Professional
Builder
VOL. 84 NO. 8
~HORIZON
3030 W. Salt Creek Lane, Suite 201
Arlington Heights, IL 60005-
847.391.1000 • Fax: 847.390.
STAFF
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Denise Dersin
703.992.7640; [email protected]
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Rich Binsacca
847.391.1011; [email protected]
SENIOR EDITOR
Mike Beirne
847.391.1051; [email protected]
CONTENT MANAGER
Ingrid Bush
202.780.9591; [email protected]
PRODUCTS EDITOR
Nigel F. Maynard
202.549.6552; [email protected]
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Amanda Hermans
847.481.6164; [email protected]
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Larry Garnett I Bob Schultz I Scott Sedam
DESIGNER
Larry Nigh
GROUP DIRECTOR -PRINCIPAL
Tony Mancini
484.412.8686; [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF EVENTS
Judy Brociek
847.954.7943; [email protected]
SENIOR DATA & AUDIENCE
DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Ebony Fendley
ASSISTANT DESIGN MANAGER
Dara Rubin
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Stephanie Miller
[email protected]
SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES
Professional Builder
Omeda Holdings, LLC
125 Schelter Rd. #
Lincolnshire, IL 60069-
[email protected]
847.763.
Toll-Free I 877.501.
REPRINTS
Tina Kanter
847.391.1054; [email protected]
CORPORATE
CHAIRMAN EMERITUS (1922-2003)
H.S. Gillette
CHAIRPERSON
KA Gillette
CEO
E.S. Gillette
PRESIDENT
Rick Schwer
coo
David Shreiner
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
Ann O'Neill
VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOM MEDIA
& MARKETING
Diane Vojcanin
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
John Atwood
For advertising contacts, see page 79
Summer Reading
S
ome of my fondest early memories, which still endure today, in-
volve going to the hardware store with my dad.
For whatever reason (probably several), I was instantly fascinat-
ed; the vastness of the place and all of the stuff within it, from racks and
stacks of lumber to bins and boxes of fasteners, rolls of fencing, spools of
wire and rope, and an array of tools beyond a child's imagination. Even
the smell-a mix of sawdust, machine oil, garden fertilizer, and sweat-
was attractive.
I don't even remember what Dad bought on those trips (probably
chicken wire to repair a hole in the back fence to keep out the deer or
stakes for our vegetable garden), but it never really mattered. All I know
is that I was a kid in my own version of a candy store.
That fascination was heightened when we added a family room and
den onto the back of our ranch house when I was about 8 or 9 years old.
I was especially drawn to the framing stage; the smell of cut lumber, the
sounds of the tools. After the workmen left for the day, I would walk the
site and pick up loose 16d sinkers that had fallen by the wayside (learn-
ing later, as a summer laborer on a remodeling crew, that you never reuse
a nail that's escaped your grip or been bent; just grab another one from
your nail bag). I almost wish they'd left it in that unfinished state.
Those summers home from college, remodeling homes in the hills
along the eastern edge of Oakland, Calif., hauling materials up and down[EDITOR'S NOTE]three stories of scaffolding or, once used, to the
dump or our small warehouse, only furthered
my curiosity about construction.
Working alongside truly talented carpenters
and watching other tradespeople not only im-
pressed on me their skill and smarts, but con-I've walked hundreds of jobsites and
watched thousands of construction
professionals at work. It never gets oldvinced me I had neither at the level required to make a living at it. So
instead I chose to write about it.
Since then, I've walked hundreds of jobsites and watched thousands
of construction professionals at work. It never gets old. My la st walk ,
though, was a chance encounter that allowed me to see my childhood
home during the framing stage of a significant remodel. I had mixed feel-
ings, of course; my family's history in that house was being all but wiped
away to make room for a larger kitchen, a modern master suite, and
a walk-out basement in place of our musty cellar-a ll smart moves I
envied. I was proud of the old house for inspiring and enabling its next
iteration, and I picked up a loose 16d sinker just for old times' sake.Rich Binsacca, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
@ProBuilderMagProBuilder.com Professional Builder 15