Home Interaction

The folks at Owens Corning are promoting their Duration Series Designer Colors Collection shingles this summer and fall with a great contest. The That’s My Roof Contest runs until October 2010 with monthly winners and one grand prize winner who will have their new roof completely refunded up to $10,000.

Ownens Corning Duration Series Designer Colors Collection Shingles

Bring fashion to your roof with our new Duration® Shingles Designer Colors Collection with SureNail® Technology. Made with brilliantly colored granules that add richness and dimension in a wide array of colors. These stunning shingles are designed for long-lasting performance with a 30-Year Limited Warranty, a 110-MPH Wind Resistance Limited Warranty, and Algae Resistance Limited Warranty.

With the help of famed color expert Lee Eisman, we have designed the Roofing Color Compass Quiz to help you pick out the perfect design combination for your home.

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Radiant heat has long been classified as a Green Construction method for several reasons. Most importantly is the elimination of duct work which potentially creates poor air quality. Additionally radiant heat is considered by many to be a much more efficient heating system.

We recently designed and built a two story 3,500 sq. ft. addition for a non-profit Montessori School. One of the main goals for the new addition was taking advantage of Green Construction techniques that would ultimately reduce operating expenses and provide for a healthier more comfortable learning atmosphere. With that goal in mind the preferred heating solution for the project was radiant heat. The radiant heating system had to be installed in a concrete slab (lower level) and under a traditional wood sub-floor adjacent to engineered lumber joists.

Uponor Radiant Heating Systems

Thanks to a very by Uponor the new addition will include radiant heat.

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Window & Door Trim

Today’s mass produced homes rarely use architecturally pleasing window and door trim. Most homes today are built with a very basic colonial trim with mitered joints. Obviously this is done in an effort to reduce building costs while providing a basic look.

Older homes traditionally featured very ornate and detailed window and door trim. This was especially true for homes from the colonial and federalist period. Walk into one of these older homes and you’re immediately impressed with the craftsmanship that was needed to trim one of those homes.

Colonial Style Fluted Trim

We’re building a custom home for come clients right now and they had some very specific requests for window and door trim. The home owners wanted us to create a more detailed trim package that included fluted casing around the windows and doors.

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Adding a cupola to your home or garage is a great way to create  curb appeal that is sure to get your neighbors attention. Cupolas are making a come back in the industry and it’s obvious why. This small architectural feature gives home owners many options to show off their style and personality.

Size Matters

There are many manufacturers offering pre-fabricated cupolas in many styles, shapes and sizes. One of the most important decisions to be made is the size. Sizing a cupola is difficult and it’s best to consult the manufacturers recommendations or an architect. The total height of the cupola and spire in the attached photos is approximately 9′-6″. As you can see the cupola probably could have been even larger for such a large house.

Some basic guidelines are to choose a cupola width based on the width of the roof it sits on. The basic rule of thumb is to select a cupola that is one inch wide for every foot of roof ridge length.

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In our new home we built the custom stairs with Brazilian Cherry treads, handrails and newel post. The risers and stringers are made from poplar. Brazilian Cherry is a really beautiful wood and extremely dense. I’m told it’s about 100 times harder than red oak.

As you can see in the photos the design of our stair case included a landing allowing us to access the stairs from the foyer and the breakfast nook. This was a wonderful design idea we came up with and it really helps the daily flow of traffic.

I ordered all of the Brazilian Cherry parts from an online vendor, Stairsupplies.com. All of the parts were of great quality and craftsmanship. My only complaint was the lead time was much longer than they advertised.

Having said that I’d still purchase stair parts from them again because of the quality and price. I had a local custom stair builder give me a price of $8,000 to build this stair case.

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RIDGID® JobMax System

This year we continue to see more movement in the 12 volt cordless category and multi-tool arena. Rigid sent us their new JobMax System to test which combines a 12 volt lithium-ion battery with a tool that runs several tools including; right angle drill, right angle impact driver, multi-tool head for cutting, sanding and scraping, auto-hammer head and a ratchet head.

We tested the JobMax Multi-Tool Starter Kit along with the Right Angle Drill/Driver Head and the Right Angle Impact Driver Head.

JobMax Features

• 12V Base Unit powers interchangeable head.
• Drilling: 3/8” Right angle drill chuck – 550 RPM/120” lbs
• Driving: Right angle impact head– 650” lbs
• Fastening: Ratchet head – 300” lbs
• 12V 1.5 Ah pack for industry leading run-time
• Variable Speed Trigger
• LED Light for improved visibility in tight spaces
• 30 minute fast charging
• Warranty: RIDGID® Lifetime Service Agreement.

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