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If lumber yards and building material retailers were to commence offering home design services to builders and consumers, how would the stock plan industry supply the retailer?
As publishers we have a wide variety of plan books, newstand magazines, compact discs and internet sites to supply the end customer with plans…but how do we help the lumber yard add real service value at the retail location? for builders? for consumers?
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Replies
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Dear Jim
As publishers how do you serve and protect the end user from mis-information that is often contained in books and various publications to the do-it-yourself market.
Lumber yards have supplied design advise and plans from a variety of sources for decades and are there when something goes wrong, to assist or replace any defective materials.
A publisher's expertise ends with the printing and marketing of the printed matter, not with any support of the contents.
Gabe Martel GSC
Project Manager
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I dont believe..it is a great idea..to provide the consumer with design services.....through a retail outlet.
A number of reasons:
1. Design direction will become wrapped around product
2. The role of the designer..is multi faceted. You are crossing the line of supplier...into the role of design professional.
3. Are you going to be willing to shoulder...the burden..of poorly thought out design...because you are not visiting the site...working in the clients space..dealing with the as built situations??
4. Are you completely..up on UBC...Title 24 in California..errors and omissions...????
I could come up..with a number more questions and considerations. These are right off the top of my head...
DN
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If lumber yards and building material retailers were to commence offering home design services to builders and consumers, how would the stock plan industry supply the retailer?
As publishers we have a wide variety of plan books, newstand magazines, compact discs and internet sites to supply the end customer with plans...but how do we help the lumber yard add real service value at the retail location? for builders? for consumers?
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Jim,
Check out my lumber yard's Home Planning Center and perhaps contact them for information on how they do it. They have started an idea that is getting national attention as a marketing tool for material manufacturers, and local builders.
http://www.hpcenter.com and http://www.arnoldlumber.com
They have a library of a thousand plans and plan books with like 10,000 designs available Plus they offer 10 to 30% off on plans ordered from plan books.