated Builders and Contractors estimates the industry will need to add roughly 349,000 new w

I work remotely. That means I spend a lot of time on the road visiting clients, attending meetings, and exploring project sites. When I'm not traveling, I'm usually working from my home office. And honestly, I have a pretty good setup. A comfortable desk.Good lighting.The technology I need. A quiet environment. It's a space designed exactly the way I like it. Yet, despite having everything I need sitting just a few feet away, I often find myself grabbing my laptop and heading

I spend a lot of time speaking with developers about collaboration and early engagement with material suppliers. Some immediately understand the value. Some are curious but cautious. And some simply say: “No.” When you work in sales or business development long enough, you hear that word a lot. At first, “no” can feel final. Like a closed door.A rejection.A dead end. But over time, I’ve realized something important: In business development, “no” often doesn’t mean never. Most

For a long time, ports have been one of those pieces of infrastructure most people only think about when something goes wrong. Containers back up. Ships wait offshore. Store shelves start looking suspiciously like a college refrigerator the day before payday. Then suddenly everyone remembers: “Oh right… global trade actually needs somewhere to park.” Now, heading into June 2026, public ports are stepping into a major new chapter. Heavy civil marine and coastal infrastructure

I spend a lot of time speaking with material manufacturers about early project collaboration. And the more conversations I have, the more convinced I become of something: Many material suppliers are sitting on far more value than they realize. The problem is, much of the industry still positions itself like a commodity. And commodities eventually get squeezed. The Commodity Trap In construction, material manufacturers often find themselves trapped in a dangerous cycle. A proj

If you spend enough time in construction, you learn one important truth: The market never really disappears. It just changes personality. Right now, the industry feels a little like that one friend who says they’re “doing fine,” while staring silently out the window holding a coffee they forgot to drink. Not collapsing. Not booming. Just… complicated. And honestly, the data tells the same story. --- The Market Has Slowed—But Not Equally The headlines love drama. “Construction

Most people still think business development is about selling. Bringing in work. Growing revenue. Keeping the pipeline full. And yes, revenue matters. But the longer I’ve worked in construction, the more I’ve realized the best business developers are doing something very different. They’re not just selling products or services. They’re connecting value across an entire ecosystem. --- Construction Runs on Connections Construction is one of the most interconnected industries in

Long before sustainability became a goal, it was simply how construction worked. Ancient builders didn’t have access to global supply chains, advanced manufacturing, or energy-intensive materials. They had something else: Constraints. And those constraints led to solutions that were, by necessity, sustainable. Building With What Was Available Across ancient civilizations, construction followed a simple rule: Use what’s around you. In different parts of the world, that meant: