Mark Johnson Custom Homes Blog

St. James Plantation, NC luxury home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share some important tips for pet owners when moving into a new home. The American Humane Association compiled the six tips below to help make the move as easy as possible for you and your furry friend and to read more of their pet care tips, click here!  

• Prior to moving day, make sure your pets are fitted with collars and ID tags with your name and current cell-phone number. Microchipping is also recommended and will serve as a backup if your pet loses its collar.
• If your pet is prone to car sickness, make sure you visit your veterinarian a few weeks prior to your move to get any prescribed medications and feeding recommendations.
• For long-distance moves, be sure to identify pet-friendly hotels along your route and reserve rooms ahead of time. For a list of pet-friendly hotels, see www.petswelcome.com or www.pet-friendly-hotels.net.
• On moving day, make sure your pets are secured in a crate or closed room of your house or apartment until you are ready to load them into your car. The activities and sounds of moving day will be frightening to your pets, so it is important that they be kept in a secure area to reduce their stress as much as possible and to prevent an accidental escape.
• Always transport cats, small dogs and other small animals in a secure, well-ventilated pet carrier. Keep larger dogs leashed and under control at all times. The stress of a move can cause even the most obedient dog to run away in unfamiliar surroundings. NEVER transport any pet in an open truck bed, trunk of a car or storage area of a moving van.
• For long-distance moves, make sure you give your pet potty breaks and fresh water whenever you stop for a break yourself. Make sure pets are leashed at all times during potty breaks.

Last year we shared with our readers an article from the World Floor Covering Association on how to care for your pre-finished hardwood floors. Now Wilmington, NC luxury home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share the WFCA’s reasoning for opting for hardwood or bamboo flooring, complete with links to more of their helpful articles. Visit www.WFCA.org for more information on all flooring options!

Why hardwood?

It’s not hard to answer. This flooring product offers many features and benefits to the home. And, perhaps, to your home.

Come along and let’s find out! Read more to learn if hardwood is the flooring solution for the way you live. Hardwood certainly answers the need for beauty in your home.

The elegant look of a hardwood floor can add warmth and character to any room. In fact, the natural characteristics of wood add depth and a visual appearance that many other types of floors try to duplicate.

Rich, inviting hardwood floors are not only beautiful to live with, they can also add value to your home at resale time. Plus, today, hardwood types, options and applications are more diverse and delightful than ever.

As the consumer demand for hardwood floors has grown so has the manufacturer’s ability to produce better quality finishes and superior construction techniques.

The result of those advancements is that wood floors can now be installed throughout the home and over a wide variety of subfloors.

Why bamboo?

The answer is easy, exciting and environmental. Unlike hardwood, bamboo is not a product of trees, it’s a fast growing grass.

Bamboo can grow from sprouts to harvesting in three to five years, thus an acre of bamboo can provide more flooring than an acre of trees.

When bamboo shoots are cut the roots remain intact and fresh new sprouts grow in their place.

The dense root mass of bamboo helps prevent soil erosion and provides a viable crop opportunity in hilly acres where other crops cannot grow.

The species used for flooring is harvested from selected groves in Southern China. And, good news — this species is not eaten by Pandas.

Bamboo can be an attractive alternative to hardwood because it is eco-friendly, is dimensionally stable, 27% harder than Northern Red Oak, 13% harder than hard Maple, can either be nailed-down, glued-down or floated, and it’s resistant to flammability.

Bamboo flooring comes in planks and is installed just like engineered hardwood floors. These floors can be installed over many different types of subfloors.

If you think wood rules, we invite you to come explore the other sections on beautifying your home with hardwood.

Brunswick County, NC new home builder encourages everyone in the area to attend the Brunswick Stew Cook-Off January 30^th, 2010 in Shallotte, NC! From 10am-4pm in Rourk Woods in Shallotte, you can taste up to 50 different stews, check out local arts and crafts, listen to live music and more! Tasting tickets will be available for $5 for 10 tickets. For more information, visit the Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce website!

Pender County, NC new home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share a press release posted on HousingZone.com earlier this month. The National Tile Contractors Association has launched Tile-TV, a new tool to enhance the experience of its active tile and stone contractor members and other industry professionals to utilize online. Below is an excerpt of their press release and to read more, click here!

“Non- members can contact the NTCA for a copy of the most recent episode as well as to find out more information on advertising, sponsorship and subscription. Starting in January, Tile-TV will also be emailed to 8,000 NTCA email subscribers.

With each new episode of Tile-TV the NTCA will present a monthly survey of its contractor base to create a dialogue between its staff of highly-trained in-house technical experts and tile and stone installers around the country. Every member is encouraged to visit the site and click on Tile-TV to provide input and feedback on this monthly topic. The results are posted on a two-episode lag and designed to keep all members in the know with regards to the latest news, information, and other industry updates.

“Tile-TV was created to keep our members in the loop,’ said Bart Bettiga, executive director of the NTCA. ‘New technologies, sustainability topics, association news and so much more are covered in each episode. Members can reach out to their employees, other associates and even customers by simply emailing the link to them.’”

New Hanover County, NC Green home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes is excited to share a press release from the US Department of Labor announcing $100 million in Green jobs training grants will be given through the Recovery Act. Below is an excerpt from the press release and to read more, click here!

“Washington, D.C. — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced nearly $100 million in green jobs training grants, as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). The grants will support job training programs to help dislocated workers and others, including veterans, women, African Americans and Latinos, find jobs in expanding green industries and related occupations. Approximately $28 million of the total funds will support projects in communities impacted by auto industry restructuring.

Through the Energy Training Partnership Grants being administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, 25 projects ranging from approximately $1.4 to $5 million each will receive grants. These grants are built on strategic partnerships — requiring labor and business to work together.

‘Today’s announcement is part of the administration’s long-term commitment to fostering both immediate economic revitalization and a clean energy future. It’s an investment that will help American workers succeed while doing good,’ said Secretary Solis. ‘Our outstanding award recipients were selected because their proposed projects will connect workers to career pathways in green industries and occupations through critical, diverse partnerships.’”

Yesterday Wilmington news station WECT posted two stories on local and national disaster relief efforts for Haiti’s earthquake victims. Now Brunswick County, NC custom home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes urges our readers to take advantage of the programs set up by the American Red Cross and the partnership efforts of WECT and Harris Teeter grocery stores. And if you are in the Wilmington, NC area and you like to volunteer for our local Red Cross chapter and/or receive training in local and domestic disaster preparedness and response, visit the Cape Fear Chapter’s website at www.arccapefear.org or call 910-762-2683.