Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Vikki Ruisch had a fireplace in her house, but it was in a room her family barely used. So during a remodeling project last year, she had a fireplace built in her heavily trafficked living room, where everyone could enjoy it.

Ruisch figured it would add value to her Woodcliff Lake, N.J., house, but that wasn't really an incentive. She grew up having a fireplace in her home and just wanted one, or two. She also had one put in the master bedroom.

"I don't know anyone who doesn't like a fireplace," she said. "We use ours, especially this winter. My husband puts the one on in the bedroom when he gets up about an hour before me, and then it's nice and toasty by the time I get up."

Ruisch is one of many home and business owners installing fireplaces to add ambience, warmth and financial value to where they live and work. A fireplace can increase a home's value by 6 to 12 percent, according to the National Center for Real Estate Research of Littleton, Colo.

In addition to the standard stone or brick fireplaces found in typical settings like single-family homes and ski lodges, temporary hearths can be installed in the tiniest of apartments and the most intimate of restaurants.

Ventless fireplaces are a swiftly growing segment of the market, targeted for apartments or other buildings where permanent changes can't be made. Those that run on electricity can, with the flip of a switch, heat a space up to about 400 square feet, or, in hot weather operate with no warming element.

One manufacturer, HearthCabinet Ventless Fireplaces in New York City, offers products that use alcohol gel cartridges instead of electricity, said Sara Check, marketing and sales manager for the company.

"Lots of people wanted a fireplace and didn't have a chimney, gas line or vent," Check said. "So we are filling a void in a niche market. The cartridges work like a sterno canister works. You can replace the top and then use it again."

One of the drawbacks to ventless fireplaces, specifically because there is no way to send gases outside the building, is that they often emit an odor, similar to the smell from an oven when it is on. But Check said HearthCabinet throws off little, if any odor, because of the gel cartridges it uses.

"Since our cartridges use isopropyl alcohol, our emissions don't really have an odor," she said.

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Fireplaces raise home values

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/21 March) The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has allocated an initial P40 million for the development of its new regional office starting this year in nearby Koronadal City.

Arturo Valero, NEDA Region 12 director, said Friday such allocation will mainly fund the construction of a modern office building at the Region 12 government center in Barangay Carpenter Hill in Koronadal City that will house its various divisions and service units.

He said the NEDA central office included such funding in its budget for this year or under the 2014 General Appropriations Act.

Valero said the initial preparations are now underway for the projects implementation, which is being assisted by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Region 12.

The details of the buildings design are now being finalized by DPWH-12 architects and the construction will immediately begin as soon as it completes the bidding process, he said.

The official said they pushed last year for the inclusion of the budget for the construction of their new office building after securing a lot at the regional government center, which is around two kilometers away from the downtown area of Koronadal City.

He said they had forged a memorandum agreement (MOA) with the city government of Koronadal, which own and maintains the regional government center, for the lots donation.

NEDA Region 12 has been leasing a private building since moving to Koronadal City three years ago in compliance with Executive Order 304, which designated the area as the regions new government seat and center.

EO 304, which was issued in March 2004 by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, also sets the immediate transfer of all regional line agencies from Cotabato City, the previous regional center, to Koronadal City.

Region 12, which is also known as the Soccsksargen Region, comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

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NEDA allots P40M for new office in Koronadal

Published: Friday, March 21, 2014, 3:42p.m. Updated 5 hours ago

ANH Refractories has signed a lease to occupy 42,000 square feet in the third office building now under construction in the Pittsburgh International Business Park near Pittsburgh International Airport.

The company, currently in the Cherrington Corporate Center in Moon, consists of A.P. Green Refractories Co., North American Refractories Co. and Harbison-Walker Refractories Co.

A.P. Green manufactures products for NARCO and Harbison-Walker, which service the steel, aluminum, glass, iron and non-steel-related industries.

We expect ANH to relocate this fall, said Jason Stewart of JLL, who was involved in the lease. We are in negotiation with a potential tenant for the remaining 11,000 square feet in the 53,000-square-foot, one-story building, he said.

Once the building is fully leased, the developers Continental Real Estate Companies and Chaska Property Advisors will start on a fourth building, Stewart said.

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ANH Refactories agrees to lease building near Pittsburgh International

503 Retford Dr
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Spring is here, and for Storey Slone that means it's time to mix compost tea.

Slone works in organic lawn care for Dave Leonard Tree Specialists. Compost tea is a lawn application that contains plant growth compounds and beneficial microorganisms that condition soil without the use of man-made chemicals.

Leonard, a well-known Lexington arborist, said he was drawn to lawn care after seeing a cluster of red oaks with leaves curled up "just like a fist."

The culprit was the toxic turf chemicals being used in the area, he said.

"I asked, 'Which would you rather have, dandelions or red oaks?'" Leonard said.

Organic lawn care can be a little more expensive than the standard fertilizer with a sock of chemical weed and pest control, but it also has a different focus, Leonard said. A base price for the Leonard program is about $65 per thousand square feet per treatment, plus $55 for soil amendments (first year cost only). The number of visits varies according to the program selected.

While some Lexington-area lawn care companies offer an organic program as an option with or without add-in chemical weed control, at the Leonard company which offers two all-organic lawn care plans organic lawn care is the preferred route.

Organic lawns can take several years to fully establish, but the goal is to feed the soil for the long term, with probiotics that help aerate the lawn and reduce compacted soil. Nourishing the soil helps the lawn squeeze out pesky intruders such as nutsedge, the wide-bladed weed that seems to tower over grass immediately after mowing. Also, it helps give grass deeper roots so that it can withstand weather stresses, Leonard said.

Nutsedge thrives in poorly drained, compacted soils, Slone said.

"A lot of these yards are just sterile," Leonard said. "We know for longevity you want an organic lawn. ... If you improve the soil you get a better lawn. Spraying it with a quick-release fertilizer does not improve the soil."

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Compost tea can quench your lawn's thirst this spring

LIHUE At first sight, the group gathered under a monkeypod tree on the lawn of the Historic County Building on Wednesday appeared to be preparing for an appearance before the Kauai County Council.

Instead, the group centered around Frederick and Blanche Acoba, volunteers with the Mana Ohana Sober Support Services, who were processing paperwork for free bus passes.

We have been volunteering with Mana Ohana for about a couple of months, now, Frederick said. During that time, weve given out more than 300 free bus passes to people.

Kem French said Mana Ohana Sober Support Services has a contract with the state of Hawaii under the Federal Access to Recovery grant.

If an individual has experienced substance abuse, or alcoholism, the government has assistance to aid in recovery, said French, an assessor with Mana Ohana.

Mana Ohana is designed to provide clients with substance abuse clinical treatment and recovery support service providers, and increase the capacity of the recovery-oriented system of care.

The monthly bus passes are within the scope of the program it currently provides, French said.

Frederick Acoba said they picked the site of the lawn of the Historic County Building because he saw how many people had gathered there during the Bill 2491 hearing.

Weve also gone to bus stops, the beaches and other places where we see people who might need our help, Frederick said.

Junior Pardua of Lihue was one of the recipients, returning Wednesday before his current pass expires at the end of the month.

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Crowd gathers for free rides

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Creating A 'Memory Wound' To Recall Those Who Were Lost Hide caption

This illustration, provided by artist Jonas Dahlberg, shows his vision for a "memory wound" in Norway to memorialize the dozens of people who were killed by a right-wing extremist in 2011.

Jonas Dahlbert Studio/EPA/Landov

This illustration shows how visitors will be able to look out from one side of the gap at a wall where names of the victims will be inscribed. The space between is meant to symbolize how those who were killed are gone and irreplaceable, but are not forgotten.

Jonas Dahlberg Studio/EPA/Landov

Visitors to the memorial walk on a wooden pathway, through a tunnel and then emerge at the edge of the severed peninsula across from the island where the shooting occurred.

Jonas Dahlberg Studio, courtesy of KORO / Public Art Norway

An illustration of what the cut in the peninsula across from Utoya island will look like. The material that's removed will become part of a second memorial site in Oslo.

Jonas Dahlberg Studio /EPA/Landov

On a July day in 2011, the world first heard of a small island off Norway called Utoya under the most terrible circumstances. The island was a youth camp for Norway's Labor Party. On that summer day, a heavily armed right-wing extremist stepped onto Utoya and began to walk across it, shooting at random.

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Architect Remembers Massacre Victims With 'Wounded' Landscape

JAFFREY -- From the balconies of city apartment buildings to the rolling fields of family farms, residents throughout New Hampshire have created wildlife habitats, and for their efforts they have been given a nod by the National Wildlife Federation.

Since 1973, the National Wildlife Federation has been offering a program to officially certify properties as wildlife habitats as a motivation for property owners to provide the things creatures large and small need to thrive and to raise their young, said David Mizejewski, a naturalist with the federation.

"We can restore elements of habitats in cities and towns by what we plant in our gardens," said Mizejewski, who is regularly featured on talk shows and morning news programs. "You don't need a ton of land and it doesn't matter where you live or how much money you have. You can be doing good things."

Creating a habitat is about more than simply putting out bird feeders. The goal is to establish natural environments that animals, birds, insects and amphibians need in order to thrive. Planting fruit-bearing trees can feed birds throughout the winter. Creating or protecting a vernal pool that fills in the spring and dries in the summer heat gives salamanders a place to breed. Small trees, nesting boxes, and container-planted butterfly bushes can create a home for birds and butterflies.

To become a Certified Wildlife Habitat, home owners must provide four core things: food, water, shelter, and a place for raising their offspring.

"There is an infinite number of ways you can provide those core things," said Mizejewski.

Leaving trees that have fallen can give woodpeckers a place to hang out, while thick stands of hemlock can provide deer with cover from the snow. One of the habitats that are hard to come by in New Hampshire these days is meadowland, said Mizejewski. Between the decrease in the use of land for farming, the increase in housing developments and the rapid expansion of forests in the state, meadows and pastureland are beginning to disappear, which makes things hard for creatures like deer, who feed on new growth, along with humming birds and eastern meadowlarks, he said.

In Jaffrey, Nancy Caswell blends the natural habitats available on her property with some human touches to make life a bit easier for animals and birds. A small stream and four heated bird baths provide water. Bird and bat houses, along with areas of dense wild shrubs, are home to bluebirds, chickadees, and even Baltimore orioles. Turkeys, deer, and birds of many colors visit the Caswell's home all year long, but her favorite guests are the chimney swifts who flock to her home each May.

"We get hundreds of them every year," said Caswell, who owns a brick home with four chimneys that give the returning birds a place to nest.

Chimney swifts build hanging nests in the mortar between the bricks in the chimneys and lay their diminutive eggs. The birds have spikes on their tails that allow them to hang on the bricks and roost when they're not out buzzing around eating insects.

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Your yard could be a certified wildlife habitat