Ketterman Photography
Profile: A Model Remodeler
Murr Seeks To Reshape Remodeling By Enhancing Education.
Larry Murr, owner of Lawrence Murr Remodeling, makes fly-by-night contractor’s nervous. After all, the three-time chairman of the Remodelers Council of the Northeast Florida Builders Association (NEFBA) has done as much as any single person to boost industry professionalism locally, regionally and nationally.
“If Larry asks, then you do it,” says Therese Crahan, executive director of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodelers Council. “That’s because he never turns you down when you ask him to do something. I think he wants to teach, and he wants other remodelers to learn from him.”
That’s an opinion universally shared by those who know Murr, or know of him. In an increasingly competitive business, he’s interested first and foremost in helping other remodelers become better at what they do.
His reasoning? Poor business practices and shoddy workmanship on the part of a handful of remodelers damages the industry as a whole.
“Education is now more important in our business,” says Murr. “You have to be a licensed general contractor, for example, with the financial resources to be bonded. That’s all very good for the industry. But [more stringent standards] are also why a lot of guys don’t do it.”
Murr, a former high-school history teacher and basketball coach from Louisville, Kentucky, began his Jacksonville company 24 years ago. Since that time, he’s won virtually every professional honor you can name—21 at last count, including two local Remodeler of the Year awards—and has emerged as a nationally-known speaker on an array of industry topics.
He has also earned two prestigious certifications: Certified Graduate Remodeler (CGR) and Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS). The CAPS designation indicates specific expertise in remodeling homes to accommodate the changing needs of residents as they grow older—a hot trend as baby-boomers reach retirement.
Murr chaired the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) Remodelers Council in 2003 and was FHBA’s Remodeler of the Year in 2005. Last year, he took top honors in five categories at the NEFBA Remodelers Council’s First Coast Remodeling Awards and is among Remodeling magazine’s “Big 50” nationwide.
In addition, last year Murr used his national clout to bring the first NAHB Remodelers Road Show to Jacksonville. The Road Show was a one-day seminar for local remodelers that served as a model for similar efforts across the country.
“Larry really believes in serving the industry,” says NAHB’s Crahan. “I’ve been here for seven years and Larry’s always been involved and he’s always been a doer.”
And he’s a good host as well. Crahan says that when she and other NAHB representatives visit Jacksonville, she can always count on Murr to take them to his favorite eatery, the down-home Clark’s Fish Camp. “That’s always on the itinerary when we come down,” she says. “And now we expect it—and we love it.”
Although he didn’t start out as a remodeler, Murr always loved to work with his hands. “My dad said I had sawdust in my veins,” he recalls. “You get in this business because you like to work with your hands, but as your business grows, you do less of that.”
Murr was working part-time at a Louisville-area post office when he met his wife-to-be, Monica. Both were trying to earn money for college and eventually graduated from Bellarmine College and Catherine Spalding College, respectively, he with a degree in history and she with a degree in English.
The couple married in 1974 and moved to Cheyenne and later Denver before returning to Louisville. There, Murr worked for a construction company until yet another move took the couple to Charlotte.
While in North Carolina, both became teachers—Larry at a local high school and Monica at a local community college—and celebrated the birth of a son, Josh, now 35 and a Division of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agent in Miami.
The growing family then returned to Louisville, where Murr worked in property management and worked as a trim carpenter. “That really got me interested in building,” he says.
Then it was back to Wyoming, where Murr worked for seven years as a trim carpenter and a remodeler, and finally to Northeast Florida, where Monica’s mother lived. The couple’s second son, Sam, now 26 and a diplomatic security officer in Brazil, was born at Flagler Hospital.
Settled in the Sunshine State, Murr worked as a property manager with Arvida, where he oversaw customer service in the resort division and served as a liaison for out-of-town clients. Two years later, he became a remodeler and formed his own company.
“I realized that remodeling is what I wanted to do,” Murr says. “Remodeling is a profession and it’s a service. With new homebuilding you’re mainly providing a product.”
Immediately, Murr realized the importance of networking with his peers. He helped to organize two groups of 20 remodelers from across the country—whimsically named the Fat Cats and later the Parrot Heads—who still meet every September in Vermont to exchange ideas and discuss best practices.
Local remodeler Tom Turnage, president of the Turnage Company, has worked with Murr for more than a decade on the NEFBA Remodelers Council. The two are also golfing buddies and share a passion for their businesses and for the importance of education and professionalism.?
?“Working with people while they’re living in their homes is very difficult and it’s especially traumatic for builders coming out of the new-home building industry,” Turnage says. “Some of us who’ve been doing this for a while understand that you can’t use the same benchmarks in remodeling that you use in new construction. It doesn’t help any of us when someone comes in and prices a project incorrectly. Everybody loses in a case like that, so the faster we can get the newer remodelers to understand the process, the better for all of us—and Larry has really done a lot to further that.”?
But Murr doesn’t work all the time. In addition to golfing, he’s also a college basketball fan and is a longtime season-ticker holder at the University of Florida. And he and Monica love to travel, particularly to western states such as Wyoming and Utah. The couple also enjoys fishing and hiking excursions to Alaska and Georgia.
Still, business is never far from Murr’s mind. “We have repeat customers, some of whom we’ve done as many as four projects with,” he says. “What really makes the job fun—or not—are the clients. It’s the interaction with them and working with good people.”?
“If Larry asks, then you do it,” says Therese Crahan, executive director of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodelers Council. “That’s because he never turns you down when you ask him to do something. I think he wants to teach, and he wants other remodelers to learn from him.”
That’s an opinion universally shared by those who know Murr, or know of him. In an increasingly competitive business, he’s interested first and foremost in helping other remodelers become better at what they do.
His reasoning? Poor business practices and shoddy workmanship on the part of a handful of remodelers damages the industry as a whole.
“Education is now more important in our business,” says Murr. “You have to be a licensed general contractor, for example, with the financial resources to be bonded. That’s all very good for the industry. But [more stringent standards] are also why a lot of guys don’t do it.”
Murr, a former high-school history teacher and basketball coach from Louisville, Kentucky, began his Jacksonville company 24 years ago. Since that time, he’s won virtually every professional honor you can name—21 at last count, including two local Remodeler of the Year awards—and has emerged as a nationally-known speaker on an array of industry topics.
He has also earned two prestigious certifications: Certified Graduate Remodeler (CGR) and Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS). The CAPS designation indicates specific expertise in remodeling homes to accommodate the changing needs of residents as they grow older—a hot trend as baby-boomers reach retirement.
Murr chaired the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) Remodelers Council in 2003 and was FHBA’s Remodeler of the Year in 2005. Last year, he took top honors in five categories at the NEFBA Remodelers Council’s First Coast Remodeling Awards and is among Remodeling magazine’s “Big 50” nationwide.
In addition, last year Murr used his national clout to bring the first NAHB Remodelers Road Show to Jacksonville. The Road Show was a one-day seminar for local remodelers that served as a model for similar efforts across the country.
“Larry really believes in serving the industry,” says NAHB’s Crahan. “I’ve been here for seven years and Larry’s always been involved and he’s always been a doer.”
And he’s a good host as well. Crahan says that when she and other NAHB representatives visit Jacksonville, she can always count on Murr to take them to his favorite eatery, the down-home Clark’s Fish Camp. “That’s always on the itinerary when we come down,” she says. “And now we expect it—and we love it.”
Although he didn’t start out as a remodeler, Murr always loved to work with his hands. “My dad said I had sawdust in my veins,” he recalls. “You get in this business because you like to work with your hands, but as your business grows, you do less of that.”
Murr was working part-time at a Louisville-area post office when he met his wife-to-be, Monica. Both were trying to earn money for college and eventually graduated from Bellarmine College and Catherine Spalding College, respectively, he with a degree in history and she with a degree in English.
The couple married in 1974 and moved to Cheyenne and later Denver before returning to Louisville. There, Murr worked for a construction company until yet another move took the couple to Charlotte.
While in North Carolina, both became teachers—Larry at a local high school and Monica at a local community college—and celebrated the birth of a son, Josh, now 35 and a Division of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agent in Miami.
The growing family then returned to Louisville, where Murr worked in property management and worked as a trim carpenter. “That really got me interested in building,” he says.
Then it was back to Wyoming, where Murr worked for seven years as a trim carpenter and a remodeler, and finally to Northeast Florida, where Monica’s mother lived. The couple’s second son, Sam, now 26 and a diplomatic security officer in Brazil, was born at Flagler Hospital.
Settled in the Sunshine State, Murr worked as a property manager with Arvida, where he oversaw customer service in the resort division and served as a liaison for out-of-town clients. Two years later, he became a remodeler and formed his own company.
“I realized that remodeling is what I wanted to do,” Murr says. “Remodeling is a profession and it’s a service. With new homebuilding you’re mainly providing a product.”
Immediately, Murr realized the importance of networking with his peers. He helped to organize two groups of 20 remodelers from across the country—whimsically named the Fat Cats and later the Parrot Heads—who still meet every September in Vermont to exchange ideas and discuss best practices.
Local remodeler Tom Turnage, president of the Turnage Company, has worked with Murr for more than a decade on the NEFBA Remodelers Council. The two are also golfing buddies and share a passion for their businesses and for the importance of education and professionalism.?
?“Working with people while they’re living in their homes is very difficult and it’s especially traumatic for builders coming out of the new-home building industry,” Turnage says. “Some of us who’ve been doing this for a while understand that you can’t use the same benchmarks in remodeling that you use in new construction. It doesn’t help any of us when someone comes in and prices a project incorrectly. Everybody loses in a case like that, so the faster we can get the newer remodelers to understand the process, the better for all of us—and Larry has really done a lot to further that.”?
But Murr doesn’t work all the time. In addition to golfing, he’s also a college basketball fan and is a longtime season-ticker holder at the University of Florida. And he and Monica love to travel, particularly to western states such as Wyoming and Utah. The couple also enjoys fishing and hiking excursions to Alaska and Georgia.
Still, business is never far from Murr’s mind. “We have repeat customers, some of whom we’ve done as many as four projects with,” he says. “What really makes the job fun—or not—are the clients. It’s the interaction with them and working with good people.”?