Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

NEW! Do you have a question about mold? Are you in the middle of a mold battle and needing some help or advice? Ask your question today.

When it comes to having mold removed from your home, one of the things youll need to consider is the remediation cost. Of course, the safety and health of your family (there are 7 good ways to know if a mold is dangerous) is more important than the price youll have to pay to remove the mold, but its still a good idea to be aware of how much something might cost you. If the area is a small one (weve got 5 tips for fighting a small infestation), you can remove the mold yourself with just a few dollars worth of cleaning supplies. If youre concerned about breathing the spores, you can get a respirator, and youll still only have spent around $120 to $150.

When The Job Is Too Big

For large areas, though, youll need specialists. The remediation cost will be much different if you have someone do it for you, but big areas cant be handled very easily be a homeowner, so it may be worth posting a few jobs on Gumtree (in the UK) or Craiglist (in the US) for this and see what responses you get. One of the things a mold remediation specialist can do is clean areas like the crawlspace under your home and the ductwork in the walls and attic. Mold spores that get into your heating and cooling system can just get recirculated through your home, continuing to make you sick even if youve cleaned up the area where you originally found the mold.

Alright, so what can it cost?

The remediation cost of a crawlspace can really vary. It could average as little as $500 or as much as $4,000. If the attic and wall ducts are involved, the cost for those generally ranges from $2,000 to $6,000. If your home has been flooded and the mold is all throughout it, there is much more that has to be done. This could drive your remediation cost up to $10,000 to $30,000 and it could even go higher, depending on the size of your home.

Remember Insurance Considerations

When youre considering insurance, make sure you get something that will cover at least part of the remediation cost if you live in a flood zone (weve got some tips on handling water damage claims). Most consumers dont have that kind of money to spend out of pocket, and you probably dont, either. Even though youll have an idea of how much something should cost, be sure to shop around. The first company you find might not be the best one for your needs. The price may be different, and you also have to pay attention to the credentials.

Look For Experienced Remediators

You want people whove been removing mold (especially black mold) for a while, not new people who arent sure about the job. Youll also want to see if there is some kind of guarantee offered and there should be. You dont want to find out that the people didnt do their jobs properly and the mold has come back, only to be told that there is nothing that can be done until you pay more money.

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Mold Removal Cost What You Can Expect To Pay - The ...

An outlawed plant could help fight Americas top killer,heart disease, which ended the lives of nearly 600,000 in the United States in 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A recent analysis identified several potentially heart-healthy chemicals in hemp, marijuanas hard-working, non-intoxicating cousin.

In particular, oil from hemp seeds contained high levels of alpha-linolenic acid, according to the study published by Spanish pharmacologists in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. Alpha-linolenic acid is an omega-3 fatty acid that research suggests could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

Hemp seed oils high polyunsaturated fat content -- compared to saturated fats -- could help reduce peoples cholesterol levels and treat atherosclerosis, or the buildup of materials on the inside of arteries, wrote the researchers from the University of Seville, Spain.

PHOTOS: 7 Ways Drugs Ain't What They Used to Be

The hemp oil also held gamma-linolenic acid. This chemical improved the condition of mice suffering from fibromyalgia syndrome, a chronic degenerative disease, in an experiment published in the Journal of Functional Foods.

The hemp seed used in the study grew in western Canada. Canada legalized industrial hemp in 1998 for the production of fiber, vegetable oil and other products.

BLOG: Marijuana Farms: Just Google It

Since 1958, hemp has remained illegal in much of the United States, but change recently sprouted.

The Farm Bill currently working through the Senate would allow industrial hemp pilot projects on American farms. Seeking a head start in the reemergent hemp business, some state governments moved early in anticipation of the passage of the bill. For example, Kentuckys General Assembly voted to legalize hemp last year and recently began moving forward with a test project, reported USA Today.

Botanists classify hemp and marijuana as different varieties of one plant, Cannabis sativa. Sturdy fibers from the stems of hemp have been used for thousands of years to make rope, fabric and other materials, yet contain very little tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the main intoxicating chemicals that gives the flowers of the female marijuana plant her illegal potency.

Read more here:
Hemp Gets High Five for Heart-Health Benefits

ASLA Green Roof

Learn more about how landscape architects can save cities millions of dollars, reduce obesity, and more.

Restoring endangered wetlands, reducing hospital stays, securing government and other buildings, removing toxins from rainwater these aren't pie in the sky. It's what landscape architects are designing right now. A few examples include:

Healing gardens Working with medical professionals, landscape architects create landscapes that reduce stress, boost the immune system, improve Alzheimer's symptoms, encourage physical activity, and reduce time spent in hospitals.

Bioremediation Landscape architects use natural systems of plants, fungi, or soil microbes to transform formerly polluted industrial sites into a safe and valuable public green space.

Green Roofs Instead of a black tar roof, a living system of plants and soil can actually reduce air temperature by 59 degrees in the summer, save winter heating costs, clean and store rainwater, and provide habitat to pollinating insects and birds.

Energy Savings Landscape architects can utilize trees, shrubs and other plants to lower a home's heating/cool costs by as much as 50 percent in the summer and up to 8 percent in the winter.

Originally posted here:
Landscape Architecture - Your Environment. Designed.

Bradley C. Bower/Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT

Landscape architect David Hughes is also a skilled woodworker who salvages garden debris to make rustic furniture.

Flagstone terrace is featured that David Hughes, of Doylestown, Pa., carved out of the face of a cliff for clients in Upper Black Eddy. (Courtesy David Hughes via Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT)

David Hughes created this 4-foot-tall garden gate using native Eastern red cedar and Moravian tiles. (Courtesy David Hughes via Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT)

PHILADELPHIA David Hughes, a Doylestown, Pa., landscape architect with an affinity for native flora and natural landscapes, often finds himself ripping out dead, overgrown or otherwise-undesirable plants to make way for new.

But he doesnt haul that nasty Japanese honeysuckle, Chinese white mulberry, or Norway maple to the dump, curb or chipper. Hughes is that rare soul who prizes what other designers and gardeners despise, more so if its scarred by deer browsing, insect damage, or disease.

Thats because, in addition to designing ecologically responsible landscapes in the Philadelphia region, Hughes, 46, is a skilled woodworker who makes rustic furniture from garden debris, a kind of plant-world Dumpster diver.

To me, its a nice marriage, landscaping and woodworking, says Hughes, whose five-year-old business, his second, is called Weatherwood Design. It comprises about 70 percent landscaping and 30 percent woodworking.

Storm-felled trees and gnarly vines make good raw materials. So do pruned branches, old barn boards, and stuff plucked, with permission, from the side of the road.

An arborist friend scouts out intriguing branches and discarded trunks. Hughes helps the Natural Lands Trust and local preserves thin out invasives or dead trees. And every July 4, again with permission, he rescues unwanted driftwood from death by bonfire at a public beach on Marylands Eastern Shore.

Link:
Recycling nature: Rustic furniture from garden 'debris'

Every week until the 86th Oscars on March 2, 2014, The Hollywood Reporter's lead awards analyst, Scott Feinberg, will post an updated "Feinberg Forecast," wherein he presents a summary of major developments since the last update that helped to shape his current opinions, and then lists his revised projections. For more about Feinberg and how he arrives at his projections, as well as an acronyms key, scroll to the bottom of this post.

The week ahead:

The week that was:

Without further ado, here is the forecast...

BEST PICTURE Nominees 1. 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight, 10/18, R, trailer) PGA, HFPA, BFCA, AFI, BSFC, TIFF, SAG, DGA, IFP, BAFTA, FI, ACE, ADG, ASC, CDG 2. Gravity (Warner Bros., 10/4, PG-13, trailer) DGA, PGA, AFI, LAFCA (tie), HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA, ACE, ADG, ASC, CAS, VES 3. American Hustle (Sony, 12/13, TBA, trailer) SAG, AFI, NYFCC, DGA, PGA, HFPA, BFCA, WGA, BAFTA, ACE, ADG, CDG 4. The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount, 12/25, R, trailer) AFI, DGA, PGA, HFPA, BFCA, WGA, ACE, ADG 5. Philomena (The Weinstein Co., TBA, TBA, trailer) HFPA, BAFTA, FI, CDG 6. Captain Phillips (Sony, 10/11, PG-13, trailer) AFI, DGA, PGA, HFPA, BFCA, WGA, BAFTA, ACE, ADG, ASC, CAS, VES 7. Nebraska (Paramount, 11/22, R, trailer) AFI, PGA, HFPA, BFCA, WGA,FI, ACE, ASC, CDG 8. Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features, 11/1, R, trailer) SAG, PGA, BFCA, WGA, CDG 9. Her (Warner Bros., 12/18, TBA, trailer) AFI, NBR, LAFCA (tie), PGA, HFPA, BFCA, WGA, ACE, ADG, CDG

BEST DIRECTOR Nominees 1. Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) DGA, HFPA, BFCA, LAFCA, NYFCO, BAFTA 2. Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) NYFCC, BSFC, DGA, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA, FI 3. David O. Russell (American Hustle) DGA, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA 4. Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street) DGA, BFCA, BAFTA 5. Alexander Payne (Nebraska)

BEST LEADING ACTOR Nominees 1. Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, IFP, HFA, FI 2. Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street) HFPA, BAFTA 3. Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) BSFC, NYFCO, SAG, HFPA, BFCA, IFP, BAFTA, FI 4. Bruce Dern (Nebraska) NBR, LAFCA, CAN, SAG, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA, FI 5. Christian Bale (American Hustle) HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA

BEST LEADING ACTRESS Nominees 1. Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, LAFCA (tie), NYFCC, NSFC, BSFC, NYFCO, IFP, BAFTA, FIBAFTA 2. Judi Dench (Philomena) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA 3. Amy Adams (American Hustle) SAG, HFPA, BAFTA 4. Sandra Bullock (Gravity) HFA, SAG, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA 5. Meryl Streep (August: Osage County) SAG, HFPA, BFCA

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Projected Nominees 1. Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, LAFCA (tie), NYFCC, NYFCO, FI 2. Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA, FI 3. Bradley Cooper (American Hustle) HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA 4. Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street) 5. Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Projected Nominees 1. Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) SAG, BFCA, LAFCA, NYFCO, HFPA, BAFTA, FI 2. Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) HFPA, NYFCC, NSFC, SAG, BFCA, BAFTA 3. June Squibb (Nebraska) BSFC, SAG, BFCA, HFPA, FI 4. Julia Roberts (August: Osage County) HFA, SAG, BFCA, HFPA, BAFTA 5. Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine) HFPA, BAFTA, FI

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FEINBERG FORECAST: Oscars Landscape in the Home Stretch

January 31, 2014 - Pacific Coast League (PCL) Round Rock Express ROUND ROCK, Texas - The Round Rock Express and Ryan Sanders Sports Turf Services have finalized plans to rebuild the Oak Hill Youth Sports Association (OHYSA) baseball and softball fields that were left damaged by the severe flooding in October.

The Express, their Turf Services counterpart, along with help from Diamond Pro, Fenske Sand Gravel, the Houston Astros, Jack Allen's Kitchen, the Nolan Ryan Foundation, the Perfect Mound, Sunbelt Rentals, the Texas Rangers Foundation and Whittlesey Landscape Supplies have agreed to rebuild the field surfaces on seven fields at the complex: five baseball diamonds and two softball fields. The baseball fields will receive a new infield and sideline sod and all fields will receive new skinned clay areas.

Since the flooding, OHYSA has hosted several fundraisers throughout the community to cover the cost to repair the damaged fields, but was still short of the total needed.

"We're happy to be able to pull together with some of our partners and help bridge the fundraising gap to get these field repairs done for the players, coaches and families of Oak Hill," said Express CEO Reese Ryan.

Repairs will start Monday, February 3 and are expected to be done in time for the association's spring league.

The Express kicks off their 15th season on Thursday, April 3 against the Oklahoma City RedHawks. For more information on the Express, visit http://www.RoundRockExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook and Twitter !

Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board... Digg this story Add to Del.icio.us

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Round Rock Express Finalizes Plans to Rebuild Oak Hill Fields

How to Turn a Room Into Something Fun : Updating Your Home
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How to Turn a Room Into Something Fun : Updating Your Home - Video

How to Pack Cookware : Updating Your Home
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How to Pack Cookware : Updating Your Home - Video

Sunset Idea House: Breezehouse 2012 Kitchen Tour
Interior designer Sharon Portnoy gives a tour of the kitchen in Sunset #39;s Healdsburg, CA idea house.

By: Sunset magazine

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Sunset Idea House: Breezehouse 2012 Kitchen Tour - Video

What Does it Take to be an Interior Designer?
IDEC Competition Video - Our video highlights the steps that someone hoping to obtain a career in the field of Interior Design must take to become licensed.

By: csanders229

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What Does it Take to be an Interior Designer? - Video