20-02-2012 01:50 The whims of a dictator, war, and salt water erosion have all contributed to the deterioration of one of the wonders of the ancient world in Iraq. Babylon, built 2600 years ago, suffered under the weight of Saddam Hussein's 1980s emulation of King Nebuchadnezzar, building his own palace on top of Babylon's north palace. The weight of modern stones, concrete, and erosion caused by new salt water canals near the ancient palace have caused great damage to the site. The structural and environmental impact of Saddam's palace coupled with poor attempts at restoration twice kept Babylon from being recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site. During the US occupation, the ancient city was home to US and Polish troops whose trucks and helicopters further damaged the one-time centre of astronomy, science, and culture. Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf reports from Baghdad on efforts to restore this wonder of the ancient world.

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Efforts under way to restore Babylon's glory - Video

Members of the McKay family, which had occupied their home at 13 Gilmore St. for generations, were proud of their family homestead. So proud, in fact, that they had ordered an historic house plaque through the Foxborough Historical Commission that identified the building as being built by Daniels Carpenter in 1876, the year that American celebrated its Centennial. Mr. Carpenter himself was a blend of Foxborough's first two families, Daniels and Carpenter and there was much to be proud of.

But when changes in family circumstances dictated the sale of the home, most of the builders who had expressed an interest planned to demolish the structure to take advantage of the large corner lot to erect a new building.

Fearing there would be nothing left of the structure, they removed the historic plaque as a keepsake prior to the closing, fearing it might be the only thing left to remind them of their childhood home.

But wait. The successful bidder on the property wasn't one of the early builders who had planned to demolish the house. It was Maystar Realty, owned by Greg and Kathy Spier, and when Greg explained to the family that he and Kathy planned to save the historic home and restore it, they were overjoyed. They quickly gave Greg the historic plaque that it might remain on the house for all to see its proud history and extended their best wishes for a successful restoration.

Many challenges

Greg admits to thinking "it would only require a quick renovation before we could rent out each of the duplex units," but old houses have a way of striking the word "quick" from the vocabulary.

Renovations started with the "newest' section of the house, the one and one-half story kitchen wing. Added to the main building about 1920, it had settled six inches over its 20-foot length. Checking out the foundation, the problem quickly became much more involved. The wing had apparently been moved into place from another site. It was supported by a combination of stone rubble and oak logs directly on the ground without any footings.

The next 60 days were spent pouring footings and replacing wooden logs with metal columns on concrete footings. Four house jacks were used to raise, level and stabilize the wing.

"We were so excited to get the floor level," said Greg, "but then we had to straighten the windows which were now six inches out of level."

Stripping two layers of siding revealed the original pine shingles but also exposed the damage to the entire balloon beam framing that had been damaged by powder beetles. It would have to be replaced or removed.

Six months into the project, so much labor expended, but they would have nothing to show for the effort, as circumstances dictated there was only one possible alternative and that was to remove the wing and replace it with a new structure.

For less determined builders, that could have been a deal-breaker, but for Greg and Kathy, it was back to the Building Commissioner Bill Casbarra to check zoning, setbacks and building codes.

Casbarra ruled a new wing would be considered a new structure under current codes but that the main existing structure could be renovated under the remodeling section of the code as long as the original stairs connecting the two remained in place.

Determined to press forward, Greg and Kathy agreed to continue renovating the original structure and use the new, now expanded wing to provide new kitchens for both rental units.

They then brought in an architect to design the replacement wing that would complement the architecture of the original home.

While waiting for the final design, they decided to investigate the structural integrity of the remaining original structure. Considering the challenges that had been encountered in the wing, only the most determined - and courageous - would move deeper into the project.

When starting to remove the wood planking from the basement floor, they found the planks had been placed on top of chaffed oak logs cut flat on one edge to support the planks.

The oak logs had rotted and had to be removed. They also noted the brick and stone foundation under the main house had deteriorated. The bricks were lying loose on the ground.

Another critical item was the absence of a main structural beam supporting the two-story building. Back to the architect and Building Commissioner to learn what would be required.

The remedy would be to temporarily support the entire house while digging out and installing a new foundation and interior footings. Cement interior footings were put in place to support the entire house while pouring a cement footing and a new masonry block wall. With the use of a mini-excavator and a lot of hand digging, the basement floor area was also lowered for improved ceiling height.

Ready to restore

Once the building was finally structurally sound, work could commence on the actual restoration. Greg and Kathy were determined that the house would be rebuilt from the bottom up, and over the next few months that is precisely where they would be, any-where from the basement floor to the shingles on the roof.

The next challenging phase of the work would involve another family member, Greg and Kathy's nephew, Mark Lightbody. "His challenge was to rebuild the house from the inside out," said Greg, "starting with the replacement of all the foundations and main supporting beams.

Making another quantum leap forward, it was decided to remove all exterior siding and replace it with cement siding, build the curved top dormers in the mansard roof and replace all exterior rotted wood with PVC trim.

All windows were replaced with Energy Star Harvey windows and they took that even further by renovating the entire house to Energy Star standards. That required replacing insulation throughout the structure and installing a new heating systems with new 93% efficient HVAC units.

The original location of the lower level entry facing Gilmore Street was also rebuilt for new entrances to the lower levels.

In her element

As the structural part of the restoration neared completion, Kathy Crane Spier came into her own element, one of layout, design, color choices and accents. The history of the property promoted decisions such as red roof shingles on the mansard roof and selecting a dark gray exterior color, transforming one of the least attractive structures on the street into one of the most pristine homes in the neighborhood.

More than six months had passed since those first thoughts of a "quick renovation" had passed when guests were invited to a neighborhood party to see the finished product, the fully restored home with its new wing. Audible gasps could be heard as guests slowly made their way, room to room, through three floors of quality craftsmanship, unique design and tasteful appointments that included such practical applications as two bathrooms for each unit, new kitchens with stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops and a living area that said "welcome" to a home with a long history enhanced by a commitment to a total restoration.

"It certainly was challenging," said Greg of the project, "more challenging than we ever realized. But in the end, we have the satisfaction of having taken a building of historical significance and totally rebuilt it structurally and restored it to its original splendor, the gem of the neighborhood."

The commitment of Greg and Kathy Spier, together with Mark Lightbody, was recognized by the Foxborough Historical Commission with its 2011 Historic Restoration Award in appreciation of their efforts and as an encouragement to others who might also be inspired to give an historic property new life and prominence within the community.

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Restoring an historic gem, from the bottom up

Give me a home where the stacks of books loom, and the reader and researcher play.

Two self-described bookish people with an unusual dream worked a quarter-century and amassed a 30,000-volume collection on "the land and people's connection to the land" that could make any naturalist drool.

It's called the Rocky Mountain Land Library, and experts say it's a Colorado treasure. But the books are about to be homeless.

Soft-spoken Tattered Cover Book Store employees Jeffrey Lee and his wife, Ann Martin, who met on the job, bought all of those books and stored them in every nook and cranny of the rooms of their rented home on Humboldt Street.

After about 23 years , they must move because the house will be sold.

This collection of nature books has evolved into one of the finest archives of it's kind anywhere. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)

They have found a much smaller place for themselves, but there's not enough room for the books.

Losing the house was "totally depressing and disorienting," Lee said. The timing was bad — which becomes apparent as the story unfolds — but they rally.

By midweek, Lee, Martin and helpers had packed more than 100 of the 600 large boxes they estimated would get the job done. "But we're kind of wondering if we low-balled it," Lee said sheepishly.

They're also wondering where the books will go. They have a March 8 deadline.

Upstairs, the situation seems almost under control. But in the basement, the stacks are floor-to-rafters. Leaning. Forming walls. Framing the furnace and water heater. Filling the stairwell. Each book is a beautiful brick of paper and knowledge bound together and asking to be held.

However, picking up the beguiling "Mad Farmer Poems" or a Teddy Roosevelt biography off a basement stack might set off an avalanche of the printed word.

"Ann and I have always gravitated to the same kind of books: natural history," Lee said.

Bird, bee, bug, beast and botany books are abundant enough to populate their own sections. The Rocky Mountains are well-represented, but then so is every range on the planet.

They have a serious American Indian collection. And here and there is the odd title: "Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay."

Each book, however chaotic its placement in the basement, has a handwritten 3-by-5 index card devoted to it. These books are loved.

"I had to actually see the books to believe it," said John Calderazzo, a Colorado State University English professor and a nature writer on the board of the nonprofit, all-volunteer Rocky Mountain Land Library.

"It's the best nature library I know of anywhere. There are so many beautiful books. Piles and piles and piles. There's a thin line between collecting and hoarding," he said, laughing loud.

Lee and Martin have made the books available to nature writers and others interested in them, and some have been used in the Tattered Cover's Rocky Mountain Land speaker series.

But a library that exists as piles, or in boxes, is not a proper library.

Yet there is much more to the story. Lee and Martin have been slowly hatching and executing a grand plan to create something extraordinary.

They were inspired by a visit in the mid-1990s to "a bed and book" called St. Deiniol's Library, now known as Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Flinstshire, Wales. The residential library, considered an important British research resource in the arts and humanities, was founded by Victorian statesman William Ewart Gladstone in 1895.

"We came back with the naïve thought we could do something like that in Colorado," Lee said.

After years of looking for a site, followed by almost six years of discussion, Lee said, he is close to signing a 99-year lease for a residential land-study center at South Park's circa-1863 Buffalo Peaks Ranch along the Middle Fork of the South Platte River. It's about two hours from Denver and Colorado Springs.

Working with Park County's community-development officials and the city of Aurora, which owns the ranch because of water interests, and Denver Water, which owns water rights, Lee and Martin sketched out program possibilities.

Colorado's residential library could be home to workshops, classes, conferences, field work, heritage tourism and more than 20,000 of Lee and Martin's books, as wells as maps and journals.

The center, with its views of Mount Silverheels, could host and inspire teachers, writers, artists, students, conservationists, ranchers, historians, chefs, astronomers, birders, archaeologists, other scientists and all species of nature lovers.

"We're offering people a refresher course in nature," Lee said. "If you don't have joy in nature, it's hard to save any part of it."

Lee describes himself as "not the most dynamic person," yet he and Martin have dreamed large and recruited well.

The library partnered with Denver Water and the Thorne Ecological Institute to establish in 2009 a 3,000-book Kids and Educators Library at Waterton Canyon's Kassler Center, southwest of metro Denver.

Lee and Martin are also proposing an unconventional library to house children's books and an urban-homestead collection to bring nature into the inner city (urban farming, beekeeping, raising chickens). They are looking for a site. It could also serve as temporary storage for the land library until Buffalo Peaks is a done deal and ready for occupancy in a year or two. One candidate for the urban-connection land library is the Cole Neighborhood's Phillips Center.

They need about $200,000 to put this piece in place. Failing that, they need to find storage space somewhere — on a campus, in a garage or in a warehouse — for about 600 boxes.

"Help us, please," Calderazzo said. "This is really a wonderful resource. And they're great people."

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Colorado Denver has been designing, over several semesters of Kat Vlahos' Studio Class, restoration of the Buffalo Peaks ranchhouse, bunkhouse, barns and other structures to accommodate the land center. Volunteer crews have scraped and painted, cleared brush and fixed fences.

The Environmental Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder gave its 2,500-volume environmental- studies library to the Rocky Mountain Land Library because of storage-space problems of its own.

The Tattered Cover donated shelving it left behind in 2006 when it moved from Cherry Creek to its new location on East Colfax.

So many pieces are in place, or nearly so.

But this weekend, and for the next few weeks, the job is boxing books and finding someplace safe and dry for the short term, until the books are home on the range.

"I'm a little daunted by the task at hand," Martin said. "That's the hurdle in front of us right now. But we're excited. We're moving ahead."

It's not hard to imagine Gladstone cheering them on.

After all, at age 85, he personally hauled most of the 32,000-book collection he donated to its new home at St. Deiniol's using his wheelbarrow.

Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com

Got an idea?

For more on the Rocky Mountain Land Library, visit landlibrary.org or write to jeff@landlibrary.org.

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Couple needs new home for 30,000-volume Rocky Mountain Land Library

By Ronda Wertman
Tribune Correspondent
ELKHART, Ind. – Mary Elizabeth Dye Walker, who was a West Virginia History Hero and a saving force behind the restoration of Traveller’s Rest, the Stone House in Burlington, died Dec. 19 at her home.
Walker was born in Ridgeville, W.Va., in the early part of the 20th Century to William "Daddy Bill" Dye and Mary Homan Dye in The Stone House.
The Stone House, a former stagecoach inn built in the early 19th century, was the birth place to not only Walker, but her father, aunt, uncle, brother and sister.
It was Walker who convinced the former owner John Glad to sell the property to her so that she could give it to the Mineral County Historic Foundation to preserve. Glad later donated the remaining property, giving the site a total of 4.4 acres.
The roots of the Stone House can be traced back to the early 1800s when it was built by the Isaac Kuykendall family. The Stone House was an inn and became a regular stage coach stop on the trek from Winchester to the end of the turnpike.
In the mid 1800s the property changed hands five times, with George Russell Dye (Walker’s grandfather) as the owner in 1870. From 1870 to 1875 the Stone House continued to operate as an inn. Dye then decided to close the inn and utilize the property as a working farm.
It was in 1852 that the Dye family donated one acre of land for the Stone Chapel Church. While the church was torn down in 1937, the cemetery remains, with many of the Dyes buried there.
Elizabeth Dye Walker lived in the Stone House until 1923 and had many memories of growing up there from picking berries, feeding chicken and making mud pies to Thrashing Day and Ice Harvest Day.
Her father got tired of farming and sold the farm in 1923. He moved the family to Indiana, where he sold building supplies. Walker continued to live in Indiana from moving there as a child until her recent death.
Walker shared her memories of the Stone House in her book, "The Old Stone House 'Traveller’s Rest: A History in Bits and Pieces.’"
“I felt it deserved some recognition. It needed to be restored and preserved for the state of West Virginia so it could tell its story to present and future generations,” she said of her home place.
Sales of her book continue to benefit the restoration of the Stone House as the stories are handed down to new generations. The book is available by calling Frank Roleff at 304-788-5129. Books will also be available at the Stone House Traveller’s Rest during the annual Route 50 yard sale May 18-20.
 

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Elizabeth Dye Walker, former Stone House resident, donor, has died in Indiana

CHESTER, Pa., Feb. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Power Home Remodeling Group, the nation's fourth largest home remodeling company, announces Susan Mastrangelo of Marietta, Ga. as the Grand Prize winner of the company's annual $50,000 Home Improvement Sweepstakes. Power has awarded a total of five Grand Prize winners and numerous First Prize winners since the popular sweepstakes' inception in 2007.

Mastrangelo was selected from thousands of entrants from up and down the East Coast to receive the Grand Prize -- $50,000 toward home remodeling products and installation. Mastrangelo's prize provides her 15 energy efficient windows, a new roof, new siding and two entry doors. The updates will help to increase the home's energy efficiency through Georgia's hot summer and cool winter months.

"My initial reaction to winning the $50,000 grand prize was one of disbelief," said Mastrangelo about winning the sweepstakes. "This was the first contest I've ever entered and these things just don't happen to me! The reality is finally setting in, and I'm looking forward to an incredible experience with Power Home Remodeling Group."

Two First Prize winners also benefitted from the Home Improvement Sweepstakes in 2011 as winners of $5,000 in home improvement projects last year. Power Home Remodeling Group provides all products and service for the Home Improvement Sweepstakes installations.

Jeff Kaliner, Power's Founding Partner, commented, "Notifying the winner is one of my favorite parts of this sweepstakes. Hearing the excitement in Susan's voice gave me such joy. Her home is in need of work and she didn't have the funds to have it renovated, so I'm glad we were able to come to the rescue. It's important for us to give back to the community through this sweepstakes program and I'm thrilled to help ease the financial stress of home remodeling for our winners."

The next Power Home Improvement Sweepstakes Grand Prize winner will be chosen on January 2, 2013, and the next First Prize winner of $5,000 will be chosen on April 1, 2012. The contest is open to home-owning residents of Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington D.C. who are 18 years or older.

About Power Home Remodeling Group 
Family-owned since 1992, Power Home Remodeling Group is the nation's fourth largest home remodeling company with more than 1,100 employees and $135 million in sales. Headquartered in Chester, Pa., Power provides energy-saving and environmentally friendly exterior remodeling solutions to residents on the East Coast, including Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, DC. An Inc. 5000 company, Power has served more than 50,000 homeowners and is recognized as a home improvement leader by its "Dealer of the Year" award from Window and Door Magazine and the 2011 "Top Workplace" from The Philadelphia Inquirer. For more information please visit PowerHRG.com, or follow the company on Twitter @PowerHRG and Facebook at facebook.com/PowerHRG. 

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Power Home Remodeling Names Home Improvement Sweepstakes Winners

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For 16 straight years, the annual rivalry game between Florida and Tennessee has been a staple of CBS Sports and its college football coverage of the SEC.

That streak might end right then and there.

Because of the new conference schedule that features new members Missouri and Texas A&M, Florida and Tennessee’s early season matchup may not be broadcast on CBS in favor of another game that features two more nationally relevant teams, Alabama and Arkansas.

“Normally you don’t have that kind of selection on that day because Alabama and Arkansas in past schedules has been a week later,” CBS Sports executive vice president Mike Aresco said, via the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “Alabama and Arkansas is a game we’ve done the last three years, so it does give us some options on that first Saturday.”

Aresco said CBS has until July to make a final decision.

The Florida-Tennessee game is the only SEC matchup that has been featured every year on CBS since 1996, but Florida has been average the past two seasons and Tennessee is a mess right now. Alabama, on the other hand, just won its second BCS championship in three years and Arkansas is coming off a Cotton Bowl win.

Have to please the masses and go with what’s hot.

But, in a way, it’s a kind of a shame if Florida-Tennessee gets passed over. That’s a game that used to matter. But couple marginal records with a one-sided affair — the Vols haven’t beaten the Gators since 2004 — and you can’t expect TV tycoons to settle for cafeteria Salisbury steak when there’s a filet available.

Of course, the game can still be broadcast on the SEC’s other major media rights partner, ESPN, so it’s not like anything’s going away. It’s just that the game can’t hide behind a scheduling facade anymore where an early-season matchup between two historical SEC powerhouses automatically equals the best available option. More than anything, passing up the game would show just how far Florida-Tennessee has fallen off the national map.

It feels like the Gators can rebound a little more quickly than the Vols, for which the road back to prominence seems longer and more uncertain. What is certain is that when Florida-Tennessee does matter again, college football, not just the SEC, will be better off because of it.

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CFT: Iowa's Ferentz hires son as OL coach

Renewable energy systems specialist, ecofission, has welcomed a new government initiative in the continuing fight to reduce carbon footprint and energy costs. The company say that the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme will increase the uptake of ground source heating technology. This in turn can reduce a business’ carbon footprint by 45% and its heating and cooling costs by up to 55%. To encourage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to join the scheme, ecofission is offering a discount on its systems.

London, UK (PRWEB UK) 20 February 2012

The RHI scheme represents a £860 million commitment from the government. It is designed to encourage the use of greener technology, such as ground source heating, over the next two decades. The carbon targets set for UK emissions over the coming century are ambitious but ground source heating has a major role to play in achieving them.

ecofission’s Project Director, Alan Toms, explains: “A ground source heating or cooling system works by harnessing energy within the ground. It turns this into usable energy that significantly reduces the carbon footprint of buildings as well as their running costs. The arrival of RHI not only demonstrates a commitment from the government to improve our environment but it also shows a commitment to growing the green economy, which in turn will bring new employment opportunities.”

The installation of one of these systems can now guarantee a quarterly return on a company’s investment, depending on the size of the system. The RHI has no limit in the ‘over 100KW’ category, so an organisation can install a system as large as possible to maximise the return on investment. As the scheme runs for 20 years, there is a real incentive to make the switch as soon as possible. For instance, systems below 100kw will pay 4.3 per kwh; whilst those above 100kw will pay 3p per kwh.

Although the RHI is currently limited to commercial properties, the government has said it will introduce the scheme for domestic users in October 2012. It has undertaken to backdate it for all projects installed since 2009. To prevent the market from stalling prior to October, it has created a one-off payment scheme.

ecofission’s Operations Director, Martin Simons, remarks: “We believe that this move by the government will take renewable products even closer to parity with the traditional methods of heating and cooling. We have therefore decided to further encourage SMEs to cut their carbon footprint by offering 15% discount on any systems that are ordered and installed before May 2012.”

Notes for editors:

ecofission is based in Chelmsford, Essex, and specialises in the design and installation of renewable energy systems. It offers a turnkey service from concept through to completion, covering ground source heating and cooling systems; solar thermal collectors; solar PV; and air source heating and cooling systems. Further information can be obtained from the company’s website (http://www.ecofission.eu) or by calling 0844 870 8694.

###

Martin Simons
ecofission
0844 870 8694
Email Information

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Ecofission encourages companies to go green by joining the government's RHI scheme

Sashco launches two new stains in conjunction with education on "A Better Way to Stain" to help consumers transform the look of almost any exterior wood surface.

Brighton, CO (PRWEB) February 20, 2012

Sashco introduces two new additions to its Transformation Stain® line, Transformation Deck & Fence and Transformation Siding & Trim. These additions are a natural step in expanding Sashco’s 30 years of log finishing and maintenance expertise into existing markets. Joining Transformation Log & Timber, this expansion creates a full spectrum of stain solutions under the popular Transformation name, with a stain that’s right for most every exterior wood surface.

Both new stains come standard with what Sashco calls, “A Better Way to Stain,” a bundle of services that proactively educates customers about how to achieve staining success. Sashco has stain experts available by phone or live chat, instructional how-to videos and a mobile website that offers needed info on the go. “In the end, we are passionate about helping our customers achieve great results. Transformation Stain and education on ‘A Better Way to Stain’ is the combo that gets us there,” said Nick Burch, Brand Manager.

Transformation Deck & Fence and Transformation Siding & Trim are easy to apply, easy to maintain, peel-resistant, and provide the UV protection all wood needs to stay beautiful over time. For more information on Transformation Deck & Fence and Transformation Siding & Trim, as well as “A Better Way to Stain,” visit Sashco’s website at http://www.sashco.com/log/products-main-log-stains.html.

About the Company

Since 1936, Sashco has been a leader in innovative products proven to stand the test of time. They manufacture only the highest quality caulking and wood stain products for conventional, log and wood structures. Sashco is committed to delighting the customer with a better way by consistently providing products that work. Visit http://www.sashco.com for more information.

# # #

Charis Babcock
Sashco
303-286-7271
Email Information

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Sashco® Launches Two New Stains for Decks and Wood Siding

Is this mold? It turns out, it’s oxidation on the metal. (CBS)

CHICAGO (CBS)–  It’s one of the scariest things a homeowner can hear: “You’ve got mold.”

That’s just one of the scare tactics 2 Investigator Pam Zekman found one company using to trick suburban homeowners into paying for expensive mold remediation that they apparently did not need.

A company representative “was saying that everyone in this house could get sick and he was saying that I would not be able to sell this house,”  Deerfield homeowner Craig Davishoff says.

Another homeowner, Julie Newman of Northbrook, had a similar experience.

“I was scared and asked what I could do about that. And he offered on-the-spot remediation,” she says.

For an additional $800, TriState D.U.C.S  agreed to take care of Newman’s alleged mold problem.  That was on top of $400 she was already paying for duct cleaning.

“I feel like the whole thing now, in retrospect, is a scam,” Newman says.

Why?  Newman and other customers related how TriState technicians would use a swab to get material from inside the vents.  They would then put the swab into a chemically treated vial and, if it turned purple, the technicians would say the homeowner had mold.

But, the test kit instructions say on the box that the swab test “is only a screening tool that cannot and should not be used as a definitive measure of protein containing mold.”

“It could be any one of four or five biological things. And even if it were mold it doesn’t differentiate the different types,” says Larry Schwartz, owner of Safestart Environmental.”

To do that, experts certified in detecting mold, like Schwartz, send a sample to be tested in a lab. Schwartz was hired to do just that by the Parsons family after Tri-State said their Lake Zurich home had mold.

“I totally just freaked out, was envisioning the worst possible scenario,” Denise Parsons says.

But lab tests Schwartz requested were negative for all molds except one of the most common.

“That’s a usual and customary level that we all breathe all of the time,” Schwartz says.

When Schwartz told Denise Parsons that she didn’t need any mold remediation, she was visibly relieved.

“That’s wonderful. What a relief. Thank you so much,” she said.

In Davishoff’s Deerfield home, a TriState technician did a swab test in the children’s bedroom and then said the results showed “this is a real bad mold problem,” Davishoff recalled.

Then the technician pointed to white streaks on his basement ductwork as more evidence of mold

“I was shocked,”   Davishoff says.

He was shocked and concerned enough to agree to pay $1,200 more to TriState to fix the alleged mold problem.

Later Davishoff feared he’d been duped and hired Safestart Environmental to double-check for mold.

“It’s nothing more than oxidation on the metal,”  Schwartz says.

Schwartz took samples to a lab for further tests, but once again the verdict came back as “no mold.”

“I was suckered. They lied to me, then they tried to rip me off,” Davishoff says.

Davishoff wasn’t ripped off because he stopped payment on his check to TriState before they could cash it.

The operators of Tri State D.U.C.S, who have used  a variety of similar names,  did not  return calls seeking comment for this story.

Experts say if you really have a mold problem you must find the source of moisture, which is what typically causes mold. It must be repaired and any damaged surfaces should be removed and replaced.

The links listed below are to organizations that can help you select qualified duct-cleaning companies and mold detection or remediation specialists if it turns out you really need them.

The Indoor Air Quality Association

American Council for Accredited Certification

National Air duct Cleaning Association 

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2 Investigators: Firm Accused Of Bogus Mold Cleanups

Posted: Sunday, February 19, 2012 8:03 pm | Updated: 8:15 pm, Sun Feb 19, 2012.

Two weeks after killing off the short-lived transportation impact fees, Kalispell City Council members are staring at a whopping $2,846 proposed increase to more than double the city's wastewater impact fee.

The proposal would push the fee from $2,499 to $5,345 per single-family home or "equivalent residential unit" for new construction.

Also on the table is a reduction to the base water impact fee, from $2,213 to $1,930.

A 122-page study completed in August 2010 makes the case for the impact fees, which are charged to new construction, additions and renovation projects that put more demand on infrastructure and services.

The study lays out service demand projections and lists of costs and system needs - some moving targets - that arise based on how growth materializes in five, 10 and 20 years.

The fees aren't rocket science. But in a staff report to council members, Public Works Director Bill Shaw explains the proposed adjustments simply: starship Kalispell needs them.

"A city's infrastructure could be analogous to the confines of a spaceship," Shaw wrote in the two-page memo.

"No matter how you look at it, you can reside on the spaceship for the cost of rent, monthly fees and taxes, but if you want to develop a new unit or demand, it's going to cost something additional," Shaw wrote.

"The rules are specific about how that cost is calculated and the [impact] fee applied."

Impact fees are dedicated to help pay for growth-related infrastructure costs, keeping those costs off customer rates that provide for maintenance and operations.

Wastewater and water are the city's longest-running impact fees. Before, they were known as connection fees or system development charges.

State law says impact fees must be reviewed and adjusted every two years. These proposals are coming out almost two years behind schedule.

THE PROPOSED impact fee adjustments for wastewater and water have been sitting on a shelf in City Hall for 19 months, as Kalispell first worked out five years of annual sewer rate increases that go into effect in July.

"Equivalent residential unit" is the basic measurement used to calculate fees for larger development projects. For wastewater, that's 265 gallons of sewage per day, the typical usage of a single-family home.

A new school, for example, would be charged .03 equivalent residential units per student. Hospitals are charged 1 equivalent residential unit per bed.

Hotels and motels are charged .25 of an equivalent residential unit per room with additional charges for restaurant, tavern and laundry areas and fractions of a unit for their various plumbing fixtures.

Kalispell's wastewater impact fee is split into two components, one for the collection system and one for the treatment plant. To calculate the fees, growth-related system costs past, present and future are tallied up and divided by the projected number of future customers.

The proposed fee has the collection component increasing from $1,064 to $1,901 and the treatment component increasing from $1,435 to $3,444.

For wastewater treatment, between 2009 and 2035, Kalispell is projected to grow from 15,933 to 37,359 equivalent residential units and to see its average daily sewage flows increase from 4.22 to 9.9 million gallons.

The proposed $5,345 wastewater impact fee per equivalent residential unit can be broken down further:

• $185 per equivalent residential unit for $157,786 of administrative costs;

• $244 per equivalent unit for $1.77 million of future capital improvements to the collection system;

• $1,029 per equivalent residential unit for $21.3 million of committed collection system expansions;

• $561 per equivalent residential unit for $4.5 million of existing collection system costs eligible for impact fee reimbursement, including lines dating back to 1940; and

• $3,325 per unit for $41.4 million of past work and future projects at the wastewater treatment plant. That includes $16 million of the $21.6 million expansion completed in 2009, the biggest driver of the fee increase.

THE PROPOSED water impact fee of $1,930 would be paid for a 3/4-inch water meter connection.

Following that basic rate, "weighted" fees would be $4,825 for a 1-inch meter, $9,650 for a 1.5-inch meter, $15,440 for a 2-inch meter and $30,880 for a 3-inch meter. Fees would be calculated individually for larger connections.

Demand for water is projected to grow from 12,462 equivalent residential units and peak demand of 15.31 million gallons a day in 2009 to 34,139 equivalent residential units and peak demand of 41.93 million gallons a day in 2035.

The water impact fee can be broken down as:

• $80 per equivalent residential unit for $2.76 million of existing and future well costs, including construction of one new well;

• $92 per unit for $112,241 of administrative costs;

• $134 per equivalent residential unit for $4.6 million of existing pumping plant costs eligible for impact fee reimbursement, going back as far as 1913;

• $219 per equivalent residential unit for $1.59 million of future transmission system capital improvements costs;

• $460 per unit for $15.7 million of existing and future storage costs, including construction of three new reservoirs.

• $945 per equivalent residential unit for $7.6 million of existing transmission costs eligible for impact fee reimbursement, including lines dating back to 1911 and 1924.

At Tuesday's meeting, council members will consider resolutions that would set a March 19 public hearing for the proposed wastewater and water impact fee adjustments.

Charles Harball, city attorney and interim city manager, said a work session on the issue will likely be set for Feb. 27, if council members agree.

"We would spend that going over everything with the council and the public, sort of a primer on the methodology," he said.

Kalispell also charges impact fees for stormwater, police and fire services. With the proposed adjustments for wastewater and water, the total amount of impact fees charged for construction of a single-family home would increase from $6,357 to $8,920.

In his report, Shaw defended the total as about 5 percent of Kalispell's median home price, $187,000. He said the costs to install a septic system and well for a similar home in the county would likely be higher, closer to 9 percent.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.

 

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Kalispell considers boosting some impact fees