Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Each year, thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romeros radio show with questions about everything from preventing chimney fires to getting rid of tree roots in their sewer systems. His goal is to provide answers that suit the specific lifestyle wherever someone lives in Arizona. Here are questions about home maintenance and improvement from the Tucson area.

QUESTION: We want to remodel our home, and were planning to put down laminated wood flooring. My husband is hoping that we can put the laminate on top of some very flat ceramic tile that we have in our house. Can we do that?

ANSWER: Putting laminate over an existing tile floor may sound a lot easier than ripping out the tile first, because you wouldnt have as big a mess in your home. But any good, licensed flooring contractor would discourage you from doing that. In fact, if someone tells you that you can do it, I would avoid that contractor. Among the problems you will have is that the doors in and out of the kitchen will not open properly because youre changing the thickness of the floor. You also can have problems with appliance clearances. This overlaying technique can mean trouble, trouble, trouble. And thats not to mention that there will be no warranty on the material by the manufacturer due to the unorthodox installation technique.

Q: I have a manufactured home that has very severe calcium buildup in the hot and cold water lines. Its a city-supplied water system, and my neighbors dont seem to have the same problem. The calcium really plugs up our plumbing fixtures as well. Sometimes I need to take the fittings off and blow air through the system. What can I do about this?

A: It does seem odd that only your home has this calcium buildup while the neighbors do not. You really need an on-site analysis done by a water-treatment expert, like a water softener company, in order to diagnose your problem.

Q: I read an article that said that laurel trees produce bay leaves. Is that true, and can I plant one of those trees?

A: Yes, the bay laurel is a true laurel tree that will produce bay leaves that you can use in cooking. Its a tree that does well in Tucson.

Q: I have interlocking concrete pavers on my driveway, and some of them are sinking down. How can we repair all that?

A: There are several things that could be undermining your pavers which by the way should have been laid on top of an aggregate base, often called ABC, plus a layer of sand. You could have a small fissure or crevice under the pavers or a water leak, for example. The nice feature about pavers is that you can pick them up in the area you want to repair; see what the issue is; and then put the pavers back.

However, you can avoid many problems if you hire a firm to install a driveway or patio that has workers certified to install interlocking concrete pavers. Many inexperienced installers put down too much sand. You need a good 4 inches of the aggregate base and then just an inch of sand with more sand put between the joints.

Original post:
Can I Lay Wood Over an Old Tile Floor?

FORT IRWIN As 2014 begins, construction workers at Fort Irwin are still repairing major damage from last years flood season.

The Army base was battered by a series of thunderstorms in July and August of 2013, with the most damage coming in the aftermath of an Aug. 25 storm that flooded a significant part of the installation.

Leslie Ozawa, Public Affairs Specialist at Fort Irwin, spoke with Muhammad Bari, director of Fort Irwins public works department, about the damages in a December article on the Armys official website.

During this storm, over 160 buildings got minor to severe damage, Bari said. ... We had leaking roofs, flooded basements and mechanical rooms, carpet damage, wall damage.

The flurry of thunderstorms caused at least three major power outages last summer.

The Aug. 25 monsoon storm caused extensive damage to Lewis Elementary School, with the schools 651 students being forced to relocate to various temporary setups on the base.

Fort Irwin Director of Public Affairs Pamela Portland told the Desert Dispatch that according to several people in the installations public works department, the monsoon brought the most severe rain to the base in more than 30 years.

No injuries or deaths were caused as a result of the flood, according to Portland. Nearly five months later, the repair efforts on the base continue. The repair contracts, valued at more than $40 million, are managed by the Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District.

In the days following the flood, all commands on Fort Irwin, its soldiers, family members and civilians, pitched in to restore and resume normal operations, Ozawa said in his Army website article. (W)ork continues on more permanent repairs, as well as on fixes to the posts vulnerability to power outages and storm damage.

Other projects on the base include the 5th Street Project, which began in September. Construction continues at the intersection of 5th Street and South Loop Road, with the aim of installing fixtures that will make it easier for larger trucks to make turns at the intersection.

Continued here:
Rebuilding and going green in 2014

Roy Kelly Multimodal Terminal and Parking Garage: 2013 Texas Society of Architects Design Awards
Roy Kelly Terminal and Parking Garage by Powers Brown Architecture Eleven projects received Design Awards from the Texas Society of Architects in 2013. The p...

By: Texas Society of Architects

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Roy Kelly Multimodal Terminal and Parking Garage: 2013 Texas Society of Architects Design Awards - Video

Fire|Beach House: 2013 Texas Society of Architects Design Awards
Fire|Beach House by HDR Architecture Eleven projects received Design Awards from the Texas Society of Architects in 2013. The projects were published in the ...

By: Texas Society of Architects

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Fire|Beach House: 2013 Texas Society of Architects Design Awards - Video

Building and grounds committee set to vote on architects
For several months Dougherty County School System officials have been narrowing down a list of architects for various school projects..The FOX 31 Newscast is...

By: WFXL

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Building and grounds committee set to vote on architects - Video

Architects Have Varied Background In Building Design

Robert B. Cerny, Ralph Rapson and W. J. Seifert are the three architects who are drawing plans for Fargos new City Hall and auditorium building to be erected in the civic center area along 4th Street North between 1st and 3rd Avenue.

The Forum, Oct. 7, 1956

At the time that story was written, the area between Fourth Street and the river and between First Avenue and Third Avenue North had been leveled for urban renewal.

According to urban renewal records, the (land) from Fourth Street to the Red River had become a dead area for commercial development and stagnated. Deteriorated buildings, vacant lots becoming refuse dumps and general blight became a permanent part of the area.

About 50 years seems to be the life expectancy of a city hall in Fargo. After what served as Fargos City Hall was destroyed in the Great Fargo Fire of 1893, a new City Hall was built in 1906 for $17,251. It was abandoned when the current City Hall was finished in the early 1960s. The new structure cost $1,773,000.

Fargo architect Vern Hunter wrote to me suggesting that a story about the existing City Hall would spur documentation of the building so its history would not be lost. He hoped that a budget item in the building process whereby an architecture student, class, or a historian would research, write, and photograph the significant details and history of the existing building.

He added that many of the mid-century modern attributes that defined Rapson and that period of architecture, such as the barrel vault canopy over the walkway, have already been removed.

Rapson was a giant in American architecture. When he died in 2008 at the age of 93, it was considered the end of an era, according to Thomas Fisher, dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. Fisher said Rapson was one of our last living links to the first generation of Modernists

In a letter to the editor, former City Commissioner Mort Mazaheri said, The current building in combination with the library and the Civic Center received an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects. This complex was the first contemporary design in Fargo for more than 30 years. Being 50 years old, by definition it is a historic building.

See the article here:
Halgrimson: History of Fargo's City Hall worth noting

On the threshold of a tough trail but retailers are optimistic

Higher prices of goods and services as a result of subsidy cuts may pave a tough trail for businesses in the year ahead. However, retail operators in Sarawak are bracing up with a dollop of optimism.

They are quietly confident that sales for the year will be a bit more bustling compared to last year, in spite of the generally perceived gloomy business climate.

Their buoyant sentiment is supported by a few factors such as, more gains from higher number of tourist arrivals during Visit Sarawak Year 2014, the changing lifestyles of people as they demand better quality goods and services and demographic factors such as a spike in population in Kuching and other parts of Sarawak as a result of the states urbanisation agenda.

With new trends in population growth in urban hubs such as Kuching, industry players believe that a ready market is available with an enormous growth potential. This is besides the expectations of capturing a larger aggregate of shoppers in the form of tourist-spending in the coming months. The relatively young retail industry in Sarawak adds another plus factor to perk up current industry confidence.

Meanwhile, retail players are seeking new ways and ideas to draw shoppers to their outlets through various advertising and promotional campaigns as well as point-of-sale events. The Summer Mall managing director Dato Lee Chee Fui said 2014 is going to be a turning point for the local retail industry, although it will be a very challenging year ahead.

The existing retail operators will face more challenges as consumers grapple with lesser disposable income and lower purchasing power arising from higher cost of living.

Despite prices of goods and services going up, consumers may buy less but generally sales will still be growing.

This is because, consumers need to spend during festive seasons and to replenish their supply of food and basic everyday needs.

For Summer Mall, our customers have been increasing since we opened in July last year, which is a good sign for us. Our focus is different compared to other shopping malls as we are targeting the lower to middle income market due to our suburban location in Kota Samarahan, he told BizHive Weekly.

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Prospects for the retail industry and the opportunities ahead

Apart from the basic structure, home insurance policies can cover valuables in the house as well.

First the Uttarakhand floods and then Cyclone Phailin one after the other, these natural catastrophes hit India in 2013 with full velocity, destroying thousands of homes.

Such natural calamities are a reminder for us to take proactive steps towards protecting our most priced asset our home. We spend lakhs of rupees towards buying our dream home but shy away from spending a few thousands more to protect it with a home insurance policy. Most of the time, this behaviour is influenced by lack of awareness and understanding of the benefits of home insurance. A comprehensive home insurance policy offers a host of covers for your home, including its contents, thus saving you the burden of reinstating or repairing your home from your own pocket.

Structure cover

This covers the structure and its inbuilt fittings against loss or damage caused by fire, flood and other perils. It also covers damages caused by other calamities such as landslides. One condition that companies apply in home insurance is good state of repair. This means that the property will not be insured unless it is well maintained and can be repaired if damaged.

This cover is offered by several insurance companies. If your house is damaged by flood, fire or riot and requires repair, the home insurance cover will provide for the additional expenses on an alternative accommodation. You and your family can stay there temporarily until the restoration is completed.

Content cover

This is designed to protect your belongings against damages caused due to specified natural calamities as well as burglary. Even if you have rented the house, this component of home insurance will continue to cover your contents during the period of rent. In case of burglary, the cover also provides compensation against damaged furniture and stolen belongings. However, for insuring antiques and valuables, such as basic jewellery above Rs 1 lakh, you need to take an additional cover.

Cover against accidents

Although standard home insurance policies usually provide some cover for accidental damage from the perils specified above, they may not cover everyday mishaps. This cover may not be significant in natural calamities but it is definitely important for minor damages. For example, this cover will protect your possessions, such as an expensive TV or any other contents if hit, by say, a cricket ball.

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More than a cover for your home

HENDERSON, Ky. The planned six-month-long closure of a section of Kentucky 136-East about midway between Anthoston and Niagara has been pushed back from Monday to Wednesday, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

A contractor is preparing to construct a new bridge over the East Fork of Canoe Creek at mile point 24.6. The site is approximately one mile southeast of the Pennyrile Parkway overpass, between Upper Delaware Road/Kentucky 520 and Kentucky 416-East.

The contractor has quite a bit of equipment to get into place before work can actually start. Delaying the closure until Wednesday will help avoid unnecessary inconvenience to the public and school bus traffic, according to the Transportation Cabinet.

There will be a marked detour for light vehicles using Upper Delaware Road/Kentucky 520 and Kentucky 416-East, as well as a marked truck detour using Kentucky 416-East and U.S. 41-South.

The closure will affect motorists traveling from U.S. 41-South to Niagara Elementary School, which is located just east of the construction site, for the remainder of the school year.

The Henderson County Schools Transportation Department suggested two alternate routes:

Niagara School Route 1:

From the city of Henderson, drive past Kentucky 136 on U.S. 41 South at Anthoston.

Continue south on U.S. 41 for an additional 3.5 miles.

Turn left on West T. Royster Rd.

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Ky. 136-East closure coming Wednesday; access to Niagara School to be affected

Originally published January 17, 2014 at 8:02 PM | Page modified January 18, 2014 at 9:33 AM

The home office, it seems, is going the way of the fax machine.

Interior designers say families are finding more inventive uses for their homes extra little rooms optimistically called bonus rooms by real estate agents.

With the spread of wireless Internet and portables devices such as tablets, its common now to send spreadsheets and emails from any room in the house, not to mention the nearest coffee shop.

In fact, among major home-renovation projects, home-office improvements provide the puniest return on the investment when a home is resold, according to Remodeling magazines 2013 cost vs. value report.

So instead of that dust-collecting desk, many families are seeking creative ways to customize these alcoves as game rooms, dressing rooms, small theaters and more.

I get this question a lot, says Elizabeth Cb Marsh, an associate interior designer at Jenkins Baer Associates in Baltimore. Especially in large, new-construction homes, there are these bonus rooms that are just there.

When her clients make over a pre-existing office, she usually recommends trying to preserve any built-in features, such as shelving or cabinetry. If the space is large enough, she says, one option is to create a billiards room. Find a small (7-foot) pool table to place in the center of the room.

If theres a wood counter, retrofit the top with a waterproof material such as stone for an elegant wet bar, and if you have the budget, install plumbing for a small sink. Add bar stools, a high-top cocktail table and a pendant lamp over the pool table.

A smaller office can have a second life as a luxe dressing room, according to Marsh. Whether you draw inspiration from Downton Abbey or certain Beverly Hills housewives, the first step is to install a wall of shelving for shoes and clothes.

The rest is here:
Home office gathering dust? Consider other options