BY ROBERT P. MADER OF CONTRACTOR'S STAFF SALES AND SHIPMENTS in the hydronic heating market should increase in the low single digits in 2007, manufacturers said. Sales of tubing, boilers and accessories into the radiant heating market should...

AS A CONTRACTOR who is always looking to find new products and ways of doing things, I attend trade seminars and association meetings whenever I can. Inevitable "shop talk" will turn to venting for all of us: problem jobs, crazy...

BY BOB MIODONSKI OF CONTRACTOR'S STAFF ALBUQUERQUE, N. M. If they're not already, plumbing manufacturers better start paying attention to the labor shortages facing their contractor customers. "It will be harder to attract young males...

GOLDEN, COLO. Women and home-improvement contractors agree that the woman in the household is the primary decision-maker when it comes to managing home-improvement projects, according to an online survey conducted by ServiceMagic. The Web-based...

BY BOB MIODONSKI OF CONTRACTOR'S STAFF DES PLAINES, ILL. For the second straight year, the number of CONTRACTOR readers who buy their power tools online has increased, according to a survey conducted in January among this magazine's...

BY WILLIAM ATKINSON SPECIAL TO CONTRACTOR HIGH PRICES FOR metals and other raw materials, continuing consolidation of suppliers and more green building initiatives are some of the trends that will affect the plumbing industry this year. Overall...

LITTLETON, MASS. Basnett Plumbing & Heating will receive custom-designed marketing pieces and a customized marketing plan as the winner of the Marketing Makeover contest sponsored by CONTRACTOR magazine and columnist Adams Hudson of Hudson...

WHAT'S MOST striking about Farmer & Irwin, our Mechanical Contractor of the Year, is how a company that turns 50 in October has been so adaptable to change. The contractor even viewed Hurricane Wilma last October as a good reason to...

CHESAPEAKE, VA. What started out as an eighth-grade science experiment at a Virginia school became an alarming discovery: Turning down the school air conditioning system during nights and weekends was creating conditions suitable for mold growth...

WE RECENTLY returned from a dude ranch in Colorado (www.wrranch.com) that backed right up to Rocky Mountain National Park. The Colorado River begins its journey a few miles away and flows through the ranch. We had an opportunity to visit with...