Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Demolition has begun on St Teresa's Gardens in Dolphin's Barn as part of a state-funded regeneration plan. Dublin Correspondent Olivia Kelly reports.

The council is to demolish all of the more than 300 flats in the complex, most of which are empty, and to rebuild less housing on the site. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times

Demolition of one of Dublins largest and most dilapidated flat complexes has started ahead of a 12.5 million Dublin City Council social housing regeneration scheme.

St Teresas Gardens, next to the Coombe maternity hospital in the south inner city, was to be demolished and rebuilt as part of a Public Private Partnership (PPP), but the plans were scrapped more than five years ago, following the collapse of the property market.

The 1950s estate was earmarked for regeneration more than 10 years ago because of its poor living conditions and social problems. It has become increasingly run down since the failure of the PPP scheme with persistent sewerage and damp problems, that council engineers have been unable to resolve though maintenance measures.

The demolition started in recent days and one block has been razed, with the demolition of two more underway. Construction is expected to start around November on 50 new homes on the 2.3-hectare site. Of these, 16 will be apartments ranging from three-to-five storeys and 34 will be terraced houses two-to-three storeys high. The new housing is expected to be ready in early to mid-2017. A new park will also be created.

Two of the 16 old blocks, housing 60 flats, will be kept for some years, pending the construction of more housing. These two buildings are being stripped internally and the flats reconfigured, with 11 flats amalgamated to provide eight larger units, resulting in 57 new homes.

The councils development is considerably more modest than the planned PPP scheme. The complex was to be replaced with 300 social and affordable houses and apartments, 300 private apartments, commercial units and community buildings.

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Demolition of flats at St Teresas Gardens in Dublin 8 begins

The demolition of Mr Fluffy asbestos homes across Canberra is expected to get under way after June this year with more than half already acquired by the ACT government.

Acting Chief Minister Simon Corbell announced on Friday more than half of all homeowners had accepted offers made through the buyback program, four months before the scheme closes.

Already 511 offers have been accepted from the 1021 affected properties in the ACT.

Mr Corbell said the latest results showed many affected homeowners were taking the opportunity to move on to another property.

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"I encourage homeowners who are still considering whether or not to enter the buyback program to discuss their individual circumstances with the Asbestos Response Taskforce around what support can be provided," he said in a statement.

The government now owns 131 properties and is overseeing security and maintenance.

A pilot demolition program of a small number of affected properties will start in late March to confirm procurement, demolition and communications processes.

Two of the properties included in the pilot will be public housing.

"The Mr Fluffy response is not only an ACT government, but an ACT community response," Mr Corbell said.

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Half of all Mr Fluffy asbestos home owners join ACT government buyback

OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) -

Bay Carpets in Bay St. Louis is just one of many local businesses who haven't been paid by Mason Trendsetters. Owner Chuck Jung says he met with Randy Mason about a year ago and sold carpets, tile and wood flooring to the custom home builder.

Jung says Mason Trendsetters Development made payments up until about two months ago.

"Our checks come up from Texas, the home office, and they said no checks were coming from Texas and Mississippi at the current time, until further notice, "said Jung.

Mason Trendsetters' home office is located in Abilene, TX. So, how much money does Jung say Mason Trendsetters still owes him?

"Just shy of $50,000," Jung claims.

He's just one of many local businesses and subcontractors who contacted me saying they were owed money.

Two building supply companies are owed close to $350,000. Coast Concrete is owed $75,000, and Absolute Siding is owed $21,000. Two plumbers are owed $30,000 each.

"It's disheartening, "said Jung. I don't know how somebody can live with themselves doing that. It puts a strain on your business, on your personal life."

Besides business owners, home owners have also been affected. Joe McCaleb says he had to dip into his life savings when Mason Trendsetters stopped paying the subcontractors working on his home off Highway 15.

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Action Report: Custom home builder owes subcontractors hundreds of thousands of dollars

Surrey, B.C. (PRWEB) February 26, 2015

BC Greenhouse Builders, leading North American custom greenhouse manufacturer of hobby, commercial and estate greenhouses, recently won silver for The Blue Greenhouse at the BC Home and Garden Show. A collaborative project between Rose Blamey from WindRose Garden Space Desig n, Kimberley Loewen from Flourish Garden Design, and Arts Nursery, the turquoise framed greenhouse was the center of the classic seaside garden.

After our success from the 2014 Garden Show, the team came together again to take a completely different approach, says Angela Drake Marketing Director for BC Greenhouse Builders. The garden last year represented the finer things in life while The Blue Greenhouse personifies a relaxed and inviting life on the ocean. Rose and Kimberley's attention to detail is outstanding and upon each visit, you would notice something new."

From the outdoor shower, to rock filled gabions, to the unique and lush plant material installed by Arts Nursery, the booth set off spring fever in many attendees.

The 8x12 Cottage greenhouse is a popular choice for many homeowners and available in any size or color, shipped directly to the customers door.

"This was a chance for us to show that we can do virtually anything when it comes to greenhouse design and the turquoise color was so whimsical and inviting," says Drake. "The greenhouse was a hit as we sold the display before the show even began!"

For more photos of the award winning garden, check out our Flickr stream.

About Us BC Greenhouse Builders Ltd., North Americas leading greenhouse manufacturer, provides a full range of product lines from economical and functional, hobby and commercial greenhouse kits to complete turn-key luxury estate greenhouses and garden rooms. By incorporating high engineering standards that provide impressive structural strength, the greenhouse structure is unique due to its modular and adaptable design along with the highest capacity for wind and snow loads available on the market today. This family owned and operated business still maintains the high quality standards that were set more than 64 years ago and offers the largest selection of glass and polycarbonate greenhouse to suit all gardening needs, climate and budget.

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BC Greenhouse Builders Wins Silver at BC Home and Garden Show with Dreamy Cottage Greenhouse

Rancho Pacifica, a gated community of spectacular multimillion dollar homes in the hills east of Del Mar, is not immune to the ravages of the California drought. Residents, who can easily afford massive water bills, have sought to reduce their water consumption not just because they have to, but because they want to.

Brian and Frances Holloway, retired custom home builders who live in a palatial 9,000-square-foot Mediterranean, installed artificial turf in their backyard five years ago. After Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency last year and urged Californians to reduce their water consumption by 20%, the couple decided to get rid of their water-sucking front lawn as well.

Not so fast, said their homeowners association. Like many HOAs in upscale neighborhoods around the state, it keeps an iron grip on issues like house color, alterations, parking and landscaping. Now, the Holloways are locked in an escalating struggle with their HOA.

"They have to control everyone's life," Brian said.

"Egos!" Frances said.

This kind of conflict is repeating itself all over lawn-addicted Southern California, where the rigid aesthetics promulgated by HOAs are colliding with California's urgent need to save water. Ten days ago, San Diego-area Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez proposed a bill that, sensibly, would render these fights moot.

If her bill passes, HOAs would be prohibited from fining residents for installing artificial lawns. In 2011, Brown vetoed a similar measure, saying that HOAs, not the state, should make those rules.

But we are four years into the drought, and Gonzalez hopes Brown will embrace it this time. Last year, after all, he signed bills forbidding HOAs to penalize residents who stop watering or who replace lawns with low-water plants. (A spokesman for the Community Associations Institute told me that his group opposed the 2011 legislation but had not yet taken a position on this bill.)

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The knee-jerk reaction against artificial turf, Gonzalez said, is based on the low-quality stuff we remember from miniature golf courses. She knows from all her precinct walking, though, that these days you can't tell the difference between real and fake grass.

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Amid drought, a turf war between residents and homeowners associations

Overland Park, Kansas (PRWEB) February 27, 2015

According to the Center of Disease Control (http://www.cdc.gov/datastatistics/2008/brainInjuries), more than 38 million children and adolescents participate in sports in the United States each year. As a result of this growing number, new and existing facilities are reaching capacity maximizing their equipment and square footage creating a need for preventative maintenance to ceiling suspended athletic equipment.

"Athletic facilities are hosting a record number of sporting events annually," says Stephen Spoonhour, President , Spoonball Sports. "With this amount of activity and parents entrusting these facilities with the safety of their children; building and maintaining safe state-of-the-art facilities has never been more important. I grew up in and around athletic facilities most of my life and a lot has changed over the years." Stephen, son of Charlie Spoonhour who was a Division 1 basketball coach at Missouri State, Saint Louis University and UNLV. "I know that parents, school administrators and facility owners expect nothing but safety for their athletes and spectators at these facilities. Having a preventative maintenance program in place not only provides peace of mind, it also ensures some accidents can be prevented."

"Most schools utilize their own buildings and grounds crews to perform maintenance when problems arise but not at a preventative level. These same buildings and grounds crews are typically responsible for an entire campus and may not be properly trained or have the correct tools to work on items that may cause serious damage or harm." Spoonball Sports offers a preventative maintenance program that partners with buildings and grounds crews to ensure all points of athletic equipment and facilities are functioning properly and provides safety reports for insurance purposes.

Spoonhour comments, "Ceiling suspended basketball structures are mostly overlooked when athletic facilities perform annual maintenance. Equipment manufacturers recommend these structures have full-point safety inspections performed every one to two years depending on the specific athletic equipment age and facility usage." Facility managers or grounds crews are asked to perform work on these massive units weighting between 900-1,200lbs each depending on the ceiling heights, often they are unaware of the dangers and liabilities that lurk around the corner if not completed correctly.

"In the event of a cable failure for example," says Spoonhour, "a ceiling suspended basketball structure would go into a free-swing mode typically shattering the glass backboard, damaging support pipes, ceiling beams and attachment locations which may lead to support pipes falling to the ground putting athletes and spectators at risk. This type of safety concern may be reduced or eliminated completely with safety strap installations at each ceiling suspended structure that raises or lowers by cables."

Notable items installed in ceilings at gymnasiums throughout the United States include: Basketball Structures, Batting Cages, Divider Curtains, Wrestling Mat Hoists and Scoreboards.

Preventative maintenance includes providing proper torque to each ceiling attachment bolt and beam clamp, aircraft cable is free of kinks or damage, cable clamps are secure with back-ups, pulleys are installed in the proper alignment to minimize stress on motors, lubrication is applied to all moving parts to prevent wear and tear and motor limit switches are set to correct height.

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Rise of Students Participating in Sports Creates Need for Preventative Maintenance to Gymnasium Equipment in Athletic ...

A combination of multiple days of below zero temperatures, ice and snow accumulation and frozen gutters have caused problems at Maysville's Cox Building.

On Monday, Tourism Director Suzie Pratt entered the lobby of the building, only to discover water on the floor. When she arrived in her second floor office, she found more water, both on the office floor and dripping from the ceiling. Her next stop was the building's third floor grand ballroom, which also had water accumulated on the hardwood floor and dripping from several spots on the ceiling.

City employees are unsure when the leaks began, since there were no special events scheduled at the building over the weekend.

The cause of the problem, according to City Manager Ray Young and David Hord, project coordinator for the city, is the building's box gutters at the roof line. From the exterior box gutters appear to be on the outside of the building, when in reality, the guttering system is on the inside between the brick facade and the walls of the building. Box gutters have always been on the Cox Building since its construction in 1886 and were part of the $10 million restoration of the building after a fire in 2010.

Young said because of the accumulation of ice and snow in the gutters and continuous days of freezing temperatures, the ice/water backed up into the gutters. The result has been for the water to find its way into the walls of the building because of the inability to drain through the frozen gutters.

"Our main focus is to get the water out of the drains," Young said Thursday during a walk-through of the building. To accomplish that, the Maysville Fire Department has been on site two days with its ladder truck to reach the gutters and break up the ice and snow. Snow accumulation on the building's slate roof has been removed, as well as around the turret on the northwest corner. The purpose has been to keep more snow from accumulating into the gutters and to prevent it from falling onto the sidewalk below, which could cause a safety hazard to pedestrians.

Since the discovery of the water on Monday, industrial size fans and dehumidifiers have been running full-time in the ballroom and office to dry out the walls and ceilings. Pockets of water accumulation on the ceiling have been drained and the damage so far has been limited. The signature Masonic Mural on the eastern wall of the ballroom was not damaged. Damage appears to be kept mainly to the northern side of the building, which gets limited sunshine.

Young said an event scheduled for the ballroom for Feb. 28 has been moved to the Maysville Conference Center.

Young said the city will get two estimates to fix the ceilings, walls and hardwood floors, which have buckled and there is damage to the finish. It is hoped the buckling of the floors will correct itself as the floors dry out.

To remedy the problem in the future, Young said the estimates will include the installation of heat strips for the box gutters. Young said although the winter of 2014 included snow and freezing temperatures, the gutters worked fine because there weren't continuous days of below freezing temperatures like there has been this year.

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Frozen gutters cause water damage at Cox Building

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Goldfields Carpet Cleaning: Professional Carpet Cleaning
Goldfields Carpet Cleaning has been providing quality cleaning services to the Ballarat region for over 20 years. We #39;ll clean your carpets return their fre...

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Cooking Crepes and Cleaning Carpets
We decided to make some homemade crepes, we seen Alfie Deyes making pancakes for Pancake Day. so we decided to try making the same ones. Then we decided to do a sort of spring cleaning, by.

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Cooking Crepes and Cleaning Carpets - Video