Haiti Relief in the Port City
January 15th, 2010
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.
Playhouse 211: New Theatre for Brunswick County, NC
January 13th, 2010
Brunswick County, NC luxury builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes is excited to share the latest from the Brunswick Beacon on a new theatre in our area. Playhouse 211 is an intimate, 83-seat theatre on Southport-Supply Road and will host its first production January 22, 2010. Local plays, musical guests and foreign films are all on the horizon for the county’s latest addition. Below is an excerpt from Sarah Shew Wilson’s article and to read more from the Brunswick Beacon, click here!
“‘I’m really excited about the opportunity to bring eclectic entertainment to the area,’ [Ron] Lee said.
‘Ron has been an unbelievable help in getting the building done,’ Linda Sundman said.
She also praised his work to bring other acts to the theater.
‘The more variety, the better it is. I do think the community wants it here. It’s been a pleasure meeting all these interested people,’ she said.
Lee is quick to mention that neither his group nor Playhouse 211 are competing with Brunswick Little Theatre, based at the Odell Williamson Auditorium, nor Stage II Productions, based at the Amuzu Theater in Southport.
‘We’re just doing things that may not be right for them,’ he said. ‘We’re going to be more intimate and more avant-garde.’
Other groups, including The Winding River Players, based at Winding River Plantation, are also eager to use the new theater.”
Courtesy of: The Brunswick Beacon
30th Annual North Carolina Jazz Festival
January 11th, 2010
Brunswick County, NC remodeler encourages those in the Cape Fear area to attend the 30th North Carolina Jazz Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina. From February 4th- 6th, 2010, the North Carolina Jazz Festival will showcase more than a dozen traditional jazz artists who perform in a cabaret-style setting at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside’s newly renovated ballroom in downtown Wilmington, NC. Fans will get a chance to see their favorite traditional jazz musicians perform live and have the opportunity to meet the artists. The Cape Fear Business News published a detailed article on the Jazz Festival today, below is an excerpt and to read more, click here! Visit www.ncjazzfestival.com to purchase tickets.
“To celebrate 30 years, this year’s North Carolina Jazz Festival kicks off on Thursday night with a “Styles of Jazz” concert vocalist Stephanie Nakasian & the Hod O’Brien Trio; New Orleans style jazz by the Duke Heitger Sextet; and local favorites Grenaldo Frazier (piano, vocals) and Kevin Kolb Quartet,. On Saturday morning festival patrons will enjoy a musical birthday cruise along the Cape Fear River with New Orleans style jazz and North Carolina barbecue.
On Friday and Saturday nights the festival features 14 world-renowned musicians, including guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli (www.benedettoguitars.com/players_bucky.php), Butch Miles on drums (www.butchmiles.com), pianist Hod O’Brien (www.hodobrien.com), and Duke Heitger on trumpet (www.dukeheitger.com). Other all-star jazz musicians include: Mark Shane (piano; www.shanepianojazz.com); Frank Tate (bass; www.atlantajazzparty.com/Tate.html); Tom Fischer (reeds; www.tomfischermusic.com); and John Allred (trombone; www.myspace.com/johnallredmusic). Back by popular demand are festival favorites Anat Cohen (reeds; www.anatcohen.com); Ed Polcer (trumpet/cornet; www.edpolcer.com); Joe Ascione (drums; www.joeascione.com);; John Cocuzzi (vibes and piano; http://www.johncocuzzimusic.com/music.html); Herman Burney (bass; www.hermanburney.com); and Stephanie Nakasian (vocalist; www.stephanienakasian.com).”
Housing Permits and Starts Improve
January 8th, 2010
Brunswick County, NC custom home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes is excited to share that Custom Home Online’s Stephani Miller reported that housing permits, starts and overall completions have improved according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau report. Below is an excerpt and to read the complete article, click here!
“Marking a 6.0 percent increase over October’s numbers, permits for privately-owned housing units rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 584,000 in November. Permits for single-family units increased 5.3 percent in November, while permits for units in buildings with five or more units increased slightly from 85,000 in October to 86,000.
November’s housing starts also strengthened, after experiencing dramatic drops in October. Overall starts of privately-owned housing units rose 8.9 percent over October’s revised rate of 527,000, which reflected an 11-percent decline from the previous month’s starts. Single-family housing starts increased by 2.1 percent, after a 6.8-percent decline the previous month, but starts of units in buildings with five or more units rose significantly from 48,000 in October to 83,000 in November.”
Scientific Investigation into Chinese-Made Drywall Continues
January 7th, 2010
Brunswick County, NC home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share an informative article by Custom Home Magazine’s Stephani Miller. Miller examined the investigation into the adverse health effects of drywall made in China. Below is an excerpt from her article and to read more, click here!
“Late in October 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released preliminary findings of the investigation it has been spearheading into drywall imported from China that is suspected of damaging homes and affecting homeowner health around the country. CPSC has been leading the coordinated federal effort since January 2009, tracking complaints from homeowners, conducting interviews and field measurements in homes, performing tests on samples taken from affected homes, and tracking the provenance of the defective drywall boards to locate their source. To date, 1,900 complaints of “rotten-egg” smells and corrosion of metal components and mechanical systems in homes, as well as asthma-like symptoms, headaches, and bloody noses, have been lodged with the CPSC from residents in 30 states. Most of the complaints have come from homeowners in Florida and Louisiana, likely due to the massive rebuilding of homes following hurricanes in 2004 and 2005.
According to the preliminary findings of CPSC’s elemental and chemical testing, higher levels of two elements—sulfur and strontium—have been found in certain Chinese-made drywall products than in drywall manufactured elsewhere. More testing is being conducted to determine the relationship between the elevated levels of these elements and reported health symptoms or corrosion in homes, however, researchers have determined that the levels of strontium present in samples were not high enough to impact human health. Chamber studies conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to detect chemicals emitted from drywall also determined that the Chinese-made drywall in question emits higher levels of volatile sulfur gases than drywall manufactured elsewhere. Further testing continues, including exposure and risk assessments.”
When a Home Energy Audit Pays
January 7th, 2010
Brunswick County, NC Green home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes has previously blogged on the benefits of making your home more energy efficient. One very integral step in ensuring this is to get a home energy audit. When building our Energy Star home in Wilmington, NC we utilized the services of Above and Beyond Energy in Wilmington, NC, a third-party independent company that strives to help homeowners minimize their home’s carbon footprint through improved efficiency and durability. CNNMoney.com’s Steve Hargreaves published an article today detailing energy audits, including what to look for in an energy contractor. Below is an excerpt and to read the complete article, click here!
“The average American home wastes a lot of energy.
A complete energy retrofit – which could include caulking and insulation as well as new windows, appliances and boiler, could slice a home’s energy consumption in half, according to Lane Burt, manager of building energy policy at Natural Resources Defense Council.
But getting all that work done might run into the tens of thousands of dollars. And any new federal program – which is still being drafted and is not guaranteed to become law – would cap the government reimbursements at $12,000, said Burt.
Homeowners need not despair. There are some simple improvements that are relatively cheap and can pay for themselves quickly.
Just adding the insulation, caulking and lights might run an average homeowner $5,000 to $7,000, he said. That could shave about 30% off a home’s energy bill each month. And if the government picks up half the cost, the payback time for homeowners would be just a few years.”
Tips for Buying Green Furniture
December 28th, 2009
Brunswick County, NC Green home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share an article from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Green Home Guide on how to buy Green, eco-friendly furniture. Below are the three tips and for more detailed information, click here!
1. Reuse makes good Green sense.
Recycled-content furniture is an integral part of the ecological picture because it makes great use of the unfathomable amount of waste we create each day on our little planet. Don’t discard material because it’s not natural; it’s already here, transformed from its original, natural state to the plastic (or whatever) it is now. Keeping it in the loop and reusing it is the best we can do in our existing situation. We’ve become very good at recycling, but if we don’t actually use recycled materials, they end up right back where we’ve always sent them, piled up at the dump or floating at sea.
2. Look for sustainable, nontoxic new materials.
If you buy new wood furniture, ask whether the wood is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which means the wood was sustainably harvested and has a documented chain of control. Other elements to consider for their health and environmental impacts include wood finishes, adhesives, batting, upholstery fabric, fire retardants, and coatings for waterproofing and soiling prevention. It may seem that there is more to bear in mind than can possibly be addressed, but most companies that are eco- or green-minded have addressed many of these issues—at least in their thinking, if not their products—and can speak intelligently with you about them.
Be aware, as well, that the decisions you make affect the people who manufacture these products and materials. Synthetic materials and adhesives that may be relatively benign by the time they make it to your home can be quite toxic during manufacturing or cultivation. For example, conventionally grown cotton represents only 6 to 10 percent of the world’s crops but uses 35 to 40 percent of the world’s pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. The cotton in most clothing is produced this way, and the same is true of linens, bedding, and upholstery fabric.
North Carolina Project Prevents 2,500 Home Foreclosures
December 21st, 2009
Brunswick County, NC home remodeler Mark Johnson Custom Homes is excited to share an article by Triangle Business Journal’s Lee Weisbecker. The Journal announced this morning that North Carolina’s State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project has prevented over 2,500 North Carolina home owners from foreclosing. The FHFPP has also given financial and mortgage advice to over 5,000 home owners in our state. Below is an excerpt and to read the complete article, click here.
“The State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project, which works with one national nonprofit phone counseling agency and 34 local counseling agencies across North Carolina, has prevented foreclosures in 99 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, the commissioner’s office says.
Foreclosure filings in North Carolina are up 14 percent in 2009 due to the economic downturn and job losses. Even so, North Carolina continues to have one of the 15 lowest foreclosure rates among the 50 U.S. states, according to RealtyTrac’s latest foreclosure report.”
