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AAP Growth in the home building sector has helped in the expansion of Australia's construction industry.

New home building has recorded its second-highest rate of expansion since 2005, as low interest rates work to stimulate the housing market.

Strong growth in house building last month has helped drive the broader construction sector to its third consecutive month of expansion, after several years of decline.

The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association's Performance of Construction Index fell 4.4 points to 50.8 in December, but remained above the 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction.

The house building sub-sector rose 1.5 points to 63.5.

"This is more evidence that low interest rates are doing their thing," JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said.

"The housing market is doing quite well. It's one part of the economy playing the script on what is supposed to happen when rates are this low."

Mr Jarman said rising house prices were acting as a catalyst to drive people to think about building their own home and also helped property developers to get projects off the ground.

Ai Group public policy director Peter Burn said the figures indicated 2014 would be a better year for the construction industry.

"The continued growth of new orders means that builders - and the manufacturing and service industries that are linked to the commercial and residential construction sectors - can look forward to 2014 with a greater degree of confidence than prevailed only a few months ago," he said.

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New homes spur construction lift

AAP Growth in the home building sector has helped in the expansion of Australia's construction industry.

New home building has recorded its second-highest rate of expansion since 2005, as low interest rates work to stimulate the housing market.

Strong growth in house building last month has helped drive the broader construction sector to its third consecutive month of expansion, after several years of decline.

The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association's Performance of Construction Index fell 4.4 points to 50.8 in December, but remained above the 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction.

The house building sub-sector rose 1.5 points to 63.5.

"This is more evidence that low interest rates are doing their thing," JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said.

"The housing market is doing quite well. It's one part of the economy playing the script on what is supposed to happen when rates are this low."

Mr Jarman said rising house prices were acting as a catalyst to drive people to think about building their own home and also helped property developers to get projects off the ground.

Ai Group public policy director Peter Burn said the figures indicated 2014 would be a better year for the construction industry.

"The continued growth of new orders means that builders - and the manufacturing and service industries that are linked to the commercial and residential construction sectors - can look forward to 2014 with a greater degree of confidence than prevailed only a few months ago," he said.

Read the original:
New omes spur construction growth

AAP Growth in the home building sector has helped in the expansion of Australia's construction industry.

New home building has recorded its second-highest rate of expansion since 2005, as low interest rates work to stimulate the housing market.

Strong growth in house building last month has helped drive the broader construction sector to its third consecutive month of expansion, after several years of decline.

The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association's Performance of Construction Index fell 4.4 points to 50.8 in December, but remained above the 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction.

The house building sub-sector rose 1.5 points to 63.5.

"This is more evidence that low interest rates are doing their thing," JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said.

"The housing market is doing quite well. It's one part of the economy playing the script on what is supposed to happen when rates are this low."

Mr Jarman said rising house prices were acting as a catalyst to drive people to think about building their own home and also helped property developers to get projects off the ground.

Ai Group public policy director Peter Burn said the figures indicated 2014 would be a better year for the construction industry.

"The continued growth of new orders means that builders - and the manufacturing and service industries that are linked to the commercial and residential construction sectors - can look forward to 2014 with a greater degree of confidence than prevailed only a few months ago," he said.

Originally posted here:
New homes spur construction growth

At Clean Machine Power Wash, we don't just wash, we scrub.

Clean Machine Power Wash has been serving the Western Massachusetts and Connecticut areas with commercial fleet washing, residential washing and building restoration services for nearly four decades.

Clean Machine Power Wash will clean and wash your home or business to make it look brand new. Our old fashioned elbow grease will scrub off any mold, mildew, dirt and/or grime on your home or business. Not only do we possess state-of-the-art power washing equipment, but we are known for scrubbing with brushes. Our professional staff will work around your schedule, and can even wash your home while you are away or while your business is closed, so as not to disrupt any activity.

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Clean Machine Power Wash - Residential Power Washing and ...

Did you know you can add 5 to 10 percent to the value of your home by presenting it in a clean, well-taken-care-of state? Pressure washing the home's exterior is an easy and affordable way to improve the appearance of your home. Even homes with brick, vinyl, and stucco siding can be pressure washed if done correctly.

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Algae and mold can reduce the efficiency of your home because mold can diminish the sun-reflective properties of shingles, as well as cause them to break down quicker. The life of your shingles can be reduced 10 years by algae and black mold.

At Clean Machine Power Wash, we are familiar with the many problems that come with cleaning a house.

We SCRUB every house as opposed to just power washing. Scrubbing allow us to remove "black lines" on gutters, eliminate unsightly mold and mildew stains and remove debris and pollution that may build up on your home. We also power wash decks, inside gutters and roofs.

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House Washing - Clean Machine Power Wash

Environmental groups fear more pollution might soon end up in our waterways. They call a recent ruling by a federal judge devastating news in the fight to clean up bays, rivers, and lakes in Southwest Florida.

Wednesday, they vowed to appeal the decision which essentially gives the state the power to set nutrient standards on upstream waters.

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida and others entered into an agreement with the EPA to create standards for bodies of water in the state. The federal agency deferred to Tallahassee to set the rules. Here's the problem. They do not exist in many places until you hit closer to the coast.

The fight to safeguard what makes our area so unique starts with neighborhood like Pelican Bay in Naples. The chairman of their services division, Tom Cravens, told us they are actively reaching out to homeowners. They want to educate them on what should and should not be washing into their 63 lakes.

"We don't want to put poison in our environment," said Cravens. "We've been monitoring these lakes and became concerned about the algae building up."

Cravens said most transplants to Southwest Florida don't realize certain fertilizers hurt the environment.

"I was ignorant about it. I was conscious of the environment. I thought it was important but I had no idea what was going on," remarked Cravens.

Wednesday afternoon, we meet up with Jennifer Hecker with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, who says, "The fight is not over."

She said they plan to appeal the recent ruling. Hecker explained if standards aren't set to deal with pollution at the source, taxpayers' suffer the most.

"It becomes impossible to assign the responsibility back to the polluters. The taxpayers then have to clean it up at the public expense," remarked Hecker.

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Environmental groups fire back after fertilizer ruling

OAKLAND -- Gregory Kloehn can turn just about anything into a home.

The Oakland artist spends his summers in Brooklyn living in a dumpster he outfitted with granite countertops, hardwood floors, a rooftop deck, plumbing and a barbecue grill.

But his proudest creations are even cozier structures that he gives to homeless people in his neighborhood.

Kloehn's "little homeless homes" are about the size of a sofa, but they come with a pitched roof to keep out the rain and wheels so recipients can roll them around town.

So far Kloehn has built 10 of the tiny houses using mostly illegally dumped trash that piles up on the streets in a semi-industrial section of West Oakland. The foundation is usually discarded wood pallets to which Kloehn will add accouterments such as windows, a mirror and a cup holder. Several homes are insulated with discarded pizza delivery bags.

Wonder, a homeless woman Kloehn has known for several years, parked her new house on the sidewalk next to her old home, which consisted primarily of a tarp draped over a couch.

"This is the best home I've had in five years," Wonder said as she opened the front door -- made from a discarded picnic table -- to reveal the pizza bag insulation. "It gets real hot in here," she said.

All the homes have gotten rave reviews. "They say this is just night and day, especially when it rains," Kloehn said. "Once your mattress gets wet, it's just terrible."

Kloehn, a 43-year-old transplant from Denver, is a sculptor who "got on a housing kick" after building his five-unit live-work condominium complex from scratch.

Inspired by the small home environmental movement, Kloehn started making fully functioning houses out of shipping containers. He soon moved on to dumpsters. "Then I just started grabbing garbage and making homes out of that," he said.

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Oakland artist turns trash into homes for the homeless

Just months after Kirstie Allsopp disclosed that her sister Sofie had undergone a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer, their mother has succumbed to the disease.

Lady Hindlip, an interior decorator, died at their family home on Epiphany, at the age of 66. Fiona had suffered from breast cancer for 25 years.

Last year, Sofie, a 33-year-old television presenter, said she underwent the radical surgery because of fears that she would develop the disease which has afflicted her mother, grandmother and female relations going back generations.

I have spent my life watching my mother struggle with breast cancer, worried that I might lose her, she said at the time. So, for me, it was a very simple, logical decision to remove a part of my body which could potentially kill me.

Fiona married Lord Hindlip, 73, the Old Etonian former chairman of Christies, in 1968 and they have two other children: Henry, 40, an art dealer, and Natasha, 27.

Lady Hindlip was the granddaughter of Harry McGowan, the explosives tycoon given a hereditary peerage by Stanley Baldwin.

When her son Henry married Naomi Gummer in 2012, his godmother, the Duchess of Cornwall, attended the wedding, as well as David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt.

Lady Hindlip underwent treatment for cancer in 1987, which kept the disease in remission for seven years. She was treated again when the cancer returned, and nine years later was diagnosed with a secondary cancer.

Mum was always very discreet, stoic and amazingly brave, but we were aware of the impact it had on her, and it was hard for us to see her suffer. Kirstie said.

The funeral has already been held.

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Kirstie Allsopp loses brave mother to breast cancer