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 […]
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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 […]
Flush Water-Saving Toilets After Each Use!
Now that an official drought has been declared in California, many people remind themselves that “When it’s yellow it’s mellow; when it’s brown flush it down.” That was fine and well during the days of toilets that used nine gallons of water to keep waste moving. With today’s modern toilets that use between one and two […]
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’, […]
Curved Ipe Deck – Photos & Tips
Summer is getting closer, and decks are wonderful places to spend time outdoors. We have built many of them, mostly using redwood or cedar, and sometimes using composite material or hardwood. Just a few years ago, we crafted a curved ipe deck that became a true labor of love and one of our flagship projects. […]
Some Technologies Waste Time — Lots!
As part of my work, I spend quite a bit of time driving. Meetings with clients, checking progress at construction projects; and so forth. While on one of those trips recently, I wondered how much faster traffic would move if drivers all over the world would stop texting and checking email. (more…)
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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 […]
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 […]
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