Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Miami, FL (PRWEB) January 02, 2014

Waiting for screen repairs and upgrades to patio covers and screen pool enclosures is never a good idea, says Chris Noe, president of Venetian Builders, Inc., Miami.

Theyre not items that get done yearly, so theyre easy to forget in cool weather when outdoor rooms arent used as often, Noe says.

But winter is the best time to have the work done, Noe says. Come spring, when the urge to get onto the patio and into the pool grows, you and everyone else who needs the work will be trying to get it scheduled. Scheduling may take longer once the construction season begins in earnest, he warned.

Venetian designs and installs Florida rooms, patio covers and swimming pool enclosures in South Florida, including West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pinecrest, Boca Raton, Kendall and the Keys. It also installs insulated aluminum or wood patio roofs, pergolas and retractable canvas awnings for shade, and aluminum lattice for patio and poolside privacy.

It repairs and upgrades aluminum structures, including sunrooms, built by any installer.

Screen repairs are simple for a professional, Noe says. Our crews, with their expertise and tools, are often in and out of a job site in a morning or an afternoon. And upgrades, although more involved, also can be done quickly, once theyre scheduled.

Damaged screens can allow nuisances to enter a living area, Noe says. Birds can get in, and so can crawling pests. It makes sense to get timely repairs that keep pests out.

Upgrades, which reduce the likelihood of storm damage, should be done before the named storm season arrives, Noe says. The Atlantic storm season starts June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

In 2013, NOAA.gov the web site of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the slowest hurricane season since 1994, but who knows how 2014 will shape up? Noe says. Its best to be prepared.

Read the original here:
Winter Is Best Time To Upgrade or Repair Screen Enclosures, Patio Covers, Says President of Venetian Builders, Inc ...

Published: Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014, 11:36p.m. Updated 5 hours ago

Jackson Pollock, who was famous for his abstract art and his alcohol consumption, undoubtedly would have approved.

An upcoming series of painting classes held in area taverns and restaurants will enable participants to hold a brush in one hand and a beer mug in the other. They'll have to display considerable dexterity to complete their works without spilling Yuengling on them.

Will they be up to that challenge next week in Hough's Taproom and Brewpub in Greenfield and at several other establishments in the coming weeks? The evidence provided by the 2-year-old company that has successfully staged these events in other cities suggests so.

The South Carolina-based outfit, Colors and Bottles, brings to bistros and sports bars something not ordinarily seen during broadcasts of Penguins games on a 60-inch, high-definition television: Up to 30 cocktail enthusiasts and aspiring artists sitting in front of easels for several hours.

You're not there to make a masterpiece; you're there to make friends. You're there to make a good memory, said Leah St. Clair, vice president of customer service and event operations. And at the end of the night, you get to take home something you created.

Here's how it works: For $35 (or considerably less for industrious types who track down readily available online coupons), artist wannabes are equipped with acrylic paint, canvas and three hours of instruction from local painters working as Colors and Bottles contractors. By the evening's conclusion, after step-by-step instruction, the budding artists have a completed 16- by 20-inch painting to hang on their living room wall.

According to St. Clair, discounted drink specials often are offered by the taverns hosting the classes. Presumably, that's done to help speed the creative process.

Hey, it worked for Pollock.

The city's first Colors and Bottles event will be held Thursday in Hough's. It won't be the first offbeat event the place has hosted. The taproom holds a pig roast every summer as part of Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week festivities, and marketing coordinator Cassie Hough hopes that plying people with palettes proves as popular a draw for Hough's as swine on a spit.

More here:
Heyl: A chance for art by the bottle

For any individual or family dwelling in a Southern climate who wants to have a hardy grass which is capable of enduring fiercely hot sun as well as living on smaller quantities of water, Bermuda grass proves to be a terrific choice.

Bermuda is a low-to-the-ground growing, extra-tough variant of grass, offering wonderful cover for the ground, as well as withstanding high levels of foot and pet traffic.

Taking care of a Bermuda grass lawn is not difficult. It revolves mainly around having the grass grow in sunny areas. The following are the various factors necessary to effectively care for and maintain a Bermuda grass lawn, including proper mowing, watering, and aerating.

Because Bermuda grass is in fact a perennial form of grass, it does not typically require re-seeding. It sports a richly green color, and features a fine to medium texture. It does exceedingly well in yards.

Typically, Bermuda grass is the one selected for golf fairways or putting greens around the South of the United States.

The regular varieties of Bermuda grass which are grown throughout the United States South can be had in more than a dozen different varieties which have their own best uses for different scenarios. As an example, a user might pick out a specific variety because of its color, tolerance for wear and tear, mowing height, or practicality for a little bit cooler climate found in the northerly ranges of the South.

There are many impressive advantages to Bermuda grass versus other grass variants. Among them are its tendencies towards aggressive growth, a minimum level of maintenance, and tolerance for extreme heat, sun, and drought. The disadvantages of this family of varieties lies in the brown shade that it turns during the months of winter, as well as its lack of ability to thrive in shady places.

Bermuda grass is commonly thought to be the most challenging family of grasses to mow. This is actually because in many cases, the incorrect lawn mower is being utilized.

Optimally, Bermuda grass should be reduced to a height of only one to one-and-a-half inches. The vast majority of lawn mowers simply are not able to mow so low to the ground without butchering the whole lawn. This sort of scalping is the result of a wheel in the lawn mower rotary dropping down into a small rut, which forces the blade to dip down, scalping the grass in the process.

Go here to read the rest:
How To Care for a Bermuda Grass Lawn | Bermuda Lawn Care Tips

An amended lawsuit petition contends Factory Direct Appliance employee James Ellis acted negligently in January 2012 when he left after smelling gas in 81-year-old Lucinia Tollivers west Topeka home, which then exploded, ultimately leading to her death.

Ellis breached his duty of reasonable care by leaving Tolliver in a situation he knew, or should have known, was dangerous, says the petition filed on behalf of Tollivers estate and her daughter, Erin Gayle Thurston.

Olathe attorney Thomas Ruzicka filed the petition Nov. 7 adding Ellis and Overland Park-based Factory Direct Appliance as defendants in a suit he filed May 8 against Kansas Gas Service and Glen Niehues, doing business as Wetmore-based N-Line Lawn Service.

The suit alleges negligence that helped bring about Tollivers death, which came four days after an explosion destroyed her home at 1905 S.W. Navajo Lane on Jan. 30, 2012.

Tolliver was a retired composing room employee of The Topeka Capital-Journal.

Ruzicka also filed suit against KGS and N-Line on May 14 on behalf of Tollivers next-door neighbor, Lois Jones, who was injured by the blast as she was in her home at 1909 S.W. Navajo Lane.

The petition in Jones suit contends N-Line negligently broke a KGS pipeline while digging to install lawn sprinkler systems for residential use, and KGS breached its duty to protect the public from explosions resulting from its operation of underground facilities.

The revised petition in the suit filed on behalf of Thurston and Tollivers estate contends that Ellis, an employee of Factory Direct Appliance, arrived about 11:03 a.m. on the day of the blast at Tollivers home, then left about 11:10 a.m. after he noticed a distinct gas odor in the basement.

That petition says the fatal explosion occurred at 11:38 a.m. while Tolliver was in her home, causing her serious, painful and permanent injuries and horrific conscious pain and suffering as well as damages of a physical, mental and emotional nature, for which she underwent extensive medical care and treatment, at great cost and expense.

Topeka attorney Larry Pepperdine, representing Ellis and Factory Direct Appliance, responded in an answer to the amended petition filed Dec. 16 that Ellis arrived about 10:05 a.m. on the day of the blast at Tollivers home to work on her electric range clock, which he repaired with reasonable care.

Read more:
Defendants added in house explosion lawsuit

Idea Spectrum develops powerful, yet user-friendly landscape design software for Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP. Designed for both homeowners and professional landscape designers, you'll appreciate how easy our software makes it to visualize your landscape design ideas. Compare our landscaping software. Read the Landscape Software review by Landscape Contactor Magazine, and the review from Landscape Architect magazine.

Version 2013

"Realtime Architect is an incredibly powerful program that can be easily customized into the designers dream software quickly. And the simultaneous 2D and 3D capabilities allow you to give your client twice as much product in half the time." - David Hawthorne, Complete Landsculpture.

Version 2013

"This is absolutely the best landscaping program that I have ever used. The program is so user friendly my kids can even use it. I cannot believe how real the pictures really look. I give this program 5 out of 5 stars, I am so happy that I found you all." - Von Lindsey

Version 2013

"What super software this is. I have designed my house and yard and also others in my family using your software and when they see it on screen they cannot believe their eyes. Anybody can use this software and I highly recommend it to landscapers and instructors of landscaping. Awesome." - James Long

Go here to read the rest:
Landscape Design Software, 3D Landscaping Software - Idea Spectrum

LECANTO --

Citrus Countys Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program is hosting two workshops.

The CCY&N program is a public education and outreach program of the University of Florida funded by Citrus County Utilities.

Florida-Friendly Landscaping means using low maintenance plants and environmentally sustainable practices to produce a beautiful landscape. For more information about Florida-Friendly Landscaping visit, http://www.bocc.citrus.fl.us/waterres/conservation/conservation.htm.

Irrigation Scheduling and Management

Citrus County Florida-Friendly Landscaping is offering a free gardening workshop on Tuesday, January 14 from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm. Irrigation scheduling and management are essential to successful and sustainable gardening. Providing the plants with the water they require and efficient application of this resource is the topic of the day.

Winter is a great time to evaluate your existing system with practices that include: planning water reducing retrofits, regular monitoring and catch can testing to calibrate the system. Plan to reduce unnecessary water consumption.

Classes are held at the Citrus County Extension Service Building located at 3650 W Sovereign Path in Lecanto. Please contact Steven Davis at (352) 527-5708 to confirm your participation. Landscaping 101

Citrus County Florida-Friendly Landscaping is offering a free gardening workshop on Tuesday, January 21 from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm. Landscaping 101 is the first in a series of educational workshops providing guidelines for successful landscape design and planning.

This first workshop describes the site evaluation phase of landscape planning. Bring a site plan or aerial photograph of your property and we will begin the process. A series of five workshops are scheduled providing participants the landscape design skills needed to create attractive and sustainable garden improvements.

See the rest here:
Yard and landscaping programs offered in Lecanto

MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERVICE/GARY BACHMANA friendly garden gnome brings year-round interest to your landscape, and if their lore is true, a dose of good luck and a little garden help, too.

GARY BACHMAN Office of Ag Communications

Even though the weather in the middle of winter prevents much gardening with plants, dedicated and enthusiastic gardeners find ways to keep fun and interest in the yard all year long.

You may have seen garden art in other people's yards, but have you considered bringing it into your own? A whimsical way to jump right in is to bring home a gnome.

Garden gnomes are creatures of woodland legend that represent the most elemental spirit of the earth. Gnome comes from the Greek word for "earth dweller," and these statues were first used in German gardens in the mid-1800s.

Early garden gnomes, which were made of terra cotta, were painted and clothed like miners of the day. From the very first, gnomes have been dressed in the little pointed hats we instantly recognize. From Germany, the use of garden gnomes spread to France and England. In parts of Europe, their presence is a status symbol.

Garden gnomes today come in a variety of materials and clothing styles and can be found around the world.

Tradition says garden gnomes bring good luck and goodwill to the gardener who invites them in. Ancient lore says gnomes take care of the gardens they inhabit, enhancing the harvest.

Some believe that at night, gnomes get busy and take care of some of the smaller garden chores. This concept is the basis of the animated movie "Gnomeo and Juliet" in which blue and red gnomes come to life when their owners are not looking.

With all this history and lore, aren't you ready to try at least one gnome in your garden? Even if you laugh at these stories, garden gnomes have value as yard ornaments and can bring a simple pleasure to your landscape.

Read this article:
Bring a garden gnome home to your landscape

By Ashley Mackin

The La Jolla Parks and Beaches community advisory committee held a special meeting Dec. 23 to discuss plans for the Childrens Pool Walk beautification project and get updates on related money matters.

With just over $250,000 in the bank thanks largely to a $200,000 donation from La Jolla resident Tom Morgan the board needed to approve spending some of that money on the services of design architect Jim Neri.

Artists rendering of the Childrens Pool Walk project Courtesy

Through a statement read by LJP&B member Phyllis Minick, Neri requested the board approve $51,311 in additional fees for the design development, engineering, construction documents, plan processing, permit fees, BID administration and construction services, as submitted in the Dec. 12, 2013 proposal by Neri Landscape Architecture (NLA).

The LJP&B board, to cover any additional and unforeseen fees, voted to approve an amount not to exceed $55,000 to be paid to NLA. Neri said he would offer a fee reduction because he believes this project should come to fruition.

Since this is a community-funded project in my own community, NLA is discounting our fees 20 percent and is not charging the customary 10 percent markup of our consultant fees, saving $6,500 in fees for the construction of this much-needed project, his statement read.

While one set of fees was reduced, another increased. Minick reported that city permit costs have increased by 20 percent since the projects inception three years ago, which translates into $53,000.

However, Minick said she received a letter from the city indicating that $70,000 would be available in mid-2014, and another $30,000 might also become available. Should we laugh or cry? she joked, reflecting on the three years spent and dozens of grant proposals submitted for this project. We thank (District 1 City Councilmember) Sherri Lightner for getting this done.

Minick said, on the advice of some board members, that she will request $70,000 be used to cover city-permit costs.

See more here:
Parks & Beaches OKs first Children’s Pool project expenditures

The approach to the citys department of public works headquarters takes you up a gentle hill, on a frequently patched asphalt road, and into a landscape out of 1970s Soviet Russia.

A nonworking municipal incinerator rises up in front of you. Piles of broken concrete are everywhere.

A bright spot: a big stack of new brown-and-yellow yard waste bins that have yet to be distributed throughout the city.

Diesel engines idle everywhere. A shiny purple Christmas tree is wired to the grill of an idling, growling trash truck. There are shiny green balls on the tree.

Its snowing on Thursday, a little past 11 a.m., and its supposed to keep snowing until sometime Friday.

You can hear cars going by down on the highway. A wet American flag is wrapped around the top of a flagpole. The wind isnt hard but its steady.

Inside the headquarters, badly lit, dark hallways lead to offices and a break room full of dented gray metal lockers and a swaybacked green-and-black armchair, no doubt brought in by some employee cleaning out his or her basement.

John Perry is the DPWs director of operations. The title comes with a very dark office. He sits with his back to the window.

Maybe another inch, inch-and-a-half before it turns dark, he says.

Thats when the fun starts.

See the rest here:
SIDE STREETS: Fall River's DPW doesn't go home until the snow's over

Researching the documentary on the rocks of Hyderabad, we met urban geographer Anant Maringanti, executive director Hyderabad Urban Lab, to reckon with issues around urbanisation and geology. We found that the relaxed and welcoming attitude there, had as its bedrock, an intense engagement with the geographic-historic discourse of the city and contemporary re-mappings of it.

Starting out, Anant pointed out that it is impossible to imagine the rocks of Hyderabad without the water bodies that suffuse the landscape. Water laden sagars, kuntas, nullahs, cheruvus and bowlis are as ubiquitous in describing various parts of Hyderabad, as are rock filled bandas, kondas, gaddas and pahads. The region is home to a quirky geology that creates a unique drainage pattern. Anant elaborated that because of the rocky outcrops being in various directions, water does not flow off on one side evenly as in the Gangetic Plain. It flows instead in any direction that the rock surface takes it. This water run-off is caught in various lakes, ponds, canals and other water bodies, in the middle of the rock formations, creating the water-rock combination that is so familiar to us.

For instance Durgam Cheruvu, the beautiful secret lake, was so well hidden within the rocks that it historically used to supply drinking water to the rulers at Golconda, as fear of the water being poisoned by enemies was reduced. Today, Durgam Cheruvu is the celebrated centrepiece of the Cyberabad avatar of Hyderabad, with construction and offices invading its space.

Relentless urbanisation today is denuding our landscape of rocks while water bodies are shrunken, polluted and built into. Retracing a few key historical moments of this urbanisation, Anant describes how, initially there was a small rocky hill fort in the time of the Kakatiyas and the gollas (shepherds) caused it to be named Gollakonda (shepherds hill). Over the years it grew and attained grandeur under the Qutb Shahi rule, morphing to Golconda. When the Golconda fort was overcome by population rise and rampant disease, the Qutb Shahi rulers established the city of Hyderabad.

Once Hyderabad came into being and expanded, it was relatively well-governed; until population growth in the 1970s created huge demands that the municipal system was unable to meet. The 1990s saw the Cyberabad Act passed, allowing large tracts of surrounding agricultural land to be urbanised. The Greater Hyderabad Development Authority and Airport Development Authority came into being to help manage the growth. However the situation currently calls for far more forethought and planning. Indiscriminate quarrying has cut into the rocks, decimating entire hill ranges. Building infrastructure has filled up lakes and dried them, cutting through natural drainage paths in haphazard, hazardous overbuilding.

The leitmotif synergy of rock, water and green cover of our area is in crisis. While increasing urbanisation is a resolute current fact, we need a responsible reimagining of our urban future: moving ahead while retaining our core strength of a uniquely beautiful and ecologically sound landscape, and, respecting a shared heritage of human and physical geography in responding to the compulsions brought by that future.

(The writer is a documentary film maker, writer and teacher)

Read the rest here:
Understanding our quirky geology