Home lmprovement Changes

If home improvemeht were a seesaw, the professional contractor would be on the downside with the do-it-yourselfer up.

Census Bureau data from last year shows a 6.20/o decline to $37.3 billion in additions and remodels done by professionals, a 7.90/o drop to $18.1 billion in professional replacements like kitchens and a 20.20/o increase to $51.3 billion in maintenance and repairs done by homeowners.

The $106.7 billion home improvement industry is undergoing renovations, reports The New York Times. Retail stores across the country are courting do-it-yourselfers, building 100,000 sq. ft. megastores with user-friendly tools and materials, all to help fledgling hobbyists become fearless builders.

"People used to believe only a professional could do tiling or install track lighting," Bernie Marcus, Home Depot chief executive, says. "That's utter nonsense."

Home improvement store strategies differ. Home Depot concentrates on items for which it can be the dominant supplier. It walked away from a profitable $80 million unfinished furniture business because it could not be the leader, according to The Times. Although half of its customers are women, it refuses to stock non-repair items that might appeal to them. "We could be the biggest pantyhose seller in America, but we don't want to weaken the link in shoppers' minds between Home Depot and do-ityourself projects, " Marcus explains.

Some stores, in contrast, display housewares, mirrors and houseplants prominently, hoping to attract women. Some chase buy-it-yourselfers who hire installers but select products themselves. Others copy Home Depot in holding clinics and retraining salespeople in hopes of making do-it-yourself home improvement less intimidating, the newspaper says.

Manufacturers also are courting the do-it-yourselfer, making products easier to use. Shrink-wrapped packages of presized paneling or wainscotting with matching mould-

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ing, cartons that fit into the family car for transport, elaborate installation instructions and how-to videos all aim at selling the homeowner on doing his own work.

Heated Competition In Roofing

U.S. demand for roofing products is forecast to climb 2.60/o over the next five years to 221 million squares. In value, the market will expand less than 5% per year to $9.7 billion, as price competition within roofing product categories and between different materials continues to restrain dollar gains, predicted a Freedonia Group study.

Single-ply membrane-based elastomeric and modified bitumen roofing products will rise steadily, at the expense of built-up roofing, which is being disproportionately affected by the decline in new ofl'ice building.

Though the largest category, asphalt shingles, and asphalt roll roofing will hold their own, they will experience competition from roof tile, with the advent of less expensive tiles. Cedar shingle and shake use will decline.

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