Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

05-07-2012 15:39 FED Design/Builders is located within Riverwalk Place at 777 West Cedar Avenue in Gladwin, Michigan. Founded in 1980, FED Design/Builders specializes in design, planning and building quality projects and also coordinates with top architectural firms, like BGW. Our projects demonstrate a dedication to quality craftsmanship and this is our promise to you - a promise you can build upon. FED has always been dedicated to providing worship facilities with outstanding service and quality. By partnering with BGE, FED will strengthen our support of all faith-based projects through the processes of fundraising, planning, construction and furnishing. FED is well versed in a variety of projects including churches, assisted living facilities, automotive dealerships, industrial crane buildings and versatile metal structures. For more information on FED and past or current projects, visit our website at or call (800) 737-3100.

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FED Design/Builders - Church Construction - Video

In an effort to understand whether or not Long Beachs restaurant owners would like to legally allow dogs on restaurant patios, Department of Health and Human Services officials are reaching out to area business associations for public input about the idea.

During the May Belmont Shore Business Association meeting, Nelson Kerr and Jackie Hampton from the health department talked to business owners about potentially developing a more flexible policy for the regulation of dogs on restaurant patios.

In April, the City Council gave us 90 days to develop a policy about outdoor patio dining with dogs, Kerr said, adding that the idea was brought forth by City Council members Robert Garcia, Suja Lowenthal and Gary DeLong. This wont necessarily be a new ordinance, just an amendment with options for owners businesses wont have to have dogs on their patios if they dont want to. We are planning on going back to City Council very soon and would love to go back in July at some time.

Kerr, the departments bureau manager, explained that historically animals have been prohibited from retail food facilities, including outdoor patios. However, other counties, including Los Angeles County, have loosened up on the rules when it comes to patio dining.

Right now we are just brainstorming, Kerr said. We want feedback and then well go back for approval from City Council and start to roll out a program.

If the rule loosening for outdoor patio dining is approved by City Council, Kerr said the health department will work to prepare a mass campaign for education for customers as well as business owners. Restaurant owners likely will want to post signage if their patio is dog friendly, with certain restrictions (for instance, restaurant owners may specify that dogs are not allowed on laps or on the tables and are not allowed to eat off plates or drink out of glasses intended for human use).

Certainly we have to be careful when we allow dogs on patios because they may have bad behavior or they may have an accident (pee or poop) Kerr said. We think there is some risk, but that risk can be controlled by good policy and best management practice. We will provide recommendations and guidelines for business owners if they are going to employ this.

Most of the business owners at the Belmont Shore meeting, as well as other meetings around the city, support the loosening of the outdoor patio rules, Kerr said. In fact, many restaurant owners in Long Beach already bend the rules and allow dogs on outdoor patios, and all restaurant owners at the Belmont Shore meeting said they would allow dogs on their patios if the restrictions are loosened.

Most of the feedback is very positive, and it is becoming more and more acceptable to have animals out with people in public, Kerr said. We are seeing it more and more with people bringing their dogs out to eat I havent really heard any negative feedback from any of the presentations weve made weve reached out to the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, business associations and the Council of Business Associations.

Still, Dede Rossi, executive director of the Belmont Shore Business Association, said she has concerns about the rule change. In particular, she is worried that some restaurant owners who do not allow dogs on their patios might lose business from pet owners.

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Health Officials Gather Opinions About Dogs On Patios

04-07-2012 08:56 This is a new home under construction. We will be updating the progress of the project here on youtube during the process. If you have questions or need help with remodeling or new home construction, please contact us at beetreehomes.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

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New House Under Construction - BeeTreeHomes - Video

05-07-2012 01:05

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LEWISTON Firefighters worked for hours Tuesday to put out a fire that involved three buildings in the area of the city known as Little Canada.

The fire involved a 12-unit, four-story apartment building at 32-34 River St., a 1-story, single-family structure next door at 46 River St., and a third building that also appeared to house apartments.

Police said no injuries were reported. One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion and then released.

By late Tuesday, no cause had been determined, fire investigator Paul Ouellette said. He said he did not know how many people had been displaced.

The fire broke out shortly before 11 a.m. By 2 p.m., firefighters were focused on the four-story building whose roof had collapsed. Flames continued to appear at the roofline and hidden hot spots under the debris continued to smolder.

Fire Chief Paul LeClair said at 2 p.m. that fire investigators from his department and six investigators from the state fire marshals office were on scene and planned to complete investigations into the cause and area of origin of the fire once the buildings were safe. At that time, officials would determine whether any of the buildings would have to be demolished. The four-story building was heavily damaged, he said.

He said firefighters worked hard to keep the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings.

Crews likely would monitor the buildings overnight, he said.

At 2:30 p.m., radio traffic indicated firefighters were entering 32-34 River St. They checked all of the floors, going from apartment to apartment. They recovered valuables of the tenants and several pets that survived the ordeal.

By 3:30 p.m., crews began to clean up the scene, rolling up hoses and clearing debris from the streets and sidewalk. The fire was declared to be out just before 5:30 p.m.

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Fire in Lewiston’s Little Canada burns three buildings, displaces tenants

Patti Slobogin drove slowly so that her mother could take in all the changes to the neighborhood she hadnt seen in more than 75 years.

Some things had changed--others hadnt. But to just be there againto see the porches where she would sleep on warm summer nights--was enough for 88-year-old Becky Slobogin, who grew up in The Deserted Village, in the heart of Union Countys 2,000-acre Watchung Reservation.

Slobogin is the oldest person known to have lived in the small enclave, once known as Feltville, a small mill community founded by David Felt in 1845. So when County parks officials learned that she wanted to visit, they were thrilled.

"It was wonderful to hear Mrs. Slobogin's recollections of her childhood in the Deserted Village," said Union County Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, who met Slobogin and her family at the Deserted Village's restored church/general store.

"She came a long way -- in distance and in time -- to share her memories with us," Kowalski said, noting that Slobogin, her daughter, and granddaughter, Cassie Spodak, drove all the way from Ossining, N.Y.

"She is a living link to a past that few people remember, and we are very grateful to her for taking the trouble to come and visit us," Kowalski said.

Slobogin, who was five years-old when her family moved to The Deserted Village in 1928, was interviewed by Daniel Bernier, who oversees historic settlement as part of his responsibilities with the Union County Parks department. The interview was videotaped and will become part of the growing online archive about The Deserted Village on the Countys website, ucnj.org/desertedvillage.

(Anyone wishing to participate in the oral history project can send an email to dv@ucnj.org or call 908-789-3682.)

After the interview, Bernier led a tour of the village. While Slobogins home was destroyed in a fire in the 1950s, just to finally return and see her childhood neighborhood brought her close to tears.

While she would later live all over the world because her husband was with the CIA, Slobogins greatest wish in recent years, her daughter said, was to see the Deserted Village again.

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The Deserted Village: In the heart of Watchung Reservation

02-07-2012 20:52 installation of arches in church building

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Construction Video1 - Video

BRADENTON, Fla., -- DeckWise.com, an internationally recognized manufacturer of hidden deck fasteners and accessories, has recently introduced high-quality hardwood deck tiles to their inventory lineup in an effort to expand their esteemed and established product offerings to include commodities beyond the deck building supplies they traditionally produce.

"We have established ourselves as a leading supplier of high-quality stainless steel screws to South American deck tile manufacturers. So it seemed like a natural fit to offer our US customer base deck tiles built with our screws and, at the same time, help promote our South American clientele. Ultimately, our success distributing screws and Deck Tile Connectors to our dealers made adding the tiles as a pre-assembled accessory a no-brainer," said Jeffrey Horn, COO of DeckWise, a division of The Ipe Clip Fastener Company LLC.

Three of the world's most luxurious and in-demand hardwoods form the catalog of the new deck tiles, which conveniently come in multiple variations:

Ipe: Available in two sizes: 24 x 24 inches with a thickness of 1.69 inches, and 20 x 20 inches with a thickness of 1.18 inches. The latter's surface comes in two incarnations: smooth and anti-slip; the former comes in smooth.

Cumaru: 20 x 20 inches with a thickness of 1.18 inches; smooth surface

Tigerwood: 20 x 20 inches with a thickness of 1.18 inches; smooth surface

Deck tiles, also known as instant decking, portable decking or pre-installed decking, have dramatically grown in popularity in recent years, hence the decision by DeckWise to add them to their "starting lineup" of product choices.

"Besides giving past, present and future customers more premium-quality product choices from DeckWise, we've also given them another benefit that many can reap in this current rental-dominated market: portability," said Jeffrey. "Whereas traditional decking is meant to be permanent and left behind in the event a tenant relocates, decking tiles allow anybody - tenant or homeowner - to place them on their patio and then easily take the tiles with them when they move."

Jeffrey adds that "Decking tiles are ideal for people who wish to cover up ugly, aged concrete patios and other structural blemishes, as well as liven up their outdoor surroundings with a luxurious look that can be seamlessly moved and arranged with ease."

About DeckWise(TM)

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Portable Decking Tiles come in 3 hardwood forms.

Introducing... is The Local's guide to Swedish celebrity. In this instalment Rebecca Martin finds out more about Ernst Kirchsteiger - the softly spoken interior decorator-cum-philosopher who annually invades TV screens all over Sweden.

Ernst? Well, hes more of an institution really. "No summer without Ernst" is something that Swedes seem to all agree on. Ernst is the epitome of the word folkkr or loved by the people - which doesnt mean that everyone loves him really, but rather that everyone knows who he is and will have an opinion on him.

Fine but what does he do and why are you going on about him?

Ernst is the hugely popular interior decorator who hosted the TV-show Sommartorpet ("Summer Cottage") on the national public broadcaster SVT between 2000 and 2007, where the decorating team chose a random old shack somewhere in the countryside and did it up over the course of one summer. Swedes were glued to their screens.

Seriously you are telling me about some old interior decorator guy? Whats the fuzz with him?

Easy tiger, I was getting to that. I said Ernst has become an institution. Theres a reason. How many people do you know who can deliver one-liners such as Has it ever happened that you have found yourself falling in love with a stone? or I want to feel summer all over my body not just dip my toes in it! in every show he hosted? I mean, come on! The guys a philosopher.

Ok, I admit thats pretty... unusual. But why are you telling me about him now?

Its summer and as I said before no Swedish summer is complete without Ernst. After leaving SVT, Ernst went over to commercial TV station TV4 which probably meant a heftier pay cheque and started filming similar programmes with them.

On Thursday, the latest season of the Summer with Ernst show will begin airing on TV4. This season Ernst and his crew have found an empty power station that they are doing up. Riveting stuff!

Power station, you said? What on earth for?

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Introducing... Ernst Kirchsteiger

The long and steep housing downturn appears to be coming to an end, according to the 2012 first-quarter AIA Home Design Trends Survey. Residential architects are reporting that home sizes are beginning to turn around, particularly for custom and luxury homes.

In addition, making homes more accessible for an aging population and using the space more flexibly are key home design considerations. Outdoor living remains popular, and with that has come more interest in property enhancements such as low-irrigation landscaping.

With the easing of market conditions, residential architects are reporting better business prospects. Business conditions are improving in each of the major regions of the country, which indicates a broad-based recovery. While the strongest sectors continue to be improvements to existing homes, stability is developing in key new construction sectors for custom and luxury homes, trade-up homes, and entry-level homes.

After exploding during the housing boom, the sizes of new homes peaked and began to decrease during the downturn. Currently, additions and remodels are reported to be increasing in size at an even higher rate than new construction.

In an effort to appeal to as broad a population as possible, in-home accessibility (e.g., wider hallways, fewer steps) is the home layout trend increasing the most in popularity. Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents feel that this feature is increasing in popularity, while less than 1 percent feel that it is decreasing. Features that allow better access into and out of the house (ramps, on-grade entrances) also proved popular.

While changes in home sizes have been driven by the housing cycle, lot sizes seem to be in a longer-term downturn. Even back in 2006 at the peak of the housing boom, only 7 percent of respondents reported lot sizes to be increasing, while more than 40 percent reported declines. This years survey showed a modest bounce back in the share reporting lot sizes to be growing. High land costs, greater emphasis on infill locations and limited interest among homeowners in maintaining a large yard all point to modest lot sizes in the years ahead.

The 2012 survey shows that interest in outdoor living space increased. However, the outdoor feature residential architects report as showing the greatest increase in popularity is low-maintenance, low-irrigation landscaping. Many residential architects also report preparing building lots for construction has become more difficult due to topographical or soil conditions, or zoning limitations on the site.

As the housing market continues to move into recovery, business conditions at residential architecture firms are improving. For the first quarter of 2012, 35 percent of participating residential firms reported their billings had increased over the fourth quarter of 2011, while just over 22 percent reported they had declined. The remaining 43 percent reported they were essentially flat over this time period. This was the strongest uptick in billings in almost five years, since the second quarter of 2007.

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Residential Architects Report Changes for the Better