Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

At the end of a yearlong process, Robert Collins walked through his home in southwest Las Vegas in mid-May, admiring what workers had just installed.

Its reassuring, Collins said about his new energy-efficient Freon compressor, improved ventilation system and light-emitting diode light bulbs. To what extent its going to save money I dont know, but anything helps.

The new fixtures came from HELP of Southern Nevadas weatherization program, which helps low-income households such as Collins become energy efficient for free. Anyone over the age of 18 can apply online, and the program has assisted about 12,000 homes in its 22 years, said Jim Hutchison, the programs outreach coordinator.

Hutchison said the program contracts workers to install products such as water heaters, refrigerators, screens, insulation and compressors, which cool and heat the Freon that powers air conditioners. A team will go into a home or apartment to make sure it has safe, efficient energy systems.

Instead of paying for expensive replacements or daunting heating and cooling costs, the family can use the money for other necessities, he said.

The program, which is run through the Nevada Housing Division, doesnt advertise on TV so many people hear about it only through word of mouth, said Mark Hooper, a field supervisor.

We like to take our money and put it into the houses, he said.

Hutchison said funding comes from sources such as the U.S. Energy Department, Nevada Housing trust funds and energy assistance and conservation funds.

Weatherizing one house can cost up to $14,000, depending on what is installed, Hooper said.

For Collins, the new installations come one year after he noticed a HELP team working in his neighborhood, Jaycees Senior Community, in the southwest valley.

The criteria for weatherization is that the combined households annual gross income is 200 percent of federal poverty income guidelines or less, Hutchison said. That means a household with two adults earning an income would have to make less than $32,040 a year.

Collins and his wife fit the criteria, so they applied to become one of the 40 to 60 percent of homes weatherized in Jaycees Senior Community. It took about a year for Collins installation, but people in emergency situations such as those without air conditioning in summer, are reached as soon as possible, Hutchison said.

Collins said now he will have less air escaping and the temperature will be better regulated.

My wife no longer is going to be hounded by the cold air that comes from the top (vents), he said.

For Hutchison, seeing another home helped by the weatherization program reminds him why he works with the organization.

Helping people thats all I care about, he said.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.

How to Access the Weatherization Program

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Program helps low-income Southern Nevadans become energy efficient for free - Las Vegas Review-Journal

Forbes

What The Heck Is A 'Green Roof?' Forbes Just as humans sweat to stay cool, green roofs use a process called 'evapotranspiration' to keep their buildings cooler, by using heat from the air to evaporate the water in the rooftop plants, fibers and mesh. In the winter, buildings also stay warmer ...

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What The Heck Is A 'Green Roof?' - Forbes

Jay Nutting, a retired automotive engineer, is a designer at heart.

During evenings and on weekends, his passion was remodeling homes. He often dreamed of owning a business, one that allowed him to bring his passion to fruition.

He loved his side job so much that he finally left his day job to follow his heart, helping others realize their dreams as the owner of a DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen remodeling company franchise in Paris.

Q: How did you get started?

A: In 2015, I decided to leave corporate America and go for it in pursuit of my business development dreams. Of course, a path in construction seemed to be a no-brainer to tie business and passion together. I started the business in January 2016. I bought a franchise.

Q: Why a franchise? Was it easier to adopt the companys already established code of values and its motto, Enhancing Lives, Improving Homes?

A: DreamMaker Bath and Kitchen of Southern Lakes is a full service design-build remodeling company. (We) work a business model to reduce the fears of remodeling and eliminate the negative connotation of contractors. With their unique business model, DreamMaker aligns a team of experts who work together rather than against each other. The group power offers a continuously improving suite of systems and procedures to help the remodeling process run as smoothly as humanly possible.

Q: What else do you like about the companys philosophy?

A: Here at DreamMaker, we believe our remodeling projects do more for our customers than simply improve the look of their homes. Our work enhances our customers lives by providing them with a home thats more comfortable and better suited to their functional needs both now and many years to come.

Q: What is your biggest inspiration as a business owner?

A: My father Peter has been a great inspiration to me in this DreamMaker venture. Fortunately he is retired from his career as a steamfitter and has been able to spend valuable time supporting me with the launch of the company. Becoming a business owner has given me the capability to create a schedule around my family and not around my career.

Q: How important was it to transition out of a corporate career to that of a business owner?

A: This transformation has enlightened me more than I can put into words. The love and stimulation I carry for my wife, Stacey, and son, Logan, are something untouchable and out of this world. I thank God daily for what he has given me and the power he has given us to make a difference in this world.

Q: What do you like about what you do with DreamMaker?

A: The most satisfying part of remodeling is seeing the glow of my customers faces throughout every stage of the project. Every day they are able to see their homes slowly transform into that perfect photo they found in the magazine. Even more, the relationships I have built are priceless.

Q: What do you want people to know about your business?

A: Please allow myself and the proven systems of DreamMaker take a look at your remodeling dreams. We just may find out the perfect solution is within grasp.

Ventures is an occasional feature highlighting business ventures in the county. Contact Assignment Editor Janine Anderson at 262-656-6318 or janderson@kenoshanews.com.

Link:
Ventures: Retired engineer launches area remodeling firm - Kenosha News

Bath Fitter is celebrating 20 years in the local area, and as part of that celebration it wants to thank the local community that has made its success possible. In the last 20 years Bath Fitter has grown from a small company to one that spans several brands across 14 states and employs 1300 people. However, central PA has always been home.

Bath Fitter is inviting the public to join them on Saturday, June 3 as is celebrates with food, games, bounce houses and giveaways at the Red Land Midget Football Field. The company will be giving away remodeling prizes, including two bath remodels from Bath Fitter, a kitchen remodel from Kitchen Saver and new windows and doors from Homespire Windows and Doors, for a combined value of $24,000. Other prizes will also be raffled off.

Event details: Bath Fitter 20th Anniversary Celebration Saturday, June 3 2-6:30pm Red Land Midget Football Field 520 Locust Road New Cumberland The first 300 registrants at bfsave.com/bf20can register for food vouchers worth $10 for adults and $5 for kids.

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It's a 20th anniversary celebration for Central PA-based Bath Fitter - ABC27

If you are planning on remodeling your Kitchen, then go for granite countertops in Boca Raton and Coral Gables. Granite countertops are not only strong and durable, but they seem to never go out of fashion. There is one company that can help you in this regard.

This press release was orginally distributed by ReleaseWire

Hialeah, FL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/31/2017 -- Many homeowners are often torn between the decision of whether to go with just any countertop or spend a little more money and go for Granite countertops when they are remodeling the kitchen. In many ways, choosing granite countertops make sense as a remodeling project is for the future, and you would want something that lasts you for a long time. Granite countertops in Boca Raton and Coral Gables FL do not wear with time. Rather, they get beautiful over the time. That is why experts from JVM Kitchen Design are all praises for it and advise homeowners to go for granite countertops if they are looking for something that will not give them a hard time keeping it clean and maintaining it.

You can trust JVM Kitchen Design in doing a great job for you. They are the best when it comes to home renovation in Hialeah and Miami FL. They are a family owned business who are extremely focused on their job and will get you results that you want. When you have entrusted JVM Kitchen Design with a kitchen design job, you can look forward to getting the best. They will hear you out on the ideas and offer you a personalized and attentive service.

Just having a kitchen that is pleasing to the eye is not going to be enough. A kitchen has to be functional as well. The idea is to have a positive experience, and JVM Kitchen Design will give their best in achieving that.

Have a talk with them today for all your kitchen remodeling needs.

Call 786-308-6983 or visit http://www.jvmkitchendesign.com/ for more details.

About JVM Kitchen Design JVM Kitchen Design is a family owned business and they are well-known names in home renovation in Hialeah and Miami FL. They have been serving their clients for more than 20 years now.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/easy-kitchen-renovations-with-granite-countertops-in-boca-raton-and-coral-gables-fl-814280.htm

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Easy Kitchen Renovations with Granite Countertops in Boca Raton and Coral Gables FL - Digital Journal

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development.

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development. Tuesday, ground was broken for the first multi-tenant office building to be built in the downtown area in years.

Pictures courtesy of: Makers Quarter

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development. Tuesday, ground was broken for the first multi-tenant office building to be built in the downtown area in years.

Pictures courtesy of: Makers Quarter

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development. Tuesday, ground was broken for the first multi-tenant office building to be built in the downtown area in years.

Pictures courtesy of: Makers Quarter

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development. Tuesday, ground was broken for the first multi-tenant office building to be built in the downtown area in years.

Pictures courtesy of: Makers Quarter

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development. Tuesday, ground was broken for the first multi-tenant office building to be built in the downtown area in years.

Pictures courtesy of: Makers Quarter

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development. Tuesday, ground was broken for the first multi-tenant office building to be built in the downtown area in years.

Pictures courtesy of: Makers Quarter

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development. Tuesday, ground was broken for the first multi-tenant office building to be built in the downtown area in years.

Pictures courtesy of: Makers Quarter

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development. Tuesday, ground was broken for the first multi-tenant office building to be built in the downtown area in years.

Pictures courtesy of: Makers Quarter

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development. Tuesday, ground was broken for the first multi-tenant office building to be built in the downtown area in years.

Pictures courtesy of: Makers Quarter

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development. Tuesday, ground was broken for the first multi-tenant office building to be built in the downtown area in years.

Pictures courtesy of: Makers Quarter

A new office building in San Diegos East Village is expected to be a catalyst for an impressive six-block development. Tuesday, ground was broken for the first multi-tenant office building to be built in the downtown area in years.

Pictures courtesy of: Makers Quarter

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Groundbreaking for downtown's first new office building in decades - 10News

ABC27

Sinkhole warning signs to look for ABC27 HUMMELSTOWN, Pa. (WHTM) The construction of the Hummelstown Borough Office Building started six weeks ago and workers have already stumbled across seven sinkholes at the site. Although local construction workers, geologist experts and ...

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Sinkhole warning signs to look for - ABC27

What role will union construction play in the NYC of tomorrow?

Execs from SL Green, Tishman and Brookfield contemplate union labor's decreasing market share

From left: Michael De Chiara, Ed Piccinich, Jay Badame, Sabrina Kanner, Gary LaBarbera, Steve McInnis, Joseph Mizzi and Charles Murphy

A panel of owners, construction managers and labor leaders assembled Wednesday at the Union League on Park Avenue to discuss the future of union construction labor in a city thats increasingly open shop.

At the panel hosted by law firm Zetlin & De Chiara and moderated by founding partner Michael De Chiara former New York Building Congress president Richard Anderson said there was good news: building permits are finally up, 145,000 people are working on job sites throughout the boroughs and the office market is strong with big-ticket projects in the pipeline. What could threaten this kind of a robust portrait? he asked. The answer, panelists said, was sky-high costs.

New York is the most expensive city in the world to build, largely due to high construction wages and rising material costs, a recent study by consultancy firm Turner & Townsend found. The average cost of construction hit $354 per square footin New York City last year, the study claimed.

Sabrina Kanner, of Brookfield Property Partners , which has a portfolio-wide project labor agreement, said that Brookfields labor decisions come straight from the project budget. We wouldnt be having this discussion today if in fact construction costs hadnt gone up 25 percent in the last five years, she said, something has to give.

Edward Piccinich, SL Greens director of property management and construction, said that doing 100 percent union was the way to go on the 1,300-foot skyscraper development One Vanderbilt near Grand Central Terminal, because of the speed and quality the unions offer over many open-shop groups. But thats not to say we dont bid our jobs open shop, he said. When that word open shop is thrown out to me, thats just another way of saying competition and I think competitions good

So called-open shop construction sites, or those that do not use entirely union labor, are now a basic market reality in the residential sector, but its creeping into other construction types, too, a trend that panelists seemed to regard as inevitable.

Commercial is switching over, said Charles Murphy, of Turner Construction, one of several New York City construction firms to last year refuse to sign agreements to exclusively use organized union labor, according to Wall Street Journal. Murphy cited the Brooklyn Navy Yard office project (where a dozen nonunionized ironworkers recently walked off the job at Rudin Management and Boston Properties Dock 72) as a prominent open-shop office building example.

Jay Badame, president and COO of construction manager AECOM Tishman (the largest general contractor in the city), downplayed the role of construction companies in making big labor deals. Were all brought here by our clients and the developers, and the developers are really driving the ship and a lot of them are members of the organization called REBNY, he said, so we are really just at their beck and call as it relates to open-shop and nonunion.

But unions are adapting to land big contracts. Panelists noted that theyre picking up on a tactic familiar to most landlords: offering significant concessions.

Unions are making concessions like never before, De Chiara said. But one problem construction managers and unions encounter, he said, is that subcontractors often dont keep up their end of the bargain in contract negotiations, and dont adhere to cost saving concessions, such as relaxing certain labor rules or agreeing not to strike. People in our industry are not looking to take money out of peoples pocket said Joseph Mizzi of Sciame Construction firm, adding that making sure subcontractors arent siphoning off money is a key part of making project labor agreements work.

Steve McInnis, president of the NYC District Council of Carpenters, said one of the worst ways that nonunion shops are trying to skimp, however, is by being willing to overpay the management and under pay the workers. Some builders think they are getting a deal by bringing on top supervisors, McInnis said, but in the end they get straddled with an ill-suited labor force that no experienced manager can fix. Mizzi later added that wage concessions were in his experience the least effective form of concessions and had a tendency to produce less than stellar workers.

Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York who was recently nominated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, cautioned the panel and the audience to remember that many open-shop projects are still majority union.

LaBarbera frequently said there were perils in using nonunion labor, such as inferior safety and poor quality of work, and madean example of the meager wages many non-organized workers are receiving. You have workers that working 50 or 60 hours a week but are being paid at 40 hours a week, 15 dollars an hour, cash, no benefits, many of them undocumented workers, he said. Most fatal accidents in the recent years have happened nonunion jobs as well, he added. Theres a real cost to this and the cost is the worker. The worker is being exploited.

In the end, LaBarbera said trade unions have been making strides to compensate for lost market share, reworking contracts to be more competitive and finding ways to reduce the hourly aggregate cost of labor. We know what contractors are doing, we know what theyre paying, he said. Building trades is open for business. Theres a lot of changes that have been made.

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What role will union construction play in the NYC of tomorrow? - The Real Deal Magazine

This press release was orginally distributed by SBWire

Harleysville, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/31/2017 -- Homeowners who have been considering an addition to their home may want to consider adding a sunroom. Gehman Design Remodeling, which also specializes in kitchen remodeling in Lansdale, PA, has built sunrooms of all shapes and sizes to beautify and expand the home. A sunroom is a flexible addition which can be used as a living area, dining room, guest room, home office, and much more. Not only can this room serve multiple functions, but it is cost-effective both to build and maintain.

As the name suggests, sunrooms are ideal for letting in extra sunlight. They offer the perfect retreat for both the summer and the winter months. In the summer, they offer a way to enjoy the scenery while taking refuge from the heat. In the winter, they let homeowners stay warm while soaking up a few rays of sunlight. It is also an excellent place to keep outdoor plants during the cooler months to prevent them from being damaged by the frost. Sunrooms are an attractive addition to any home that, because of their versatility, will increase the home's value.

Since 1990, Gehman Design Remodeling has been providing their customers with beautiful custom renovations for their homes. They pride themselves on treating their customers like they would their own family, providing high-quality home remodeling that is as aesthetically pleasing as it is functional. They are a full-service contractor offering just about anything one could dream up, including a sunroom, kitchen, basement, deck, and bathroom remodeling in the Collegeville area.

Anyone who is interested in adding a sunroom or other addition to their home is encouraged to call the professionals at Gehman Design Remodeling at 215-660-5635 or visit http://www.gehmanremodeling.com/.

About Gehman Design Remodeling Gehman Design Remodeling is a Harleysville, Pennsylvania- based organization providing a wide variety of home design, rebuilding and remodeling services. Aside from redesigning and renovating kitchens and bathrooms, Gehman Design Remodeling also assists with significant structural changes and full additions including additional stories when necessary. Reach them in Southeastern Pennsylvania by phone at 215-660-5635.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/gehman-design-remodeling-lets-homeowners-bring-the-beauty-of-the-outdoors-inside-with-custom-sunrooms-814007.htm

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Gehman Design Remodeling Lets Homeowners Bring the Beauty of the Outdoors Inside with Custom Sunrooms - Digital Journal

Crain's Chicago Business

Restored 1941 solar house for sale in Flossmoor Crain's Chicago Business The house has an addition, a sunroom surrounded by windows on three sides designed in the early 1950s by another innovator of the mid-century style, Harry "Deever" Rockwell. His own modernist house, a glass-and-concrete box in Olympia Fields, sold last ... and more »

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Restored 1941 solar house for sale in Flossmoor - Crain's Chicago Business