Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

The solution to your Vermont heating and cooling needs is just beneath your feet, and it?s been there all along. The greenest, most innovative technologies are going back to the source to meet your needs and expand your horizons.

FHP?s Geothermal Heating and Cooling Systems by Bosch are revolutionizing comfort and reliability for the 21st century, and Excel Plumbing and Heating has the expertise to outfit your Vermont property with the very latest green heating technologies.

Geothermal systems are among the most environmentally savvy and cost efficient ways to heat and cool your Vermont home or office. By drawing on the relative constant temperature and natural energy of the earth just below the frost line, geothermal heat pumps can reduce the wide disparity in temperature that drive costs and emissions through the roof.

Excel Plumbing and Heating can design, install and service geothermal heating and cooling ?loops? for any size home or building, providing savings that can exceed 70% on your Vermont energy bills, and lowering your overall costs by 25-50% over the lifetime of the system all while reducing your impact on the environment. Reliable, comfortable, energy efficient, heating and cooling is no pipe dream. Excel Plumbing and Heating systems are designed with cutting-edge technology that is affordable and adaptable to any conditions, providing you with the comfort you?ve come to expect in your residence or second home.

Our design/build team is bringing the future to Vermont with the latest green technologies and best service you?ll find anywhere without the ecological and economic costs that usually come with it

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Geothermal Heating and Cooling System Install

Italy is moving full steam ahead on the expansion of high-speed rail. The country recently celebrated inauguration for the first phase of the Napoli Afragola station, a solar-powered high-speed rail hub and major gateway to the south of Italy. Zaha Hadid Architects designed the eye-catching station, which doubles as a pedestrian bridge, and integrated energy-efficient systems such as solar panels and ground source heating and cooling.

Located 12 kilometers north of Naples, the Napoli Afragola station will serve four high-speed intercity lines, three inter-regional lines, and a local commuter line. Once complete, the station will connect the 15 million residents of the surrounding southern communities with the national rail network to the north and Europe beyond. An estimated 32,700 passengers are expected to use the station daily once all lines are operational.

Zaha Hadid Architects designed the Napoli Afragola station to double as a public bridge connecting communities on either side of the railway. The design enlarges the public walkway over the eight railway tracks to such a degree that this walkway becomes the stations main passenger concourse a bridge housing all the services and facilities for departing, arriving and connecting passengers, with direct access to all platforms below, write the architects. The elevated station also offers much-needed new public space for the area in addition to shops and other amenities.

Related: Wind power now runs all electric passenger trains in the Netherlands

Designed as an extrusion of a trapezoid along a 450-meter curved path, the sculptural station is constructed with a reinforced concrete base with 200 differently shaped steel ribs clad in Corian and a glazed roof. Natural light pours into the station through the glazed roof to minimize demands on artificial lighting. Integrated solar panels on the roof, natural ventilation, and ground source cooling and heating systems also reduce energy consumption.

+ Zaha Hadid Architects

Images by Jacopo Spilimbergo

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Zaha Hadid Architects completes first phase of Italy's solar-powered high-speed rail hub - Inhabitat

Laura Firszt More Content Now

Planning to remodel your home? Great idea and good luck to you. Think you can do whatever you want to your house? Not so fast, my friend. Home remodeling is governed by your local laws. Fall afoul of them and youll be in big trouble. (Worst-case scenario: Someone might get hurt on your property. Really bad scenario: You might be forced to tear out the renovation work youve just done and paid for.) Make sure you do your homework and know the legalities before your contractor gets to work.

Zoning and Restrictions Confirm what and where youre allowed to build. Your local zoning as a residential-only area or a historic district, perhaps could well put a damper on your plans to convert your garage into a pet salon or add another story to your home.

Find out for sure where your property line is, as well as any setbacks, easements, covenants, and restrictions. You may want (or need) a land survey when planning to: tear down and replace your existing structure add to your homes footprint, particularly when youll come close to the property line or easement build or remodel an outbuilding (for example, a detached garage, workshop, garden shed, or tiny house for your adult offspring)

HOA, Condo Association, or Co-Op Board Approval Get approval of your planned home improvement in writing from the powers that be in your neighborhood or building whether HOA, condo association, or co-op board. Consider that condos and co-ops often have extra stringencies that control even what type of flooring you are allowed to use. This may seem like unnecessary red tape, but the rules are there to protect you, as well as other occupants. Imagine if your upstairs neighbor were to replace all the carpeting with non-soundproofed hardwood, the better to practice their tap dancing? (True story, by the way.)

Building Permit(s) Always, always check out your local building permit requirements. Permitting is a complicated topic, which varies from one area to another. Depending on where you live, you may have to obtain a permit for something as small as installing a new light switch. You might even need multiple permits for, say, a kitchen remodel, which usually involves plumbing, rewiring, etc.

OTOH, a permit may not be required for certain projects such as interior or exterior painting, building a patio elevated no more than 30 inches, or constructing a fence less than 6 feet in height.

Failure to obtain necessary permits tends to lead to all sorts of headaches like trouble with mortgage financing or homeowners insurance coverage, to name just two. IMPORTANT TO KNOW: Want to save money by tackling home improvements yourself, or having your handy BFF do them for free? Fine but youll still need to pull a permit.

Egress Remodeling a dingy basement into comfortable quarters is a fantastic idea, a relatively simple way to add living space to your home. However, do keep in mind the fact that every sleeping room must have egress, that is, an opening door, window, or even a low skylight of at least 5 square feet. In case of disaster, this will allow occupants to escape, or emergency personnel to enter the room. Find out specifications for basement egress here.

Contractor Work only with a licensed, bonded contractor, who has up-to-date insurance and workers compensation for any employees. Its recommended that you ask your local building department to make sure the contractor you hire has an up-to-date license in your locale. Be aware that if you hire an unqualified individual, you are likely to be responsible for future problems, such as work-related accidents.

Both you and the contractor should sign a detailed, written contract. Never put your signature to a contract that has spaces left blank. Include the procedure you will use to settle any disputes. If youre unsure about the contents of the contract, have your attorney look it over before you commit.

Laura Firszt writes for networx.com.

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Networx: What homeowners must know about remodeling and the law - Carbondale News

McHenry Row developer Mark Sapperstein received approval Thursday from the city's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel for an office building and Courtyard Marriott hotel planned for the 20-acre South Baltimore site.

The office building will be smaller than originally proposed four floors instead of six to address concerns about vehicle and foot traffic in the project area, which already includes a Harris Teeter grocery, apartments, restaurants and retail, said Sapperstein of 28 Walker Development. A 223-unit apartment building will open in September, adding to existing traffic.

The new plan also eliminates a level of ground-floor parking in the building, filling the space instead with 15,000 square feet of retail or office space.

The 64,000-square-foot warehouse-style building connects to an existing 600-space parking garage, which will be shared with the soon-to-open apartment building and hotel.

Plans for the eight-floor, 126-room hotel remained largely unchanged.

While greenlighting the project's design, the panel asked Sapperstein and his design team to seek solutions to minor issues raised by panel members, such as whether Marriott would consider adding more windows to the front facade of the hotel before presenting the project to the city's planning commission.

Construction is expected to begin this fall, with the office building's first tenants moving in about a year later, Sapperstein said. The hotel's timeline will likely lag by a few weeks, he said.

The panel also reviewed a revised master plan for the second phase of another 28 Walker Development project, Canton Crossing.

The second phase of the Canton shopping center calls for 86,250 square feet of retail space, occupied by Nordstrom Rack, Petco and other retailers that have yet to be named.

Sapperstein and design team BCT Architects and Kimley Horn were asked to come back to the panel with plans to address concerns panel members expressed about parking and pedestrian safety.

sarah.gantz@baltsun.com

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McHenry Row office building, hotel, get design panel approval - Baltimore Sun

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PSA members approve sale of North Shore riverfront parcel to developer Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh Stadium Authority board members approved the sale of a North Shore riverfront parcel to a Columbus developer Thursday, setting the stage for the construction of a seven-story office building to be anchored by German software firm SAP.

Excerpt from:
PSA members approve sale of North Shore riverfront parcel to developer - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Where it would go is up in the air. What it should look at is crystal clear the Mississippi River.

The La Crosse Center Board met with ISG/Gensler Architects on Wednesday afternoon to learn about early design concepts for the venues expansion that emerged from the visioning sessions with La Crosse residents and officials.

Although a specific concept was not chosen, board members stressed that any addition must capitalize on the river view to the west.

The two top things that were emphasizing is (needed) maintenance and ... having some type of additional space using the attribute of the west, Board Chairman Brent Smith said.

A close third was making the facility easier for patrons to navigate improving the buildings flow, he said. That, however, would appear to take a back seat to additions that could bring more revenue to the center, such as ballrooms, terraces and space for pre-event gathering.

Russell Gilchrist, a Gensler principal, presented eight raw design concepts, some of which he said were likely too fanciful but putting them on the table now would get them out of our system.

The concepts included second story additions on either the north, south or west sides. One concept was a west and south side addition. They all included ballrooms that ranged in size, including what could be one of the largest in Wisconsin.

Key to a decision down the line will be determining how much of the possible $42 million budget will be needed for necessary maintenance projects.

The Gensler team will return soon with estimates for those in coming weeks.

What we dont know at the moment is what part of our budget is going to go to kind of mending the roof and upgrading the air system, Gilchrist said. We dont know what we have left to be able to build the new pieces that generate the revenue.

This phase of the La Crosse Center project to settle on a concept will likely wrap up in about a month or so, Gilchrist said.

The boards goal is to begin construction next year and complete it by 2019, Smith said.

Concepts included the possibility of a west addition that extends over Front Street and has a terrace overlooking and with stair access to Riverside Park. A more modest idea had the addition going to the edge of the centers property.

Also floated was an addition to the north that either went as far as an overhang over the pathway that continues from Pearl Street to Riverside Park, or completely over it. It would not be designed to feel like a tunnel, however, Gilchrist said.

The materials and look of the addition was not part of this discussion. It focused on placement and amenities, such as a ballroom, offices, arena suites and terraces.

More here:
River view crucial to La Crosse Center addition design - La Crosse Tribune

It was a little school with a big mission, a campus that served barely 200 students but one that ambitiously reached out to help those who lived near its historic Orlando campus.

So when Grand Avenue Primary Learning Centers closed Wednesday just weeks after celebrating its 90th birthday many students, parents and teachers were in tears.

The Grand, as some called it, had a homey, everyone-knows-your-name feel, thanks to its small size and long-serving faculty. Sitting alongside Parramore Avenue in one of the citys poorest neighborhoods, the public school made family services such as health care, food for the weekend and GED classes for parents a staple alongside academics.

This is an oasis in this community, said Rebecca Reitzel, who has taught at Grand Avenue for 32 years.

The Orange County school district decided to close Grand Avenue and several other schools as part of an effort to consolidate and replace small, aging campuses with newer, bigger and more modern ones.

Grand Avenue students will go to a new kindergarten-to-eighth-grade school under construction in Parramore, about 2 miles away at North Parramore Avenue and Amelia Street. The new school is to open in August, and some parents and teachers said there is plenty to recommend the new Academic Center for Excellence. The new school, for example, has a partnership with the Harris Rosen Foundation, which will provide free preschool and college scholarships to students.

But that didnt make it any easier saying goodbye to the old familiar place.

As soon as my daughter walked out of the classroom, she just cried and cried and cried, .parent Geisha Alvarez said about her 7-year-old on the last day of classes. She was really heartbroken.

Her older daughter, already attending another school, came back last week, too, to help teachers pack up their classrooms and to say goodbye.

That was a like a second home for us, added Alvarez, a mother of six who had three children at Grand Avenue this year. It was an amazing school. Everybody got together. Everyone knew everyones name.

Like other parents, Alvarez said she always felt welcome on campus. She took part in weekly parent breakfasts, volunteered regularly and worked to get her GED while her children were in class.

The bonding, the teachers, everything was pretty awesome.

At the new school, all of her children will be together, and that will be a plus, she said. Since 2007, Grand Avenue has served only youngsters in kindergarten through second grade, so Alvarezs two oldest were at another elementary school.

The goal a decade ago was to create a school that would focus on the needs of young students, particularly early literacy skills. The move to a primary learning center Grand Avenue had been a typical K-5 elementary came after the school earned a string of Ds and then an F on Floridas annual school report card. Once students in third through fifth grade moved off Grand Avenues campus, the school no longer received a state grade because it no longer had students old enough to take state exams.

Despite the changes, Grand Avenue remained a place that made everyone feel comfortable, said parent Khadijah Bagley, whose three children attended. Even though the neighborhood is bad, when you went to the school, you kind of had peace and quiet.

Her youngest finished at Grand Avenue last week and will go to the new school, but Bagley isnt excited. She is worried about the mix of kids, from preschoolers to teenagers, the distance from her home and what she fears will be lots of traffic around the campus. I dont understand why they would take the school away, she said.

Grand Avenue, in the Holden Heights neighborhood, opened in the 1926-27 school year. The original historic building, with a second-floor auditorium, remains. Additions from later decades, including an outdoor classroom, sit behind it and next to it.

The future of the Grand Avenue campus is not set, but it could be given to the city in exchange for property the city gave for construction of the new Parramore school, said Woody Rodriguez, the districts attorney. The city, however, has not yet decided if it wants the school site.

Grand Avenues small size had its downsides, making it hard to fund programs that are more affordable on a bigger scale, for example. But the size also seemed to benefit its students, who never got lost among classmates.

It was a huge advantage for our children, because so many staff members knew them, said Lino Rodriguez, who served as Grand Avenues principal for 13 years, moving to a new campus June 1.

Many of the schools students were from families who lived in poverty and moved frequently. The school, well supported by local businesses and colleges, was a constant in otherwise unstable lives for both youngsters and parents.

I knew my job was to build the best possible school to help this corner of the world, Rodriguez said late last week, as he and teachers packed up boxes of supplies, put tape on furniture to be moved to other locations and decided which historic items needed to be saved.

It was an emotional week, Rodriguez said.

But teachers, he added, were determined to finish strong and focus on academics until the end, leaving a legacy all the way through the last day.

For many of Grand Avenues teachers, working at the school became a mission, said Reitzel, who will teach first grade at the new K-8 school in August. Theres just a special vibe here.

Felicia Chambers agreed. She first came to Grand Avenue as a student intern from Florida A&M University and 23 years later was still teaching there, delighted with a school that focused on the whole child, she said.

Shell be moving to John Young Elementary School, where Rodriguez is the new principal.

Both will miss the little school on Grand Street.

The kids, the community, Chambers said. It was just like a second family.

lpostal@orlandosentinel.com 407-420-5273

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After 90 years serving kids and community, Grand Avenue school closes its doors - Orlando Sentinel

Gluten-free baked goods from Cherbourg Bakery of Columbus(Photo: Provided)

There are Cincinnatians who drive to Columbus to shop at Cherbourg Bakery for gluten-free and nut-free baked goods.

Their drive is going to get much shorter.

A second Cherbourg gluten- and nut-free bakery will open this summer in Over-the-Rhine at 1804 Race Street. That's across from Findlay Market, in the block being developed by Model Group and including the Epicurean Mercantile Company.This location will be called Cherbourg Cyprus and will feature Mediterranean flavors.

Cherbourg has been open in Bexley for the last six years. Geri Peacock started the bakery after finding she had celiac disease 10 years ago. That's a disease in which the body launches an auto-immune response to the protein in wheat and a few other grains, damaging itsability to absorbnutrients.

"At first, I just ate fish and yogurt," said Peacock. But she missed baked goods. "My grandmother's Hungarian, my mother's Italian. I had to have a cookie!"She experimented with one kind of flour substitute at a time until she hit on one that worked best: white rice flour and a little tapioca. She made her hobby a business, leaving her job as operations manager for a staffing company to open the bakery. It's named for Cherbourg, a city in France that her grandfather helped liberate in World War II.

"We try to be the cleanest gluten-free we can," she said. They do not use added ingredients that are often found in gluten-free products such as guar or xanthan gum." Peacock said they use organic butter from Ohio's Hartzler Dairy, and good eggs. They're nut-free because nut allergies seem to run in families with gluten sensitivities.

"So often someone says I can't eat gluten and my children can't eat nuts," she said. "They'll find us, and that makes us very happy."

Their menu includes very a popular double-lemon bar, made with lemon juice, pulp and zest. They have doughnuts, muffins and cookies. They also serve strata and quiche. Peacock said they're also known for their extreme friendliness.

In Cincinnati, additions inspired by Cyprus, which is half-Greek, half-Turkish, include shakshuka, a dish of eggs poached in tomatoes and peppers, Greek quiche in little boat-shaped pie crusts, Greek pastries like loukoumades and ricotta cookies, an Italian recipe from Peacock's mother.

The OTR store, at 1,300 square feet, will be twice the size of their Bexley location, with seating at booths and a long, communal table. They'll serve pour-over coffee from local coffee roaster Deeper Roots. Peacock thinks they'll be ready to open in early July. They've planned a pop-up event for June 29.www.cherbourgbakery.com

Read or Share this story: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/dining/2017/06/08/cherbourg-cyprus-opens-gluten-free-bakery-otr/377036001/

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Cherbourg Cyprus opens gluten-free bakery in OTR - Cincinnati.com

HamiltonNews

Dundas' Ellen Osler Home celebrates 'Windows on Justice' success HamiltonNews The Windows on Justice project at Ellen Osler Home in Dundas has involved more than window replacement and other building upgrades. After 13 years of quietly providing a 12-bed Salvation Army-managed community residential facility for female offenders ...

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Dundas' Ellen Osler Home celebrates 'Windows on Justice' success - HamiltonNews

Chris OHiggins, the director of facilities at Jefferson Healthcare, stands next to the new air handling unit that heats, cools, monitors humidity and kills germs in the air in the hospitals surgical units. (Cydney McFarland/Peninsula Daily News)

PORT TOWNSEND The surgical units at Jefferson Healthcare hospital have received an upgrade from a new air-handling unit that kills viruses and bacteria using ultraviolet light.

We have things on this unit that arent even required yet, said Chris OHiggins, director of facilities at the hospital. Its the Tesla of air handlers.

The new system replaces one installed in 1995 that didnt meet new standards and was nearing the end of its 20-year life span.

The new unit controls the air quality for the surgical units, including operating rooms.

This one has a new ultraviolet light system that kills bacteria and viruses, said Laura Showers, the infection preventionist at Jefferson Healthcare. Its also really good at keeping humidity and temperature more consistent.

The new unit has three banks of filters, and all air passes through the UV light system before being released into the vents. Information on the cost of the unit was not available Wednesday.

The new unit was hauled in by truck last Friday morning and moved up to the roof using an 80-foot crane. Due to strict air quality and temperature standards for the operating rooms, they had to be shut down while the new unit was installed later in the day.

It took a lot of coordination, OHiggins said.

The surgical units were shut down at 4 p.m. last Friday. With operating rooms out of commission, the hospital had to make special arrangements in case of emergencies.

With no operating rooms and work being performed on the roof to install the air unit, all helicopter services had to be sent to other hospitals. East Jefferson Fire-Rescue, the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office and Port Townsend police were notified to send anyone who could potentially need surgery to other area hospitals.

The hospital also accounted for six area women who were currently 32 weeks or more along in their pregnancies.

We had plans in place in case they went into labor to send them to other hospitals, OHiggins said. Obviously the hospital wouldve covered those costs since it was our problem, not theirs.

OHiggins said the process went smoothly, and the operating rooms reopened at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The air-handling unit was installed by PSF Mechanical out of Seattle and Precision Electric out of Redmond.

They worked really well together and with us, said Showers.

According to OHiggins, the hospital plans to install next year a similar unit to replace the 1995 equipment currently heating, cooling and filtering the air for the family and birth units.

The new systems are expected to last another 20 years and are more energy-efficient.

I cant wait to see what a month of that one does compared to the 95 unit, OHiggins said.

________

Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.

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Jefferson Healthcare surgical units get air handler upgrade - Peninsula Daily News