Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

GENESEO Moving day is drawing nearer for the animals at the Henry County Humane Society's Geneseo shelter.

Society members hope this year's Pasta for Paws event, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. March 25 at the Geneseo Moose Lodge, will provide enough funds to schedule a tentative moving date for the shelter's animals.

The new shelter is located off of Illinois 82, just east of the former shelter and west of Cole Cabin.The 4,000-square-foot steel pole building was designed with a 1,200-square-foot attached storage garage on 4.6 acres. The site also includes a dog park and pavilion which will remain open to the public.

"Progress at the new shelter is happening by leaps and bounds," said Karen Russell, president of the Henry County Humane Society. DeDecker Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, of Atkinson, is working on the duct work for the ventilation and the installation of copper pipe in the walls for the plumbing.

Accurate Electric, of Lynn Center, has installed conduit within the walls of the new shelter and some lighting in areas where there will not be a dropped ceiling, she said. And theGeneseo High School building trades class is mounting dry wall and will begin applying waterproof wall covering in the animal areas.

The concrete floor of the shelter has radiant heating. Remaining work includes a suspended ceiling, lighting fixtures, interior doors, windows, dog kennels, sinks in the animal areas, a dog wash bathtub and painting.

"There are plans to construct outdoor play areas for the dogs behind the building," Ms. Russell said. "But that project may take place after the move.

Since time has elapsed since the beginning of the project and the Geneseo High School Building Trades classes have provided free labor, we are currently trying to update prices of the remaining work," she said. "And we are projecting that remaining work and material costs should be less than $100,000."

Construction began in 2013, but a lack of funds has kept the building from completion. In September, the shelter received a $250,000 donation from Dr. Barb Kuhns, a retired Geneseo veterinarian, and her husband, Bob Kuhns, a retired Geneseo band director.

Tax deductible donations for the shelter may be mailed to Henry County Humane Society Geneseo, 14606 Roos Hill Rd, Geneseo, IL 61254. For more details, call 309-944-4868.

The March 25 Pasta for Paws includes a dinner, cash bar, a 50/50 drawing and auctions. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 8 years old and may be bought at the door.

Donations are being soughtsilent and live auctions. For more details, call 309-945-8757 or 563-505-8309.

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Pasta for Paws will help animal shelter reach new home - Quad-Cities Online

Its tax season, which means many people are looking for the best way to invest their tax returns in their homes. Kitchen and bath remodeling are the first to come to mind, because both provide the largest return-on-investment. Infusing your home with the latest interior styles will help improve your property value and ensure that your renovation is beautiful and functional.

Contractors are now frequently asked to knock down walls and create more open kitchen layouts. (Craftsmen Home Improvements)

Staying abreast of the most popular designs of this season can help you make decisions throughout your upcoming kitchen remodel. Here are five trends that you should keep in mind

Homeowners now seek complex lighting arrangements, complete with natural light from large windows, lit areas beneath and inside the cabinets, and a series of light fixtures on the ceiling. (Craftsmen Home Improvements)

To find out more about how you can make your upcoming remodel in Cincinnati or Dayton fit the styles of 2017, work carefully with your contractor fromCraftsmen Home Improvements. Your contractor can talk with you about the latest trends and the most recent innovations to make your kitchen remodel a success.

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5 kitchen remodel trends for 2017 - Dayton Daily News

Exhibits range from stone work, landscaping, and sellers of sheds, gazebos, hot tubs and pools, to kitchen and bathroom remodeling, home security systems, windows and skylights, sunrooms, and roofing and siding.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. The 15th annual Southern Rhode Island Home Show is taking place this weekend at the University of Rhode Island's Ryan Center.

Show organizer Dean Appleman said 106 companies are exhibiting at the show, which was open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and will continue Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appleman said he expects attendance to be between 9,000 and 11,000 people.

Exhibits run the gamut of home improvement products and services, from stone work, landscaping, and sellers of sheds, gazebos, hot tubs and pools, to kitchen and bathroom remodeling, home security systems, windows and skylights, sunrooms, and roofing and siding sales and installation. Appleman said representatives from local banks will also be on hand to assist those who need help financing their home-improvement projects.

Appleman said cash-and-carry items will be available for sale.

Energy companies will also be at the show, including solar energy vendors. "Solar is really big this year," said Appleman, who produces home shows all across New England. "It has really taken off."

General admission is $7, or $5 with a coupon. Children 12 and under may enter free with an adult.

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Southern Rhode Island Home Show draws thousands to Ryan Center - The Providence Journal

Clinton A. Matthews, of Canton, and his business Matthews Home Services LLC are accused of violating Ohios Consumer Sales Practices Act. In the lawsuit, DeWine seeks reimbursement for consumers and an end to any violations of the law.

According to the lawsuit, Matthews did business as Matthews Home Services, offering home improvement services, such as basement or home office remodeling and vinyl siding installation.

The Ohio Attorney Generals Office has received three complaints against Matthews Home Services. Estimated consumer losses total about $4,550.

Additional complaints have been filed with the Better Business Bureau. In their complaints, consumers generally said Matthews took their money but failed to start the work as scheduled, provided multiple excuses for delays, and either never did any work or did work that was shoddy.

The lawsuit, filed in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, accuses Matthews of failure to deliver and shoddy workmanship.

DeWine offered consumers the following recommendations to help prevent home improvement problems:

Research a company before making any payments. Search for complaints on file with the Ohio Attorney Generals Office or Better Business Bureau. Also conduct an internet search with the name of the business and words like reviews or complaints. Be skeptical if you find no information. Some operators change business names regularly to make it harder for consumers to detect their record of shoddy work.

Get multiple estimates. For a large job, consider contacting at least three different businesses before making a final selection. Keep in mind that the company that gives you the lowest estimate may not necessarily deliver the best results.

Check your cancellation rights. If a home improvement contractor does not have a fixed place of business or comes to your door to offer services, you may be entitled to a three-day right to cancel the contract under Ohios Home Solicitation Sales Act. Make sure you receive detailed written information about your cancellation rights.

Make sure verbal promises are put in writing. Get a detailed written contract including any verbal claims the contractor makes and other important details, such as the estimated cost of the work, the expected start and end dates, and the names of the individuals who will perform the services.

Be wary of requests for large down payments. Its reasonable for a contractor to require a down payment, but be skeptical if youre asked to make a large down payment (such as half or more of the total cost) before any work begins. If possible, pay in increments as the work is completed.

Consumers who suspect an unfair or deceptive sales practice should contact the Ohio Attorney Generals Office at http://www.OhioProtects.org or 800-282-0515.

A copy of todays lawsuit is available on the Ohio Attorney Generals website.

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Home improvement contractor accused of not keeping promises - Norwalk Reflector

Valley Brook Apartments includes 240 units, 213 of which are affordable.

Birmingham, Ala.Steele Properties acquired and plans to rehabilitateValley Brook Apartments, an affordable community located at 2969 Gallant Drive in Birmingham, Ala. for $24.8 million. Renovations will begin in April 2017 and are set for completion in spring 2018. The property will be managed by Monroe Group.

Valley Brook Apartments

The 240-unit community offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 750 to 1,050 square feet, according to Yardi Matrix.Of the total unit amount, 213 apartments are affordable.

Valley Brook will receive $47,000 per unit in hard cost rehabilitation as part of the acquisition. The renovations will coverexterior and interior work, including building a new community center with a computer lab, laundry facilities and playground; replacing the vinyl siding with durable siding systems; the installation of new roofs; the addition of hard wired smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; a new key fob controlled vehicular access gate with security guard shack; a new security camera system and improved lighting. Interior upgrades will include new electrical, paint, flooring and doors; the addition of energy efficient lighting and water saving features; new countertops, cabinets and Energy Star appliances in the kitchens and new vanities, tubs and fixtures in the bathrooms. Full ADA conversions will be completed on 12 of the units.

The project is financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Tax-Exempt Bonds provided by the Alabama Housing Finance Authority.The project is funded by the sale of the Tax-Exempt Bond proceeds underwritten by R4 Capital and Tax Credit equity provided by PNC Bank.

We are proud to be preserving this affordable housing community that is in dire need of renovation, David Asarch, partner & chief investment officer of Steele Properties, told Multi-Housing News.Our entire development, construction, operations, compliance, finance and HR teams are working together to rehabilitate Valley Brook and make it a place where the residents are proud to call home.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix

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Steele Properties Acquires Affordable AL Community - Multi-Housing News

Designers of the Bell Museum + Planetarium at the University of Minnesotas St. Paul campus want the new facility to be as natural as possible.

When completed in the summer of 2018, the $79.2 million complex will showcase the states natural history and be made out of it.

About 40 percent of the new museums exterior is covered with locally sourced, thermally modified timber, or cooked wood as it has been dubbed. Designers believe the project is the largest commercial-scale use of thermally modified white pine in the country.

Its a beautiful wood, white pine, said Dave Dimond, a principal at the Minneapolis office of architecture firm Perkins+Will, which designed the new museum.

The challenge always has been that you cant use pine outdoors that it has to be protected by the weather, Dimond said. This is a really new and exciting way to use white pine in a way its never been used before.

About 21,000 square feet of white pine will be finished being installed this month on the outside of the museum located near Larpenteur and Cleveland avenues near the State Fairgrounds. A portion of the bottom half of the building is clad with steel from the Iron Range.

The architecture speaks to the story of Minnesota and nature in Minnesota. White pine is an iconic timber species from Minnesota, said George Weiblen, interim scientific director and curator of plants at the Bell Museum.

The white pine comes from state forest land in Cass Lake, located about 30 minutes from Bemidji, that has been certified by the international nonprofit Forest Stewardship Council for being responsibly managed. One of the focuses for researchers at the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) at the University of Minnesota Duluth is how to help strengthen Minnesotas forestry industry in an environmentally sustainable way. Thermally modified wood is one of the products the group is studying.

One of the cool ways to grow the economy in northern Minnesota is to start looking at renewable resources, Dimond said. Rather than cutting down trees permanently, grow them sustainably and selectively cut them so that the forest remains. This is what got us excited about white pine, since it is native to Minnesota and does have some significant sustainable forest.

The process of cooking wood originated in Finland and while Europe has been experimenting with it for years, the process has had limited use in the United States, said Kelly Bartz, president at Duluth-based Arbor Wood Co., which sourced the wood and the local kiln needed for the museum project.

Arbor has been selling thermally modified wood for about four years, though it normally focuses on hardwoods like ash and red oak instead of pine, which is a softwood.

For the museum project, Arbor Wood selected Palisade, Minn.-based Superior Thermowood of Minnesota. About 8,000 board feet or enough wood to fill half a semitrailer truck was slowly heated in the kiln until it reached about 100 degrees Celsius. The heat cooks out the moisture and natural sugar that can cause wood to decay and attract insects. The heat is then spiked to 210 degrees Celsius so that the cellular makeup of the wood is changed, and it makes it less susceptible to water. The wood is cooled down with the addition of steam and is provided with some much-needed moisture so that the wood is not too brittle. The result is a wood that can withstand the elements without needing any other type of finishing. The entire process can take four to five days.

Several partners were needed to make the museum project work, including Cass Forest Products, the sawmill that harvested the pine, Woodline, the sawmill that prepared the thermally modified white pine for installation, and McGough, the construction company responsible for building the museum and installing the white pine.

This innovative way that Perkins+Will has come up with the siding for the Bell Museum is definitely intriguing to us, Bartz said. Now the supply-chain challenges that we had in the beginning, thats all figured out. We have resources and it is kind of interesting to work with something like white pine thats indigenous to Minnesota and is a newly-revitalized resource.

After 75 years on the U campus in Minneapolis, the old Bell Museum closed in December and will reopen next year on the St. Paul site.

Besides the wood siding, other natural elements are featured at the museum. There will be rain gardens to help reduce stormwater runoff from the parking lot. There will also be a pollinator garden and other native plant landscaping as well as solar panels on the roof.

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At new Bell Museum, designers turn to a new process to make building look natural - Minneapolis Star Tribune

In January, prosecutors in Riverside filed 30 felony charges against two longtime Palm Springs developers and a former mayor in an alleged $375,000 bribery scheme related to building projects downtown.

Ah, the romance of the desert! A place of fierce natural beauty and beguiling spiritual wonder! A rejuvenating refuge from the crushing pressures of modern urban life!

Desert X, the ambitious exhibition of new site-specific art installations scattered around the Coachella Valley, is successful partly because the 16 participating artists mostly skirt romanticized desert clichs or else they engage them, casting a skeptical or parodic eye. Perhaps surprisingly, none chose to consider the springs that made this corner of the desert bloom; but many works burrow into the areas complex history and heterogeneous present.

In Coachella, the easternmost town in the valley, Armando Lerma has painted a big, charming mural on the side of a modest neighborhood ice cream shop. Titled The Party in the Desert, its amiable rural imagery of clowns, a juggler, a table laden with cake and bowls of fruit, assorted revelers, a starburst piata, some chickens and a couple of dogs, unfolds its narrative slowly.

FULL COVERAGE: Spring arts guide 2017

Lermas chosen site on a scruffy industrial strip along railroad tracks looks back to the towns founding almost a century and a half ago as a siding for the Southern Pacific Railroad. The locales modesty reflects the working-class identity of a rough-edged town where more than a quarter of residents live below the poverty line.

Look closely, and the mural sports several small medallions of the Virgin of Guadalupe, saint and protector. In a wry gesture, they are affixed to the wall at places where metal bolts protrude, signaling earthquake retrofitting. Fiesta connects the ice cream store with the towns largely Latino local population.

Perhaps the murals most vital feature is its implied but incisive contrast to that other local party in the desert the raucous, corporately produced, hugely profitable Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival that annually invades the area just up the street in Indio, where the artist was born. Lerma grounds his marvelous mural in the routine social realities of place, yet without so much as a hint of critical disdain for what is finally just a different way for revelers to paint the town.

Twenty-eight miles away in Palm Springs, near the westernmost end of the valley, Mexican artist Gabriel Kuri, who lives and works in Los Angeles and Brussels, has brought a chunk of desert indoors. For Donation Box, hes filled half a storefront in a down-on-its-heels mini-mall at the edge of town with a deep layer of sand, piled into a desolate landscape of gently rolling dunes.

Peering through the plate-glass window, youll see hundreds of cigarette butts stuck in the sand, along with casually tossed coins. It loosely recalls Damien Hirsts giant ashtray sculptures, with their aura of forlorn grandiloquence, plus Chris Burdens monumental city-in-the-sand sculpture, A Tale of Two Cities, assembled from toys. Kuris is a grunge wishing well, radiating boom-and-bust.

Zigzagging across the region during the two days necessary to see all of Desert X, I put more than 175 miles on my odometer. (A free guidebook and map with GPS coordinates are available in the lobby of Ace Hotel & Swim Club on East Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.) The physical distance between Lermas mural and Kuris sculpture is fitting for the sprawl that characterizes both the raw desert and its fitful development since the 1960s. The valley, once a string of villages, is primarily suburban now.

Indeed, the graphic logo for the shows title draws the X like a crossing sign. Desert Crossing is the name of a mid-valley shopping center.

The artists were selected by Neville Wakefield, 54, former curator of Frieze Projects, a program of artists commissions that is part of the Frieze Art Fair in London, and past advisor to PS1, the Long Island City affiliate of New Yorks Museum of Modern Art. Most Desert X commissions are clustered in Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, but other projects are farther afield.

In the remote, drop-dead gorgeous landscape of the Whitewater Preserve, a bit more than five miles into rugged canyon country north of the 10 Freeway, L.A.-based Sherin Guirguis transformed sandbags, tree limbs and mud into an elegant, hive-shaped dovecote. The structure, based on pigeon towers commonly found in desert villages of her native Egypt, is a cross-cultural emblem of displacement and shelter.

So is Richard Princes grim installation, albeit of a wholly different character, in a disheveled quarter of nearby Desert Hot Springs. The ramshackle walls and surroundings of an abandoned hacienda-style house are plastered with printed blowups of sordid Twitter feeds that the artist scavenged for tales of banal indulgences in sex, drugs and rock n roll.

In keeping with the derelict domesticity of the works forlorn site, Prince focuses on vulgar tweets by and about dysfunctional families sisters, cousins, mothers and aunts. Voyeuristic trash gets tangled like litter in desert scrub.

According to an exhibition spokesman, the unsecured site has already been vandalized and several works looted from the house. Unsurprising, perhaps, for an artist whose queasy paintings of naughty nurses soft-porn imagery where nurture precedes betrayal have sold in the seven figures. But vandalisms crude delinquency merely serves to italicize Princes theme. Like Twitter, the installation makes hitherto secret vices brazenly public; vanity grates against shame.

Two artists Glenn Kaino and Will Boone have burrowed into the ground. Both view the desert as an ancient, wide-open expanse harboring topical secrets.

Kainos Hollow Earth is an ordinary storage shed set out in a bland field. Open the door, go inside and in the center of a small room lined in cheap fiberboard is a seemingly bottomless shaft ringed by a circular white grid that glows with a bluish light. A pristine infinity pit, it elicits playful childhood fantasies of tunneling all the way to China crossed with grown-up fears of sinister silos harboring the tools of Armageddon.

Speaking of bomb shelters, Boone built one beneath another dusty field. Clamber down a ladder, pass through a heavy steel door and enter a tubular metal shelter like a big sewer pipe. There sits a bulky bronze sculpture of President Kennedy, decorously painted red, white and blue, as if some pharaonic potentate buried in the sands of time.

Illuminated from overhead by a single, solar-powered bulb, the seated dignitary is both a Lincoln-like Monument, as the installation is titled, and a suspect ready for interrogation. The conundrum befits a national hero whose life and death are the subject of endless conspiracy theories. Hes the hidden love-match to Marilyn Monroe, whose likeness is plastered all over Palm Springs as an emblem of its midcentury Hollywood playground past.

Back above ground, two other artists have built walls. Both are Minimalist and hallucinatory.

Phillip K. Smith III, who gained acclaim four years ago for wrapping a remote desert shack with mirrored strips that made it seem on the verge of disappearing into Joshua Trees rugged landscape, is here with more mirror-play. This time he has crafted a big, bowl-shaped arena, 70 paces across and composed from scores of tall mirrored rods set up in a circle.

Canted outward on a 10-degree angle, the exterior reflects the earth back onto itself. The bowls interior reflects sky, incongruously surrounding an earthbound viewer. From both vantages the actual landscape is simultaneously seen between the shiny reflective bars. Normality alternates with a routine order of things thats been flipped on its head.

Near the base of a hiking trial, Swiss artist Claudia Comte has built a long, tall, undulating concrete wall. Its horizontal form slowly morphs from gentle curves at one end to an angular zigzag at the other. Comte has matched this brute material form with the same sequence of purely visual shapes vertical black stripes set against a blazing white ground, starting with rippling waves and ending with jagged lines.

Like rising waves of desert heat that lead one to delirium and back, the effect is surprisingly powerful. Sol LeWitts rigor mixes with Bridget Rileys verve. Minimalist Op art is rarely this good.

Illusion is likewise key to Jennifer Bolandes head-turning set of three double-sided billboards along the west side of Gene Autry Trail, a road leading in and out of the valley from the freeway. Bolande photographed the distant San Jacinto, Santa Rosa and San Bernardino mountain ranges, then enlarged the images to billboard scale. For one fleeting, disconcerting moment as you drive by, the wordless pictures line up exactly with the approaching view.

While the mountain contours match up precisely, the clarity, color and light inevitably do not. The quick drive-by sequence of three billboard moments is so brief that you cant quite be certain of what you have just witnessed.

Its like a flash-cut in a motion picture, subliminal in effect. A disjunction between image and reality is lodged in a path named for a half-forgotten cowboy star of movies and TV. The seamless fabric of experience gets torn.

Additional projects by Doug Aitken, Lita Albuquerque, Jeffrey Gibson, Norma Jeane, Rob Pruitt, Julio Sarmento and Tavares Strachan are also on view. The show is being seen as an art world answer to the wildly successful Coachella music festival, beginning April 14. (Desert X, continuing through April 30, overlaps with it.) While that connection makes marketing sense, in spirit the endeavor is more like a suburban version of the urban Sculpture Projects Mnster, a once-per-decade exhibition of commissioned public art throughout the German city.

The Mnster show, opening its fifth iteration in June, is among Europes most reliably engaging art events. Desert X organizers hope to mount their own sequel an excellent idea, given the overall artistic success of this one, although not yet certain.

If a serious flaw mars this otherwise admirable event, it is the sharp gender disparity in the current lineup. In 2017, no excuse is good enough for inviting only four women to participate among 16 artists. (An irony: The areas first major artist was transcendentalist painter Agnes Pelton, who arrived in Cathedral City in 1932.) If Desert X 2.0 does take place, the unforced error represents an easy fix.

Where: Various sites in the Coachella Valley; guidebook and map at Ace Hotel, 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs

When: Through April 30

Information: http://www.desertx.org

christopher.knight@latimes.com

Twitter: @KnightLAT

See our complete guide to spring arts events in L.A.

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Diego Rivera's Cubist masterpiece arrives at LACMA

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International art invades the suburban Coachella Valley: The best of ... - Los Angeles Times

Building information modeling (BIM) provider BIMsmith has released a new addition to its platform that will make roofing assembly easier for architects, contractors, designers and other industry pros.

The free, cloud-based tool seamlessly combines roofing products and elements into one complete BIM-ready assembly for Revit and other programs. The platform allows industry pros to combine manufacturer specific and generic product data assemblies as they will appear in built projects. The roofing tool joins the company's current lineup of wall, floor and ceiling assemblies. Through the BIMSmith platform, professionals can build, collaborate and share their product data seamlessly among key stakeholders.

BIMsmith has partnered with industry leaders in the roofing vertical to provide branded product data from manufacturers like Redbuilt, GAF, ICP, Akzo Nobel, Fabral and Weyehaeuser.

"BIMsmith has led the charge for web based BIM data creation for years," BIMsmith CEO, Benjamin Glunz stated. "Roofing is absolutely critical to any building project," notes BIMsmith CEO Benjamin Glunz. "We are thrilled to provide this critical missing piece to the puzzle for the betterment of the BIM and building science communities."

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New BIM Roofing Tool Launches - Builder Magazine

Rain last month drove up calls for service

BUSY TIMELino Rivera works on the roof of a home in Thousand Oaks on March 6. Recent storms have caused a surge of new customers for local roofing companies. BOBBY CURTIS/Acorn Newspapers When it rains, it pours.

That is certainly the case for the roofing industry, which has seen a boom in business since the torrential downpour last month.

The National Weather Service reported Camarillo saw 2.85 inches of rain on Feb. 17the most rain in one day the city has had in four decades.

It was frantic, Dawn Espinosa of Camarillo-based GreatWay Roofing told the Acorn. Over that one weekend, we received over 100 calls about leaks. Even now, were still trying to catch up.

Other Camarillo roofing companies have also been flooded with calls from homeowners throughout Ventura and Los Angeles counties seeking estimates.

Ron Ostlund of Fortress Roofing said he has been incredibly busy the last few weeks.

Its so much increased business that I am actually turning work down, the business owner said. Im a really, really small company, and I do most of the estimates myself and all the work myself, and theres no way I can handle the activity thats going on.

But the Camarillo resident, who said he has at least a three month backlog of jobs, is certainly trying.

Ostlund said many people dont even know they have roof problems until it rains and water starts leaking into their homes.

Before the heavy rains, (business) was a little stagnant, the roofer said. People dont spend any money on their roof unless they have to. Thats just kind of human nature. . . .

Its a little overwhelming, but Im not complaining. Its definitely good for business in the long run.

While many roofers are trying to capitalize on the increase in business, Fred and Susan Esquivel of Esquivels Roofing said their situation is different.

The business received between 50 and 75 calls a day during the rains, a volume they were not able to handle given their small crew and the fact that the company is winding down after three decades in business.

Susan, the office manager, said Esquivels Roofing is finishing its already scheduled projects over the next few months before Fred retires.

Were doing roofs over again because weve been around so long, said the office manager, adding the company did respond to requests for service from its longtime customers.

The irony of having their phones ring off the hook as the company is scaling back was not lost on Susan and her husband, who said the drought has definitely affected business.

Its feast or famine, she said. Roofing is expensive and its the last thing most people want to do, but in a sudden rainstorm, especially like the one we had, all these people needed plastic, and we had a lot of insurance companies calling us.

They werent alone.

Espinosa, the office manager for GreatWay for more than a decade, said shes been underwater with calls since the storm last month.

The company, which is booking house calls about two weeks out due to the high volume of requests, even hired extra workers for support.

Ive pretty much been by the phone, she said. People are panicking because they dont want water in their house, which is understandable.

However, she said, homeowners shouldnt get their leaky roofs fixed in haste.

Espinosa said most homeowners insurance companies will pay for tarps to protect houses from unwanted water damage.

We suggest they look into that so they can make a good decision and dont have to make a quick decision, the office manager said. If you get someone who is not necessarily qualified but can do the work (fast), you might have to go back and redo something. But if they take some temporary measures to cover the initial leak, they can take their time getting the right contractor.

Espinosa said people often put off fixing or replacing their roofs because it can be costly and you dont get to see it.

But keeping the roof maintained could save money down the road, she said, adding the expense is worth it.

Your roof is important. Its protecting everything.

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It's raining business for roofing companies - Camarillo Acorn

Few lake-view homesites remain at Sunset Pointe

Since its grand opening only eight months ago, 15 new homes have been sold in the small Southwest Cape Coral community of Sunset Pointe. Only six lake-view homesites remain in the quiet neighborhood located at the end of Cape Coral Parkway. In addition, D.R. Horton's Southwest Florida division has also just released two new home plans in the community.

Homes start at $279,990 at Sunset Pointe, each with a two- or three-car garage. The public is invited to tour the professionally decorated Camden model. Featuring 2,795 square feet of living space, this one-story home offers four bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths. A great room and caf space adjoin an open kitchen and overlook the lanai.

The 1,641-square-foot Avon and 1,816-square-foot Clifton floor plans are the new additions. These homes are designed to get the most efficiency and enjoyment out of a smaller, more maintenance-friendly footprint. At the heart of the Avon is an open-concept living room, kitchen and dining area that flow to an expansive outdoor living area. A flex room in the Clifton can be configured with optional French doors or as an optional third bedroom.

All plans feature tile roofs and paver drivers, and select sites offer views of a central fountain lake.

The public is invited to tour a professionally decorated model, which is open seven days a week at 3067 Sunset Pointe Circle in Cape Coral. For an appointment or more information, contact sales agent Robin Hull at (239) 850-2492.

Founded in 1978 in Fort Worth, Texas, D.R. Horton has operations in 78 markets in 26 states in the East, Midwest, Southeast, South Central, Southwest and West regions of the United States. For more information, visit http://www.drhorton.com/swfla.

RE/MAX Realty Partners announces 'Top Agents' for January

RE/MAX Really Partners has recognized its top three agents in residential closed real estate for January 2017.

Maureen Gobbi was the "Top Agent" in the office. She has many years of experience in all aspects of residential sales and can be reached at 239-850-0448 or morecape@morecapecoral.com

Rachel Dysarczyk and Bob Osborne attained the No. 2 and 3 positions as office leaders for January. Both are seasoned agents with many years experience in residential real estate locally, working with both buyers and sellers. Dysarczyk can be reached at 239-898-3948 or rachelgetsresults@hotmail.com. Osborne can be reached at 239-850-4279 or bosborne1@hotmail.com

RE/MAX Realty Partners is a full service residential, commercial and property management firm located at 3501 Del Prado Blvd., Suite 110, in Cape Coral, FL 33904. All inquiries are welcome at 239-424-7387.

Neal Communities debuts new floor plans at Daniels Place

Neal Communities (NealCommunities.com) recently introduced two new floor plans at Daniels Place, a master-planned community in Fort Myers with 85 single-family homes.

The new floor plans offer homebuyers the flexibility of adding a second story. The Silver Mist 3 is the most recent addition to Daniels Place. With 2,912 square feet of living space, the new design features four bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms and a three-car garage. The Silver Mist 3 also has separate dining room and office areas as well as a covered lanai.

The community's other addition, the Sea Star, offers a bonus room option, which takes the community's original plan and incorporates a second story. The 2,379-square-foot Sea Star offers three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a three-car garage. Similar to the Silver Mist 3, the Sea Star also has separate dining room and den spaces as well as a covered lanai.

Located in the Daniels Parkway location, homes in the community feature views of an 8.4-acre natural preserve area and a 2.71-acre lake. Homes start from the high $200,000s.

For more information, visit the sales center at 8251 Wildlife Preserve Lane in Fort Myers or call 239-220-1743.

With over 40 years of experience building homes, Neal Communities has over 70 communities throughout Southwest Florida. The Lakewood Ranch-based builder, to date, has built over 11,000 homes in Southwest Florida. For more information, please visit http://www.NealCommunities.com.

Fischler Property Co. facilitates closing of downtown office space in Fort Myers

Fischler Property Company recently assisted in the sale of a Class A office condo located at 2121 West First St., Unit 2, in downtown Fort Myers. The seller was 2121 West First Street LLC, and the buyer is Courtside LLC.

Michael F. Curran, of Fischler Property Company, arranged the sale of this office condo. The property is located at the corner of West First Street and Clifford Street, one block from the Caloosahatchee River directly southwest of the heart of Fort Myers' Downtown River District. The condo encompasses the entire second story of a two-story building constructed in 1973 and extensively renovated, both exterior and interior, in 2005. The unit contains 3,157 square feet of rentable area with both stairwell and elevator access.

Fischler Property Company is a commercial real estate firm focused on investment, infill and redevelopment across Southwest Florida.

For more information, visit http://www.fischlerco.com, call 239-288-9754, or email Michael Curran at mfc@fischlerco.com.

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