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One Hour Air Conditioning - February 8, 2012 by Mr HomeBuilder

10-06-2011 12:44 One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning shows you how to diagnose and fix your heating system. http://www.OneHourAirDallas.com One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning - Dallas has been serving the Dallas, Collin and Rockwall county area for 44 years. We promise prompt and professional service to all of our customers. "Always on time, or you don't pay a dime." ™ We look forward to solving all your heating and air conditioning repair, installation and service needs. Call us now to schedule an appointment. 214.328.2100 Featured Services Whole House Seal, Radiant Barrier, Heating and Air Conditioning Maintenance and Repair, Heating and Air Conditioning Installation, All Heating and Air Conditioner Services, Air Duct Cleaning, Furnace Repair and Services, New Furnace Installation, Heat Pumps, Compressors and Parts. Available Services: Air Handlers, Indoor Air Quality, Maintenance Agreements, Insulation and more. Our services are not limited to only HVAC maintenance, HVAC installation, and HVAC repair. One Hour Air Conditioning and Heating in Dallas also is concerned with the QUALITY of the air inside your home. Allergies are a big problem here in North Texas. Statistics prove that often the quality of air inside your home can be worse than outside, due to the home being air tight and accumulating dust, molds, and contaminants. Your air conditioning ducts often harbor many of these contaminants. One Hour Air offers Air Duct Cleaning to promote a healthy indoor environment. Call us today or fill out the ...

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One Hour Air Conditioning

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Building permits in December rise to hit levels last seen in June 2007 - February 7, 2012 by Mr HomeBuilder

OTTAWA - Construction plans heated up strongly in December as municipalities issued $6.8 billion worth of building permits, the highest level since June 2007.

Statistics Canada said Tuesday that was a jump of 11.1 per cent over November and was driven mainly by increased plans for apartments and condos in Ontario and commercial buildings in Alberta.

The value of residential sector permits rose 16.1 per cent to $4.5 billion in a second consecutive monthly increase.

Major projects in Ontario pushed permits for multi-family dwellings up 28.9 per cent to $1.9 billion, the highest level since December 2005.

In the non-residential sector, the value of permits grew 2.8 per cent to $2.4 billion in December, following a 15.1 per cent drop in November.

The total value of building permits was up in five provinces, led by Ontario, Alberta and Quebec.

Municipalities issued $2.6 billion worth of permits for single-family dwellings in December, up 8.1 per cent from November. The rise was attributable to higher construction intentions in six provinces, led by Quebec and Alberta.

In the commercial component, the value of permits jumped 41.0 per cent to $1.6 billion in December.

The increase follows two monthly declines and was driven by higher construction intentions for office buildings and warehouse facilities in Alberta, as well as hotels in Ontario.

The value of industrial permits declined 24.2 per cent to $353 million in December. It was the second consecutive monthly decrease.

In the institutional sector, the value of building permits declined 42.2 per cent to $402 million. It was a second consecutive monthly decline after the sector hit a peak of more than $1 billion in October 2011.

The largest declines were in construction intentions for educational institutions in Ontario, health care facilities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and government buildings in British Columbia.

The total value of permits issued rose in 17 of 34 census metropolitan areas.

Toronto had the largest increase, followed by Calgary. Toronto's increase was mostly attributable to building permits for multi-family dwellings. Calgary's increase was largely due to higher intentions for commercial buildings and single-family dwellings.

The largest declines were in Ottawa and Vancouver.

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Building permits in December rise to hit levels last seen in June 2007

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Fitch Updates 2012 Oil and Gas Price Decks - February 6, 2012 by Mr HomeBuilder

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Fitch Ratings has revised its 2012 price decks for both U.S. oil and natural gas, reflecting various market factors and underlying conditions.

Fitch has raised its 2012 base case oil price to $87.50/barrel for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and to $95/barrel for Brent to reflect near-term market factors. Long-term prices for WTI and Brent remain unchanged at $65/barrel and $70/barrel, respectively. These base cases incorporate the reliance by oil companies on emerging market growth, lingering geopolitical risks, and investor concerns with global inflation.

Current oil prices remain well above Fitch's long-term base case expectation. While prices could rise due to increased geopolitical tensions, Fitch believes downside risks to oil prices remain significant. Fitch also notes that oil and liquid prices continue to drive the majority of capex decision in the exploration and production sector.

Fitch has also lowered its U.S. natural gas price deck with 2012 base case Henry Hub (HH) prices at $3.25 per thousand cubic feet and long-term prices lowered to $5.00/mcf from $5.50/mcf. The drop reflects the combination of warm weather, continued weakness in the U.S. economy and the ongoing supply of unconventional natural gas from U.S. shale production.

Fitch's price deck intends to reflect a more conservative view of future price levels for modeling and rating purposes, and for evaluating future commodity price expectations from a bondholder perspective. Fitch's price deck will often remain below current spot and future markets as a result. The price deck also reflects just supply/demand fundamentals, particularly the long-term price deck, with the recognition that near-term events can result in significant deviations from fundamental levels.

The full report 'Updating Fitch's Oil & Gas Price Deck' is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research: Updating Fitch's Oil and Gas Price Deck

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=670073

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: http://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE.

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Fitch Updates 2012 Oil and Gas Price Decks

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Broken Appliance With No Available Parts? Add That Manufacturer To Your No-Buy List - February 6, 2012 by Mr HomeBuilder

What will it take to get manufacturers to support their products instead of leaving consumers with disposable televisions and refrigerators or mobile phones (and digital music players) with irreplaceable batteries?

A Magnavox TV/DVD combo that cost Frank Lusk of Westbrook $300 at Target in August 2010 stopped working last September, just beyond the one-year warranty.

"A local TV repair shop returned it to me after about three weeks, saying they could not get repair parts," says Lusk.

He checked with Magnavox, then brought the set to a licensed repair shop. Three days later, the shop said it, too, could not get repair parts. For that, Lusk paid a $40 estimate fee.

Lusk then called Magnavox again, which told him, 'tis true, no repair parts. Too bad it wasn't under warranty, Magnavox told him, because it could have been exchanged for a new television.

Lusk thought he was out $300 until he read a magazine story on buying an HDTV that suggested paying for the set with a credit card rather than buying an extended warranty. (Some credit cards double a manufacturer's warranty, up to a year.)

So Lusk checked with his credit-card company, which did offer extended-warranty coverage, and filed a claim in late December. Two weeks later, he received a check for $317, which included tax.

But he won't buy another Magnavox.

"The only recourse we have as consumers in a situation like this," he says, "is to take our business elsewhere. I bought a new TV, but it was not a Magnavox and I did not buy it at Target."

Let's call it the No-Buy List. Lusk's drawing one up: He's not buying whatever Magnavox is selling.

We've all got a candidate for the No-Buy List. Here's one from TBL, who bought a rechargeable Dirt Devil broom (model MBV2030) in October 2008 for quick-cleaning around a litter box. The broom worked fine until several months ago when the batteries drained almost immediately.

Finally, it was time for a replacement battery pack. A search online revealed none, either from Royal, which owns the Dirt Devil brand, or an aftermarket manufacturer.

What?

Last week, TBL contacted Royal's corporate office, which acknowledged the company does not make a replacement.

"They are manufactured as part of the machine," says a Royal corporate representative. "We don't even have a part number for the batteries."

A rechargeable broom with irreplaceable batteries?

I was dumbfounded. (My neat-freak cat, Chesty Morgan, was devastated.)

Royal's idea of customer service is to offer duped owners of the MBV2030 rechargeable broom a 30 percent discount on another vacuum at the company's website.

Then what? Call back in three years about another machine that doesn't work and can't be fixed?

No thanks.

You know what you deserve, Royal? A permanent spot on my No-Buy List.

Who belongs on your No-Buy List? Visit the TBL blog (www.courant.com/TBL) and tell your story under "Leave A Comment" on this column entry.

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Broken Appliance With No Available Parts? Add That Manufacturer To Your No-Buy List

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"Shades of Gray" – How to make a countertop out of concrete in Glen Rose, Tx – Video - February 6, 2012 by Mr HomeBuilder

20-09-2011 17:18 August 2011 Job of the Month Some of you may think the home in this project looks a lot like the one in the previous job of the month, and you would be completely right! Our Glen Rose, Tx homewoners loved what we did with their floors and wanted us to show them we knew how to make a countertop for them. Of course, concrete was the material of choice. They loved the neutral look of a natural gray countertop so after a little hiccup at the start (see below) we went right to work building a mold on the cabinets they had installed after we had finished acid staining their floors. The first day of our how to make a countertop out of concrete project started off on the wrong foot as we got a short spell of rain the day before we arrived. Usually no big deal but the only access to the house was over a long and narrow dirt trail. I tried to get my little station wagon up there but didn't get too far, it went axle deep in the first four feet and almost didn't come out (Thank goodness we had the Ford F350 around). Even that one was a nail bitter as it was loaded with two thousand pounds of cement. My guy pointed the nose down the trail, gunned it, and painted my car from bumper to bumper with a thick, smelly, goopy layer of mud. Ahh.., in the end it was worth it, he got all the way up the hill and saved us having to unload and hump a ton of cement about a quarter mile to the job site. After that, things went smoother and we got down to business. We started by creating a sturdy base ...