Winter 1998 Remodeling Tips   Select an Issue Spring 2002 Winter 2002 Fall 2001 Summer 2001 Spring 2001 Winter 2001 Fall 2000 Summer 2000 Spring 2000 Winter 2000 Fall 1999 Summer 1999 Spring 1999 Winter 1999 Fall 1998 Summer 1998 Spring 1998 Winter 1998 Fall 1997 Summer 1997 Spring 1997 Winter 1997 We Are a Full-Service Design AND Build Company Our Customers Write... Amenities For the Golden Years The Kennedy Rocker Window Terms We Are a Full-Service Design AND Build Company In talking with some potential clients recently and they asked me if they needed to go to an architect to get their new addition designed. The answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT! Coastal Builders has full in house capability to design and build the remodeling project you have been considering. Our designer, Richard Campbell, has been designing remodeling projects for over twelve years, and as an engineer he also makes sure that all structural requirements are met. Over the years Rich has designed remodeling projects ranging from bathrooms and kitchens to second story additions with great success. In addition he recognized in the area as an expert on fire and water damage restoration. There are several advantages to dealing Coastal Builders for both your design and the construction. Our designs are functional as well as beautiful, you have a single source of accountability for both design and construction, and we can design your project with your budget in mind so you don’t get a design that you can’t afford to build. So when you’re ready to move forward with your project, give Coastal Builders and Rich Campbell a call. In the meantime, check out our web site at http://members.aol.com/MDbuilder for some more information on our company. On our web site you can see project photos, read about our personnel, and check our references. John M. Watts, President   To Top Our Customers Write... “Dear John, We have finally had a chance to settle down and enjoy our new addition. We have received so many compliments on the inside and the outside remodeling. It is a completely new house! I wanted to take this opportunity to once again thank you and your team for excellent work. One of our main reasons why we decided to sign with Coastal Builders is that Richard Campbell presented your company very professionally along with his creative ideas and input. Richard never gave up even when we asked him to re-quote the job many times in a completely different way, so that we could be within our budget. He made us feel confident in Coastal Builders. We knew that Coastal Builders would stand behind their product. When we started the addition we were prepared for the worst since we had heard so many horror stories from our friends regarding construction of houses and additions. On the contrary, your Lead Carpenter Ron Logsdon made the whole experience a pleasure. Ron was punctual and very polite and courteous. He worked very hard (we also know this since we would receive reports from our neighbors who were home during the day!). We feel confident in Ron’s work since he was very quality oriented and would not settle for less. When the addition was finished it was strange not to see Ron the next day, since he had almost become part of the family. We are really happy with our addition. Our project for next spring is the landscaping and a deck. We will send you pictures. Best Regards, Estelle & Robert Blankenship Dunloggin”   To Top Amenities For the Golden Years When your children have finally sprung the nest, a whole, bright new world opens up. You no longer have to plan your activities around their schedules. Time is suddenly available for your own friends. Money no longer has to be saved for college. You’re free! With new vistas ahead, many people see this as an opportunity to look with different eyes at their home. They’ve always dreamed about hobbies or activities they wished they had more time for. Now they have the time--their house shouldn’t stand in the way. Increasing numbers of people are also seeing this as a chance to make sure that their housing needs will be met as they mature. You would be wise to do the same. If you’ve always enjoyed sports, you may want a tennis court or pool in your home environment. Or, if you just like to stay fit, exercise rooms--of course with a sauna, hot tub, or steam room--are always popular. If your sports dreams are confined to letting others knock themselves out while your enjoy the action, you’ll be looking for a big screen and front seat view in your own home entertainment center. If you are more studious, this may be your opportunity to have a library where you can settle in your favorite chair, and, surrounded by the volumes you love, wander off into distant lands and ages. Or maybe that room could be an office, helping you keep up the work without the commute. After surviving the hectic life with kids, you might be looking forward to nothing more than a bit of peace and the chance to spend the you never had with a few good friends in your game room. You may want to get your hands a little dirty and watch the beauty of life grow in your own greenhouse. Or you may want to sip wine from your wine cellar while conversing with a neighbor in the refreshing atmosphere of your garden room. Wise planning for your dream house should also take into consideration future needs, and some of the limitations that mature people face. It would be a shame if, as time goes by, your home presented barriers to you or your friends--or worse yet, a safety hazard. Because of growing interest in this area, specialists like Stephanie Levin of Resources for Independent Living are emerging to help people plan their environments with the coming years in mind. They would draw your attention to a few important points: Lighting. Older people need good light. Better task lighting is a real boon, and lighting around strategic points, like stairways, becomes a real safety issue. Lever-type handles for doors and faucets. Handles of this type are easier to operate, and can be beautiful. Access to essential living areas. People with limited mobility delight in not having to fight with narrow passageways and doors, stairways, and changes in level caused by flooring materials. Safety in the bathroom. A low threshold shower with a seat can be life-saving. A toilet with an 18” seat height is more comfortable all the way around. Grab bars and slip-resistant floors may add to a room’s beauty while increasing safety. Convenient cabinets and countertops. Levin points out that the average height for a woman over 65 is 5’2”. So cabinets and appliances should be placed within easy reach. Countertops at varied heights are more comfortable for everyone--and rounded off corners are safer for all.   To Top The Kennedy Rocker No rocking chair is more famous than the “Kennedy Rocker.” In April of 1996 two of these rockers were auctioned off in Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ estate. The one President Kennedy used in the second floor oval room of the White House sold for $453,500. Interestingly enough, Kennedy, while he was a Senator, originally purchased this rocker for $30 from the P&P Chair Company, a small family-owned North Carolina manufacturer. The company opened doors in 1926, and now, in the third generation of the same family, it’s still holding on to old fashioned values and the homey atmosphere with which it had started. When you call on a Friday afternoon, company president Bill Page might answer the phone. If he’s not there, it may be his supposedly-retired dad you’re talking to. In 1955, when Senator Kennedy was recuperating from lower back surgery and writing Profiles in Courage, he visited the office of Dr. Janet Travell and there sat in a rocker she had purchased for another patient. He found it so comfortable, he asked if he could buy it. Dr. Travell refused the sale, but said she knew where he could get another one. After that, the rocker (which P&P calls “The Carolina Rocker”) came to be a fixed part of Kennedy’s furnishings. He took one with him into the White House and pictures soon appeared showing him in the Oval Office comfortably rocking while discussing world affairs. That initiated a flood of inquiries as to where this rocker could be obtained. Since then, numerous hotels have ordered these rockers for their presidential suites. They’ve been used in the movies and for TV commercials. They have been gifts to governors, presidents, and even kings. But mostly they have been used by ordinary people. Several of these folks have sent songs, poems, and pictures to the company praising them for having resisted the temptation of mass production and sticking to the old fashioned personal touch while making a truly comfortable rocking chair.   To Top Window Terms A window must be energy efficient and durable. Below are a few of the many terms used by builders and manufacturers to evaluate these qualities: NFRC: The National Fenestration Rating Council has developed a new window efficiency rating system (appearing in 1998) using numbers between 0 and 10 to represent a window’s efficiency for each of the heating and cooling seasons. ER: The North American Energy Rating assesses the overall performance of the glass, the frame, resistance to air infiltration, and beneficial solar gain. R-Value: How the window resists heat transfer. The higher the R-value, the better the insulating effect and the lower the rate of heat flow. U-Value: How well the window conducts heat. The lower the U-value, the better the insulating effect. Low-E: A transparent coating fused into the glass surface. Standing for “low emissivity,” it allows the sun’s shortwave energy in from the outside while resisting heat transfer from inside to outside (good during cold weather). Longwave energy from the outside, e.g. reflected heat from sidewalks, is reflected off the glass (good during hot weather, also reduces harmful ultraviolet rays). Insulating Glass System: Double or triple glazing (i.e. 2 or 3 panes of glass) with a scaled space in between. The space may be filled with a gas (often Argon) to provide greater insulation. They insulating ability of the spacers separating the panes also greatly affects the window’s performance. © 2003 Coastal Builders, Inc.