30-01-2012 13:24 Maintaining Your Sliding Window - We are going to learn how to maintain your sliding window. The first step is to slide open the sash. On the top of the window, you will notice a few tabs. These tabs prevent the sash from being removed from the outside. Next, we will remove the sash. Ensure the window is clear of the last tab and the lock is not touching the jamb. Lift up on the sash from the bottom. Pull out and down to remove the sash. / You may notice that moisture and debris is present in the window track, this is normal. Using a putty knife, lift up and remove the track. Using a non-abrasive cloth, soap, and water, clean the track. It is important to avoid abrasive chemicals. To reinstall, slide the track in the groove, sloping it away from you, and press down. The track will need to be snapped into place. A soft block of wood and mallet are needed for this. Place the block of wood at an angle on the track and pound the block along the length of the track to snap into place. Install the sash from the top, slide it in from the bottom. Next, you will need to have access to the outside of the window to check and clean the weep-hole cover and weep-hole. A putty knife and pipe cleaner are needed. Take off the weep-hole cover. Inspect to ensure the flap is moving. Use the pipe cleaner to clean the weep-hole of excess debris. Place the weep-hole cover back into the weep-hole.

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Maintaining Your Sliding Window - Milgard Service Video - Video

30-01-2012 13:25 Proper Single Hung Sash Removal - We are going to show you how to remove the sash, the operable portion of the window. There is a silver take-out clip on either side of the jamb. With the sash closed, use a screwdriver to pop the clips out at a 45 degree angle. Perform this on action on both take-out clips. Remove the sash stops, which are located in the top corners of the window. Slide the sash up until you feel it disengage. You will want to make sure both sides catch on the take-out clips. Once they catch, you want to be able to see the bottom of the spring loaded balancers and you know you are past the engagement point. Slide the sash to one side and remove. To re-insert the sash, place it above the bottom of the balancer. Line up the sash, push it in. Make sure you have clearance on the other side and balance it back and forth until you feel both tops catch. Slide the sash down about an inch or two. Make sure you do not see the balancer or any metal on either side of the spring. Then, push in both of your take out clips and bring down the sash. Finally, reinstall the sash stops.

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Proper Single Hung Sash Removal - Milgard Service Video - Video

30-01-2012 13:26 Adjusting the Sliding Window Rollers for Smooth Operation - We are going to show you how to adjust and clean the rollers. Occasional adjustments may be needed to maintain smooth window operation. On the bottom of your window there are two assemblies containing vinyl wheels. Each assembly has two positions for each wheel. Remove the wheel by snapping it out of the wheel casing. Raise or lower the wheels to the desired height and snap them back into place. Repeat this step on the other wheel assembly. Once the wheels are snapped back into place, clean your rollers. Make sure the wheels roll back and forth, and there is no dirt or debris in them. Spray your wheels with a small amount of silicone spray-- just a quick shot for each one. Take a paper towel and wipe down the rollers to ensure sure there is no excess silicone. To reinstall the sash, start with the top. Slide in from the bottom and slide it back and forth.

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Adjusting the Sliding Window Rollers for Smooth Operation - Milgard Service Video - Video

30-01-2012 13:27 Balancer Replacement - We are going to show you how to uninstall and reinstall a balancer. There is a silver take-out clip on either side of the jamb. With the sash closed, use a screwdriver to pop the clips out at a 45 degree angle. Perform this on action on both take-out clips. Remove the sash stops, which are located in the top corners of the window. Slide the sash up until you feel it disengage. You will want to make sure both sides catch on the take-out clips. Once they catch, you want to be able to see the bottom of the spring loaded balancers and you know you are past the engagement point. Slide the sash to one side and remove. This is the balancer. It is spring loaded, so use caution when removing. To remove, push it down and slide it back up. To reinstall, look for hook at the bottom of the balancer. Place the hook in the window jamb and press down. Remember, the balancer is spring-loaded so you will experience some resistance when pushing it down. Push the top portion up and the tab goes on the outside of the balancer. Next, we will reinstall the sash. Place the sash above the bottom of the balancer. Line up the sash, push it in. Make sure you have clearance on the other side and balance it back and forth until you feel both tops catch. Slide the sash down about an inch or two. Make sure you do not see the balancer or any metal on either side of the spring. Then, push in both of your take out clips and bring down the sash. Finally, reinstall the sash stops.

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Balancer Replacement - Milgard Service Video - Video

28-03-2010 18:08 BEHIND THE DECKS // EPISODE #01 JANUARY 2010 / PARIS FRANCE You will follow Ruth Flowers aka Mamy Rock on every steps of her international career. Produced by spOa Directed by Orel Simon 69 MAMY ROCK new track is now OUT CLICK HERE : bit.ly Booking : booking@mamyrock.com Website: http://www.mamyrock.com Fan Page http://www.facebook.com Twitter : twitter.com http://www.mamyrock.com http://www.myspace.com/ruthflowers Music: Ruth Flowers / COMING OUT SPRING 2010

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RUTH FLOWERS MAMY ROCK / BEHIND THE DECKS EP #01 - Video

PORTLAND, Maine—The steeple on a nearly
200-year-old Portland church is undergoing its first major
renovation.

Stephen Jenks, president of the First Parish Church's
trustees, says the steeple has deteriorated to the point
where the renovation is necessary. He says the balustrade, a
railing just below the belfry, rotted and was removed late
last year, and other parts of the structure are showing signs
of wear and tear that need to be addressed.

The job includes removing the uppermost part of the steeple,
the belfry, and hauling it to Vermont for repairs.

He tells The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/ydJV8e) the work is
designed to be historically accurate right down to the type
of wood that's used.

Construction on the church was completed in 1826.

The work will cost about $220,000.

Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.

More here:
Steeple at Portland church gets overhaul

More than a year ago, William Pumphrey was part of a choir that
celebrated the start of construction on an apartment building
to serve the chronically homeless.

He didn't realize then that he was looking at his future home.

Early last week, Pumphrey learned he had earned a spot at the
Moore Place apartments. Then he saw the second-floor apartment
he'll move into early next month.

The news, the 53-year-old said, brought him to his knees.

On Sunday, Pumphrey and the Voices of Love choir were among
hundreds of people marking the grand opening of Moore Place, an
apartment building for 85 people off North Graham Street.

The $10 million facility was funded primarily with privately
raised funds, including gifts from corporate and philanthropic
foundations, the Charlotte Housing Authority, more than 50
local congregations and the John and Pat Moore family. The
effort was led by Charlotte's Urban Ministry Center. The first
eight residents will move in this week, and officials expect
the complex to be full by the end of April.

Plans already are under way to add 35 more apartment units on
the property, said Caroline Chambre, director of Urban Ministry
Center's HousingWorks program.

In recent years, the Urban Ministry has piloted another housing
program that offers people who have been homeless a permanent
place to stay in sites scattered across Charlotte.

But Moore Place is considered a bigger shift in how the city
has addressed the issue of people who are chronically homeless.

Residents will pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. The
apartment facility will have on-site case management and
24-hour security.

Moore Place also will offer residents services such as job
training, instruction on how to manage their money and
counseling. A full-time nurse and part-time physician also will
offer health care at the site.

Chambre said the goal is to help residents "go from a life of
chaos to a life of normalcy." She described the effort as not
being extraordinary; rather, a way to "create the ordinary" in
residents' lives.

Pumphrey, who has been homeless on and off for the past 12
years, said Sunday he's not sure he'll ever be able to overcome
all of the issues he's faced in recent years.

But he thinks the services provided by Moore Place will be
immensely important for him and others.

"I feel taken care of, and I haven't even moved in yet," he
said.

Charlotte has an estimated 6,500 people who are homeless. About
10 percent are considered chronic cases, meaning mental illness
or addiction prevents them from finding housing through
traditional programs such as shelters.

Advocates have said providing housing and other services for
the homeless can save millions because it could cut down on
those individuals going to "de-facto shelters" in jails or
emergency rooms.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg leaders approved a "10-year Plan to End
Homelessness" six years ago to create more permanent housing
such as Moore Place.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx on Sunday praised efforts to
complete Moore Place, noting challenges such as a fight over
where to put the apartments. But he said even more housing
facilities are needed.

He urged attendees at the grand opening event to pay attention
to upcoming discussions among the City Council about housing
bonds and a locational policy on where to put affordable
housing.

Foxx said the community needs to find a way to create
additional housing.

"We don't just need Moore Place," he said. "We need more
places."

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Facility creates 'ordinary' for the homeless

In 2008, the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development
Corp. paid the father of one of its board members $15,000 to
visit facilities, read reports and promote a municipal
utilities authority, according to agency documents.

In 2009, the agency paid an interior decorator $9,120 to design
an office that would never be used.

The same year, the documents also show, Mayor Cory Booker’s
former law partners charged the city $22 to read an e-mail,
$67.50 to read a Star-Ledger article and $267 for a
dinner for three in a bill that totaled $219,000 to serve as
the watershed’s general counsel.

Now, spending at the taxpayer-funded Newark Watershed
Conservation and Development Corp., or NWCDC, is at the heart
of an escalating battle over the future of the city's most
precious asset — 35,000 pristine acres of land and reservoirs
in Sussex, Passaic and Morris counties that supply water to
cities and towns throughout northern New Jersey.

Newark bought the property in the late 19th century and held
onto it even as residents and businesses fled the city. Newark
also held onto the brick sewers and aqueducts, built at the
same time, that now form a creaky infrastructure most agree
needs millions of dollars in repairs.

Critics say the NWCDC is a rogue agency that has seized power
over the water supply and has far overstepped its mandate. They
claim agency expenses are wasteful payouts to the politically
connected.

NWCDC officials say their detractors are unaware of what it
takes to purify and deliver more than 80 million gallons of
water a day. They say their costs are a fraction of what is
needed to prevent a catastrophic failure in a water system that
serves more than 500,000 residents, as well as wholesale
customers like Budweiser and UMDNJ.

The fight peaked recently when the Newark City Council,
responding to complaints by a group of local activists, formed
a committee to investigate NWCDC spending.

In response, watershed lawyer and longtime Booker insider
Elnardo Webster II incurred what critics said is perhaps the
most galling expense of all: billing hundreds of dollars to
file an injunction in court to stop the council committee’s
inquiry.

"The citizens are paying for the NWCDC to sue the council to
prevent this investigation," said Columbia economist Dan
O’Flaherty, the author of a scathing report on watershed
expenses titled "Hog Wild."

O’Flaherty and a coalition of residents called the Newark Water
Group, along with several council members, are fighting for the
watershed to be returned to direct city control.

"Some major concerns have been expressed," said committee
chairman Augusto Amador. "I would like to see more control
exercised by the council in order to avoid the type of behavior
that we’ve seen lately."

Watershed officials said the city council is on a political
witch hunt and accuse members of hypocrisy. If council members
were paying closer attention, Webster said, they would have
been aware of the expenses they now decry.

"It is impossible for me to believe that the council did not
know what’s going on," Webster said. "They vote on these
contracts year in and year out."

The NWCDC was formed in 1973 by former Mayor Kenneth Gibson to
manage the city’s land and reservoirs. Today, the agency runs
the entire water operation, from the hills of the Pequannock to
the drains of the Ironbound.

The NWCDC’s $10.7 million budget is funded through tax dollars.
The $105 million water and sewer utility that it manages is
funded through customers in Newark, as well as East Orange,
Elizabeth, Belleville, Bloomfield, Pequannock and parts of
Nutley.

According to a Star-Ledger review of agency documents,
the NWCDC has dramatically increased spending in recent years.

Its budget was $10 million in 2010, up from $6.7 million in
2005.

Roughly a third of the $3.8 million spent on consultants and
lawyers between 2008 and 2010 went to planning Booker’s failed
municipal utilities authority — the quasi-independent agency
that would have run the city’s waterworks.

Of the 36 contracts awarded, 16 of the vendors donated to
Empower Newark, a political action committee with close ties to
the mayor.

"Many of the contractors are Newark-based businesses, and no
quid pro quo has ever been required," said Webster.

One of the biggest contracts went to Webster and his West
Orange-based firm, Trenk DiPasquale, which billed the NWCDC
$812,000 between 2008 and 2010.

Webster said his firm has widespread experience in utility law,
with the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority, the city of
Trenton, PSE&G and T-Mobile among their client list.

NWCDC Executive Director Linda Watkins-Brashear was a campaign
volunteer for Booker and former Councilman Oscar James and has
donated $5,225 to Booker-backed candidates since 2007. She is
paid at least $215,000 annually, according to recent agency tax
returns. Andrew Pappachen and Joseph Beckmeyer, the two men who
together run the water and sewer operation, answer to her.

James — whose father received a $15,000 contract — still serves
on the board as a council representative, despite losing his
council seat in 2010. Critics say not only is the operation
inefficient, but no one answers to City Hall.

"They should reduce overhead costs and set up a transparent
organization. Who the water and sewer director works for and
what their conditions of employment are shouldn’t be a
mystery," said O’Flaherty.

Watkins-Brashear, a 30-year veteran of the watershed, said she
is being attacked for her political support of Booker.

"This started out to be a public policy debate," she said.
"Somehow it’s descended into a lot of innuendo and personal
attacks."

Watkins-Brashear and Beckmeyer said it is impossible to find
licensed, full-time engineers to work at rates the city can
afford, hence the need for project-specific consultants.

"We’re holding it together with bubble gum and paper clips,"
Beckmeyer said on a recent tour of the watershed.

The water and sewer system relies on pipes, many of which are
more than 100 years old.

The NWCDC’s treatment plant in West Milford is one of only a
few in the country still using chlorine, making for a dangerous
scenario if it should ever be damaged.

"You’d have a cloud of chlorine coming down the valley,"
Beckmeyer said.

Technicians monitor quality using outdated equipment. Engineers
sit amid diagrams and wooden drafting tables, fashioning a
computer model that can track the complex system of aqueducts,
reservoirs, dams and pipelines.

The system loses 26 percent of its water a year to leakage and
theft.

Beckmeyer said the infrastructure needs $547 million in
improvements over the next 10 years, requiring a rate hike.

Booker’s office said, barring an independent authority, the
current system is the best way to manage water.

"The administration’s goal is to see that the watershed is run
efficiently while providing residents the same level of
high-quality service they expect," said Booker spokeswoman Anne
Torres, adding the watershed holds the same mission.

Critics agree on the need for improvements but insist that the
council could do better.

"These are important things that should be debated," O’Flaherty
said. "There is money that needs to be spent, and there are
things you need to worry about."

Read more:
Funds flowing through Newark Watershed power escalating battle over city's most precious asset

BEIJING - The latest demolition of a siheyuan, the traditional
Chinese courtyard home, in the capital's Dongcheng district,
has triggered a huge public outcry, as it once belonged to two
architects famed for protecting the country's ancient
buildings.

Residents at the Beizongbu Hutong in Beijing's Dongcheng
district on Saturday talk about the demolition of Liang
Sicheng's former residence to a reporter with China Central
Television. 

Between 1931 and 1937, Liang Sicheng (1901-72) and his wife Lin
Huiyin (1904-55), both regarded as among the most distinguished
modern Chinese architects, lived in the courtyard house located
at 24 Beizongbu Hutong, Dongcheng district. It was here they
finished their groundbreaking study on traditional Chinese
architecture.

Liang and Lin probably never imagined that one day their home
would meet the same fate as many other ancient buildings in the
country had faced - being demolished to make way for real
estate development.

Over the past decades, high-rising office buildings, apartment
blocks, and sprawling shopping malls have mushroomed in the
heart of Beijing, replacing the maze of siheyuans and hutongs -
the narrow lanes that used to characterize the city.

In 2009, some parts of the courtyard were demolished to make
way for a commercial development project, but the cultural
authority stopped the demolition in response to public anger.
Since then, the site has been designated as a cultural relic,
though a low-level one, requiring approval from the cultural
heritage authorities for any redevelopment.

However, what remained was "furtively torn down" during the
recent Spring Festival.

"When I was at home on Thursday, I read a post on a heritage
protection forum, which said Liang and Lin's former home had
already been destroyed," said Zeng Yizhi, a cultural relics
protection activist.

Zeng, who lives in Heilongjiang province, asked a friend in
Beijing to visit the site to confirm the news.

"When I found the news was true, it broke my heart," Zeng said.
"Liang and Lin made such a great contribution to the protection
of Chinese ancient buildings; if their home can be torn down,
then developers can do the same thing to hundreds other ancient
houses in the country."

Zeng reported the situation to the Beijing municipal
administration of cultural heritage and the Dongcheng district
cultural heritage committee submitted a report to the municipal
cultural heritage bureau on Saturday. In the report the
committee quoted an unidentified developer saying that the
demolition was "in preparation for maintaining the heritage
site".

"The developer should have consolidated the ancient buildings
instead of pulling them down." Zeng said. "According to the
law, even if the courtyard was a dangerous building that needs
repair, the project should have been carried out by a
certificated construction company, which wasn't the case."

Media reports named the developer as Fuheng Realty, a
subsidiary of China Resources.

The municipal government has said that Liang's residence will
be rebuilt and that it has ordered the developer not to remove
anything from the rubble.

"But if we replace every ancient building with a new replica,
we will end up with a pile of meaningless fake antiques," Zeng
said.

"Protected relics cannot be rebuilt once demolished, according
to international cultural heritage protection principles," Chen
Zhihua, professor with the School of Architecture at Tsinghua
University, and a former student of Liang and Lin, told
reporters.

"Building a replica only makes things worse. So I suggest that
the government build a monument or a park on the original site
in memory of Liang and Lin," Chen said.

As of 5 pm on Sunday, an online survey by the popular
micro-blogging site Sina Weibo showed that 90 percent of the
8,360 participants said Liang's siheyuanshould not be
demolished because it is of great historical value.

An unidentified executive with China Resources' Beijing branch
told Xinhua on Sunday that his company "could not agree" that
the demolition was against related regulations.

Liang is considered "the father of modern Chinese architecture"
for his pioneering role in advocating the preservation of the
country's ancient architecture.

Liang was particularly known for his proposal with another
architect Chen Zhanxiang to preserve the ancient city of
Beijing and build a complete new city to the west of it after
the Communist Party of China made Beijing the capital of the
new republic.

But the country's leaders back then opted to build a political,
economic, and cultural center within Beijing's historical core.
Traffic jams, air pollution, and disappearing ancient
architecture linked to poor urban planning in recent years have
led more and more people to feel nostalgic for Liang's
ill-fated plan.

The rest is here:
Eastday-Anger at demolition of renowned architects' home

January 30, 2012 by Rochel Leah
Goldblatt 

Constructing building models with materials from Rebel
Recycling saves green in two ways

Architecture students plan to use 25,000 recycled boxes this
semester to build models — and construct a full-size house.

Rebel Recycling donated hundreds of cardboard boxes to the UNLV
School of Architecture and the students are using the boxes to
build all their models throughout this semester.

At the end of the semester, the class hopes to submit a
life-size living space built out of recycled cardboard to
RecycleMania, a competition among universities in the United
States.

The project will be completed by Earth Day and the final model
will be displayed in the Student Union courtyard.

“I don’t know how far we are going to go with this project,”
said graduate assistant Nathalia Ellis, “but we do have
furniture designs made out of cardboard.”

Using old boxes shrinks the students’ carbon footprint, but it
increases their workload because the cardboard is more
difficult to work with than the modeling board they are used to
using.

However, that doesn’t stop the students from trying their
hardest.

“It’s like a challenge,” said junior David Magdaluyo. “If we
can do this, we can do whatever we put our mind to.”

He said that the partnership between the architecture school
and Rebel Recycling benefits students in that it lets them
“deal with recycled goods hands-on.”

And in a field where sustainability is a major focus, that
means a lot.

“This will assist our architectural careers by being
environmentally friendly and responsible,” Magdaluyo said.

The first project the students undertook was to build
four-by-four cubes out of the cardboard. The task was made more
difficult by inevitable inconsistencies in the material that do
not exist in the typical modeling board.

Despite difficulties with using the material, students have a
positive outlook on the project.

“I was a little bummed out at first,” said freshman Josue
Arevealo. “[But] if anything, I am glad to be using some kind
of material instead of using a book.”

The cardboard also saves the students money, because they are
not responsible for buying their own material to use in the
models.

Any unused cardboard will be re-recycled through Rebel
Recycling.

Contact Rochel Leah Goldblatt at
rochelleah.goldblatt.ry@gmail.com.

See the rest here:
Student architects to build residence from of recycled boxes