When it landed in Janesville in 2006, Tigre USA could have been considered a start-up manufacturer of molded PVC fittings.
Certainly new to Janesville, the company also was new to North America.
But don't be fooled. The Brazilian company entered the North American market with 70 years of experience as the world's third-largest maker of PVC pipes, fittings and accessories.
That expertise and history have helped the Janesville plant double in size since 2008.
"We arrived in the United States at a time when the housing market was suffering," said Fabricio Rubine, the general manager of the plant on Beloit Avenue. "We were trying to grow the business in a very hostile environment."
In Janesville, Tigre has 47 employees who work across three shifts to make molded and fabricated fittings for plumbing and sewer applications.
The Janesville plant ships to eight warehouses in the United States. Its products are sold through 30 manufacturer's representatives in North America, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia.
In part, the company came to Janesville because of an initial relationship with Freedom Plastics, which no longer is in business.
Tigre USA has grown because it found innovative ways to stand out from its competition, Rubine said.
As examples, he points to the company's incorporation of manufacturing expertise from Tigre's other facilities and the hiring of experienced leaders.
In addition, he said, the company has made significant investments in state-of-the-art equipment, including a 1,000-ton injection molding machine that is the largest of any at other Tigre plants.
The company has two primary sectors. The above-grade plumbing market is traditionally associated with home and business construction, while the sewer market serves municipal infrastructure markets.
"The housing market is very important to us, and when it comes back we will be in a very good position," Rubine said. "We've been very aggressive since we got here to pursue suppliers and distributors and establish relationships with them."
Specifically, he said, Tigre targets niche markets where it can use its size to be creative and flexible in delivering outstanding products and customer service.
That flexibility is evident on Tigre's production floor, where the company's 16 machines use any of 284 different molds to convert resin pellets into fittings with a scrap rate of less than 1 percent.
Production manager Mike Hicks said a new system has enabled employees to become current with their production quotas while still retaining the flexibility to accommodate special orders that require different molds.
A look at a recent production log shows just three of the plant's 430 or so different products on back order.
"Last fall that would have shown 30 back orders," Hicks said.
That improvement is critical to Dagoberto Darezzo, the plant's logistics manager who choreographs order management, shipping and customer service.
"The easiest thing to do is make a production schedule when you're behind," Darezzo said. "The difficult part is when you're ahead."
That's a challenge employees welcome, even as the production schedule now includes weekend work.
Worldwide, Tigre had 2011 revenues of $1.5 billion. It's in the middle of an aggressive growth plan that aims to double the company's size by 2014.
The expansion plan calls for new products and global acquisitions. It also includes an uptick in business at Tigre's existing 22 plants, including Janesville.
Rubine said he'd love to see the operation and its local employment expand in Janesville.
So, too, would Vic Grassman, Janesville's economic development director.
"It's a company I'm impressed with," he said. "I'm convinced Fabricio really wants to grow the company here and has made significant efforts with the corporate headquarters to see if that's possible."
Tigre USA, he said, has easily met the benchmarks tied to the tax increment-financing district in which it's located.
"This is a very mature market with a lot of competition," said Tim Johnson, Tigre USA's marketing and product manager. "We're still relatively small here, and that puts us in the hustle mode.
2012年4月18日星期三
2012年3月21日星期三
Broader Horizons
Two years ago, Ilias Panagiotopoulos was working as a tile setter. His wife Evangelia Lymperi was an English teacher. Both were employed, but both saw the writing on the wall.
From their home in Argos, a small Greek city of 30,000 people on the Aegean Sea, they applied for the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program in February, 2010.
“We saw that we would soon become unemployed, as we did,” says Evangelia. “We had our parents supporting us and living at their home.”
With four children to support — Tasos, now 24, Sofia, 17, Konstantina, 16, and Maria, 10 — they heeded the advice of their cousins who had recently moved to Regina.
“They encouraged us to come here because there was plenty of work here if you want to work; that’s true,” says Evangelia. “You get lots of opportunities, and for the kids it was better. And things have got lots worse (in Greece) since we came here seven months (ago) and lots of people would like to come here if they could.”
The family arrived on July 25 last year, the three adults on work permits and the girls on study permits.
Ilias found jobs at two tile companies, Heaven’s Hands Ceramic Installation and Precise Tile. Evangelia is a cook, server and dishwasher at Houston Pizza, Wintergreene Estates retirement complex and St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church. She has no plans to go back to teaching: “I think I’ve had enough of that, 23 years. Maybe something different sometime but I haven’t figured it out yet.”
It’s not so much about them, anyway.
“For us, it’s that we came here to give our kids a chance to better life,” says Evangelia.
Tasos is working as a night attendant at Wintergreene; he’s hoping to save up enough money to become a pilot. Sofia plans to study nursing at the U of R next year. Konstantina, in Grade 11, is undecided.
The kids were all proficient enough in English — they studied it twice a week back home — but adjusting to a new school five times the size of their old one has been difficult. They miss life back home: “Our everyday life there, our school, our friends, our grandparents,” says Sofia.
It hasn’t been easy for Ilias and Evangelia, either.
“You miss home and you’re all alone all of a sudden — and we’re not kids. I’m 45 and my husband is 47; you don’t really want such big changes in your life at that time,” she says.
Canada, of course, was settled by Europeans. In the 1800s and early 1900s, people from Europe crossed the ocean in droves, many of them fleeing economic hardships back home. Some of them found a better life in the agriculturally rich prairies.
Now, a century later, many Europeans are again leaving their home countries, looking for a better life across the ocean. In Ireland, a recent report by the Economic and Social Research Institute estimates that almost 1,000 people are leaving each week, many of them highly skilled workers. In Greece, thousands are also fleeing a country with a massive unemployment rate in search of work.
When Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall visited Ireland recently in search of skilled workers, Lisa and Ian Corrigan were a few months ahead of him. The couple moved from Ireland to Saskatoon last summer, leaving a ravaged economy behind.
They were working four jobs to support their family. She was an insurance broker and an event planner. He worked as a consultant for a construction firm. In the evenings, they ran a small pub for extra money. There was barely any time for their kids — Katie, six, and Dylan, four.
“Our reason for coming here was the quality of life,” says Lisa, 30, sipping from her cup of tea.
“Back in Ireland, we were working a hundred hours a week. Each.”
“That’s what people back home are doing,” Ian, 36, pipes in. “They are working every hour God is sending them and they are getting it hard.”
The couple has no relatives here. Back home, they lived next to Ian’s parents and worked with Lisa’s parents.
“If you could pick (your family) up and bring them with you, you would. But Skype is a good thing,” says Ian.
“They can see that people who are home now are struggling,” Lisa adds. “They’ve gone from the thing of missing us to saying we are so lucky, so fortunate to be here.”
Faced with an unemployment rate of nearly 15 per cent, people like Lisa and Ian Corrigan decided it was time to leave.
“The construction industry just plummeted,” says Ian, who is now a construction consultant with Stuart Olson Dominion. “It went from a big boom to just nothing.”
Lisa has just started working with O’Reilly Insurance.
In terms of sheer numbers, Saskatchewan still lags behind other provinces when it comes to international immigration. But this province’s skilled labour shortage means Saskatchewan is seeing an influx of skilled workers from abroad like never before.
From 1998 until 2004, more than 14,000 people came to Saskatchewan from abroad. Since then, that has almost tripled. In 2011 alone, an estimated 9,000 foreigners came to Saskatchewan, the vast majority of them hand-picked for their skills through the province’s immigrant nominee program.
And in one of the largest shifts ever to this country’s immigration policy, skilled workers are bypassing all the usual red tape. They are being courted by the province because of their skills. Ian came over at the request of Stuart Olson Dominion. He and his family are now in the process of acquiring permanent residency and hope to eventually become Canadian citizens.
Between 2000 and 2011, 8,829 newcomers or 19.4 per cent of immigrants to Saskatchewan came from Europe and the United Kingdom. They mainly came from Ukraine, U.K., Germany and Russia. Ireland and Greece don’t even register in the top 10 in terms of countries of origin, but this is not a game of numbers. It’s about a shift in the way the province thinks about immigration.
“It used to be the ones who came here would move after one winter. They would go to Montreal or Vancouver,” says Doug Elliott with the Sask Trends Monitor. “But the whole nature of immigration has now changed.
“Suddenly, all these folks are coming here who are not refugees, who are not families of immigrants. They are now what we call economic immigrants. They are coming here for jobs.”
The Saskatchewan government is working on an aggressive immigration strategy, with a strong focus on places like Ireland. Since the collapse of the Irish boom — dubbed the Celtic Tiger — young, educated but unemployed professionals have become a sought-after commodity.
“In about 2005 to 2007, people here in Saskatchewan were really trying to figure out the magic of the Tiger and they all wanted to go see what they were doing to attract capital and people,” says Joe Garcea, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan. “But of course since then Ireland has collapsed and we are going there not to look at the miracle of it but rather to pick through the pieces and see what we can bring back.”
Konstantinos Makrodimitriou didn’t even know Saskatchewan existed before he moved here from Greece with a work permit. The 28-year-old works as a line cook in a Saskatoon restaurant. He left a country in the throes of eurozone economic collapse. High unemployment and government-imposed austerity measures meant less pay, fewer benefits and higher taxes. More than 20 per cent of the country’s population is unemployed, but the collapse is hitting the youngest the hardest. Over half of Greece’s youth are without work.
“Things are not good in Greece. Jobs are not good anymore. No money, no future if you stay there anymore,” he says in a thick accent.
“Stay there for what? There is no reason. I came here for something better, so we will see.”
According to Greek media reports, in the last six months since the Greek economic debacle peaked, the Rome embassies for Canada and Australia have seen applications for work permits and visas nearly double. Greeks like Makrodimitriou are leaving their native country by the thousands, hoping to get back at least a little of what they lost before the collapse.
Even though they are almost a continent apart, the Irish and Greeks have a lot in common. As in Greece, the unemployment situation in Ireland is hitting the country’s youngest workers the hardest. According to the National Youth Council of Ireland, youth unemployment has tripled since 2008 with one in three young men under 25 being out of work. The organization also estimates that 70 per cent of unemployed youth plan to emigrate.
Canada’s immigration policy has created a double reality for people wanting to move to Canada. On the one hand, there is a massive backlog of applications — some estimates put the number of applications waiting to be processed at more than a million. At the same time, provincial programs like Saskatchewan’s Immigrant Nominee Program allow provincial governments to hand pick immigrants according to their skills. Highly skilled workers with corporate backing can skip ahead, while others are left to wait in line.
From their home in Argos, a small Greek city of 30,000 people on the Aegean Sea, they applied for the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program in February, 2010.
“We saw that we would soon become unemployed, as we did,” says Evangelia. “We had our parents supporting us and living at their home.”
With four children to support — Tasos, now 24, Sofia, 17, Konstantina, 16, and Maria, 10 — they heeded the advice of their cousins who had recently moved to Regina.
“They encouraged us to come here because there was plenty of work here if you want to work; that’s true,” says Evangelia. “You get lots of opportunities, and for the kids it was better. And things have got lots worse (in Greece) since we came here seven months (ago) and lots of people would like to come here if they could.”
The family arrived on July 25 last year, the three adults on work permits and the girls on study permits.
Ilias found jobs at two tile companies, Heaven’s Hands Ceramic Installation and Precise Tile. Evangelia is a cook, server and dishwasher at Houston Pizza, Wintergreene Estates retirement complex and St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church. She has no plans to go back to teaching: “I think I’ve had enough of that, 23 years. Maybe something different sometime but I haven’t figured it out yet.”
It’s not so much about them, anyway.
“For us, it’s that we came here to give our kids a chance to better life,” says Evangelia.
Tasos is working as a night attendant at Wintergreene; he’s hoping to save up enough money to become a pilot. Sofia plans to study nursing at the U of R next year. Konstantina, in Grade 11, is undecided.
The kids were all proficient enough in English — they studied it twice a week back home — but adjusting to a new school five times the size of their old one has been difficult. They miss life back home: “Our everyday life there, our school, our friends, our grandparents,” says Sofia.
It hasn’t been easy for Ilias and Evangelia, either.
“You miss home and you’re all alone all of a sudden — and we’re not kids. I’m 45 and my husband is 47; you don’t really want such big changes in your life at that time,” she says.
Canada, of course, was settled by Europeans. In the 1800s and early 1900s, people from Europe crossed the ocean in droves, many of them fleeing economic hardships back home. Some of them found a better life in the agriculturally rich prairies.
Now, a century later, many Europeans are again leaving their home countries, looking for a better life across the ocean. In Ireland, a recent report by the Economic and Social Research Institute estimates that almost 1,000 people are leaving each week, many of them highly skilled workers. In Greece, thousands are also fleeing a country with a massive unemployment rate in search of work.
When Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall visited Ireland recently in search of skilled workers, Lisa and Ian Corrigan were a few months ahead of him. The couple moved from Ireland to Saskatoon last summer, leaving a ravaged economy behind.
They were working four jobs to support their family. She was an insurance broker and an event planner. He worked as a consultant for a construction firm. In the evenings, they ran a small pub for extra money. There was barely any time for their kids — Katie, six, and Dylan, four.
“Our reason for coming here was the quality of life,” says Lisa, 30, sipping from her cup of tea.
“Back in Ireland, we were working a hundred hours a week. Each.”
“That’s what people back home are doing,” Ian, 36, pipes in. “They are working every hour God is sending them and they are getting it hard.”
The couple has no relatives here. Back home, they lived next to Ian’s parents and worked with Lisa’s parents.
“If you could pick (your family) up and bring them with you, you would. But Skype is a good thing,” says Ian.
“They can see that people who are home now are struggling,” Lisa adds. “They’ve gone from the thing of missing us to saying we are so lucky, so fortunate to be here.”
Faced with an unemployment rate of nearly 15 per cent, people like Lisa and Ian Corrigan decided it was time to leave.
“The construction industry just plummeted,” says Ian, who is now a construction consultant with Stuart Olson Dominion. “It went from a big boom to just nothing.”
Lisa has just started working with O’Reilly Insurance.
In terms of sheer numbers, Saskatchewan still lags behind other provinces when it comes to international immigration. But this province’s skilled labour shortage means Saskatchewan is seeing an influx of skilled workers from abroad like never before.
From 1998 until 2004, more than 14,000 people came to Saskatchewan from abroad. Since then, that has almost tripled. In 2011 alone, an estimated 9,000 foreigners came to Saskatchewan, the vast majority of them hand-picked for their skills through the province’s immigrant nominee program.
And in one of the largest shifts ever to this country’s immigration policy, skilled workers are bypassing all the usual red tape. They are being courted by the province because of their skills. Ian came over at the request of Stuart Olson Dominion. He and his family are now in the process of acquiring permanent residency and hope to eventually become Canadian citizens.
Between 2000 and 2011, 8,829 newcomers or 19.4 per cent of immigrants to Saskatchewan came from Europe and the United Kingdom. They mainly came from Ukraine, U.K., Germany and Russia. Ireland and Greece don’t even register in the top 10 in terms of countries of origin, but this is not a game of numbers. It’s about a shift in the way the province thinks about immigration.
“It used to be the ones who came here would move after one winter. They would go to Montreal or Vancouver,” says Doug Elliott with the Sask Trends Monitor. “But the whole nature of immigration has now changed.
“Suddenly, all these folks are coming here who are not refugees, who are not families of immigrants. They are now what we call economic immigrants. They are coming here for jobs.”
The Saskatchewan government is working on an aggressive immigration strategy, with a strong focus on places like Ireland. Since the collapse of the Irish boom — dubbed the Celtic Tiger — young, educated but unemployed professionals have become a sought-after commodity.
“In about 2005 to 2007, people here in Saskatchewan were really trying to figure out the magic of the Tiger and they all wanted to go see what they were doing to attract capital and people,” says Joe Garcea, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan. “But of course since then Ireland has collapsed and we are going there not to look at the miracle of it but rather to pick through the pieces and see what we can bring back.”
Konstantinos Makrodimitriou didn’t even know Saskatchewan existed before he moved here from Greece with a work permit. The 28-year-old works as a line cook in a Saskatoon restaurant. He left a country in the throes of eurozone economic collapse. High unemployment and government-imposed austerity measures meant less pay, fewer benefits and higher taxes. More than 20 per cent of the country’s population is unemployed, but the collapse is hitting the youngest the hardest. Over half of Greece’s youth are without work.
“Things are not good in Greece. Jobs are not good anymore. No money, no future if you stay there anymore,” he says in a thick accent.
“Stay there for what? There is no reason. I came here for something better, so we will see.”
According to Greek media reports, in the last six months since the Greek economic debacle peaked, the Rome embassies for Canada and Australia have seen applications for work permits and visas nearly double. Greeks like Makrodimitriou are leaving their native country by the thousands, hoping to get back at least a little of what they lost before the collapse.
Even though they are almost a continent apart, the Irish and Greeks have a lot in common. As in Greece, the unemployment situation in Ireland is hitting the country’s youngest workers the hardest. According to the National Youth Council of Ireland, youth unemployment has tripled since 2008 with one in three young men under 25 being out of work. The organization also estimates that 70 per cent of unemployed youth plan to emigrate.
Canada’s immigration policy has created a double reality for people wanting to move to Canada. On the one hand, there is a massive backlog of applications — some estimates put the number of applications waiting to be processed at more than a million. At the same time, provincial programs like Saskatchewan’s Immigrant Nominee Program allow provincial governments to hand pick immigrants according to their skills. Highly skilled workers with corporate backing can skip ahead, while others are left to wait in line.
2012年2月5日星期日
Solvay house built in 1845 has 4,362 square feet
Paul Salvatore bought the 1845 Tudor Revival house at 400 Scarboro Drive in 1997. It was a fixer-upper he's been fixing ever since, he said.
"There is still a little bit of work to be done, but a lot has already been done," he said.
Salvatore and his wife, Michelle Salvatore, are temporarily merging their households in the six-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath home in the Piercefield section of Solvay. Once they sell the 4,362-square-foot home, on the market for $279,900, they plan to build on land they purchased in Pompey.
The Piercefield neighborhood is known for mansions built in the late 1800s on the former Hazard family estate. Frederick Hazard, former president of the Solvay Process Co., contributed land and resources to the village of Solvay, including the lot for the Solvay Public Library.
The home, on a corner lot, has two asphalt driveways that intersect. The lower, straight driveway ends at the attached two-car garage, and the upper, circular driveway allows passengers to be dropped off at the covered main entrance. Behind the house, with its stucco and half-timber exterior, there is an asphalt basketball court and a fenced area, ideal for a play yard or garden.
The covered double front door is a mover's dream with its level approach and combined opening -- 8 feet high and nearly 5 feet wide. The doors have leaded glass insets, as do the sidelights, and open to a spacious foyer with a triple-width coat closet.
Double French doors in the foyer open to the front-to-back living room which has a leaded glass bay window, a wood-burning fireplace, crown molding and an oak parquet floor.
On the other side of the foyer, another set of double French doors open to the formal dining room. The room has hardwood floors beneath wall-to-wall carpet, a chair rail, crown molding and a built-in Arts & Crafts-style china cabinet.
A third pair of French doors divide a small workout room from the foyer. Beyond the workout room, a glass pocket door slides open to a three-season Florida room with jalousie windows, perched above the garage.
Paul gutted and updated the eat-in kitchen with lots of raised-panel maple cabinets; solid surface, bevel-edged counter tops and new appliances, which will stay in the home. The ceramic tile floor has a rectangular border of river rock outlining the large island. There is a powder room adjacent to the kitchen and the dining room.
The first floor also has a TV room, which could be a home office, between the kitchen and the foyer. There is also a large room with a wood-burning fireplace at the back of the house that the Salvatores use as a gaming room.
The main oak staircase has an Arts & Crafts-style chandelier overhead as well as a leaded glass skylight. There is a second staircase in the back of the house.
There are two master suites in separate wings on the second floor. The suite the Salvatores use has hardwood floors, a walk-in closet and an adjoining sitting room. The sitting room has a generous walk-in cedar closet with access to the unfinished attic. The attic has a brick fireplace, exposed brick walls and a vaulted ceiling. Paul calls that part of the attic the "someday room" because he had hoped to someday remodel and annex the space and incorporate it into a stunning master suite.
The master sitting room also has access to an outdoor deck on the roof above the Florida room and to a full bath with a combination tub and shower.
There are two other full bathrooms on the second floor, one with seafoam green glass wall tiles and another with black and white glass tiles.
The second-floor bedrooms include a petite nursery, decorated and ready to accommodate a child or grandchild.
All windows have been replaced and the home has a security system. Paul replaced the steam heat boiler, powered by natural gas, a month ago. The home is on public water and sewers.
"There is still a little bit of work to be done, but a lot has already been done," he said.
Salvatore and his wife, Michelle Salvatore, are temporarily merging their households in the six-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath home in the Piercefield section of Solvay. Once they sell the 4,362-square-foot home, on the market for $279,900, they plan to build on land they purchased in Pompey.
The Piercefield neighborhood is known for mansions built in the late 1800s on the former Hazard family estate. Frederick Hazard, former president of the Solvay Process Co., contributed land and resources to the village of Solvay, including the lot for the Solvay Public Library.
The home, on a corner lot, has two asphalt driveways that intersect. The lower, straight driveway ends at the attached two-car garage, and the upper, circular driveway allows passengers to be dropped off at the covered main entrance. Behind the house, with its stucco and half-timber exterior, there is an asphalt basketball court and a fenced area, ideal for a play yard or garden.
The covered double front door is a mover's dream with its level approach and combined opening -- 8 feet high and nearly 5 feet wide. The doors have leaded glass insets, as do the sidelights, and open to a spacious foyer with a triple-width coat closet.
Double French doors in the foyer open to the front-to-back living room which has a leaded glass bay window, a wood-burning fireplace, crown molding and an oak parquet floor.
On the other side of the foyer, another set of double French doors open to the formal dining room. The room has hardwood floors beneath wall-to-wall carpet, a chair rail, crown molding and a built-in Arts & Crafts-style china cabinet.
A third pair of French doors divide a small workout room from the foyer. Beyond the workout room, a glass pocket door slides open to a three-season Florida room with jalousie windows, perched above the garage.
Paul gutted and updated the eat-in kitchen with lots of raised-panel maple cabinets; solid surface, bevel-edged counter tops and new appliances, which will stay in the home. The ceramic tile floor has a rectangular border of river rock outlining the large island. There is a powder room adjacent to the kitchen and the dining room.
The first floor also has a TV room, which could be a home office, between the kitchen and the foyer. There is also a large room with a wood-burning fireplace at the back of the house that the Salvatores use as a gaming room.
The main oak staircase has an Arts & Crafts-style chandelier overhead as well as a leaded glass skylight. There is a second staircase in the back of the house.
There are two master suites in separate wings on the second floor. The suite the Salvatores use has hardwood floors, a walk-in closet and an adjoining sitting room. The sitting room has a generous walk-in cedar closet with access to the unfinished attic. The attic has a brick fireplace, exposed brick walls and a vaulted ceiling. Paul calls that part of the attic the "someday room" because he had hoped to someday remodel and annex the space and incorporate it into a stunning master suite.
The master sitting room also has access to an outdoor deck on the roof above the Florida room and to a full bath with a combination tub and shower.
There are two other full bathrooms on the second floor, one with seafoam green glass wall tiles and another with black and white glass tiles.
The second-floor bedrooms include a petite nursery, decorated and ready to accommodate a child or grandchild.
All windows have been replaced and the home has a security system. Paul replaced the steam heat boiler, powered by natural gas, a month ago. The home is on public water and sewers.
2012年1月15日星期日
Christchurch legacy at risk as city crumbles
As Christchurch continues to be shaken, heritage experts face some tough decisions.
Early December 2011. Ken Franklin has just made a decision. No more propping or temporary fixes to the Christchurch Arts Centre.
Given the cluster of historical buildings' precarious state, it's either a terrible gamble or a brave vote of confidence in the future. Possibly both. Unlike many landmark heritage buildings, the Arts Centre has survived Canterbury's devastating earthquake swarm and is still standing. Just.
When we speak again, it's a few days after Christmas.
"There is an awful sense of dread. They just come out of nowhere. You never know when it's going to happen next," says Franklin, the Arts Centre director, of the latest quakes that hit on December 23. "We had quite a bit more stone lost from upper levels, especially gables on Worcester Boulevard, but nothing major. We seem to have hung in there. The buildings are still standing. They have shown remarkable resilience to date."
Famous people were here - Ernest, Lord Rutherford, Sir Apirana Ngata and Dame Ngaio Marsh among them. History seeps from these stones, but then you see the present - crack lines, split archways, wrenched piers, walls rent asunder.To walk through this complex of gothic stone masonry buildings dating back to 1877, as I did in early December, is to tread the halls, cloisters and quadrangles of what was Canterbury University College and two former secondary schools.
"If we do get a shake, stick with me," says Franklin. "Running outside isn't always the right thing to do here." The destructive impact of huge stones crashed down from gable tops indicates what he's talking about. When the circular Observatory tower collapsed in February two contractors were working inside. They followed the safety advice given and moved to the street side of the building. Their car beside the tower was crushed.
The buildings are a patchwork of "make safe" mechanisms: posts under archways, crucially installed in September 2010 and preventing further damage; extensive steel propping against the Clock Tower; a 20-tonne turret on the footpath beside the Great Hall which was fortuitously removed a week before Christmas 2010; the last of the stained glass window finally extricated intact in December last year; shutters over deconstructed gable walls; and threaded tensioned wires running along the Great Hall ceiling pulling its gable ends taut.
"We are feeling quite vulnerable with this building at the moment," says Franklin calmly. "You can see the state of it. It looks reasonable externally but once you get in here you see that it is pretty fragile so the quicker we can get on to that permanent fix the better." The December quakes have hardened his resolve to move forward faster than ever.
This is the harsh reality of heritage recovery in central Christchurch. With so many heritage buildings already gone - in December, before the latest quakes, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority's (CERA) demolition list designates 124 "demolish", 22 "make safe", and 31 "partial demolish" - those still there are an increasingly rare commodity. Retaining the few remaining in the face of what seems like a scorched earth policy is a thankless, expensive task.
Hence the decision that enough is enough with the propping and that recovery can begin. "We estimate it will cost $240 million to strengthen and repair the site in total," says Franklin. "We're negotiating with two insurance companies - one has pulled out of New Zealand so we're now talking to their head office in the UK. There are a large number of reinsurers lining up behind them so it's a complex situation."
What's remarkable is that Franklin and the Arts Centre Trust Board - the body charged with preserving and protecting this iconic precinct - have somehow wangled the first $35 million of insurance money. That's enough for repairs and strengthening on the Clock Tower, including Rutherford's Den, and College Hall - a project estimated to take 30 months. Comprehensive insurance cover for the Centre was raised from $95 million to $116 million in January.
In December the Centre received an unexpected boost from the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust - a $14m donation comprising $5 million from American philanthropist Julian Robertson, matched by $5m from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and $4 million given by Fletcher Building. The extra money means Franklin is already planning stage two of the repairs - estimated at $30 million - for the former Christchurch Boys' High School buildings.
"This series of earthquakes is the worst thing that has ever happened to this place, but in a weird way it's also one of the best things," says Franklin with supreme optimism. "If we can get significant capital and inject that into repairing and helping to preserve these buildings in perpetuity, what a fantastic outcome that would be."
But it will be years before the public will once again enjoy the complex of bars, cafes, restaurants, galleries, studios, theatres, festival and event venues that the Arts Centre was. Heritage repair is a painstakingly slow business. For the Great Hall alone, all the slate roof tiles will be removed and a new plywood diaphragm applied, a concrete ring beam poured at the top of the walls, and the entire structure tied down with post tensioned steel rods.
In the Clock Tower some of the work is even more laborious, with new shear cores created inside the bluestone walls - a process whereby the internal masonry layers of brick or rubble are carefully demolished, replaced with reinforced concrete and then resurfaced with a brick facade on the inside. Elsewhere fibre reinforced polymer wraps - applied to the walls with resin and giving the equivalent strength of 100mm of reinforced concrete- will be used.
Early December 2011. Ken Franklin has just made a decision. No more propping or temporary fixes to the Christchurch Arts Centre.
Given the cluster of historical buildings' precarious state, it's either a terrible gamble or a brave vote of confidence in the future. Possibly both. Unlike many landmark heritage buildings, the Arts Centre has survived Canterbury's devastating earthquake swarm and is still standing. Just.
When we speak again, it's a few days after Christmas.
"There is an awful sense of dread. They just come out of nowhere. You never know when it's going to happen next," says Franklin, the Arts Centre director, of the latest quakes that hit on December 23. "We had quite a bit more stone lost from upper levels, especially gables on Worcester Boulevard, but nothing major. We seem to have hung in there. The buildings are still standing. They have shown remarkable resilience to date."
Famous people were here - Ernest, Lord Rutherford, Sir Apirana Ngata and Dame Ngaio Marsh among them. History seeps from these stones, but then you see the present - crack lines, split archways, wrenched piers, walls rent asunder.To walk through this complex of gothic stone masonry buildings dating back to 1877, as I did in early December, is to tread the halls, cloisters and quadrangles of what was Canterbury University College and two former secondary schools.
"If we do get a shake, stick with me," says Franklin. "Running outside isn't always the right thing to do here." The destructive impact of huge stones crashed down from gable tops indicates what he's talking about. When the circular Observatory tower collapsed in February two contractors were working inside. They followed the safety advice given and moved to the street side of the building. Their car beside the tower was crushed.
The buildings are a patchwork of "make safe" mechanisms: posts under archways, crucially installed in September 2010 and preventing further damage; extensive steel propping against the Clock Tower; a 20-tonne turret on the footpath beside the Great Hall which was fortuitously removed a week before Christmas 2010; the last of the stained glass window finally extricated intact in December last year; shutters over deconstructed gable walls; and threaded tensioned wires running along the Great Hall ceiling pulling its gable ends taut.
"We are feeling quite vulnerable with this building at the moment," says Franklin calmly. "You can see the state of it. It looks reasonable externally but once you get in here you see that it is pretty fragile so the quicker we can get on to that permanent fix the better." The December quakes have hardened his resolve to move forward faster than ever.
This is the harsh reality of heritage recovery in central Christchurch. With so many heritage buildings already gone - in December, before the latest quakes, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority's (CERA) demolition list designates 124 "demolish", 22 "make safe", and 31 "partial demolish" - those still there are an increasingly rare commodity. Retaining the few remaining in the face of what seems like a scorched earth policy is a thankless, expensive task.
Hence the decision that enough is enough with the propping and that recovery can begin. "We estimate it will cost $240 million to strengthen and repair the site in total," says Franklin. "We're negotiating with two insurance companies - one has pulled out of New Zealand so we're now talking to their head office in the UK. There are a large number of reinsurers lining up behind them so it's a complex situation."
What's remarkable is that Franklin and the Arts Centre Trust Board - the body charged with preserving and protecting this iconic precinct - have somehow wangled the first $35 million of insurance money. That's enough for repairs and strengthening on the Clock Tower, including Rutherford's Den, and College Hall - a project estimated to take 30 months. Comprehensive insurance cover for the Centre was raised from $95 million to $116 million in January.
In December the Centre received an unexpected boost from the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust - a $14m donation comprising $5 million from American philanthropist Julian Robertson, matched by $5m from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and $4 million given by Fletcher Building. The extra money means Franklin is already planning stage two of the repairs - estimated at $30 million - for the former Christchurch Boys' High School buildings.
"This series of earthquakes is the worst thing that has ever happened to this place, but in a weird way it's also one of the best things," says Franklin with supreme optimism. "If we can get significant capital and inject that into repairing and helping to preserve these buildings in perpetuity, what a fantastic outcome that would be."
But it will be years before the public will once again enjoy the complex of bars, cafes, restaurants, galleries, studios, theatres, festival and event venues that the Arts Centre was. Heritage repair is a painstakingly slow business. For the Great Hall alone, all the slate roof tiles will be removed and a new plywood diaphragm applied, a concrete ring beam poured at the top of the walls, and the entire structure tied down with post tensioned steel rods.
In the Clock Tower some of the work is even more laborious, with new shear cores created inside the bluestone walls - a process whereby the internal masonry layers of brick or rubble are carefully demolished, replaced with reinforced concrete and then resurfaced with a brick facade on the inside. Elsewhere fibre reinforced polymer wraps - applied to the walls with resin and giving the equivalent strength of 100mm of reinforced concrete- will be used.
2012年1月10日星期二
Teen Discovers Ancient Version of 'Words with Friends' While Cleaning Out Grandmother's Closet
While cleaning out his recently deceased grandmother's closet for an estate sale, 19-year-old Skip Hespin of Bennington Vale stumbled upon a relic that sociologists from San Narciso College are calling an ancient predecessor to the immensely popular Words with Friends game. "I could hardly believe my eyes when I found it," Hespin said. "For the most part, it looks exactly like Words with Friends. But I have no idea how older generations worked this thing." No box or instructions could be found with the dilapidated set, but all the pieces were intact, having been stored in plastic bags. The game board, a 15 by 15 grid, displayed markings incredibly similar to those depicted in Words with Friends.
"There were squares for double word scores, triple letter scores, everything," Hespin added. "And there were all these little wooden tiles with letters. It's almost identical."
Still, Hespin and the research team investigating the find have been unable to operate the system.
Hespin said: "We tried everything to replicate the online game. I unfolded the board and then laid some random tiles out in the same order as they would appear on Words with Friends. But when I touch the tile I want to play, and then press the corresponding square I want to place it in, nothing happens. The tile just sits there. I have no idea what to do."
Worse, sociologists discovered, the game in its present state cannot be integrated with social networks or even the Internet. Babs Crel, the lead researcher on the project, explained: "Our initial elation has turned to frustration. We can’t be sure we have all the equipment required. At this point, we feel some critical component -- something that allows the set to be uploaded to a website, perhaps -- may be missing. But then, there's no operating system we can discern, not even a rudimentary one. We've also failed to find a way to provide online players access to the application. Without a duplicate set and a group video conferencing system, which seems inefficient, linking friends into the game has become impossible."
Skip Hespin lamented that he came across the antique after his grandmother's death. "I bet she could have taught us how to use it and solved this mystery," he said.
The sociologists have asked Hespin to consider donating the artifact to a local museum for further study and an upcoming exhibit on primitive twentieth-century culture. For now, though, Hespin says he will hold onto the game for posterity and its sentimental value. "I'll keep tinkering with it, but it's more important to me as a family heirloom than a way to kill time in class."
"There were squares for double word scores, triple letter scores, everything," Hespin added. "And there were all these little wooden tiles with letters. It's almost identical."
Still, Hespin and the research team investigating the find have been unable to operate the system.
Hespin said: "We tried everything to replicate the online game. I unfolded the board and then laid some random tiles out in the same order as they would appear on Words with Friends. But when I touch the tile I want to play, and then press the corresponding square I want to place it in, nothing happens. The tile just sits there. I have no idea what to do."
Worse, sociologists discovered, the game in its present state cannot be integrated with social networks or even the Internet. Babs Crel, the lead researcher on the project, explained: "Our initial elation has turned to frustration. We can’t be sure we have all the equipment required. At this point, we feel some critical component -- something that allows the set to be uploaded to a website, perhaps -- may be missing. But then, there's no operating system we can discern, not even a rudimentary one. We've also failed to find a way to provide online players access to the application. Without a duplicate set and a group video conferencing system, which seems inefficient, linking friends into the game has become impossible."
Skip Hespin lamented that he came across the antique after his grandmother's death. "I bet she could have taught us how to use it and solved this mystery," he said.
The sociologists have asked Hespin to consider donating the artifact to a local museum for further study and an upcoming exhibit on primitive twentieth-century culture. For now, though, Hespin says he will hold onto the game for posterity and its sentimental value. "I'll keep tinkering with it, but it's more important to me as a family heirloom than a way to kill time in class."
2011年12月19日星期一
4 Elements HD
For those not satisfied with downloading and playing clever and colourful little games on their phones, now you can download and play them on your console at home. Or, at least you can play 4 Elements. The new block breaking puzzler available on the PlayStation Network.
4 Elements, from developer Boolat Games, is sixty-four levels of high-def brain bending puzzles with a fairy guide, set to a soundtrack of twee fairytale music. And although there is fun, you can’t escape the feeling that you'd get the same fun from a dozen other games on your phone.
Still, like all good puzzle games, 4 Elements HD starts out simple but quickly turns into hours of random controller abuse - or Move controller abuse, if you’re that way inclined. Add to this plenty of muttered profanities, cries of ‘that’s not fair’ and ‘it’s impossible, stupid game’, and you have all the joyous frustrations that are essential to the genre.
The way it works is there are four elements. If you’re an Avatar fan (Aang, not the big blue alternative) you know they are earth, fire, air, and water. You, with the help of your little fairy guide, have to save your kingdom by restoring the power of the 4 elements. And you get to build a picture of a castle as a reward.
At the beginning of each level you get a screen full of little tiles. Your task is to break open a path through the tiles allowing one of the four elements to reach its destination. So you might be getting water to a tree or fire to an alter - you get the idea.
Each of the tiles has a symbol and colour representing one of the elements. What you have to do is find three or more of the same tile in a line. If you click on one, drag the pointer across the others and release, the tiles are destroyed and the water can get that much closer to the tree. Simple enough.
But, like the best games the challenge ramps up quickly, especially when there is no obvious path to follow. What you can do, when you get blocked, is find a line of more then three tiles. Do this and the last in line will explode, taking out all the tiles around it. Even better, the longer the line the bigger the explosion.
As you progress you also get power-ups corresponding to the four elemental colours. Break enough yellow tiles and you can swap two tiles. While other power-ups let you break a tile that you can’t get to, blow up a small area of tiles or rearrange the whole screen.
Add to the mix rocks and ice that block the way, arrows that can clear a path across the whole screen, and enormous levels that you can only see small sections at one time. This can mean that the action gets frantic, as you have to quickly break tiles as you scroll across vast levels. All in all it’s a game that’s enjoyable, clever, and at times surprisingly complex.
But, it’s still a phone app for your console. The story is pointless and the rewards, like adding a fence or sky to the picture of your castle, are a joke. At least I think it’s a joke, because if it’s not - remember there is a fairy guide as well - it makes 4 Elements a game just for seven-year-old girls.
Still, if you like a little Bejeweled, or something like it for your PS3, then 4 Elements is for you. You can blow up blocks, check your scores on the online leader boards and stomp your controller into expensive little pieces of plastic as you time runs out and the sheer mind-melting complexity of the whole thing finally gets the better of you. But, isn’t that the whole point of a good puzzler?
4 Elements, from developer Boolat Games, is sixty-four levels of high-def brain bending puzzles with a fairy guide, set to a soundtrack of twee fairytale music. And although there is fun, you can’t escape the feeling that you'd get the same fun from a dozen other games on your phone.
Still, like all good puzzle games, 4 Elements HD starts out simple but quickly turns into hours of random controller abuse - or Move controller abuse, if you’re that way inclined. Add to this plenty of muttered profanities, cries of ‘that’s not fair’ and ‘it’s impossible, stupid game’, and you have all the joyous frustrations that are essential to the genre.
The way it works is there are four elements. If you’re an Avatar fan (Aang, not the big blue alternative) you know they are earth, fire, air, and water. You, with the help of your little fairy guide, have to save your kingdom by restoring the power of the 4 elements. And you get to build a picture of a castle as a reward.
At the beginning of each level you get a screen full of little tiles. Your task is to break open a path through the tiles allowing one of the four elements to reach its destination. So you might be getting water to a tree or fire to an alter - you get the idea.
Each of the tiles has a symbol and colour representing one of the elements. What you have to do is find three or more of the same tile in a line. If you click on one, drag the pointer across the others and release, the tiles are destroyed and the water can get that much closer to the tree. Simple enough.
But, like the best games the challenge ramps up quickly, especially when there is no obvious path to follow. What you can do, when you get blocked, is find a line of more then three tiles. Do this and the last in line will explode, taking out all the tiles around it. Even better, the longer the line the bigger the explosion.
As you progress you also get power-ups corresponding to the four elemental colours. Break enough yellow tiles and you can swap two tiles. While other power-ups let you break a tile that you can’t get to, blow up a small area of tiles or rearrange the whole screen.
Add to the mix rocks and ice that block the way, arrows that can clear a path across the whole screen, and enormous levels that you can only see small sections at one time. This can mean that the action gets frantic, as you have to quickly break tiles as you scroll across vast levels. All in all it’s a game that’s enjoyable, clever, and at times surprisingly complex.
But, it’s still a phone app for your console. The story is pointless and the rewards, like adding a fence or sky to the picture of your castle, are a joke. At least I think it’s a joke, because if it’s not - remember there is a fairy guide as well - it makes 4 Elements a game just for seven-year-old girls.
Still, if you like a little Bejeweled, or something like it for your PS3, then 4 Elements is for you. You can blow up blocks, check your scores on the online leader boards and stomp your controller into expensive little pieces of plastic as you time runs out and the sheer mind-melting complexity of the whole thing finally gets the better of you. But, isn’t that the whole point of a good puzzler?
2011年12月8日星期四
Updated Arlington Cape Cod
While many Washington-area residents think of Clarendon as the Arlington neighborhood where young professionals live in condos and enjoy plenty of local nightlife and restaurants, this part of Northern Virginia is also full of charming single-family homes that appeal to young families.
Lyon Park, located six blocks from the Clarendon Metro and numerous shops, restaurants and clubs, offers a central location for families to gather while the children enjoy the playground equipment. Each Halloween, residents gather at the park for a neighborhood Halloween parade. A community center at the park is used frequently for community meetings and private gatherings.
Across the street from Lyon Park, on a prime corner lot at 3003 Fourth St. N, an expanded Cape Cod-style home is on the market for $875,000. Built in 1922, this home has been updated with a new kitchen, a new roof, a new water heater and a new electrical panel.
The pale yellow siding of this home is complemented by dark green shutters and a flagstone front walk. Mature trees surround the property, which has been beautifully landscaped on all sides. In the back of the house is a fully fenced, landscaped backyard with a storage shed. A private drive next to the house adds space for off-street parking.
The front door opens into a living room with hardwood flooring and a gas fireplace with an adjacent built-in bookcase. The living room has a double window facing the front yard.
Nearby is a formal dining room with a brushed-nickel chandelier and a window framing a view of the backyard. The dining room has been painted bright red to add a splash of color to the main level.
Just beyond the living room and dining room are two first-floor bedrooms. One bedroom faces the front yard and includes a closet. The second bedroom faces the backyard and has two closets. These two bedrooms are linked by a connecting full bath with a pedestal sink, a tile floor and a combination tub and shower.
Every room on the main and upper levels has its original solid-wood paneled door with the original glass doorknobs.
The updated kitchen, renovated recently with granite counters and stainless steel appliances, has gas cooking. The kitchen includes a distinctive pressed-tin backsplash in a nod to the 1920s, a window over the sink and ceramic tile flooring.
The cabinets have been designed to maximize every inch of space, with narrow cabinets for baking sheets, a special cabinet for wine storage, a pantry and triangular corner cabinets. The wood cabinets have beadboard on the bottom doors and plain fronts on the top.
Both the kitchen and the living room have entrances to the sunroom, a former porch with a beadboard ceiling that has been enclosed.
The sunroom has a picture window facing Lyon Park that nearly fills one wall, plus a window facing the front yard and a sliding glass door that opens onto the wood deck. The sunroom can be used as a family room, a home office, a casual dining area or a playroom. The deck includes a gate with a few steps to the backyard.
Hardwood stairs lead to the upper level, which has hardwood flooring throughout. At the top of the stairs is a charming landing with a dormer window, under-eaves storage and a second window. This space easily could be used as a reading or computer nook.
The master bedroom features a sloping ceiling with three skylights, a wall of mirrored closets and undereaves storage. At one end of the bedroom is a nook with two windows overlooking the backyard, perfect for a cozy sitting area.
Lyon Park, located six blocks from the Clarendon Metro and numerous shops, restaurants and clubs, offers a central location for families to gather while the children enjoy the playground equipment. Each Halloween, residents gather at the park for a neighborhood Halloween parade. A community center at the park is used frequently for community meetings and private gatherings.
Across the street from Lyon Park, on a prime corner lot at 3003 Fourth St. N, an expanded Cape Cod-style home is on the market for $875,000. Built in 1922, this home has been updated with a new kitchen, a new roof, a new water heater and a new electrical panel.
The pale yellow siding of this home is complemented by dark green shutters and a flagstone front walk. Mature trees surround the property, which has been beautifully landscaped on all sides. In the back of the house is a fully fenced, landscaped backyard with a storage shed. A private drive next to the house adds space for off-street parking.
The front door opens into a living room with hardwood flooring and a gas fireplace with an adjacent built-in bookcase. The living room has a double window facing the front yard.
Nearby is a formal dining room with a brushed-nickel chandelier and a window framing a view of the backyard. The dining room has been painted bright red to add a splash of color to the main level.
Just beyond the living room and dining room are two first-floor bedrooms. One bedroom faces the front yard and includes a closet. The second bedroom faces the backyard and has two closets. These two bedrooms are linked by a connecting full bath with a pedestal sink, a tile floor and a combination tub and shower.
Every room on the main and upper levels has its original solid-wood paneled door with the original glass doorknobs.
The updated kitchen, renovated recently with granite counters and stainless steel appliances, has gas cooking. The kitchen includes a distinctive pressed-tin backsplash in a nod to the 1920s, a window over the sink and ceramic tile flooring.
The cabinets have been designed to maximize every inch of space, with narrow cabinets for baking sheets, a special cabinet for wine storage, a pantry and triangular corner cabinets. The wood cabinets have beadboard on the bottom doors and plain fronts on the top.
Both the kitchen and the living room have entrances to the sunroom, a former porch with a beadboard ceiling that has been enclosed.
The sunroom has a picture window facing Lyon Park that nearly fills one wall, plus a window facing the front yard and a sliding glass door that opens onto the wood deck. The sunroom can be used as a family room, a home office, a casual dining area or a playroom. The deck includes a gate with a few steps to the backyard.
Hardwood stairs lead to the upper level, which has hardwood flooring throughout. At the top of the stairs is a charming landing with a dormer window, under-eaves storage and a second window. This space easily could be used as a reading or computer nook.
The master bedroom features a sloping ceiling with three skylights, a wall of mirrored closets and undereaves storage. At one end of the bedroom is a nook with two windows overlooking the backyard, perfect for a cozy sitting area.
2011年12月4日星期日
New owners of Tile Outlet celebrate 2nd year of business
Anna and Stelian Creta recently celebrated two years since buying Tile Outlet in the Whispering Pines business area of Grass Valley.
Since then, the Romanian immigrants and Penn Valley residents have noticed a change in their customer base that's tied directly to the continuing poor economy: More and more, homeowners are doing tile work themselves, Anna Creta said.
“Most of the people try to find friends to do the work, or if it's a small thing, do it themselves,” Anna Creta said. By cutting out the contractor, “it's a little more affordable.”
Tile Outlet still offers tile-laying services to those who want it — Stelian Creta does much of that work himself. And the Cretas still service what, during the housing boom, was the major portion the business, which is contractors.
Ceramic tile, Italian-style decorative work, granite countertops, porcelain sink-and-counter combinations, slate and travertine floor tiles, and wood and wood-laminate flooring line their small showroom and larger warehouse behind the store.
Whatever they don't carry, they can order, Anna Creta said.
They also carry supplies and some tools, and offer discounts to contractors and those buying in large quantities.
The Cretas enjoy the area's small-town atmosphere, Anna Creta said.
Anna Creta grew up in a small town in Transylvania, a province of northern Romania. She and her husband started a new life in Sacramento 11 years ago, bringing with them a 10-month-old son.
The size of California's capital “was pretty overwhelming,” she said.
A second boy was born, and the family moved to Nevada County six years ago. Anna got involved in her two sons' schools in Penn Valley. At first, her sons' friends were puzzled by her accent, she said.
“Then I told them I had been in Dracula's castle, and they thought that was cool,” Anna Creta said with a smile.
Meanwhile, Stelian worked on tile-setting jobs for then corporate-owned Tile Outlet.
“That's how we were able to buy the business,” she said.
Two years ago, the corporation sold all its franchises — and the Cretas jumped at the chance to run their own shop. They celebrated their anniversary on Nov. 1, Anna Creta said.
Since then, the Romanian immigrants and Penn Valley residents have noticed a change in their customer base that's tied directly to the continuing poor economy: More and more, homeowners are doing tile work themselves, Anna Creta said.
“Most of the people try to find friends to do the work, or if it's a small thing, do it themselves,” Anna Creta said. By cutting out the contractor, “it's a little more affordable.”
Tile Outlet still offers tile-laying services to those who want it — Stelian Creta does much of that work himself. And the Cretas still service what, during the housing boom, was the major portion the business, which is contractors.
Ceramic tile, Italian-style decorative work, granite countertops, porcelain sink-and-counter combinations, slate and travertine floor tiles, and wood and wood-laminate flooring line their small showroom and larger warehouse behind the store.
Whatever they don't carry, they can order, Anna Creta said.
They also carry supplies and some tools, and offer discounts to contractors and those buying in large quantities.
The Cretas enjoy the area's small-town atmosphere, Anna Creta said.
Anna Creta grew up in a small town in Transylvania, a province of northern Romania. She and her husband started a new life in Sacramento 11 years ago, bringing with them a 10-month-old son.
The size of California's capital “was pretty overwhelming,” she said.
A second boy was born, and the family moved to Nevada County six years ago. Anna got involved in her two sons' schools in Penn Valley. At first, her sons' friends were puzzled by her accent, she said.
“Then I told them I had been in Dracula's castle, and they thought that was cool,” Anna Creta said with a smile.
Meanwhile, Stelian worked on tile-setting jobs for then corporate-owned Tile Outlet.
“That's how we were able to buy the business,” she said.
Two years ago, the corporation sold all its franchises — and the Cretas jumped at the chance to run their own shop. They celebrated their anniversary on Nov. 1, Anna Creta said.
2011年10月30日星期日
Buildings relevelled with Uretek’s expanding structural resin injections
Uretek used their patented resin injection system to successfully re-level office buildings in Sydney to bring them back to their original position.
Four of these office stairwell towers at Huntingwood in Sydney had rotated outwards from the main building, moving by as much as 60mm at the top.
Uretek’s injections of expanding structural resins underneath the furthest-out base sections brought the towers back into correct position in just two days.
Relevelling buildings using conventional techniques can be difficult, messy and time-consuming. Uretek’s expanding resin injection method on the other hand, is a quick process, does not involve excavation or mess and does not require the building’s occupants to temporarily move out.
Uretek carries out building relevelling work from outside the building. The resin injection is done through small, 16mm diameter holes or 12mm tubes. Even smaller 6mm tubes can be used in slab-lifting, so that the penetrations are not visible in inside environments, especially with carpet, parquetry or ceramic tile floors.
Uretek’s expanding resins raise building footings and floors back to their correct levels with the results being seen in reduced wall cracks as well as functional windows and doors.
Uretek’s expanding resin technology is ideal for relevelling offices, homes, factories and warehouses among others.
Four of these office stairwell towers at Huntingwood in Sydney had rotated outwards from the main building, moving by as much as 60mm at the top.
Uretek’s injections of expanding structural resins underneath the furthest-out base sections brought the towers back into correct position in just two days.
Relevelling buildings using conventional techniques can be difficult, messy and time-consuming. Uretek’s expanding resin injection method on the other hand, is a quick process, does not involve excavation or mess and does not require the building’s occupants to temporarily move out.
Uretek carries out building relevelling work from outside the building. The resin injection is done through small, 16mm diameter holes or 12mm tubes. Even smaller 6mm tubes can be used in slab-lifting, so that the penetrations are not visible in inside environments, especially with carpet, parquetry or ceramic tile floors.
Uretek’s expanding resins raise building footings and floors back to their correct levels with the results being seen in reduced wall cracks as well as functional windows and doors.
Uretek’s expanding resin technology is ideal for relevelling offices, homes, factories and warehouses among others.
2011年9月28日星期三
Floored by tile turmoil
“We have had an ongoing battle over one thing or another with our flooring company since July,” Sally and Rob Roy recently told Action Line. “When our salesman came to our home in Binbrook to measure our foyer, he estimated the job at 196 square feet and said we’d require 18 boxes of ceramic tile. I thought this was too much tile, but didn’t challenge him because he said he would take back any unopened cartons.”
The homeowners were quoted a price and placed a deposit on their credit card.
They were told an installer would be in touch.
On Aug. 4, the installer provided a possible start date of Aug. 12. But the day before, the Roys say he called again to say he’d sprained his ankle and was not available.
The following week, they called their retailer, but say they still couldn’t get any definitive answers.
“At that point, we said we would buy the tile from the store and find our own installer. They gave us a $1/square foot discount for our troubles and I picked up the tile on Aug. 30.”
The couple’s installer finished the job by Sept. 12, but there were two boxes of tile left over.
“I took the boxes back to the store expecting the salesmen to refund $176.30,” Roy told us. “He said they wouldn’t take them back, showing me the sales slip I signed when I picked up the tile on Aug. 30. It states: ‘All sales final.’”
Roy left the tiles at the store.
“This has been bizarre to say the least,” he said. “What are we supposed to do? What options do we have?”
Well, you can always write Action Line.
We contacted Alexanian Carpet and Flooring and the manager of their Upper James store immediately apologized, offered to refund the $176.30 and return the two boxes of tile to them.
“I was not aware of this situation until I received your email,” Garo Magakian told Action Line.
“I would never have allowed this complaint to go on this long. I just spoke to Mrs. Roy and apologized on behalf of Alexanian’s. I decided to refund the cost of the two boxes, but also suggested she keep them in case she ever needs to repair a section of her new floor. I have been a very proud member of the Alexanian team for 28 years. At this time I thank Mr. Roy and yourself for making myself aware of this situation.”
All the firm’s installers are subcontractors.
The Roys originally agreed to pay Alexanian’s $3,378.16 for the tiles and installation.
“We placed a $1,778.16 deposit,” Roy said. “The final payment of $1,600 was to be due when the job was completed, but was never paid. They did give us a discount of $191.44 when I cancelled the installation. We paid our own installer about $1,900.”
Deduct the $176.30 and it’s pretty much a wash.
Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act governs “future performance” contracts such as these. When ordering goods and services, it’s often best if you have a delivery or installation date inserted in your contract. If you don’t receive the goods and services within 30 days of that date, you can ask that the deal be cancelled and your money refunded.
The homeowners were quoted a price and placed a deposit on their credit card.
They were told an installer would be in touch.
On Aug. 4, the installer provided a possible start date of Aug. 12. But the day before, the Roys say he called again to say he’d sprained his ankle and was not available.
The following week, they called their retailer, but say they still couldn’t get any definitive answers.
“At that point, we said we would buy the tile from the store and find our own installer. They gave us a $1/square foot discount for our troubles and I picked up the tile on Aug. 30.”
The couple’s installer finished the job by Sept. 12, but there were two boxes of tile left over.
“I took the boxes back to the store expecting the salesmen to refund $176.30,” Roy told us. “He said they wouldn’t take them back, showing me the sales slip I signed when I picked up the tile on Aug. 30. It states: ‘All sales final.’”
Roy left the tiles at the store.
“This has been bizarre to say the least,” he said. “What are we supposed to do? What options do we have?”
Well, you can always write Action Line.
We contacted Alexanian Carpet and Flooring and the manager of their Upper James store immediately apologized, offered to refund the $176.30 and return the two boxes of tile to them.
“I was not aware of this situation until I received your email,” Garo Magakian told Action Line.
“I would never have allowed this complaint to go on this long. I just spoke to Mrs. Roy and apologized on behalf of Alexanian’s. I decided to refund the cost of the two boxes, but also suggested she keep them in case she ever needs to repair a section of her new floor. I have been a very proud member of the Alexanian team for 28 years. At this time I thank Mr. Roy and yourself for making myself aware of this situation.”
All the firm’s installers are subcontractors.
The Roys originally agreed to pay Alexanian’s $3,378.16 for the tiles and installation.
“We placed a $1,778.16 deposit,” Roy said. “The final payment of $1,600 was to be due when the job was completed, but was never paid. They did give us a discount of $191.44 when I cancelled the installation. We paid our own installer about $1,900.”
Deduct the $176.30 and it’s pretty much a wash.
Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act governs “future performance” contracts such as these. When ordering goods and services, it’s often best if you have a delivery or installation date inserted in your contract. If you don’t receive the goods and services within 30 days of that date, you can ask that the deal be cancelled and your money refunded.
2011年9月19日星期一
Memorable buildings find new purpose at ISU
When Terre Haute's federal building reopens next fall, the long-remembered post office corridor will resemble the image remembered from when the building first opened.
Only the people who will soon stroll past the building's historic post office boxes won't be searching for mail; they'll be heading for class.
The building that housed a downtown U.S. Post Office and federal court will maintain trademarks of its past as it hosts new classrooms and spaces for the Scott College of Business at Indiana State University. The federal building, along with the former Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library, have found new life at ISU as renovations will resurrect some of the most well-known characteristics of the buildings.
"It's important to try to preserve and save these historic buildings," said Bryan Duncan, director of capital planning and improvements at ISU. "It's got to be the ones that are right for preserving. We obviously can't preserve every building, but these two in particular are historically significant and ripe for the ability to preserve them."
The federal building project is projected to cost about $20.5 million, including federal, state and private funding, and spanned three phases of restoration and construction. The demolition needed in the project is almost complete, Duncan said. Construction crews are working on the building from the top floor down to the lower level. Drywall is being installed in some areas on the top two floors, while items such as wiring, electrical outlets and vents are being installed on the lower floors, Duncan said.
The renovations will juxtapose the federal building's 21st century-style construction and technology with early 20th century art deco traditional architecture. University students may be using Skype to talk with peers anywhere in the world, while in the nearby former federal courtroom an audience will listen to a prominent speaker detail expectations of future business leaders against a backdrop of the Magna Carta's signing.
"It is a bit dusty now," Nancy Merritt, dean of the Scott College of Business, said of the prized mural. "However, as renovations continue, the painting will be cleaned by art restorers, and it will look fantastic."
Students will learn in specifically designed classrooms throughout the building, including a financial trading room and a new Sales and Negotiations Laboratory, which will include breakout rooms equipped with technology to record students' practice sessions as they hone their sales tactics and negotiation skills.
"Through this type of hands-on learning, our students will develop the type of professional skills that enable them to become highly successful members of the workforce," said Jon Hawes, marketing professor and director of the Sales and Negotiations Center. "We are excited to be able to offer new capability to our students and hope to also increase our community engagement through use of the Sales and Negotiations Center."
Construction crews were at times challenged with efforts to preserve some traditional elements of the building while renovating other areas to prepare for the business college, Duncan said.
"For example, in the historic corridor, that ceiling is close to 20 feet tall, and being able to get utilities around and through in that area to the entire building is a major challenge," he added.
The $250,000 Fairbanks Hall renovation began in May and is nearly done. The building's ceramic tile floor was cleaned and refurbished during the project, Duncan said. About 95 percent of the building's ceramic tile flooring has been restored, said Scott Tillman, university architect at ISU who designed the project.
Some ductwork and pipes also were relocated to the attic, and equipment was installed near the roof to help melt ice and snow. Crews also repaired some of the plaster near the dome ceiling.
Only the people who will soon stroll past the building's historic post office boxes won't be searching for mail; they'll be heading for class.
The building that housed a downtown U.S. Post Office and federal court will maintain trademarks of its past as it hosts new classrooms and spaces for the Scott College of Business at Indiana State University. The federal building, along with the former Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library, have found new life at ISU as renovations will resurrect some of the most well-known characteristics of the buildings.
"It's important to try to preserve and save these historic buildings," said Bryan Duncan, director of capital planning and improvements at ISU. "It's got to be the ones that are right for preserving. We obviously can't preserve every building, but these two in particular are historically significant and ripe for the ability to preserve them."
The federal building project is projected to cost about $20.5 million, including federal, state and private funding, and spanned three phases of restoration and construction. The demolition needed in the project is almost complete, Duncan said. Construction crews are working on the building from the top floor down to the lower level. Drywall is being installed in some areas on the top two floors, while items such as wiring, electrical outlets and vents are being installed on the lower floors, Duncan said.
The renovations will juxtapose the federal building's 21st century-style construction and technology with early 20th century art deco traditional architecture. University students may be using Skype to talk with peers anywhere in the world, while in the nearby former federal courtroom an audience will listen to a prominent speaker detail expectations of future business leaders against a backdrop of the Magna Carta's signing.
"It is a bit dusty now," Nancy Merritt, dean of the Scott College of Business, said of the prized mural. "However, as renovations continue, the painting will be cleaned by art restorers, and it will look fantastic."
Students will learn in specifically designed classrooms throughout the building, including a financial trading room and a new Sales and Negotiations Laboratory, which will include breakout rooms equipped with technology to record students' practice sessions as they hone their sales tactics and negotiation skills.
"Through this type of hands-on learning, our students will develop the type of professional skills that enable them to become highly successful members of the workforce," said Jon Hawes, marketing professor and director of the Sales and Negotiations Center. "We are excited to be able to offer new capability to our students and hope to also increase our community engagement through use of the Sales and Negotiations Center."
Construction crews were at times challenged with efforts to preserve some traditional elements of the building while renovating other areas to prepare for the business college, Duncan said.
"For example, in the historic corridor, that ceiling is close to 20 feet tall, and being able to get utilities around and through in that area to the entire building is a major challenge," he added.
The $250,000 Fairbanks Hall renovation began in May and is nearly done. The building's ceramic tile floor was cleaned and refurbished during the project, Duncan said. About 95 percent of the building's ceramic tile flooring has been restored, said Scott Tillman, university architect at ISU who designed the project.
Some ductwork and pipes also were relocated to the attic, and equipment was installed near the roof to help melt ice and snow. Crews also repaired some of the plaster near the dome ceiling.
2011年5月5日星期四
Bluegrass will reign at FarmPark
Music shows featuring more than 12 acts run Thursday through Saturday.
This will certainly be one to remember as it will mark the last North Carolina performance by nationally acclaimed bluegrass band Cherryholmes before the group dissolves later this year.
Cherryholmes stormed to the top of the music charts since winning the 2005 International Bluegrass Music Association Award for Entertainer of the Year. Many awards have followed.
“I know that will be a big draw,” said Karen Loflin Miller, general manager of the FarmPark. “At the time we were booking them, we didn't know they would announce they would be disbanding.”
Miller's family has owned the FarmPark for over 40 years offering family entertainment like the Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Bluegrass Festival, Southeast Old Threshers' Reunion, FarmPark Bluegrass Festival and the Christmas Country Train.
The festival actually began for the diehards Wednesday evening with a barbecued chicken meal and open stage featuring regional and local acts performing.
The national acts begin performing at noon Thursday with Donna Hughes. Don't fret if you missed it. She will perform again at 5 p.m.
Other performers Thursday are: Josh Williams Band at 1 and 6 p.m., Marshville Brigade at 2 and 7 p.m., Russell Moore and IIIrd Time Out at 3 and 8 p.m. and Dailey & Vincent at 9 p.m. only for a 90-minute show.
Friday performances are Darrin & Brook Aldridge at noon and 6 p.m., Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers at 1 and 7 p.m., Cherryholmes at 2 and 8 p.m., Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver at 3 and 9 p.m. and Goldwing Express at 4 and 10 p.m.
On Saturday, Little Roy & Lizzie will perform at 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., Sierra Hull at 12:20 and 6:50 p.m., New Found Road at 1:10 and 7:40 p.m., Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver at 2 and 8:30 p.m., Gibson Brothers at 3:10 and 9:40 p.m. and Joe Diffie and New Found Road at 4 and 10:30 p.m.
Tickets at the gate are $85 for three days, $65 for two days or $35 for one day. Children 14 or younger enter free with a parent. Children 15 to 17 will pay half the admission price if with a parent.
Anyone can take advantage of a special after 5 p.m. price of $20 on any festival day, Miller said.
Miller said having the Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Bluegrass Festival for 31 years is special because the event is very family-oriented and quality entertainment.
“It's unique in this county because we have a place that can host national acts and it be a good, family, traditional event,” Miller said. “We are family owned and try to supply family entertainment.”
Besides the nonstop bluegrass performances, the event will also feature a free children's play area with inflatables and pony rides from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday. Also, train rides on the park's full-size steam train will be given for $5 for adults and $4 for children before the entertainment begins from 11 a.m. to noon and during the supper break from 5 to 6 p.m. daily on the 11⁄2-mile track. Preschool-age children can ride for free.
This will certainly be one to remember as it will mark the last North Carolina performance by nationally acclaimed bluegrass band Cherryholmes before the group dissolves later this year.
Cherryholmes stormed to the top of the music charts since winning the 2005 International Bluegrass Music Association Award for Entertainer of the Year. Many awards have followed.
“I know that will be a big draw,” said Karen Loflin Miller, general manager of the FarmPark. “At the time we were booking them, we didn't know they would announce they would be disbanding.”
Miller's family has owned the FarmPark for over 40 years offering family entertainment like the Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Bluegrass Festival, Southeast Old Threshers' Reunion, FarmPark Bluegrass Festival and the Christmas Country Train.
The festival actually began for the diehards Wednesday evening with a barbecued chicken meal and open stage featuring regional and local acts performing.
The national acts begin performing at noon Thursday with Donna Hughes. Don't fret if you missed it. She will perform again at 5 p.m.
Other performers Thursday are: Josh Williams Band at 1 and 6 p.m., Marshville Brigade at 2 and 7 p.m., Russell Moore and IIIrd Time Out at 3 and 8 p.m. and Dailey & Vincent at 9 p.m. only for a 90-minute show.
Friday performances are Darrin & Brook Aldridge at noon and 6 p.m., Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers at 1 and 7 p.m., Cherryholmes at 2 and 8 p.m., Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver at 3 and 9 p.m. and Goldwing Express at 4 and 10 p.m.
On Saturday, Little Roy & Lizzie will perform at 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., Sierra Hull at 12:20 and 6:50 p.m., New Found Road at 1:10 and 7:40 p.m., Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver at 2 and 8:30 p.m., Gibson Brothers at 3:10 and 9:40 p.m. and Joe Diffie and New Found Road at 4 and 10:30 p.m.
Tickets at the gate are $85 for three days, $65 for two days or $35 for one day. Children 14 or younger enter free with a parent. Children 15 to 17 will pay half the admission price if with a parent.
Anyone can take advantage of a special after 5 p.m. price of $20 on any festival day, Miller said.
Miller said having the Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Bluegrass Festival for 31 years is special because the event is very family-oriented and quality entertainment.
“It's unique in this county because we have a place that can host national acts and it be a good, family, traditional event,” Miller said. “We are family owned and try to supply family entertainment.”
Besides the nonstop bluegrass performances, the event will also feature a free children's play area with inflatables and pony rides from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday. Also, train rides on the park's full-size steam train will be given for $5 for adults and $4 for children before the entertainment begins from 11 a.m. to noon and during the supper break from 5 to 6 p.m. daily on the 11⁄2-mile track. Preschool-age children can ride for free.
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