Home Builder Developer, Interior Renovation and Design

Church of St Jean Baptiste on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Troy, N.Y. The 2nd St. building will be knocked down to build an office building. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

St. Jean Baptiste Roman Catholic Church on Second Street. (Rensselaer County Historical Society) Click through the gallery to view how other churches around the area have been transformed.

in Troy, N.Y., on Sept. 7, 2010. RPI fraternity converted the church into a house for their brothers. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Friday July 11, 2014, on Third Street in Troy, N.Y. was bought by an RPI fraternity. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union)

Fraternity sign outside the former First Baptist Church Friday July 11, 2014, on Third Street in Troy, N.Y. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union)

Two pianos are just a couple of the contents in the First Baptist Church to be auctioned off by Collar City Auctions on Thursday March 7, 2013 in Troy, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

The mechanics of an old clock in the bell tower of the First Baptist Church on Thursday March 7, 2013, in Troy, N.Y. Uncle Sam worshipped at this church. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Exterior of a former Methodist church Dr. Peter Forman turned into medical offices known as Delmar Family Medicine in Slingerlands, N.Y.

Dr. Peter Forman talks gives a tour of the former Methodist church he turned into medical.

Exam room and hallway in a former Methodist church Dr. Peter Forman turned into medical offices.

Side door leading to apartments in a former Methodist church Dr. Peter Forman turned into medical offices.

Exam room in a former Methodist church Dr. Peter Forman turned into medical offices.

on Mill Street, which became the Contemporary Artists Center, Woodside. (Luanne M. Ferris / Times Union)

View of an artist's workspace in one of the buildings on the campus of the Contemporary Artists Center. (Luanne M. Ferris / Times Union)

at 101st and 6th avenues in North Troy became a children's puppet theater before it was converted into the Sanctuary for Independent Media in 2005. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

at 101st and 6th avenues in North Troy became a children's puppet theater before it was converted into the Sanctuary for Independent Media in 2005. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times

Steve Pierce and Branda Miller, who run the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, New York, 02/19/2010.(Michael P. Farrell/Times Union)

became the Schenectady Light Opera Company in Schenectady, NY. Volunteers renovated the church on Franklin Street. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Scenery paintings line the stairway of the secondary building on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012, at Schenectady Light Opera Company in Schenectady, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

on Eastern Avenue in Schenectady became The Renaissance Restaurant at The Hall. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union)

The former St. Mary's Church on Eastern Avenue in Schenectady. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union)

became Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Teddy Foster, campaign director for Universal Preservation Hall, sits in the balcony in the great hall of the building on Thursday, March 16, 2017, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

A view of the great hall in the Universal Preservation Hall building on Thursday, March 16, 2017, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

A view of the apse inside the great hall in the Universal Preservation Hall building on Thursday, March 16, 2017, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

on New Scotland Avenue became Overit Media's new home in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

The sanctuary of St. Teresa de Avila Church at 435 New Scotland Ave., Albany before it was remodeled to become the production floor of Overit Media.

in Cohoes became The Venue at St. Joseph's, an event space. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

A table setting at Dan and Jennifer O'Neill's The Venue at St. Joseph's, a renovated church now an event space Wednesday Nov. 11, 2015 in Cohoes, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Interior of Dan and Jennifer O'Neill's The Venue at St. Joseph's, their renovated church now an event space Wednesday Nov. 11, 2015 in Cohoes, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

The altar at Dan and Jennifer O'Neill's The Venue at St. Joseph's, a renovated church now an event space Wednesday Nov. 11, 2015 in Cohoes, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Dan and Jennifer O'Neill in The Venue at St. Joseph's, their renovated church now an event space Wednesday Nov. 11, 2015 in Cohoes, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Detail from the upstairs bar at Dan and Jennifer O'Neill's The Venue at St. Joseph's, a renovated church now an event space Wednesday Nov. 11, 2015 in Cohoes, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

became Grand Street Community Arts in Albany, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Grand Street Community Arts hosts a lunchtime tour to showcase 2016 renovation plans for St. Anthony's Church. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Edwards Grimes-Carrion stands on the balcony at the Grand Street Community Arts center Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013 in Albany, N.Y.

on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Troy, N.Y. The 2nd St. building will be knocked down to build an office building. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Church of St Jean Baptiste on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Troy, N.Y. The 2nd St. building will be knocked down to build an office building. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Bell tower on the Church of St Jean Baptiste on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Troy, N.Y. The 2nd St. building will be knocked down to build an office building. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Roofline detail on the Church of St Jean Baptiste on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Troy, N.Y. The 2nd St. building will be knocked down to build an office building. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Front door of the Church of St Jean Baptiste on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Troy, N.Y. The 2nd St. building will be knocked down to build an office building. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

on Third Ave. on Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, in the Lansingburgh neighborhood of Troy, N.Y. A Latham company is seeking zoning variances to convert a closed Lutheran church into a five-unit apartment building.(Will Waldron/Times Union)

on Third Ave. on Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, in the Lansingburgh neighborhood of Troy, N.Y. A Latham company is seeking zoning variances to convert a closed Lutheran church into a

on the corner of Third and Washington on Monday, July 18, 2011 in Troy, is expected to be converted to housing. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

A view of St. Mary's Church on the corner of Third and Washington on Monday, July 18, 2011 in Troy. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union archive)

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Office building planned for former St. Jean the Baptiste Church in Troy - Albany Times Union

Concrete workers at the site of the future St. Lukes Childrens Pavilion in Boise last spring. The Associated General Contractors of America plans to release recommendations for public officials August 29 on how to increase the pipeline of skilled workers. File photo

The number of construction jobs in Idaho remained on an even keel in July, continuing a trend that started in March.

About 43,000 to 44,000 people are building homes, commercial, office and industrial structures in the state, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.

AGCs monthly count had Idaho with 43,700 construction jobs in July, a 3.6 percent increase from the prior July. This ranked Idaho No. 20 among states.

Idaho has been hovering around No. 20 since March after consistently ranking in the Top 5 in year-over year job growth with double-digit percentage job increases since 2015 until February. Several large construction projects have been winding down since then.

Idaho did add 100 construction jobs from June to July, ranking No. 23, as construction started on the Boise State University Fine Arts Building. Construction is also imminent on an 86,000-square-foot office/retail building for Norco in Meridian.

Idaho job numbers have stalled, in part, because of a shortage of qualified construction workers, said Jerry Frank, president and CEO at PETRA Inc., a Meridian-based general contractor.

It is definitely an employees market right now, Frank said. It is really testing the loyalty of our team.

A construction worker shortages is a national malaise. AGC on Aug. 29 will release regional and state construction worker shortage data and suggest steps public officials can take to increase the number of qualified workers.

Neighboring states are faring better in finding construction workers.

Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Washington exceeded Idahos construction job growth rate in July, as they have all year. Oregon and Nevada ranked No. 1 and No. 2 with 13.2 percent and 12.8 percent increases in July, according to AGC statistics.

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Contractors: The trades badly need more skilled workers - Idaho Business Review

Marin General Hospital is getting a new home, a half-billion dollar design-build project helmed by McCarthy Building Companies. Constructing a highly specialized building such as a healthcare facility is never easy, as user demands are constantly evolving to meet the latest standards ensuring the best possible health outcomes, and all construction must meet rigid California Office of Statewide Planning and Health Development (OSHPD) specifications on safety and disaster preparedness which, in California, most often means earthquakes.

The first phase of the project, the replacement of the existing hospital building, will be completed by 2020. Along with the challenges of maintaining an existing hospital facility while building a new one ten feet away, explains Terry Ng, Design Manager at McCarthy, the design-build team worked hard to create a collaborative platform to connect multidisciplinary designers and trade partners located throughout the country. This makes for a challenging building environment, to say the least. The design team relies on Bluebeam Revu and Studio technology solutions to ensure that everything goes to plan. Using Studio Sessions, they manage documents, communicate across their team, supervise subcontractors, and coordinate with facilities management at the hospital.

We approached this project with an incremental permitting approach, explains Chris Blelloch, who is a Senior Engineer at the company. That means designing and building in phases, seeking plan approval for upcoming work in parallel with construction of earlier permitted phases. This is a risky approach, but a speedier one, and the team felt comfortable doing so knowing they had such precise control over their documents, and the ability to share comments and updates directly in real time. We actually used preconstruction Bluebeam Studio Sessions to house all of our working construction documents. So while all the designers would work in CAD or Revit or whatever their go-to design software was, we use Studio to combine and slip-sheet, and manage all live documents throughout the construction project.

And while McCarthy, one of the countrys top builders, has long been using Bluebeams software across the company, never before had the Pacific Northwest office used it for this long, this robustly, as on the Marin Hospital, says Ng. Blelloch adds, Using it in more of a preconstruction fashion and making it more of a collaborative tool for all tradesthats the leap that was made by our folks here. That drew upon a lot of experience at the company.

As the new structure begins to rise steel erection will be completed by summers end the design team continues to rely on Revus capabilities to keep everybody on the same page, demonstrating models or modifications when meeting with the end users or the hospitals facilities department. We use Revu to show them what their design will look like, and its a lot easier than showing them plans or describing it to them verbally, says Ng.

As the 2020 completion date approaches and Marin County gets closer to welcoming a new, first-class hospital building, McCarthy will continue to lean on Bluebeam solutions to help solve the most critical issues, and to keep their information safe, secure and organized, even as plans constantly evolve and they graduate from one phase to the next. The big risk in a project like this is the transfer of information from one scope to another that really needs to be managed closely. Bluebeam has really helped us create transparency between all that, so we can expedite the communication between the necessary parties as were erecting steel, dealing with OSHPD as an agency and our end users. The software brings it all together. Thats good news for the McCarthy team, and good news for Marin County, as well.

ALAMOSA, Colo. -- Engine 169 is "the little engine that could."

Although much of its history is long past, the 1883 steam engine may be "on track" to operate again in the future.

Volunteers like Jim Poston, a member of the Locomotive 169/Business Car B-1 Restoration Team, are hoping to see the engine hit the tracks again.

"The fact we've got a historic artifact here in Alamosa is important," Poston said.

Engine 169 was part of a 12-locomotive order built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1883. It is a narrow gauge engine, meaning if it becomes operational, it would have to run on a three-foot track like the Cumbers & Toltec or Durango & Silverton.

For 55 years Engine 169 pulled its weight -- and then some -- on Denver & Rio Grande Railroad lines throughout Colorado. Retired from service for many years, Engine 169 has greeted visitors to Cole Park in Alamosa and has enjoyed an elevated status in its own pavilion, shared with the B-1 Business car, since 2002.

Poston said with Alamosa's railroading history, it is fitting that the locomotive should be housed here. The Valley's history and geography are tied to the tracks. Poston said it is no coincidence that Monte Vista is about 15 miles from Alamosa and Del Norte about 15 miles from South Fork.

"How far can you go with a tender full of coal?" Poston asked.

He thanked those who helped provide Engine 169 a home, including the City of Alamosa (which owns the pavilion and provides electrical and other utilities) and Alamosa County Chamber of Commerce/Alamosa County Economic Development, which owns the locomotive.

Poston and other volunteers would like to see the engine come to life again on the tracks and believe it is possible, just like 168 (which once pulled a train carrying President William Howard Taft) found a new home with Cumbres & Toltec.

"The locomotive will obviously need more work," Poston said. The tender has been refurbished, and in about 1999 the locomotive passed a pressure test. The boiler has also been tested.

"We just need to make sure the locomotive is mechanically reliable," Poston said.

He estimated the remaining work to get Engine 169 operational again would run from $500,000 to $1 million. The engine would have to meet federal regulations for operation. For example, repairs would need to be completed on the running gear.

Poston explained there are specialists who can work on steam engines in Colorado as well as other states.

Fundraising is ongoing for the Engine 169 project.

Poston has met with the Alamosa city council, Alamosa City Manager Heather Brooks and Alamosa County Chamber of Commerce/ Alamosa County Economic Development Executive Director Randy Wright to discuss the future of Engine 169 and possible financial support for its upkeep and restoration.

Volunteers are also needed.

"We are always looking for volunteers. You can know everything about steam engines or absolutely nothing," Poston said. "We are willing to teach people."

Volunteers are welcome to help greet visitors every first Saturday at the pavilion, when it is open to the public, and help with the upkeep of the locomotive.

Poston said many of those who worked on the steam engines are no longer around, so it is essential that the next generation become involved to preserve this historic heritage.

Poston, who was part of the space shuttle team during his professional career, has been interested in trains since his dad got a Lionel train set for Christmas. His license plate "challenger" encompasses both his favorite space shuttle and favorite steam locomotive. He has been involved with 169 efforts since 2011.

Poston will be promoting Engine 169 at the national narrow gauge convention in Denver Aug. 30-Sept. 2 with brochures, calendars, T-shirts and denim shirts.

Colorado is the perfect host for the convention, Poston explained, since the state is the home of steam railroading and one of the states known for the exploration of the American West.

Railroading is a tourist draw for Alamosa and the San Luis Valley, Poston added.

"If you live anywhere in Colorado, you are less than a day trip down here, and there's a lot of other things to do in Alamosa and a lot of things to do in the Valley."

In addition to the larger expenses of restoring the engine, there are insurance and other maintenance type expenses for which donations are appreciated.

"We have a core of enthusiasts that want to see the train operating," Poston said. "We need to augment that core."

------

Information from: Valley Courier, http://www.alamosanews.com/

The rest is here:
Locomotive restoration of 1883 steam engine 'on track' - Pueblo Chieftain

Q: We have an old steamer trunk that belonged to my great grandparents. It is in excellent condition inside and out except for the leather handles on each side, which have rotted away. My husband has replaced them with strong climbing rope. Of course, this ruins the appearance. We were told that the bolts that held the leather handles must be cut off, then new leather can be put on with new hardware. Is there someone who could come to our home and do this?

Silver Spring

A: Almost certainly, the leather was not held on with bolts that need to be cut off. The handles on steamer trunks are typically attached with clinched nails nails hammered in from the outside and then bent over tightly on the inside.

Colonial Restoration Studio in Gaithersburg (301-948-6652 ; colonialrestorationstudio.com) has replaced handles on hundreds of these trunks over the years, said Dave Hawksford, who runs the shop along with his son, Jarrod. The shop offers in-home repair of cedar chests in Silver Spring, as well as in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac and Rockville. But steamer trunks need to be taken to the shop to be outfitted with new handles. You have to take the paper off on the inside, Hawksford said, and removing the handles requires special tools that they keep at the shop.

Raymond Burkett, who runs a furniture restoration business in Takoma Park (301-589-2658), also said that he can replace handles on steamer trunks, but only in his shop. Because the trunks were built to be lightweight, he said, the wooden parts are very thin. So its a challenge to remove the bent-over nails without damaging the wood.

Hawksford estimated the cost at $150 to $190; Burkett said it might come to about $200. Steamer trunks typically fit in a passenger car, but if moving the trunk yourself isnt possible, both companies offer pickup and delivery, with the price for both trips in Silver Spring totaling $75.

If youre handy and want to do the work yourself, check out the website of Brettuns Village (207-782-7863; brettunsvillage.com), a company in Maine that offers dozens of styles of leather handles and other trunk replacement parts, the tools needed to remove clinched nails, and instructions for doing the work without damaging the wood.

Van Dykes Restorers (vandykes.com) also offers replacement trunk handles.

Q: We have an exhaust fan in the ceiling of our 1930s brick Colonial kitchen. The circular opening measures 9 inches in diameter. The fan, which we believe is original to the house, turns on from a switch on the wall. But it makes a loud squealing sound. Is it possible to replace the fan with one that would still fit the current opening? It vents to the outside on the side of the house.

Silver Spring

A: A Dayton ring exhaust fan with a nine-inch blade diameter might work. This model comes in a circular frame with an outside diameter of 9 5/8 inches and an inside diameter of 9 inches. Grainger, which owns the Dayton brand, sells it for $109.47.

Chris Nakis, who responds to technical questions related to heating and air-conditioning equipment for Grainger, recommended calling an HVAC contractor or an electrician to check before you order whether this fan is likely to work, and then to install it. Retrofitting a fan into an existing opening sometimes takes some fussing, and an experienced contractor is likely to figure out a solution. For example, the mounting tabs might need to be bent or even cut off, he said.

See the article here:
How to fix up an old steamer trunk - Washington Post

Kalia Flooring in Murray, Utah announces 9-inch engineered hardwood flooring. It is cheaper and more durable than the solid wood floor alternative.

Kalia Flooring and Design Center carries discount wood flooring, tile, countertops, carpets, and more. The Utah-based business also offers design and space planning with solutions that breathe new life into homes and offices. Kalia Flooring is proud to announce the addition of 9-inch engineered solid hardwood flooring to its inventory.

Engineered hardwood floors are similar to solid hardwood floors; both are a -inch thick solid material made of 100 percent real wood. They differ only in construction. Engineered hardwood is made of a composite base layer with a veneer of hardwood on the top. It is more resistant to heat and moisture compared to solid hardwood. It is also cheaper and easier to install than solid wood.

Engineered hardwood floors are more environmentally friendly than solid hardwood because fewer trees are used in their production. The composite layer of the engineered hardwood is designed for greater durability, moisture-resistance, and strength. In most cases, engineered hardwood outlasts its solid wood counterpart.

Engineered hardwood floors offer the benefits of solid wood floors at a much lower cost and with greater longevity, said Scott Heath, Founder of Kalia Flooring and Design Center. To the eye, the two products look just the same, but engineered hardwood is less susceptible to dings, scrapes, and moisture.

Engineered hardwood can be sanded and refinished like solid hardwood floors, though floor owners should be careful not to re-sand so often that they wear the flooring down below its solid wood veneer.

From Draper to Park City, Kalias hardwood flooring company can help customers know if engineered hardwood is the right choice for their home. They can also assist with ideas and planning for remodeling projects.

For hardwood floor and other home renovation products, contact Kalia Flooring. For more information about the companys products and installation services, visit http://www.KaliaFloors.com or stop by their hardwood floor showroom at 5645 South Commerce Drive in Murray, Utah. The center can also be reached at (801) 263-9600.

About Kalia Floors

Kalia Flooring and Design Center offer carpet installation and sales throughout Park City to Salt Lake City, and the greater Northern Utah metro.

Excerpt from:
Kalia Floors' New Engineered Hardwood is a Cheaper, Tougher Flooring Alternative - Digital Journal

(TNS) Robert Dennis has mined coal in West Virginia for 10 years but a recent evening found him in a classroom at his local community college. He came to learn about opportunities in fracking, a drilling technique used to produce natural gas the very fuel that is threatening coals future.

I know mining inside and out, said Dennis, a 41-year-old shift foreman from Wetzel County. But now, I just want more doors to be open.

He has earned a certificate in chemical and industrial operations, diligently searched job boards and filled out applications. So far, no luck.

Dennis is learning a hard lesson of fracking: While it has created a bonanza of jobs, displaced coal miners and their communities are sometimes left out of the boom. Thats because many of the jobs require highly technical skills and are often going to experienced workers brought in from out of state who then move on to the next job without sinking roots.

There are positive employment and wage effects, said Timothy M. Komarek, a professor of economics at Old Dominion University in Virginia. But, he said, they are not as big as first thought when the boom first started.

Komarek concluded in a 2016 study that total employment in a county rises by 7 percent and wages by 11 percent in the three years after fracking comes but the gains then taper off.

When the shale gale hits, hotels, trailer parks and restaurants get a boost. And some landowners make money for letting drillers extract oil and gas from their property.

In that way, fracking has created a lot of millionaires in West Virginia, said Jeff Kessler, a former state senator from the states northern area that has both coal and natural gas. But it has not created the employment opportunities area residents had hoped for, he said. The ongoing benefits are relatively minute compared to the amount of land under lease.

Thats bad news for towns like Wetzel Countys New Martinsville where Dennis attended the community college session. While coal mines provide decades of steady work and sustain communities, a crew can frack a well in a month and leave behind automated machinery to recover the oil and gas.

The process, also known as hydraulic fracturing, involves injecting water and chemicals deep underground to break up rock and free trapped oil and gas.

Its unlocked vast stores of previously unobtainable fossil fuel and spurred a renaissance in energy production in states that had once been coal bastions. Coal, oil and natural gas are formed from the same plant matter and other forms of prehistoric life and can be found in the same places.

But fracking has eroded the status of coal, which used to generate more than half the electricity in the U.S. but had slipped to just 30 percent last year. If there was a War on Coal, it was really declared by natural gas, said Robert Godby, an economist at the University of Wyoming.

While some miners are hoping President Donald Trump will rescue their industry West Virginia gave Trump 69 percent of the vote in 2016, the greatest share of the total in at least a century and a half others are eyeing gas as an alternative employment opportunity.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics doesnt specifically count fracking jobs, but says there were more than 422,000 jobs directly associated with oil and gas extraction in the U.S. at the end of 2016. That has far eclipsed the number of jobs in underground coal mining: about 50,000 nationwide, down from 200,000 in the 1970s.

In West Virginia, there were 11,404 coal miners last year, about half the 23,000 who were working in 2011. There are about 6,000 working in oil and gas extraction.

The fracking boom provided a much-needed economic boost in the years following the 2007-2009 recession. Fracking supported more than half a million jobs across the Marcellus Shale, an energy-rich geological formation that stretches from New York state to Virginia, according to a report commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute, a trade association. The groups numbers exceed the Labor Department estimates because they include workers at natural gas distribution facilities, petroleum refineries, petroleum product wholesalers and gas stations.

And much as coal and the Ohio River once lured steel plants and manufacturers to the area, cheap natural gas may bring chemical and other manufacturers to areas near shale drilling. Residents of New Martinsville, for example, are rooting for an ethane processing facility that may be built on the site of an old coal plant nearby.

In North Dakota, the fracking boom allowed it to become the fastest-growing economy in the nation by 2014. Even now, it has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation at 2.3 percent. But a downturn in the oil market brought drilling to a crawl and slowed investment in training and education programs.

The boom was so quick and dropped off so quickly afterwards and the bust came so quickly that they really didnt get it done, said William Caraher, an associate professor of history at the University of North Dakota, of the states education push.

Don Riggenbach is the president of the Chamber of Commerce in Wetzel County, where New Martinsville is located, and the owner of a tile and carpet installation company. He measures the economic effect of fracking in square feet of new flooring installed. So far, he says, something has been missing.

In my business I need houses being built, he said. Youd think that because of the gas and oil business theyd be hiring people. They do, but theyre out-of-state workers ... Theyre not putting down roots.

Still, former miners who have made the transition to fracking, often with the assistance of government or industry-funded programs, say they are happy.

Robert Walker says he was shocked when he was laid off from his job at a Murray Energy Corp. coal mine in Marshall County in April 2015.

Walker is now working for the Williams Companies Inc., which has extensive operations in the oil and gas field. He is making less money, down to $24 an hour from $30 when he was working in the mines. But he likes the work, and prefers his new co-workers. He says he is a lot happier now.

Curt Hippensteel, the director of the West Virginia Community College petroleum technology program, said miners have skills that transfer well to other trades, including safety training, welding and electrical work. Plus, miners are used to working long hours in austere conditions, which fits the profile of roustabout work quite nicely, he said.

But fracking, which requires the application of precise measurements of chemicals, sand and water applied under extreme pressure at specific times, requires its own set of unique skills.

And its job outlook is far from certain.

Technological improvements to fracking processes and practices have made the industry more efficient. In late 2016 and early 2017, more gas was produced using fewer workers in West Virginia than ever before.

Since 2014, gas production in the state has grown 50 percent while oil and gas employment has fall from 9,000 to less than 6,000, according to West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Forecasting.

The recent recovery in prices has spurred companies to begin exploring for gas again, which may mean more hiring soon, according to Brian Lego, a West Virginia University assistant professor of economic forecasting. But the overall level wont be a substantial amount, he said.

Dennis, the coal miner looking for fracking work, hopes to gain a few years experience in the oil and gas fields near New Martinsville until his children finish school.

After that, hes ready to give up on energy altogether and seek employment in North Carolina, where he feels there is more opportunity.

What I want is a chance to move out of the area, he said. Theres more industry down there.

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Fracking jobs are elusive for coal miners looking to switch - Herald and News

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NOBLESVILLE, Ind. -- Another customer has come forward to FOX59, saying he'd like the state to take action against a home warranty company.

Amnon Sarig, a real estate broker, said he bought multiple plans with Choice Home Warranty for his customers. His company, Carmel Estates, helps investors buy properties and at first, he said he had a good experience.

"Astove broke. I called them, they sent somebody, fixed it within an hour (for) 50 bucks," Sarig said.

Then a much bigger item broke: an air conditioning unit. Sarig said he expected CHW to cover the unit, but that didn't happen.

"They called me and said its broken because it is a pre-existing condition," Sarig said. "(We went) back and forth, back and forth."

Sarig said eventually, he sued the company and obtained a $4,000 judgment in an Indiana court, since the company did not respond or show up for hearings. He told FOX59 that CHW had yet to pay that judgment.

"I called them about payment and they said, 'Dont call us, well call you,' basically," Sarig said.

Sarig said he saw our initial report about a Choice Home Warranty complaint, in which Carmel homeowner Sushil Guragain also said he couldn't get the company to pay for his broke air conditioner.

"I wanted to make others aware of this situation, because I know there are a lot of people like me that are looking for a home warranty," Guragain said.

After FOX59 got involved, the company offered to settle with Guragain by buying him out of his contract. According to Guragain, the two parted ways.

Choice Home Warranty is based in New Jersey and in 2014, that state sued the company, eventually settling for more than $700,000. As part of that settlement, the company agreed to revise its business practices.

The Indiana Attorney General's Office sent FOX59 a list of complaints: since 2015, 19 customers have filed complaints against Choice Home Warranty.

Guragain and Sarig both said they'd like to see the state take action.

"I hope the state Attorney General of Indiana will show them the door out of Indiana," Sarig said.

A spokesperson for the Indiana Attorney General said the office could not confirm or deny whether it was considering any action, and does not discuss possible litigation.

A Choice Home Warranty representative sent FOX59 the following statement:

Choice Home Warranty fields over a million calls annually, with the commitment to deliver world class customer service. We were unaware of any pending litigation. We will reach out to Mr. Sarig in an effort to resolve.

Continue reading here:
19 Hoosiers file complaints against home warranty company in two years - Fox 59

Most licensed contractors are talented, honest, hardworking and financially responsible. However, home improvement is a top source of consumer complaints nationwide. Remember, youre the boss and your goal is to find the best match for your remodeling project. The best way to find a contractor is a referral from a satisfied client. Even with a referral, we recommend you still conduct a formal interview process. Its important to take the time to make a list of questions to ask all contractors that youre considering hiring for your home remodeling project.

Are you licensed and insured?

Always make sure the company you are considering is properly licensed.You can check if the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) licenses a home improvement contractor by clicking here. Any contractor performing home improvement work costing more than $200 must have a DCA license to operate legally in New York City.

Make sure the company you are considering carries general liability insurance. This is the insurance that protectsyourhome from damage or negligence of the contractor, his employees or any sub-contractors he hires. You should ask for a copy of their insurance certificate. Be sure to check the expiration date. Its a good idea to call the issuing company to verify their insurance is in force.

Make sure they carry workers compensation insurance. It protects you from liability if a worker is injured while on your property. Be aware that if the contractor doesnt carry workers compensation coverage, you will be liable for any injuries suffered by the contractor or any of his employees on your property.

Do you guarantee your work?

This is one of the most forgotten questions for customers. You wouldnt buy a car without a warranty would you? Never accept a verbal warranty ofIf something breaks, dont worry, Ill fix it. Always insist on a warranty in writing. The warranty should clearly spell out what is covered and what is not and how long the warranty is good for. A one-year warranty is the minimum you should expect.

Do you have references?

A good contractor will be happy to provide you with written references. One of the best ways to gauge a companys abilities is by talking to their past customers. Ask them how well the company met their promises, did they deliver on time, and most importantly would you hire them again or recommend them to others? Ask them what they like the most about working with them and what they could have improved upon. Also ask for pictures of their work; before and after shots offer the best perspective.

Ask questions about how they work

We cant stress how important this information can be to you,ask questions such as how do they perform their work, what time do they start, how will you protect my carpets, how will the trash and debris be handled, do you work straight through a project? How often do you communicate with your customers as the job progresses? The answers to these questions will give you a clear picture of what type of contractor you are dealing with.

How many projects like mine have you completed in the past year?

Your contractor should have experience in the type of remodeling project you want donenot just contracting experience. The more experience a contractor has and the more they specialize in the work you need done, the better off you will be. Many contractors dabble in anything that comes their way and never develop expert expertise in what they are doing.

Tiles Unlimited, voted Best Tile Store in the 2017 Best of the Boro competition, has hundreds of licensed and insured contractors as clients. While we do not perform contracting services, we can offer you the names of several contractors that you can put through your interview process through our recently launched Meet the Contractor program. Only contractors who are licensed and insured and have excellent client references can be part of the program. Check back often as we add new contractors monthly.

Originally posted here:
Here are some questions you should ask if you are looking to hire a contractor - QNS.com

Even in its downtrodden days, the Rosemary District stood out for its unbeatable location, just a few blocks from downtown Sarasota and the bay. But not until 2014, when the city increased density for new projects in the neighborhood from 25 units to 75 units per acre, did development take off. More than 1,500 residential units are being developed, have been approved or are awaiting approval. A hotel, three apartment projects and 11 condominiums are rising, with some units priced at more than a million dollars. Restaurants, furniture stores and offices are cropping up, and the district was recently rated one of the 10 most walkable neighborhoods in Florida.

Click here to view a larger version of this map.

1A Lolita Tartine1419 Fifth St. Breakfast through dinner, casual French fare in a colorful industrial space; owners own two Cest La Vie restaurants.

1B Toasted Mango Caf430 N. Tamiami Trail. Cheerful, reasonably priced, breakfast and lunch.

1CBlue Apron Caf and Catering436 Central Ave. Small eatery, breakfast and lunch.

1D Mandeville Beer Garden428 N. Lemon Ave. A district hotspot offering 30 craft beers on tap or 150 beers by the bottle; packed Tuesday trivia nights.

1E Station 400400 N. Lemon Ave. A favorite breakfast and brunch spot in a restored train depot.

1F The Blue Rooster1525 Fourth St. Live blues and Southern fare.

1G The Rosemary411 N. Orange Ave. American bistro in Citrus Square open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

2A Hotel Indigo Sarasota1223 Boulevard of the Arts. Four-story, 95-room boutique hotel.

2B The Sarasota Modern Hotel591 Cocoanut Ave. Under construction, an 89-room luxury hotel, includes 151-seat restaurant; open early 2018.

2C Cambria Hotel and SuitesFruitville Road between Central and Cocoanut. Five-story, 118-room hotel; construction has not started.

3A Rosemary Court Wellness Center810 Central Ave. A small complex of four 1920s homes; includes popular Rosemary Court Yoga.

3B Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida736 Central Ave. Headquarters of the 22-county Planned Parenthood affiliate.

3C The Salvation Army Sarasota1400 10th St. Food, shelter and social services for the needy.

3D Home Resource741 Central Ave. Contemporary furniture store in a renovated garage.

3E The Sarasota Collection Home Store622 Central Ave. Eclectic furniture store of four big showrooms.

3F Canned Ham Vintage1435 Seventh St. Small shop jammed with vintage clothing, jewelry and home goods.

3G Architectural Revival421 Central Ave. Repurposed furnishings and custom furniture design.

3H Blue Line Inc.301 Central Ave. Longtime downtown art and office supply store.

4A BOTA Center1570 Boulevard of the Arts. Meticulous renovation of the old Babcock Furniture Store into a center for creatives and their businesses, anticipated completion fall 2017.

4B CitySide Apartments700 Cocoanut Ave. Four-story, 228-unit apartment complex ushered in Sarasotas apartment building boom; a second phase of 261 apartments is planned.

4C Valencia at Rosemary Place601 Cocoanut Ave. About 30 townhomes under construction, starting in the mid-$500,000s, anticipated completion 2017.

4D Rosemary Square1440 Boulevard of the Arts. Three-building campus includes a condominium of 30 residences (all sold to the Sarasota Opera for artists) with retail and office on the ground floor; a building with studio space for The Players and Sarasota Contemporary Dance; and a building with two restaurants; anticipated completion January 2018.

4E Elan Rosemary Apartments710 N. Lemon Ave. Four-story, 286-apartment project, anticipated completion December 2018.

4F The Courtyard at Citrus461 N. Orange Ave. Phase II and III of European-style three-story condo/retail project will include 28 condos priced between $395,000 to $455,000 and commercial space, anticipated completion 2017/2018.

4G Risdon on Fifth1350 Fifth St. 22 modern-style condos priced between $389,000 to $949,000; ground-level commercial space; anticipated completion fall 2017.

4H The Risdon1374 Fifth Way. 11 modern-styled luxury condos, $600,000 to $1.5 million, construction to start in spring 2018.

4I Fifth and Central435 Central Ave. Another Risdon Group project, three-story building with 3,000 square feet of ground-level retail with two stories of six condos, $500,000 to $850,000, ready for occupancy fall2017.

4J Vanguard Lofts1343 Fourth St. Six modern townhomes, $550,000 to $900,000; anticipated completion fall 2017.

4K 1515 Fruitville1515 Fruitville Road. Upscale, modern 15,000-square-foot retail center under construction.

4L Urban Flats1401 Fruitville Road. Five-story, 228-unit apartment complex under construction, rents averaging $1,700 a month; anticipated completion fall 2017.

4M Kretzmer Artist Residence751 Cohen Way. Five town-homes with 20 bedrooms for visiting Florida Studio Theatre artists and young theater professionals; anticipated completion October 2017.

4N DRAPAC1359 Fourth St. Modern-style condo of 62 units with 2,820 square feet of commercial space; construction has not started.

4O Zahrada1542 Fourth St. Six luxury townhomes, above $1.3 million-plus to start; 5,150 square feet of commercial space; construction has not started.

4P BLVD Sarasota540 N. Tamiami Trail. 49-unit condominium, $1.6 million-plus units, includes a 7,250-square-foot restaurant space; anticipated completion, summer/fall 2019.

5A Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences645 Central Ave. A-rated public charter middle school.

5B Sarasota Military Academy801 N. Orange Ave. High school campus of the C-rated public charter school.

5C The Players Theatre838 N. Tamiami Trail. The city of Sarasota is considering buying the 2-acre site of the longtime community theater, which is moving to Lakewood Ranch

5D Rosemary Cemetery851 Central Ave. Historic-designated cemetery with graves dating back to 1887.

5F Rosemary District Indie Market701 Cohen Way. Artists, craftspeople and farmers gather at this corner parking lot every third Saturday in season.

Follow this link:
Your Guide to the Rosemary District - Sarasota

Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

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Your Guide to the Rosemary District – Sarasota