Shortly after hurricane Katrina hit, I was approached by a fellow in the Russian River area of Northern California. He described how he had hired a contractor to turn the basement of his vacation home into an apartment. Before work was completed, the builder suddenly left for Florida, saying he wanted to help hurricane victims. Long […]
Archive | Business RSS feed for this section
Store Remodels Using Salvaged Lumber
In a post published last year, I wrote about creative use of reclaimed wood. While most content on this site is about home remodeling, retail stores and other businesses can (and do!) the same. A good example is a local branch of Port & Manor that opened in San Rafael, California, not long ago. Before […]
Online Fraud: The Buck Stops Here
Earlier this week, I noticed some small charges to my VISA card. $0.99 for an iTunes movie rental; $1.05 for a Berkeley parking meter; and $1 for something related to TransUnion. I could not recall what that might had been. Fearing a deluge of scam-related charges, I went to investigate. I called TransUnion, and indeed, […]
Desalination: Good For Israel. Good For California?
The New York TImes reports today on how Israel is mitigating a shortage of much-needed rain by desalinating seawater. California, reeling from its driest winter in history, has a long coast line and the same opportunity as Israel. Of course, the problem with desalination is that it requires a lot of energy. According to the […]
Amsterdam Architects Build Full-sized Canal House With 3D Printer
Leave it to those Amsterdammers! Famous for their red light district, Old Dutch Masters, and gorgeous canal houses, one is now being built with a 3D printer. A few weeks ago, Annemarie Coevert of the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad reported how DUS architects designed the world’s first building being constructed with a 3D printer. Visitors […]
‘Catch A Contractor’ — Is It Worth Watching?
Short answer: No. A better title for this show is ‘Lost.’ It applies to the homeowners who did not do their due diligence; to the fellows selling themselves as contractors but could not care less; and unfortunately to the hosts of the show, as well. The show is much like ‘America’s Most Wanted’ or ‘Cops’, […]
California’s Contractor State License Board Goes Undercover (video)
California’s Contractor State License Board shows unlicensed ‘contractors’ that doing remodel work without the appropriate license is not cool. The Board also attempts to fight abuse of the elderly. Finding answers to these problems certainly has Remodel Blog’s support, but what is the right way to go about it? The videos recently posted to the CSLB […]
Solar Power Day And Night!
NPR’s Alan Yu wrote an interesting article about Abengoa Solar. On Wednesday, Abengoa cranked up the world’s largest solar energy plant of its kind. What is newsworthy is not only its size — it powers 70,000 homes in Arizona — but the technology that enables it to store energy during the day and then generate […]
Steps To Take After Removing WordPress Malware Infection
A few days ago, I wrote about how we got our arms around a malware infection of this site. With the help of Sucuri.net, the site was scanned, scrubbed clean of malicious code, and site’s URL was submitted to the various powers-that-be to have Remodel Blog removed from blacklists. Upon completion of its work, Sucuri.net […]
Remodel Blog Beats Malware!
Some of you noticed that Remodel Blog was off-line for nearly a week, with Google’s security warning popping up for many visitors. While I never thought it would happen, Remodel Blog was hit by malicious code. I decided to describe this event so other business owners can learn from what happened to us, and what […]
Chez Panisse Restaurant Repairs and Remodels, Better Accommodates Handicapped
As most food aficionados know, Berkeley-based Chez Panisse restaurant and cafe had a small fire in March, 2013. Construction efforts have been underway ever since, including some remodeling work. The new structure includes a handicap ramp (see photo below) and have a bathroom compliant with the American Disabilities Act, more commonly known as ADA. If […]
What Does Your Company’s Logo Say About You?
A few months ago, I noticed this King of Sheetrock truck near one of our job sites. The logo on the truck right away made me smile, and it still does. The design is playful and well done. Part of it reminded me of a gun slinger of the Ol’ West, but this cowboy comes […]
WELCOME!
