Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

TAMPA Hillsborough County Tax Collector Doug Belden has chosen the Tampa neighborhood of Drew Park to build a new service center where customers can get drivers licenses, birth certificates and concealed weapons permits.

Construction of the new 25,000-square-foot building is expected to begin next month at 4100 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Belden said the office will be open for business in September.

The new building will replace the tax collectors office at the Lowes and Target shopping center at 6283 W. Waters Ave.

Belden said he is saving taxpayers between $1.5 million and $2 million because hes building the new office on state-owned land once occupied by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. As part of a deal Belden worked out with the state, the motor vehicles department will use 5,000 square feet of the new building for administrative work.

Taxpayers also will save about $400,000 a year on rent the tax collector was paying at the Waters Avenue site. He is leasing the land on Martin Luther King Boulevard from the state for a dollar a year.

The new construction is Beldens latest move to expand services and provide them in offices closer to taxpayers. In April, he opened a new office building on county-owned land on Falkenburg Road. By leasing government-owned land at minimal cost for the two newest buildings, Belden said he saved taxpayers $3 million in land acquisition.

The building boom is being driven in part by the Florida Legislatures 2010 mandate that the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles close most of its offices. As a result, many motor vehicle department duties, such as issuing drivers licenses and license plates, are being transferred to county tax collectors.

Written and road tests for new drivers licenses are now being given at the tax collectors office on East Hillsborough Avenue. Belden said his office leases the East Hillsborough site for $350 a year.

Eventually the road tests will be given at two other locations, one in Plant City and the other in south Hillsborough.

We want to geographically cover all of Hillsborough County, Belden said.

Read the original here:
Tax collector to add Drew Park office

Custom Kitchen Remodels | Chicago, IL Os Decorating and Painting
Custom kitchen remodels can be expensive. Don #39;t DIY- we offer FREE estimates so you can make an informed decision. Call 312-614-9995 or visit http://osdecora...

By: OsDecorating

Read more:
Custom Kitchen Remodels | Chicago, IL Os Decorating and Painting - Video

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) January 22, 2015

Christopher Wells Construction, a bay area remodeling contractor, recently addressed the ongoing need for San Francisco buildings to be evaluated for earthquake preparedness in 2015, based on San Francisco's Mandatory Seismic Retrofit Program Ordinance.

As of October 6, 2014 there were approximately 500 property owners who had not submitted their screening forms for the program, according to the Department of Building Inspection.

It's a new year, 2015, and many residences, called soft-story homes for having a weaker first floor, could be at risk of collapsing when the next big earthquake strikes, Wells said. "Bay Area homeowners should be aware of the risks involved in having a home that is not earthquake-prepared. We only need to look at what happened in nearby Napa in 2014. The Napa earthquake resulted in financial losses totaling close to a billion dollars, and more than 100 buildings were deemed unsafe to inhabit. And surprisingly, just two days ago a 4.4 magnitude quake hit San Benito County, which is only a few hours south of San Francisco."

There is a lesson to be learned for San Francisco homeowners," Wells went on. "For those with San Francisco properties at risk for earthquake damage, make 2015 a safer year by having your home evaluated for seismic strengthening.

In fact, the likelihood of an earthquake measuring 6.7 or greater striking the Bay Area in the next 25 years is 63%, according to the US Geological Survey. Wells said this should raise two urgent questions for homeowners: First, how can I get the information I need to make informed decisions when the next tremor strikes? And second, what can I do to protect my home from being seriously damaged?

The voluntary strengthening ordinance (AB 094) was passed in 2010; it applies to buildings with less than five residential units. Larger buildings fall under San Francisco's 2013 Mandatory Seismic Retrofit Program for Soft Story Wood Frame Buildings. This ordinance applies to buildings with two or more stories which contains five or more units. Property homeowners were required to complete a screening form by September 15, 2014.

Wells added that the problem is most SF homes were built long before earthquake ordinances were mandated. The cripple walls, the short stud walls between the floor and foundation (the crawl space) need to be shear walled, or braced, with plywood. This will stop a home from sliding off its foundation, he explained. What you are doing is strengthening the weakest part of a building, which gets hit by the greatest force during an earthquake.

How do you detect if your home is a soft-story building? Wells pointed to several criteria listed in the 2010 ordinance that would indicate a need for voluntary strengthening. Among the criteria:

San Francisco Department of Building Inspection offers specific incentives in the form of a cost break and expediting the building permanent process that are explained in the 2010 ordinance. These are two very good reasons for homeowners to move forward with voluntary seismic strengthening.

Go here to see the original:
Bay Area Remodeling Contractor Christopher Wells Construction Addresses the Importance of Voluntary Seismic ...

Originally published January 23, 2015 at 5:24 PM | Page modified January 24, 2015 at 10:02 AM

In less than a decade, Seattle-based Zillow has become the nations leading brand for homebuyer real-estate information. Its become synonymous with looking up your homes value or someone elses.

In a forthcoming book, Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate, Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and chief economist Stan Humphries offer some surprising answers backed by data to a range of housing questions. Among them:

Should Congress eliminate the current mortgage-interest tax deduction? (Yes)

Should the government subsidize homeownership for low-income families? (No)

To boost your homes value, is it better to remodel your bathroom or your kitchen? (Bathroom)

Along the way, Rascoff and Humphries share tips and personal stories, such as why they financed their homes with adjustable-rate mortgages instead of conventional fixed-rate ones.

As you might expect from Zillow, each chapter in the 253-page book highlights key points with charts and tables. But the authors intentionally kept each chapter short (nine pages, on average). The writing is fun, accessible and human. Plus, for you real-estate addicts, there are photos of famous homes from real life and television.

What we tried to capture in the book was the spirit of real estate, Rascoff said in an interview.

Just as the firms name is an amalgam of the quantitative zillions (as in lots of data points) and qualitative pillows (where you rest your head), the book approaches questions about buying, selling and renting with both data and storytelling.

See more here:
Zillow execs follow housing data to surprising conclusions

Ho-Ho-Kus NJ Siding Repair, Newark NJ Siding Repair, Little Ferry NJ Siding Replacement Totowa NJ
vinylsidingnewjersey.com CALL NOW!!973 795 1627 DISCOUNT! LET US KNOW YOU SEEN US ON YOUTUBE!!!! Bloomingdale, Clifton, Haledon, Hawthorne, Little Falls, No...

By: bruce chavez

Follow this link:
Ho-Ho-Kus NJ Siding Repair, Newark NJ Siding Repair, Little Ferry NJ Siding Replacement Totowa NJ - Video

St. Albert AB Flat Roofing Companies|(780) 800-7295|Central AB Flat Roofing Replacement
http://edmontonflatroofer.com/ (780) 800-7295 Edmonton Flat Roofer - Give us a call to find out the cost for flat roof replacement. Residential or smaller Co...

By: Edmonton Flat Roofer

Continue reading here:
St. Albert AB Flat Roofing Companies|(780) 800-7295|Central AB Flat Roofing Replacement - Video

Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) January 23, 2015

For those whose life's work takes them to the roofs of houses and buildings, they might be interested in a way to make that work a little easier. An inventor from Akron, Ohio, has conceived of a device that does just that.

He developed Roof Mate to save time and effort when working on a roof replacement. Furthermore, it provides a much safer method for roof replacements by helping to transport shingles and debris removed from a roof. What's more, it is convenient and easy to operate, maintain and store. Besides that, it is sturdy to withstand wear and tear. It is also efficient, lightweight and easy to transport. In addition, its simple design minimizes production costs.

The inventor's inspiration for the idea came from his work. "I tried it out on a roofing job and found it made the work of transporting used shingles and other materials much easier and safer than the older more labor-intensive method," he said. The idea is patent pending.

The original design was submitted to the Cleveland office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 12-CLC-5046, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com - http://www.youtube.com/user/inventhelp.

More here:
Mobile Aid for Roofing Jobs Invented by InventHelp Client (CLC-5046)

SEBRING Her roof has leaked for years, Sheriff Susan Benton said.

Its been running down the walls in the jail, the kitchen... The part were most concerned about is dispatch, Benton said. Thats where hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of 911 radios, telephones and computers are housed. Its in the worst condition. Its the oldest.

One problem: 32 air conditioners are mounted on the roof, and some arent at the proper height.

We may have to rebuild that part, Benton said. Weve already met with the Motorola guy. The antenna may have to be remounted.

Replacing the sheriffs office roof will be so complex, Highlands County commissioners hired HDR, a Fort Myers architect, on Tuesday, just to design the re-roofing specifications. The fee: $31,550.

As for the roof replacement, Facilities Management Director David Flowers has estimated $260,000.

And thats for one section.

Because the sheriffs office was built with three additions over the decades, there are four roofs. And that could make the total replacement as high as $1 million.

I dont have any idea what that will cost, Commission Chair Ron Handley said. Thats why we need to have someone come up with a set of specs.

Commissioner Don Elwell questioned the architects fee. Would $31,500 produce design specifications for all four roofs?

Follow this link:
Architect hired for roof replacement

SALISBURY, NC (WBTV) - From Catawba College:Catawba College is making a bold move in the area of solar power that will propel it ahead of all other North Carolina colleges and universities. Catawba will have the distinction of having the second largest campus solar energy installation in the Southeast and will produce more solar electricity than all the other N.C. colleges and universities combined.

The solar project will include installations of photovoltaic panels and needed re-roofing on several buildings as well as replacement of many water fixtures. Work began at the start of spring semester, with trailers and materials occupying a staging area next to the Newman (baseball) Park, and construction activity at individual buildings. Campus buildings included in the project are the Abernethy Physical Education Center, Barger-Zartman Residence Hall, the Corriher-Linn-Black Library, Hayes Field House, the Robertson College-Community Center, Shuford Science Building, Woodson Residence Hall and the parking lot between Newman (baseball) Park and Shuford Stadium.

We believe this one megawatt installation will be the largest such undertaking by any higher education institution in the State of North Carolina, said Catawba President Brien Lewis, adding, It will yield significant long-term benefits for the College.

Projections indicate that Catawba will save 11% on energy and 26% on water costs when the installation is complete. The project will also contribute to Catawba College reaching its published 2030 goal of carbon neutrality, a public commitment the institution made when it became one of the signatories of the American Colleges & Universities Presidents' Climate Commitment in 2007. At that time, then Catawba President Robert Knott said of Catawba's commitment, We are saying to our students and to those in our community that we don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk.

The cost of the solar project is approximately $5.2 million a significant portion of which would have been spent anyway to replace roofs on several of the campus' older buildings. Lewis explained that the financial savings (in addition to the energy reductions) are projected at approximately $10 million to $11.9 million.

While a significant portion of the entire project is funded by generous donations,the remainder is being funded by investors who are able to realize substantial tax credits for solar energy and who will, once the tax credits expire in a few years, donate the systems to the College.

Mike Nicklas, president of Innovative Design of Raleigh, is leading the project. The solar developer is Sundance Power Systems of Weaverville.

Here is the original post:
Here Comes The Sun; Catawba begins big solar project on campus

When was the last time you changed the filters on your HVAC system? If youre like most people, it was probably ages ago. Its just such an easy thing to forget about, and unfortunately, not staying on top of it is likely siphoning a bit of money out of your wallet.

Old, clogged-up filters can cause a lot of problems:reduced air quality, higher energy bills, and can even contribute to A/C system issues and failures if ignored for long enough.You probably know all this already; the hard part is just remembering to change them every few months.

Thats where FilterEasy comes in. For a small subscription fee, thestartup (which just closed a $1.2 million funding round) will send you replacement filters on a recurring schedule, so you never have to think about it again.

Related:Why hasnt Nest thought of this? Keen shows off smart vents at CES 2015

To sign up, homeowners provide their personal information, select their filter size and type, and tell FilterEasy how often they want themshippedlike every three months, for example. The site currently offers air filters in over 40 different sizes and three different quality levels, which should cover most peoples home air filter needs.

Once youve submitted your info, youre done. No more setting reminders, no more driving to the store and spending half an hour hunting down the right filter type. FilterEasy takes care of everything for you, short of physically replacing the filters, of course.

And the best part? The filters dont cost any more than what youd pay in the store.Since partnering and co-locating with U.S. filter manufacturer Flanders, the startup is able to ship filters directly to homeowners at the same price.

See the rest here:
Keep your air clean with FilterEasys subscription-based HVAC filter replacements