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An $11 million restoration project to save Falling Water, the 1936 Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece located 70 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, from falling into Bear Run has been completed, restoring the world-famous house to near original condition."Falling Water still tilts a little bit toward the bucolic stream," the Associated Press reported, "but is no longer in danger of being renamed 'Fell-in-water.'"
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Habitat for Humanity of Greater Greensboro (N.C.) is securing funding to add home repair work to its services for low-income residents, the Greensboro News Record reported. "There's obviously a need for these kinds of repairs," the News Record quotes Bob Kelley, the affiliate's executive director, as saying, "and there's nobody else in the community doing it right now."
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Portland, Ore.-based building product giant LP has announced plans to divest itself of nearly half of its operations, citing a new growth strategy and the need to significantly reduce its $840 million debt. "The most significant assets to be divested are LP's 935,000 acres of timberlands in Texas, Louisiana, and Idaho, and its lumber business, which produces 1.4 billion board feet annually," a company press release states.
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St. Louis and St. Louis County, Mo., are developing codes to govern renovation work specifically, and they're working together to make sure their two codes are "as similar as possible," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Both are basing their code on the International Code Council's draft of the International Existing Building Code.
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The Federal Trade Commission has proposed changes to its Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) that include the creation of a national do-not-call registry. Such a registry could potentially make it illegal for some home improvement companies to call past customers and other leads who are on the registry and who haven't given consent to be called.
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The California legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit insurance companies from excluding mold claims from liability and property policies issued in the state.Introduced by State Senator Deborah Ortiz, the bill, according to an analysis by the Senate Committee on Insurance, intends to stop a trend in which insurers exempt policies from paying any claims related to mold damage, even when the cause of the mold is covered.
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Although six qualified leads have come from the effort (one led to a kitchen remodel), partner Devon Hartman says the point of the booklet is to help people recognize the firm as a resource and to help past clients, when a friend or family member asks about their remodel, have something meaningful to pass along. "As far as dollar for dollar, it's a little too early to assess results, because this is a long-term investment," says Eve-Marie Lanza, company marketing coordinator.
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After learning from tracking sheets that 87% of his leads came from referrals, Jay Van Deusen re-allocated marketing dollars to hit those who give him most of his business.One way Van Deusen Construction of Bel Air, Md., does that is to reward referrals with free service calls.
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Critique courtesy of Janet Wagner, Ph.D., Associate Chair of Marketing, R.H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, www.rhsmith.umd.edu. Wagner holds a B.A. in graphic design from Cornell University; her graduate degree is in marketing.
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Working with out-of-town clients requires the perfect combination of trust, planning, communication, and technology. Remodelers who routinely work with faraway clients have learned to set up a communication structure that keeps jobs flowing smoothly.
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Back in the early '90s, Chicago-area general contractor John Harty of John G. Harty Ltd. considered the custom home contract he'd just signed a godsend. But though the subs Harty recommends are usually the ones hired and though most materials are bought at supply yards where John G. Harty Ltd. has its accounts, Harty neither pays the subs directly nor purchases the products.
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How an architectural firm made 3-D computer-aided design central to its design process, from client presentation through project completion.One such firm that has overcome the obstacles and embraced 3-D computer-aided design, making it essential to its business, is Rill and Decker, Bethesda, Md. The residential architectural shop typically works on $450,000 projects, designing 25 remodels and a dozen custom homes annually. Consultant Matthew Lohden, of Lohden Steele in Frederick, Md., who has transitioned a few hundred people to ArchiCAD, says the biggest mistake companies make when incorporating 3-D CAD into their process is failing to understand the commitment.
The town of Jamestown, R.I., had been suffering from what the local planning board calls "aggrandizement," that is, residents buying small houses and remodeling them to the tune of homes double or triple the size of the original. Category: Whole-house remodeling, $100,000 to $250,000 Location: Jamestown, R.I. Contractor: Walter Pilz, Darlington Home Builders, Providence, R.I. Designer: James Estes, Estes/Twombly Architects, Newport, R.I. Commercial Remodeling
When a 1960s remodel plopped a family room and screened porch onto the back of this 1930s Colonial, some much needed space was added, but the new space ignored the existing kitchen. Category: Kitchen remodeling, $100,000 to $250,000 Location: Washington, D.C. Contractor: Scott Hundley, Potomac Valley Builders, Poolesville, Md. Designer: Cunningham + Quill Architects, Washington, D.C. Additions
The winners of this year's Renaissance Design Competition showcase projects that reflect the commitment and vision of design and construction professionals. From a row house update to a barn-to-office conversion to an oceanfront bungalow, the projects are dramatically different but have a common theme of excellence. The Best of the Year project is a dramatic town house in San Francisco that blends classic and modern themes into a warm and inviting space.
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It's important for remodelers to have accurate, up-to-date weather information."The whole idea is to empower users and give them exactly what they want, when they want it, and on a mobile device," says Paul Douglas, Digital Cyclone's chairman and founder.
The truck of your dreams is coming to a town near you. For the second year in a row, Tools of the Trade magazine, a sister publication of Remodeling, has teamed up with Ford, Porter-Cable, DrillDoctor, and other sponsors to develop and build the Site Commander II, an ultimate work truck chock-full of unique storage, high-tech tools, and cool gadgets designed specifically with the contractor in mind.
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Building on the success of its FlexWrap window flashing, DuPont Tyvek Weatherization Systems has unveiled a companion product, StraightFlash. Made with Tyvek, a polyethylene or polyolefin film, and a premium butyl sealant, the products provide a barrier against water infiltration and will direct water to the building exterior instead of trapping it.
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In the future, residential windows may not just be openings that let in light and views. Designed as an inspiration to product inventors and homeowners alike, Project Odyssey is aiming to make the lives of consumers easier and more efficient.
Designed for fast, efficient installation, the Basic Radiant in-floor hot water radiant heating kit includes Dura-PEX tubing and a pre-engineered, ready-to-install control panel.
Color-grouping system is based around color psychology and groups more than 600 of the company's main colors into four mood-inspired collections -- Calm, Fresh, Vibrant, and Warm. Formulated for interior hardwood floors, this oil-based finish comes in clear satin, clear semi-gloss, and clear gloss.
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With these realistic looks and superior durability, manufacturers are banking on the rock-solid staying power of porcelain tile.Reminiscent of the Southwest, Desert Canyon porcelain tile comes in four rustic colors, Dune, Sunrise, Cactus, and Sunset, and three tumbled stone borders.