Every extra click between the field and the office costs time, and time equals margin. Residential builders who use CountBricks already shave hours off estimating, blueprint takeoffs, and invoicing. By making Google my homepage across every jobsite device, project managers gain one-click access to the world’s fastest search engine plus instant shortcuts to CountBricks.com/services, cloud drive folders, weather reports, and local code look-ups. The result is tighter schedules, quicker answers for crews, and more profitable builds.
• They treat the browser home screen as a launchpad, not a distraction.
• They create bookmark bars that include CountBricks dashboards, inspection portals, and supplier catalogs.
• They standardize those settings on every office workstation, laptop, and rugged tablet issued to site supervisors.
1. Click the three-dot menu in the top right.
2. Select “Settings,” then “On startup.”
3. Choose “Open a specific page.”
4. Enter https://www.google.com and click “Add.”
5. To keep CountBricks one click away, drag the CountBricks.com icon onto the bookmarks bar.
1. Open the three-dot menu and choose “Settings.”
2. Select “Start, home, and new tabs.”
3. Under “When Edge starts,” pick “Open these pages,” then add Google.
4. Pin CountBricks.com/portfolio for instant access to past residential projects.
1. Click the hamburger menu and select “Settings.”
2. In the “Home” panel, use the dropdown next to “Homepage and new windows.”
3. Choose “Custom URLs…” and paste Google’s address.
4. Bookmark CountBricks.com/consultation so homeowners can sign proposals while you’re still at the kitchen table.
Setting Google as your homepage is only the beginning. Combine it with CountBricks’ AI estimate generation and you create a friction-free digital workflow:
• Say “Hey CountBricks, open my last estimate” in the mobile app; Chrome launches, Google opens, and the saved CountBricks login fills in automatically.
• Use Google Search to find “2023 Ontario residential code soffit clearance,” then copy the spec directly into your CountBricks material notes.
• Launch Google Maps from the homepage to verify drive times for trades, paste the distances into your CountBricks labor allocation screen, and generate more accurate invoices.
• Enable Chrome Sync so every laptop and smartphone inherits the same homepage and bookmark set.
• Create a “CountBricks” bookmarks folder with sub-links to estimates, takeoffs, and support.
• Add the CountBricks Progressive Web App (PWA) to your Android or iOS home screen for offline estimate editing.
• Use Google’s built-in voice search when your hands are full of plans.
• Schedule a quarterly digital clean-up: archive old bookmarks and pin new CountBricks feature pages.
Residential builders handle sensitive homeowner data—budgets, addresses, and blueprints. When making Google my homepage, tighten security before rolling the setting company-wide:
• Turn on two-factor authentication for both Google and CountBricks logins.
• Require strong passwords through your company password manager.
• Use Chrome’s site permissions to block notifications from distracting sites while whitelisting CountBricks.com.
• Activate automatic clearing of browsing data on shared tablets handed to subcontractors.
Digital adoption fails when field personnel see new tools as extra work. CountBricks’ onboarding specialists include “making Google my homepage” as part of our complimentary training package. We walk each crew leader through the browser settings above, then demonstrate how the new start page connects directly to:
• Real-time voice-driven estimating
• Instant material cost updates from CountBricks databases
• AI-powered blueprint takeoffs synced to their Google Drive
• Downloadable, homeowner-ready quote documents
After standardizing on Google as the homepage and integrating CountBricks shortcuts, our average residential client reports:
• 18% faster estimate turnaround
• 25% reduction in email back-and-forth with suppliers
• 12% decrease in jobsite travel due to better online coordination
Making Google my homepage is a ten-minute task that pays continuous dividends. Pair it with CountBricks and you unlock a fully optimized digital toolkit built for builders, not IT departments. Visit CountBricks.com/consultation to book a live demo, or explore our project gallery at CountBricks.com/portfolio to see how other residential companies transformed their workflows.
Ridgeview Renovations, a mid-size custom home builder, partnered with CountBricks when rising material volatility made manual spreadsheets unmanageable. During onboarding, our consultants noticed wasted minutes each morning while teams dug through bookmarks to locate estimating tools. We recommended one change—making Google the homepage on every device and pinning CountBricks shortcuts.
1. Day 1: IT lead followed the browser steps outlined in this guide and pushed policies via Chrome Enterprise.
2. Day 3: CountBricks trainers hosted a 30-minute lunch-and-learn to demonstrate the new start-page workflow.
3. Day 10: Field tablets mirrored office settings; supervisors reported immediate speed gains.
• Estimate preparation time dropped from 2.5 hours to 1.9 hours per home.
• First-call resolution on material substitutions rose from 70% to 91% thanks to rapid Google searches.
• Overall project overhead shrank by 4%, saving Ridgeview nearly $38,000 across five builds.
• Standardize: A single homepage and bookmark structure eliminates confusion when switching between devices.
• Automate: Use Google Sync and CountBricks API integrations so data follows the user, not the computer.
• Educate: Short, focused training sessions drive adoption far better than lengthy manuals.
The Ridgeview example proves that small digital tweaks amplify the power of CountBricks’ AI estimating engine. If you’re ready to replicate these gains, start by making Google your homepage today, then schedule a personalized walkthrough at CountBricks.com/services. With one click you’ll access every code book, cost index, and blueprint that keeps your residential projects on budget and on time.
