February 22, 2012, 10:43 AM EST

By Anna-Louise Jackson and Anthony Feld

(Updates with existing home sales data in third and eighth paragraphs.)

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) ? Construction hiring is picking up as Americans invest in renovating their homes amid signs that the worst of the housing-market declines may be over.

The number of people working in residential remodeling grew 5.8 percent in December to 250,700 from a year earlier, based on preliminary data released Feb. 3 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was the highest growth for these jobs ? which account for about 5 percent of construction employment ? since December 2006, before the housing bubble burst.

Sales of existing homes, which rose 4.3 percent in January, precede spending on improvement projects by about six months, as new owners often do a lot of ?fix-ups? soon after they move in, said Kermit Baker, a senior fellow at Harvard University?s Joint Center for Housing Studies. That means there?s now a ?strengthening market? for this work, buoyed by demand that?s more discretionary in nature ? such as minor kitchen remodels ? – and mild winter weather in much of the U.S.

?More remodeling projects are going to create more jobs in the construction industry,? said Baker, who also is the chief economist for the American Institute of Architects.

Home Depot Inc., the world?s largest home-improvement retailer, echoed the optimism yesterday when it reported fourth- quarter net income that exceeded analysts? estimates. An increase in traffic and transactions among its professional customers is encouraging as ?they?re getting more jobs, more work,? Craig Menear, executive vice president of merchandising at the Atlanta-based company, said on a conference call.

Remodeling Projects

Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. and Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. also have seen a pick-up in sales related to residential-remodeling projects, according to company reports.

Home improvement probably will bounce back the most this year since 2006, after spending fell as much as 20 percent during the three-year home-remodeling slump that ended in mid-2010, Baker said. Growth in the ?low-to-mid-single digits? may follow an estimated 0.8 percent last year, with total spending projected to be $112.4 billion in 2012, he said, citing the Cambridge, Massachusetts, center?s leading indicator of remodeling activity.

The index forecasts changes in the industry for the current quarter and subsequent three periods, using data including sales of existing homes, which rose to a 4.57 million annual rate in January, the highest since May 2010, the National Association of Realtors said today. December sales were revised down to a 4.38 million pace from 4.61 million.

Rising Construction Permits

Growth also is showing up in another index based on the number of construction permits filed, which rose 23 percent in December to 127.4 from a year earlier, according to Joe Emison, co-founder and vice president of research and development at BuildFax, an Austin, Texas-based real-estate data company.

Another driver for the rebound in contractor hiring comes from ?pent-up demand? by Americans who can?t afford to move, said Ellen Zentner, a senior economist at Nomura Securities International LLC in New York. She was among the top-ranked forecasters of nonfarm payrolls as of Feb. 1, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

?If you can?t sell your home, may as well make the box you live in better,? she said.

The rebound ?makes sense? because BuildFax?s data captures all work that requires a hired contractor, which accounts for about two-thirds of such projects, Emison said. Amid a ?glut of bad homes? on the market, and with homeowners worrying their properties are undervalued, ?people may be stuck in their existing homes for a while.?

Vinyl-Siding Sales

Remodeling projects represent ?almost all? Beacon Roofing Supply?s current sales of vinyl siding, windows and doors, which are more-discretionary purchases, Chief Financial Officer Dave Grace said on a Feb. 9 conference call. As the economy continues to expand, owners will ?start spending on their homes,? he said.

Similarly, Fortune Brands is forecasting ?slight improvement? in its repair and remodel business this year, Chief Executive Officer Christopher Klein said on a Feb. 1 conference call. The market for this segment and new housing construction will grow 3 percent in 2012 from 2011, the Deerfield, Illinois-based company forecast when it released fourth-quarter earnings that day.

?Recent modest improvement in the U.S. economy and the unemployment rate, coupled with some pent-up demand in home improvements, seems to be supporting modest growth in remodel activity,? Klein said.

Falling Jobless Rate

The U.S. jobless rate fell to 8.3 percent in January from 8.5 percent the prior month to the lowest level since February 2009, marking five consecutive months of declines. Meanwhile, payrolls climbed 243,000, the most in nine months, exceeding the most optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.

Consumer confidence strengthened to minus 39.8 in the week ended Feb. 12 from minus 41.7 the previous week, as measured by the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index. That?s the highest in a year and more than 13 points above a nearly two-year low of minus 53.2 in October 2011.

Still, there may be some slowing before remodeling activity picks up, based on the Harvard indicator, which suggests acceleration may occur later this year, and the BuildFax index, which has fallen nearly 20 points since peaking in October.

Behind Prerecession Levels

Contractor-hired work also has a long way to go to reach prerecession levels, as the number of residential remodelers lags behind the September 2006 peak by more than 76,000, Labor Department data show. Government figures may underestimate the size of this industry because they track workers on payrolls, and about two-thirds of home-improvement businesses consist of self-employed people, Baker said.

Even so, the revival in residential remodeling seen last year probably will continue, which is encouraging for people in this industry, Zentner said.

?An increase in these jobs should precede a broader recovery in housing,? she said. ?We have a bit of strengthening that does appear to be legitimately returning.?

?Editors: Melinda Grenier, Daniel Moss

To contact the reporters on this story: Anna-Louise Jackson in New York at ajackson36@bloomberg.net; Anthony Feld in New York at afeld2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Feld at afeld2@bloomberg.net

Source: http://g7finance.com/investing/construction-jobs-rebound-amid-u-s-home-remodeling-pick-up/

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Ships haven’t gotten all that much faster over the years; modern container ships are only about twice as fast as the last clipper ships, not ten or a hundred or a thousand times as fast.

That’s only because nobody cares about making them faster. They already run them slower [bloomberg.com] than their maximum speed intentionally because the primary design consideration for container ships is efficiency, not speed. And if you look at the amount of freight transported per ship and per crew member compared to a clipper ship, I suspect it is in the range of ten to a hundred times more.

But let’s assume you’re right:

rockets are a mature technology, like ships and aircraft.

OK, so don’t use rockets. I keep hearing about this magic carbon nanotube space elevator that we’ll have Real Soon Now.

Even if you want to assume that never happens, let’s consider another alternative: You pick a proverbial “asteroid the size of Texas” out of the many floating around out there. Find one in the habitable zone. Then you send a team there with some industrial equipment, not to mine the asteroid and bring it home, but to mine it and use the raw materials to construct a large compartmentalized living environment. Start off by building a few dozen acres of greenhouse, and fill it with plants so that you have food and oxygen recycling. Then proceed to build yourself a little home away from home — but in a place that has lower gravity, so that you can build yourself a space elevator. Create yourself a city in space with a population of a few thousand people.

That gives you a foothold. You create an industrial city that can export its products to the universe without burning ten thousand gallons of fuel fighting gravity. Then you can branch out. Colonize and mine more asteroids and small planets. Once you have a large enough industrial capacity in low gravity areas, you can build yourself a city-to-go and just land the entire thing piecemeal on a suitable planet. Next thing you know you’ve got a million people living on Mars and several expeditions on their way to colonizing habitable planets in other planetary systems.

I’m not saying what I’ve just laid out would definitely work. Maybe, maybe not. What I’m saying is that we haven’t yet exhausted all the possible alternatives, so giving up now is nothing but defeatism.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/jyH1mgG5yDc/sergey-in-soviet-russia-rocket-detonates-you

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Building plans are in everyone?s minds again as the spring season approaches.

On big home improvement projects, homeowners must take information from contractors wisely. It is not uncommon for unscrupulous contractors to mislead homeowners who are not involved in the process or are easily intimidated. When a contractor mentions a problem or issue, a homeowner should verify it or get a second opinion before paying the contractor additional money or allowing construction to run longer than initially scheduled. Specifically ask them if they employ a qualified architect to produce building plans.

Be certain that you protect all surfaces by covering them, no matter what project you are doing. If you protect them from paint or scratches, you are saving yourself work in the long run. Some specific areas to keep in mind are freshly painted walls, light fixtures, carpeting and sensitive hard floors.

Ensure that there are no low-lying areas, and make sure doubly sure there are none near your home?s foundation. Soil should be added to these areas to stop pooled water from eating away at your yard. Water that collects and seeps through the ground near your foundation can cause cracks that can be very expensive to fix.

Before deciding on a project, determine what improvements would be most valuable based on your location. In a balmy coastal region, installing air conditioning would carry more importance than adding a fireplace. An outdoor swimming pool will add a lot of value to a home in southern California, Arizona or Florida. A pool is not useful during most months in states that are known for cold weather.

Interested in doing a little updating? When you want to personalize your space you can use things you already own to inspire you. Frames should match the decor style you have.

When you are working outside in the heat, sometimes time slips away. Just as it is important to think about your safety when you work, it is also important to remember to stay hydrated on a sweltering day. Be sure to take a break from the manual labor to drink some water and enjoy the work you have accomplished.

Upgrading your appliances goes a long way in improving the overall quality and value of your home. Whatever your situation, home improvement encompasses upgrading your appliances.

Use high-quality insulation around your plumbing system to prevent your water from freezing during this coming winter. Any hardware store will have a selection of foam insulation and other products to help you easily cover your pipes and protect them from the cold. Together, this will keep your water-flow safe and secure. Safe plumbing is vital in the months of winter, because lacking it can result in your pipes cracking or bursting open from the temperatures.

Make sure you have all required safety gear that you need for heavier projects. You want to have gear, like a helmet and back harness. These are but some of the essential items you should have just in case any falling objects come your way.

Keeping safety in mind is important for any home improvement work you do. When you take safety precautions, you can be relatively certain that you will not be hurt and your home will not be harmed. Make sure that you have read all instructions and tutorials before you start any renovation project.

Turning off the water is important when you are working to improve your kitchen or bathroom. Before you start working, locate the shutoff when you working around your house?s water supply or pipes. By doing this, you are making sure that you do not get a flood.

Improve water efficiency while improving your home. Try to put in a toilet with low-flow, a good water heater and a water saving shower head. In addition to being earth-friendly, these projects will increase the value of your home and lower your water bill.

You can make a small niche or alcove really pop by using colorful paint or wallpaper to cover the back surface of the inlaid area. If it?s an especially small niche, you can just use a sample container of paint, so there?s no need to buy a whole gallon.

Seal off the crack that mice are entering into, try steel wool. Mice are unable to chew through steel wool; therefore, it will prevent them from entering.

By starting with various small do-it-yourself projects, the homeowner can build up their confidence to the point they will be ready to tackle the more challenging project. This is a very good thing. Learning a little about home improvement goes a long way. It helps a person build the confidence to take on even more complex projects and increases the resale value of the home. Do not forget that some building plans need planning permission and other do not so it is better to check with the local council first.

To get the real lowdown about how to get your building plans completed quickly and at the right price click here now!

Source: http://freebestarticles.net/building-plans-tips-to-make-home-improvement-projects-seem-easy.html

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