Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

by OTHELLO RICHARDS & KREM.com

KREM.com

Posted on December 19, 2013 at 4:41 PM

Updated yesterday at 6:00 PM

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. -- A local pest control company hopes to make one family's holiday merrier. The family's home is infested with bed bugs. Pointe Pest Control participates in a national charitable event called "Taking the Bite out of the Holidays." Company owner Jacob Borg chose to treat one Spokane Valley family's crisis for free.

It's a good thing to do for the holidays, Borg said.

The service would normally cost several thousand dollars but Borg said the family did not have the money to call a professional.

This family in particular had bedbugs for over a year and she spent hundreds of dollar on home remedies, he said. She's tried to get rid of them. They got a family living here - people that are getting bit everyday.

Technicians spent all day Thursday working to evict the bed bugs. And in the bed bug business, heat kills.

So we are trying to get the ambient room temperature between 130 and 140 degrees.

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Pest control company clears bed bugs as a holiday gift

Pearl City, HI (PRWEB) December 20, 2013

A pest control service industry leader in Hawaii, Sandwich Isle Pest Solutions, announced today the successful completion of the Associate Certified Entomologist exam by two of their longtime employees. President Michael Botha and General Manager Ian Mateo joined ranks with the industrys leading technical experts by successfully passing the Associate Certified Entomologist Exam established and administered by the Entomological Society of America. This event increases the total number of on-staff entomologists to three for Sandwich Isle, which is the most entomologists employed by any pest management company in Hawaii.

This is an exciting time at Sandwich Isle, says Mr. Botha. We have built an outstanding group of employees, all of us passionate about helping and serving the community we live in. With three on-staff entomologists, we are confident that our knowledge and expertise will really benefit our clients in keeping their homes and businesses pest free.

To achieve Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE) status, a pest control operator must meet certain requirements including having seven years of verifiable pest management experience in the United States or a bachelors degree in entomology and a willingness to adhere to the ACE Code of Ethics. The major categories of competency covered by the ACE examination include but are not limited to basic entomology, health impacts of pests, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles, pesticide technology and resources, and laws and regulations affecting the industry.

Sandwich Isle Pest Solutions, founded in 1997 and based out of Pearl City, HI on the island of Oahu offers pest control solutions throughout Hawaii that target a wide variety of pests including ants, bed bugs, termites, birds, and feral pigs. For more information about Sandwich Isle Pest Solutions, visit http://www.sandwichisle.com.

For more information about ACE Certification, go to http://www.entocert.org/ace-certification.

The rest is here:
Michael Botha and Ian Mateo Successfully Pass Associate Certified Entomologist Exam

Miami, FL (PRWEB) December 20, 2013

Venetian Builders, Inc., Miami, built more screen patio covers for Fort Lauderdale homeowners in 2013 than it did any other kind of home expansion, said Venetian President Chris Noe.

Venetian installs custom-design sunrooms, patio screens, patio roofs and screen pool enclosures in South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Hollywood, Miami and the Keys. It also builds aluminum pergolas and installs retractable awnings and aluminum privacy lattice.

The builders 2013 residential sales volume has more than doubled over 2012 levels, Noe said.

"Screen patio covers are a smart way to go for adding space because of their economy and future possibilities," Noe said. "We can design and engineer screen patio rooms to convert later to a fully enclosed sunroom if the homeowner has a need and the budget."

Custom design enables Venetian to satisfy current needs while keeping in mind a future upgrade, Noe said.

"With a sturdy, properly engineered structure in place for the screen room, and with an insulated roof overhead, conversion when its desired becomes affordable and quick," Noe said.

A key to building convertible screen rooms is the versatility of aluminum framing systems, Noe said. "The technology involved lets us design a patio screen frame that can handle the additional weight of windows," Noe said.

Venetian builds to meet or exceed the Florida Building Code, he added. "We also have experience at dealing with local requirements and were accustomed to working with homeowners associations, which speeds up the entire process," he said.

Venetian bases its designs on information it gathers at free in-home consultations with customers, Noe said, and on code requirements. The company brings its mobile showroom right to the customers curb. "We can design a structure to fit not only the homeowners budget, but also the architecture of the home and the neighborhood," Noe said.

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Screen Patio Covers Are Top Choice of Fort Lauderdale Homeowners Who Expanded Living Space through Venetian Builders ...

Miami, FL (PRWEB) December 19, 2013

In the Broward County city of Weston, screen enclosures, especially for swimming pools, took center stage for homeowners looking to fill roles in expanding their homes and lifestyle choices, said Chris Noe, president of Venetian Builders, Inc., Miami.

"Screen pool enclosures are a lifestyle choice for many homeowners looking to add not just living space, but also comfort and convenience," Noe said. "Pool domes accomplish all those things with style."

Venetians Weston swimming pool enclosure volume in 2013 was more than three times the nearest other residential category there, screen patio covers, Noe said.

Venetian installs custom sunrooms, pool domes, patio roofs and outdoor rooms not only in Broward, but also in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, and in the Keys in Monroe County. It also installs aluminum pergola for shade, retractable awnings for shade on demand, and aluminum lattice for privacy.

"A swimming pool is an outdoor asset that becomes so much more usable, enjoyable and secure with a screen surround," Noe said. "Pool screens stop bugs, animal pests and plant debris from lessening pool enjoyment. They also keep unwanted visitors such as a wondering child from entering the pool." Pool enclosures can work in conjunction with patio screens or sun rooms for more complete outdoor activity centers, Noe said. Homeowners can add pergolas or awnings for protection from the sun, and lattice to keep out prying eyes, he said.

Venetian builds its pool screens to exceed the tough Florida Building Code, Noe said, even in high-wind areas, such as along canals, inlets, lakes, ponds, golf courses and parks. The company uses heavier-gauge aluminum framing that stands up better to storms and hurricanes but looks as elegant as the framing in lesser structures. It also uses properly sized gussets, corner bracing where necessary, stainless steel fasteners and heavy-duty anchors to enhance strength.

Venetian offers detailed, written, free estimates not only on pool enclosures, but also on aluminum sunroom additions, patio covers, pergolas, awnings and lattice. No-cost in-home consultations include curbside access by the homeowner to the Venetian mobile showroom. "Our showroom is never more than a few feet away," Noe said.

For more information call 866-596-2427.

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Screened Swimming Pool Enclosures Lead All Products in Weston for Venetian Builders, Inc., in 2013, President Says

When the U.S. Capitol dome was built in the 1860s, cast iron was the high-tech building material of its day, lighter and easier to erect than stone, more fireproof than wood. But if the peoples business never stops below, neither do the wind and rain above and now, after 150 years of duty as Washingtons all-weather symbol of democracy, the dome is getting an overdue metal makeover.

Preparations for the long-planned $60million restoration project got underway this week as officials suspended tours of the upper structure and prepared to string protective netting in the vaulted and vaunted space above the Rotunda. Capitol architects took reporters for a final climb to show where leaks coming through the battered dome are beginning to threaten the historic interior. Some massive metal parts have already been removed to keep them from plunging to the always-crowded floor below.

Its like having a bridge as the roof of your building, Kevin Hildebrand, of the Architect of the Capitols office, said Thursday as he climbed through the web of girders and braces lacing the domes upper reaches. The space is like a concave Eiffel Tower sandwiched between two sloping sheets of metal. On some of the softball-size bolts, the name M.C. Meigs can still be seen beneath multiple coats of paint, a bit of stamped graffiti from the legendary Army captain who supervised the building of the dome.

Today, this would never be made of cast iron, Hildebrand said. It would probably be made of steel and glass. Its an archaic material. But it is the symbol of our country. Its an icon that has to preserved.

Access to the Rotunda floor will continue mostly uninterrupted (for a few weeks in February, a covered walkway will be installed during some dicey aerial work above).

In the spring, a towering web of scaffolding will encase the entire top of the 288-foot edifice, transforming the skyline of the Mall for at least two years. LED lights attached to the scaffolding will provide some nighttime visual interest, however. And the recent repairs of the Washington Monument, which was damaged in the 2011 earthquake, showed that tourists can take these national excuse-our-dust periods in stride. Some residents even petitioned the White House to make the monuments temporary lights permanent.

Im just glad they are taking care of [the dome] its so beautiful, said Janice Bradley of Pennsylvania, who was touring the Capitol during a holiday visit. I just wish they would fix our roads.

Moviemakers may be more put out, according to John Latenser, a local location scout who has set up shots of the Capitol for The West Wing, Veep and other productions.

Its one of the shots that tell you youre in D.C., he said. It will change some scripts, change some angles. Some people may try to take out the scaffolding in post-production.

Workers will deploy a range of newly developed techniques and materials to fix more than 1,000 cracks in the 9 million pounds of cast iron, almost every piece of which was cast in New York and shipped to Capitol Hill during the Civil War.

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$60 million restoration of U.S. Capitol dome will alter D.C. skyline for at least 2 years

Laurie Lumire Outdoor Lighting Collection
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Laurie Lumière Outdoor Lighting Collection - Video

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Ellie Van Houtte/ Town Crier The Los Altos Hills Planning Commission is considering a Fremont Hills Country Club proposal to add night lights to its tennis courts.

When dusk sets in on winter evenings in Los Altos, the lights above the tennis courts at Marymeade, McKenzie and Montclaire parks switch on for night games. Just around the corner in Los Altos Hills, however, game time concludes when natural light disappears a 1985 town Outdoor Lighting Ordinance bans artificial light for tennis and other recreational courts.

At the request of Fremont Hills Country Club a private club in Los Altos Hills with 430 member families the Los Altos Hills Planning Commission last week reviewed a proposal to amend the towns municipal code and/or modify the clubs conditional-use permit to allow outdoor tennis-court lighting.

We really in essence want to expand recreational opportunities to members and the community overall, said Fremont Hills representative Bart Carey. Fremont Hills is a bit behind when compared to other clubs. They all have tennis-court lights.

Nearby clubs with lighted tennis courts include Los Altos Golf & Country Club, Foothills Tennis & Swimming Club and the University Club of Palo Alto.

Fremont Hills application seeks approval to illuminate five of the clubs 10 courts with fully shielded, metal halide luminaires until 10 p.m. To mitigate anticipated concerns from neighbors, the club submitted environmental reports estimating the impact of the added light and noise.

According to the report, there will be no direct viewing of the light sources from any residence, as all homes in the vicinity of the club are located above the height of the proposed 22-foot lights. The surfaces of the courts and the dark perimeter screening are expected to absorb light and reduce scattering of light upward.

The proposal drew a variety of opinions at the study session.

Advocates claimed that the lack of lights limits tennis-court access in Los Altos Hills, particularly for residents who cant play during the day because of school or work commitments. Some residents said the lack of lights put the club, players and town at a competitive disadvantage when compared to Los Altos and Saratoga, where lighted courts are available.

Im playing kids that are top in the nation, and I think we should have courts that are lighted so that kids like me can train, said Jehan Godrej, a local high school student who plays tennis competitively.

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Fremont Hills Country Club rallies for night lights at tennis courts

JAKARTA - Indonesian domestic maids may return in big numbers to Malaysia under a proposed deal announced by the Malaysian and Indonesian governments yesterday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said, after wide-ranging bilateral talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta, key private sector groups in both countries might be roped in again to handle the recruitment of maids.

Arrivals of Indonesian maids in Malaysia have dwindled after the government capped the cost structure of hiring the maids at RM4,511, well below the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies' (Papa) proposed rate of RM7,500.

"I have agreed that the MoU (signed in Nov 2011 in Bali, Indonesia) on the cooperation in labour, especially with regard to domestic maids, be expanded to include the private sectors that represent both nations," he told a news conference at the presidential palace.

"An MoU should be signed between Papa and Apjati (its Indonesian counterpart -- Association of Indonesian Manpower Services).

"If both sides sign the MoU, I am confident that the number of Indonesian domestic maids in Malaysia can reach our desired levels.

"So far, only 513 maids have arrived in Malaysia under the current (government-to-government) mechanism."

Indonesia imposed a temporary freeze on the supply of maids to Malaysia on June 26, 2009, following reports of abuse by employers.

The freeze was lifted following an agreement between Najib and Susilo in December 2011.

Meanwhile, Apjati was optimistic that the latest arrangement agreed by the two leaders would help resolve the impasse on the arrival of foreign maids to Malaysia.

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End to maid impasse in Malaysia?

In New York, it looked like a straightforward case: an obscure young diplomat at the Indian consulate was accused of lying on visa forms so she could bring her maid to the U.S., paying her less than $3 an hour. The diplomat was arrested, processed through the legal system like anyone else and quickly freed on bail.

In India, though, the hours that Devyani Khobragade spent in custody have set off a diplomatic storm. Government officials roared about her public arrest, particularly her strip search. Cabinet ministers warned of international conspiracies. An Indian official compared the search to a gang rape. Heavy concrete security barriers were dragged by police from around the U.S. Embassy. The Indian media fumed over the country's humiliation.

Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid summed up the feelings of many people here. "It is no longer about an individual," he told Parliament in an angry speech Wednesday. "It is about our sense of self as a nation and our place in the world."

Because what happened in New York was not just about an arrest, or about one young woman. Instead, the incident pinballed through a series of cultural land mines, causing an uproar in a country where a woman's honor is supposed to be publicly defended, insults are profoundly felt and the treatment of one's maid is, for most, considered no business at all of the authorities.

As for the arrest itself: Only the powerless and poor would face arrest for lying on a government form. For someone in the educated elite, a strip search would be unthinkable.

"There's an expectation here that if you speak English in a certain way you will be treated with a certain deference by the authorities," said Mihir Sharma, a New Delhi writer and associate editor of the Business Standard newspaper.

It's an expectation that means police rarely harass drivers of Mercedes, and wealthy Indians convicted of brutal crimes can spend years free on medical leave.

Then there's history. The arrest mingled with long-harbored worries that the U.S. condescends to India, treating it as a poverty-wracked nation with poor sanitation instead of as the world's largest democracy and a nuclear power. Also, while New Delhi and Washington have become close allies over the past decade, that followed many more years of Cold War distrust, when India had close ties to the Soviet Union, the United States had close ties to Pakistan and the U.S. Embassy here was regarded as little more than a walled CIA encampment.

Among the Indian elite, and particularly among senior foreign service officers, it's not hard to find people who still look at the United States with deep-rooted suspicion.

"For (so) long these Americans ... have taken us for granted, and we loved to surrender every time they insulted us, interfered in our affairs and humiliated our citizens," Tarun Vijay, a Hindu nationalist and member of the upper house of Parliament, wrote in the Times of India. "Our ministers are subjected to humiliating searches and we kept quiet."

Continued here:
A mistreated maid? Or a profound insult?