Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

INDIANAPOLIS, March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Many homeowners and professional housecleaners are trading their bleach, pine-scented and other potentially toxic cleaning chemicals in for more environmentally friendly and all-natural cleaners.

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Angie's List, which provides consumer reviews on services from contractors to dentists to housecleaners has seen an increase in both consumers seeking out eco-friendly cleaning companies and in professional cleaning companies that offer 'green' options.

"Spraying potentially toxic chemical-based cleaners into the air, pouring them down the sink or dumping them in landfills has a negative effect on both our health and our environment," said Angie's List founder Angie Hicks. "Your home no longer needs to smell like bleach or other chemicals to be considered clean. There are plenty of all-natural cleaning products that do an equally effective job, are easy on your pocketbook and are better for you and your family's health and for Mother Earth."

Many professional housecleaners are relying on biodegradable, non-toxic cleaners like baking soda, white distilled vinegar and some essential oils with disinfectant qualities (lemon, tea tree oil and eucalyptus, for example) to clean and disinfect. Distilled vinegar, for example, will kill nearly all bacteria with which it comes into contact, while baking soda is great for scrubbing out stains and even freshening up carpets and sink drains.

Some cleaning companies make a concerted effort to find other ways tofurther reduce their environmental impact, like cleaning and reusing towels and rags instead of using and throwing away power towels or sponges.

"As awareness for eco-friendly cleaning increases, many cleaning companies are turning exclusively to non-toxic products or are willing to supply them at a customer's request," Hicks said. "Homeowners interested in hiring an eco-friendly housecleaner should still do their research before they hire and ask what products the housecleaner plans to use. Also check that the housecleaner is licensed, insured and bonded. That protects the company and the homeowner in the event an employee is injured on the job or damages property.

Consumers interested in purchasing eco-friendly cleaning products should always read the ingredient list to determine what the product is really made from. Many over-the-counter cleaning products are touted by the manufacturer as being green but still contain chemicals.

"It's never too late to go green when you clean," Hicks said. "Box up all those chemicals you no longer want and take them to a local hazardous waste center. Replace them with all-natural cleaning products or by using an eco-friendly cleaning service. Your home will still smell and look great."

Professional housecleaners are often a great value for busy homeowners, as they are often able to do the job in a fraction of the time it would take the average homeowner. Some professionals offer one-time cleans or can set you up on a less frequent rotation.

The rest is here:
Angie's List: Green Housecleaning Makes a Healthier Home

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WJBK) -- Kitchen upgrades are a popular home improvement project and many people want granite countertops. However, when those countertops are made, a lot of granite actually goes to waste. A local business owner has found a way to recycle it.

A typical work day for David Popp involves stamping tons of solid stone. He's the owner of EcoGranite in Farmington Hills, the first stone recycling business in metro Detroit and one of the first in the country.

Popp turns leftover granite from home construction projects into pavers, thin stone veneer and even gravel.

"It's stones brought from all over the world for its natural beauty to the United States, and then it's made into a countertop," he said. "About 40 percent of it just on a countertop production goes back to a landfill."

However, Popp figured out how to recycle it and reuse it instead. He said he couldn't stand to all this beautiful stone going to waste. It took him eight years to develop the right technique using heavy machinery to cut the granite into various perfect shapes.

His pavers start at $3.85 a square foot.

The company even recycles very small pieces. They grind them up into different grades of gravel.

"Everything that comes into the shop we try to make into a useable product," Popp explained.

So, where does all the heavy granite come from? Popp hauls tons and tons of it away for local companies free of charge in exchange for the use of the material.

He said granite is about three times stronger than a standard brick paver. The natural stone doesn't degrade and should last forever.

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Local Company Recycles Granite Waste

Question: I am a victim of my own creativity.

Several years ago I put a faux marble finish on my basement floor and covered it with a polyurethane. I would like to repaint it. I tried just floor paint. The paint never dried. I mopped it off several days later.

The paint adviser at Lowe's recommended paint remover or sanding. Do you think epoxy paint would cover it?

All other options seem like a lot of work.

Answer: On the one hand, I like to hear that a product - in this case, the polyurethane - is doing its job by protecting your faux floor.

On the other hand, epoxy paint application in every situation I've examined or heard about requires surface preparation that would involve exactly what the fellow at Lowe's recommended.

Any kind of paint requires a surface to adhere to, and one coated with polyurethane is no exception.

Face down: A few weeks back, during our discussion of detergent, I asked for recommendations on which way utensils should face in the dishwasher.

I reported one vote for up and down to prevent "nesting," but apparently the polls weren't closed in Hawaii.

I received two votes recommending down: One via snail mail from Patricia who writes "always place any pointed utensil down. Children might trip and fall into the open dishwasher. Someone might cut their hand or fingers."

Continue reading here:
Repainting faux marble finish on a basement floor

GlacialLight F, No. 352, Sec. 2, Zhongshan Rd New Taipei City, , 235, R.O.C, Taiwan

4" 8.6 Watt High-Performance LED Down Light for Commercial and Residential Applications

Taipei, Taiwan - GlacialLight, a sub-division of the experienced technology manufacturer GlacialTech Inc., is pleased to introduce the 4-inch LED down light - GL-DL04 - to the Capella Series. This high performance 8.6W LED down light acts as a bulb and fixture all-in-one that serves as a trouble-free replacement for outdated traditional lighting.

Designed for indoor commercial and residential usage such as malls, supermarkets, offices, and hallways, the GL-DL04 adds even more energy conscience solution options to GlacialLight's Capella Series. Using only 8.6W the GL-DL04 uses much less energy than traditional down lights. Further reducing lighting related cost, the GL-DL04 has a rated lifespan of 30,000 hours. This translates to a decade of evenly distributed light if used for eight hours a day.

The GL-DL04 is available in three color temperatures, 3000K, 4000K, and 6000K that emit 300, 320, and 400 lumens of light, respectively. All three models take an universal AC 100-240V power source, and have a power conversion efficiency of at least 75%.

The GL-DL04 allows for a perfect flush fit when installing, thanks to its slim, compact, and fashionable design. Additionally, like the rest of GlacialLight's Capella Series, the GL-DL04 contains no hazardous chemical such as mercury, and does not emit harmful UV or IR rays, making it more eco-friendly than traditional lighting fixtures.

Capella Series GL-DL04 Product Features

Excellent LED lighting products you can trust The design of LED lighting products is based on three core technologies including electrical design (LED drivers), mechanical design (cooling devices), and optical design (lamp holders), respectively performed by GlacialPower, GlacialTech, and GlacialLight in the GlacialTech family. With the three core technologies in hand, GlacialTech has integrated all the resources required for exceptional designs and manufactures excellent LED lighting products you can trust.

Advantages and benefits of LED lighting compared to traditional lighting

About GlacialLight GlacialTech Inc., is a diversified provider of cooling, power supply, and PC enclosure solutions for consumer and industrial applications. Having established strong relationships with LED semiconductor Co.'s, thermal, SMPS and mechanism technology leaders worldwide, GlacialTech leverages world-class engineering, efficient manufacturing and highest-quality materials to provide high brightness, low power LED lighting solutions for indoor, outdoor and other customized applications under the GlacialLight brand. Please visit the company homepage at http://www.GlacialLight.com.

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LED Downlight offers alternative to traditional lighting.

March 30, 2012 12:06

Tom Searle also tells NME about the band's 'political' fifth album

Photo: Press

Architects have spoken about their new album 'Daybreaker', with guitarist Tom Searle revealing that he believes the band have "got their balls back" on their new album.

The album, which is the band's fifth and the follow-up to 2010's 'The Here And Now', was recorded in Reading with producer John Mitchell and is due for release on May 28.

Speaking to NME about the album and how it moves on from 'The Here And Now', Searle said: "Some people might say we've regressed, but I think we've found our enthusiasm for playing heavy music again. I'm excited again by what I've come up with on guitar and lyrically it's much more political and less personal."

He continued: "I wanted to go back to being heavier and I think we've got our balls back. We're not a band that should be on daytime radio and even when we got that stuff, it felt a bit uncomfortable. I think we were out of our comfort zone and the shoe didn't fit."

Searle also spoke about 'Devil's Island', the band's recent single which was inspired by last summer's riots and which you can see the video for by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking.

Asked about 'Devil's Island', Searle said: "That was the song that really drove us on. Sam [Carter - singer] came in with the song and it was different to anything we've ever done before and it was about something important and something big and it really gave us the courage to write about other important topics."

Searle then went on to talk about the political themes of 'Daybreaker', adding: "There's a lot of religion on there, which is the fun thing about being an atheist. There's media, the society we live, the relationship we have with money, things like that."

Read more from the original source:
Architects: 'We've got our balls back on 'Daybreaker''

Written by Andrew Brophy Thursday, 29 March 2012 10:32

Principals F. Michael Ayles (pink shirt) and George J. Perham say they like the location of Phil Kuchmas block-long development on Fairfield Avenue and the wide-open space on the second floor of the Bijou Theatre that the architectural firm occupies. Photo by Wayne RatzenbergerPatrons of the newly renovated Bijou Theatre in Bridgeport have raved about the ambiance of the theater interior, but few likely know the architects who designed it with developer Phil Kuchma are a flight of stairs away.

Antinozzi Associates not only helped Kuchma design the Bijou, believed to be the oldest movie theater in the United States, but the firm also turned a former ballroom above the 103-year-old theater into its architectural offices and designed the layout of apartments and retail spaces in Kuchma's block-long Bijou Square development on Fairfield Avenue.

"It's a combination of The Cabaret and The Playhouse," George J. Perham, a principal and vice president of Antinozzi Associates, said of the Bijou Theatre, referring to the Downtown Cabaret Theatre on Golden Hill Street and The Playhouse on the Green's former home on State Street.

F. Michael Ayles, also a principal at Antinozzi Associates, said the 56-year-old firm moved from Stratford to Fairfield Avenue in 2007 because its principals liked the location of Kuchma's downtown building and the wide-open space on the second floor.

"Also, as I think we're starting to see, finally, it's just the general location of Bridgeport as it blooms and regenerates itself," he said. " It's great being in the center of everything. It's very nice to have a space like this, where people feel very welcome to walk in, and we're down the street from a lot of our clients in Bridgeport."

Antinozzi was heavily invested in the Park City long before it left Stratford, having designed City Hall on Lyon Terrace, the Police Department, Railroad Station, Central Avenue Fire Station, Dinan Memorial Center on Bond Street, Mercy Learning Center, St. Augustine Cathedral, St. Mary's Church.

The firm also designed many schools, including Longfellow Elementary, East Side Middle School, Dunbar Elementary, Read Elementary/Middle School, Geraldine Johnson School and South End School. It is now designing the new Roosevelt Elementary School on Park Avenue, where construction is scheduled to begin this fall.

Outside Bridgeport, the firm designed an addition and renovations at Oxford High School and Platt High School in Meriden, and one of its biggest projects is Wilton Corporate Park, which involves additions and renovations totaling 600,000 square feet.

The firm turned a former ballroom above the 103-year-old Bijou Theatre into its architectural offices and designed the layout of apartments and retail spaces in Phil Kuchmas block-long Bijou Square development on Fairfield Avenue. Photo by Wayne RatzenbergerAntinozzi's design of Kuchma's development was somewhat unique because the firm's work, from a revenue standpoint, is evenly divided between corporate/financial clients and schools, Perham said.

The rest is here:
Antinozzi Associates chose downtown location ‘in the center everything’

WATERVLIET The city will hire an outside attorney and engineering firm to review the Nigro Companies proposal to demolish St. Patrick's Church and redevelop the site for commercial use.

"We need help with land use, SEQR assessment techniques and legal," Mayor Michael Manning said Thursday.

The Nigro Companies has presented the city with a preliminary site plan and partial environmental impact information. Manning said the city is awaiting more detailed information.

A group of residents met Wednesday night at the Ancient Order of Hibernians hall to organize a group to oppose the demolition of the historic church and to look into alternative uses for the building.

"This is not about the Catholic church. My purpose is to preserve the site and develop it in the best interest of the community," Christine Bulmer, an organizer of the meeting, said Wednesday night.

About 20 people attended the gathering, held under the watchful gaze of a life-sized figure of St. Patrick in a glass cabinet.

Representatives of TAP, a Troy nonprofit firm that provides architectural services, and Historic Albany Foundation attended the meeting to provide general information about organizing. Susan Holland, the foundation's executive director, outlined what the group would have to do work toward preserving the church.

Three representatives of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, who attended part of the meeting, said the new parish is responsible for the St. Patrick's property until it is sold. John Kenney, a member of the parish delegation, said four proposals for the site were considered, all of which called for demolishing the buildings. The identities of the other three firms were not disclosed.

The site plan submitted by the Nigro Companies shows a 40,200-square-foot building located at the north end of the parcel at 515 19th St. with a smaller 2,600-square-foot building near the property's southern boundary.

The historic church, rectory and school building would be leveled.

Link:
New eye on razing plan

It is not clear why Mrs De Giovanni wants to see copies of the details of the property, but officials insist she has no legal right to do so.

Piero Nuccio, the lawyer acting for the couple, branded the case a shame and suggested it could sour the actress friendly relationship with her neighbour, whom she used to take fresh flowers.

The dispute centres on a 500-year-old building, once the home of a prince, which is surrounded by a fairytale stone wall and turrets.

Nestled in Puglia, Italy, less than a mile away from the Mediterranean, it is said to have native olive trees and quaint rose bushes in the sunkissed garden and a mature vineyard in the grounds.

The property came to the publics attention three years ago, when photographs of Dame Helen in a striking red bikini on the nearby beach emerged.

Originally described as tumbledown and uninhabitable, the home has undergone a transformation in the hands of the couple, who invested more than a quarter of a million pounds restoring it to its former glory.

Now sporting solar panels for heating and hot water, the property is said to have eco-friendly credentials as well as maintaining its traditional features, including enormous fire places and a dungeon.

One such improvement has been the complete restoration of a wall adjacent to Mrs De Giovannis property, funded by Dame Helen and her husband at a cost of 30,000.

Though Mrs De Giovanni has already seen plans for the shared wall, she has now accused the local council of failing to hand over official documents of the rest of the home.

A spokesman for the local council said: We are aware of the complaint but we are adamant that we have done nothing wrong and it is now up to the prosecutor to decide what happens next.

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Helen Mirren's holiday home in Italian council planning row

30-03-2012 07:50 Jeff shows us the interior of this project starting in the living room. The walls were stripped of their dark wood paneling and replaced with some clean drywall. Next, the carpet was ripped up and locally manufactured ash hardwood flooring was installed. Finally, the wall separating the living room and kitchen was cut down to make room for a snack bar and open up the space.

Continue reading here:
Dexter Builders Chelsea Remodeling Project- Living Room - Video

When I remodeled my last home I was confronted with more options than I ever thought existed. There were hundreds of options for cabinet handles alone. I was trying to balance between what I wanted, what I could afford and what would provide me the best return on my money. Thankfully the contractor was a friend of mine who gave me the tip to make my home liveable for me first and worry about potential resale later; after all, I had no intention at the time of ever selling.

Styles change and with it the best return on your remodeling money changes. To that end I made some changes that saved me a great deal of money at the time and when I did sell ended up giving me a great return on my investment.

I chose a walk-in pantry over wall cabinets. Cabinets are incredible expensive. While I am tall I'm not tall enough to reach the back of the top cabinet height in my kitchen. Plus I had 3 external walls. I choose windows for the walls and lower cabinets. A walk in pantry is much more accessible, keeps everything more organized and in thousands less expensive to build.

I frequently take 2 showers a day, especially in summer. I generally only take a bath in winter and then only now and then. A shower is simply faster; I can be in and out in the time it takes the tub to fill. So when I remodeled the bathroom I opted for a large walk-in shower instead of a tub. There is another bathroom with a tub so the house still has one.

I added windows to the office. Well the previous owners used the room as a dining room, but with the size of the kitchen and the informality of my life, I used the former dining room for an office. The only problem was that it had only one very small window. It also had a great view of the front garden. So I had a huge picture window installed and the only 30inch window taken out. I flanked the new window with built in bookshelves and the room looked great. I went from needing 2 lights on during the day to work to being able to leave the light off until sunset. It was great.

The single most important decision I made was not to spend money I didn't have. I didn't have the cash for granite countertops so I didn't get them. I saw no reason to go into debt to remodel. I paid cash for all of it. When the job was complete I was able to enjoy the house without worrying about my credit card balance. I had budgeted $25,000 for the renovations, $15,000 for the kitchen and $10,000 for the bathroom. The kitchen ended up costing me $18,000 and the bathroom cost $8,000. I was able to have the window in the office expanded for $3,000. This project wouldn't have been done at the time if it hadn't been for the savings on the other projects. Overall I added $50,000 value to my house. Not a bad return on my investment.

When you remodel your home make sure your first priority is it's suitability for you and your family and not some mythical potential buyer from the future. If you find that the cost of your remodel exceeds more than 50% of your home's current market value you might want to consider the advice my father gave me for that situation: move!

*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.

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First Person: Remodeling My Home on a Budget