bickfordconstruction News Feed

Bob Bickford attends Builder 20 Meeting in Knoxville

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:02:00 -0600

Last week I traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee to meet with my Builder 20 Group. We were hosted by Fred Trainer of F.E. Trainer Construction Company, who has a very impressive custom home and remodeling business. I always learn a lot at our Builder 20 meetings and come back recharged and excited to implement my new ideas. I have been a member of the Builder 20 Program, which is put on by the National Association of Home Builders, since July of 2003. We are custom home builders from all over the United States who meet twice a year to "share what we know and learn what we need". This has been a great experience that has really helped me to improve my business.

Check out my daughter's original card collection!

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:33:00 -0600

My daughter Emily is spending this year in England. She does not have a working visa, so she decided to spend her time designing and marketing a line of original greeting cards. Even though I might be a bit biased as her Dad, I think they are very creative! Please check them out for yourself by following this link to Emily’s website. If you are wondering where she got the name, Emmybo is a nickname we used to call her at home when she was a kid. I hope you enjoy them!

Eight Years Straight without an Accident!

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:20:00 -0600

I am very proud to announce that my crew has made it through another year without an accident. This makes eight years in a row that we have a perfect safety record, which is quite an accomplishment in this industry. It is exciting to see my crew's efforts in safety pay off.

As has been the tradition over the past four years, in recognition of my crew's outstanding achievement, I am rewarding them with an extended holiday break. We will be closing at noon on Thursday, December 24th and we will reopen on Monday, January 4th, 2010.

Happy holidays!

Bob Bickford

Congratulations to my daughter Erika on her recent wedding!

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:35:00 -0500

This past Saturday, my oldest daughter Erika married her sweetheart, Ryan Ward. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor ceremony and we had a great celebration with friends and family at the Old Lantern in Charlotte, Vermont. Erika and Ryan live and work in Las Vegas. I am very proud of them both and wish them a life full of good health, peace and true happiness. Click here if you would like to see pictures from the day of the wedding.

Tyler Bullis Reaches Five Year Milestone!

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Congratulations to Tyler Bullis for reaching his fifth year anniversary as part of the Bickford Construction team. Earlier this summer Tyler reached this milestone, joining Dave St. Hilaire (going on eight years) and Todd Lamos (going on six years) as Bickford Construction employees with over five years of service. We appreciate Tyler’s dedication to the team, his willingness to always do whatever it takes, his pride in his workmanship and his constant bright attitude. We look forward to having Tyler as a positive member of our team for many more years to come!

Remembering Gerry Milot

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:06:00 -0500

On August 12th, 2009 one of the true giants in the Vermont housing industry, Gerry Milot, passed away. For the past three decades, Gerry has provided housing to thousands of Vermonters. Bickford Construction has had the good fortune of working with Gerry and the Milot Group for the past three years on their Cider Mill Carriage House project in South Burlington. We have a lot of respect for Gerry and valued the opportunity to learn from him. He was a man of high integrity and always a pleasure to work with. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife Marsha, daughter Jennifer, son-in-law Brett Grabowski, and the rest of his family.

Bickford to Attend Builder 20 Meeting in Tulsa

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:00:00 -0500

I am excited to be heading to Tulsa, Oklahoma on Wednesday to meet with my Builder 20 Group. We will tour the business and homes of our hosts, Wayne and Ryan Farabough of Perfection Homes, and we will be attending a seminar presented by Meredith Oliver of Orlando, Florida on web-based marketing. This summer marks the sixth year of my involvement with this Builder 20 Group. We are custom home builders from all over the United States who meet twice a year to "share what we know and learn what we need". This has been a great experience that has really helped me to improve my business.

Bickford Construction to Expand Spotlight on Dance Studio!

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:44:00 -0500

We are happy to announce that Bickford Construction has been awarded a contract to expand the Spotlight on Dance Studio facility in South Burlington. After a terrific first year in their new facility which we built last summer, Spotlight has decided to take over the entire building at 50 San Remo Drive. This phase of the project will add a new waiting room, dressing room, storage area, and most excitingly, a third studio. Studio Three will be a new multi-use dance studio featuring a 32 by 50 foot black box theater with a full size dance floor. According to Spotlight on Dance, it will be used for a wide variety of dance classes including Ballroom and Latin dancing as well as for Ballroom dance parties. Thanks to Jen and Tim Barden for awarding us this project. We are very happy to have the opportunity of working with them again.

Learn more about Spotlight on Dance services.

$8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Available!

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:00:00 -0500

This is a great time for first-time home buyers, or for people who have not owned a home in the past three years, to purchase a home as they can take advantage of a tax credit that is available to qualified buyers in an amount equal to 10% of the purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000. Here are a couple of great resources to give you more information.

The first is a videotaped interview of Rob Dietz who is director of tax issues for the National Association of Home Builders, discussing the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit.

The second resource is a website prepared by the National Association of Home Builders that explains all aspects of the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. Click here to view this informative website.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you still have questions regarding this tax credit.

Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:01:00 -0500

Recently, I have been getting a lot of questions about tax credits that are currently available for improving energy efficiency in a home, so I decided I would write this post to answer some of these questions.

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the “Stimulus Bill” (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) that made significant changes to the energy efficiency tax credits.

The tax credits for consumers are available at 30% of the cost, up to $1,500, in 2009 and 2010 (for existing homes only) for: windows and doors; insulation; roofs; HVAC; water heaters; and bio-mass stoves.

Tax credits are also available at 30% of the cost, with no upper limit through 2016 (for both existing and new homes) for: geothermal heat pumps; solar panels; solar water heaters; small wind energy systems; and fuel cells.

You can follow this link for much more in depth information form the Energy Star website on the Federal Tax Credits.

Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions that you might have regarding these energy efficiency tax credits.

Congratulations to Emily Bickford!

Fri, 15 May 2009 07:47:00 -0500

I will be out of the office for the first three days of next week as we go to New York City to celebrate my daughter, Emily's graduation from Barnard College. Emily is graduating with high honors with a major in dance and with a teaching certification. She has been student teaching in a first grade class in New York City this semester and has really enjoyed the experience. The graduation ceremony for Barnard is on Monday and because Barnard is a part of Columbia University, Emily will also take part in the Columbia University graduation ceremony next Wednesday. Congratulations Emily! I am very proud of you!

Remembering Randy Shortsleeve

Fri, 01 May 2009 03:31:00 -0500

After a very tough fight with cancer, our friend Randy Shortsleeve passed away this past Sunday. For the last decade Randy has done most of our painting and has been a very loyal and dependable trade partner. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Sarah and to his nephew and painting partner, Larry. Randy was a good guy and we will miss him.

Happy Earth Day!

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:29:00 -0500

Happy Earth Day everybody. Bickford Construction is taking steps to help become more earth-friendly. We are going paperless when possible; I am driving a 4-cylinder Subaru Outback instead of my 10-cylinder F250 pickup; we are using a local waste collection/recycling company called Go Green Recycling instead of just hauling all our jobsite waste to the dump; and I have become a Certified Green Professional and continue to educate myself on green products and techniques. Being Earth Day, I hope you get outside and take a moment to enjoy nature today (I can just hear my kids moaning now). My friends and I are going canoeing tonight to celebrate. Enjoy the day!

Bob Bickford

Lisaius Residence starts with a bang!

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:30:00 -0500

With permits in hand, we began construction of the Lisaius Residence with a bang! We had three days of blasting to prepare the site for construction. Here is a short video showing one of the blasts within the cellar hole.

Each blasting mat weighs about ten thousand pounds!

Northern Drilling, Island Excavating and our blasting consultant, Patty Billings, have done a great job with this blasting.

Bickford Construction Awarded Contract for New Lakefront Home!

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:20:00 -0500

We are very pleased to have learned today that we have been chosen to build a new home on a beautiful lakefront lot in Burlington. We really appreciate this opportunity and the trust that these homeowners have put in us and we look forward to fulfilling all of their expectations!