By Kendra Dorosh

What are the biggest challenges your business will face over the next year? If you said finding skilled labor and completing projects on time, you aren’t alone.

With housing starts at a high and labor shortages expected to continue, we set out to identify the biggest challenges that businesses are facing in the coming year and what they’re planning to do to address them. We heard from 35 building industry professionals who provided us with a pulse on what they are preparing for in the coming year.

By Dani Forbush

What does a hot real estate market mean for professionals in the building industry? A significant backlog of work. Since 2012, there has been a steady increase in housing prices. That increase continues as inventory and labor availability shrink. 

By Kendra Dorosh

Brent Julius’ 1st place modern lake house in the Chief Architect Residential Design Contest is a stunning example of turning clients dreams into reality.

“I started designing while in college as an architectural student. Shortly after, I worked at an architectural firm learning a lot about the construction and design industry. A few years later, I transitioned to a job specializing in residential design. It was there that I started using Chief Architect. Fast forward a few more years. I now own a residential design firm, 605 Drafting + Design. 

By Emily Black

Eric, an Idaho native, places third in the Chief Architect Remodel/Addition Design Contest. His artistic talents were a perfect fit for a career in home design.

“I was born in Pocatello, Idaho and then moved to Idaho Falls and lived on the family farm and worked with my father who flew airplanes and was a metal fabricator. I took on a job as a laborer that placed me in the building industry framing houses and building cabinets. I was very intrigued by the plans that we worked from. I am an artist and planned to go to college in Boise, Idaho to study Art, Advertising and Design. To pay my way through college, I worked construction at various levels including building houses.

By Jake Murray

Mike Irmen placed first in the Chief Architect Kitchen/Bath & Interior Design Contest. Mike has been using Chief Architect for three years and handles all residential projects from design to completion.

“Lewis and Company Construction is located in Little Rock, Arkansas and we have been servicing the Greater Central Arkansas area since 2001 with residential remodeling services. Recognizing the need to help customers visualize their projects in advance, we explored and experimented with several CAD programs, but didn’t find exactly what we wanted until we did the Chief Architect free trial.

By Jake Murray

Congratulations Jeff for taking 1st place in our Design of Year Contest – Residential Category! Jeff was also a finisher in our Residential Design Contest back in July.

“I am a father of 4 awesome children Jacob, Jordan, Jackson, and Jude, and I married my high school sweetheart Julie. And yes, we are all J’s!! “The girls are J.A.B’s and the boys are all J.R.B’s which does get tricky at times! I was born in Fort Walton Beach Florida, being in a military family we moved several times before settling back in Alexandria, Louisiana where I reside today.

By Emily Black

Angela’s passion for Interior Design has grown through her years participating in the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) and the National Leadership Conferences.

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By Emily Black

A team of five students earns first place in the Residential Construction Management Competition.

The NAHB student competition was held at the 2018 International Builders’ Show in Orland, FL. The opportunity to apply the lessons from the classroom to the real world of residential design drew 56 teams from across the country to participate. Each team had to follow strict guidelines from the design criteria through to the final working drawings and estimates. The residential design projects were presented in front of a panel of judges who were residential building industry professionals.

“Chief Architect gave us the competitive advantage that we were looking for and we were crowned National Champions,” says Alan Smith, the associate professor/program director for the State University of New York at Delhi‘s Residential Construction program. (more…)