The Remodeling 550 is a list of the nation’s largest residential renovation companies. It comprises four categories: full service, specialty and replacement, insurance restoration companies and franchise operations. According to the magazine, full-service remodeling companies offer general contractor services in renovation projects ranging from whole-house remodels to handyman jobs.

This is the second time Sun Design has been on the Remodeling 550 list. It has won dozens of other awards for excellence in creative design and renovation over the years. Last year alone, Washingtonian Magazine named the company the region’s Top Remodeler for the second time. Inc. Magazine named Sun Design among the 5,000 fastest growing American companies in 2009 for the third consecutive year, and Quality Remodeler named it among its Top 500 for the ninth year in a row.

Sun Design President Bob Gallagher, said, “Being named among the top 30 remodeling companies in the entire country is a strong vote of confidence in the entire Sun Design team. Great design and construction, combined with the best customer service in the business, bring us a lot of repeat clients who also refer us to their family and friends.”

About Sun Design

Sun Design, celebrating its 22nd year, has been the recipient of dozens of industry awards. The company shows off its award-winning projects during a series of home tours and special events in which the general public can see how beautiful their work can be. Sun Design is located at 5795 B Burke Centre Parkway, Burke, VA 22015. Call 703-425-5588 or visit www.sundesigninc.com

At an event with homeowners and workers who benefited from the program, today in Manchester, New Hampshire, Vice President Joe Biden announced a major Recovery Act milestone—the weatherizing of 200,000 homes under the Recovery Act. As a result of the Administration’s unprecedented commitment to energy efficiency, more than 200,000 low-income families have been able to save money on their energy bills while saving energy, and thousands of people have been put to work.

“Thanks to the Recovery Act, thousands of construction workers across the country are now on the job making energy-saving home improvements that will save working families hundreds of dollars a year on their utility bills,” said Vice President Biden. “From replacing windows and doors to adding insulation, these are small changes that are making a big difference for American workers, manufacturer and consumers. We’ve hit the accelerator on the weatherization program, making over 200,000 homes more energy-efficient already, and are now full speed ahead to meet our original target of weatherizing 600,000 homes nationwide. ”

“The weatherization program under the Recovery Act—one of our signature programs—is successfully delivering energy and cost savings for hundreds of thousands of American families while creating thousands of clean energy jobs in local communities,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Vice President Biden today visited the Manchester, New Hampshire home of the Dumont family to announce the milestone. The Dumont family is expected to save over $600 a year on their utility bills once their weatherization project is completed and Southern New Hampshire Services, the local organization weatherizing their home, has already hired 7 new full-time employees and an estimated 68 subcontractors as a result of the Recovery Act weatherization funding.

New Hampshire has been one of the nation’s weatherization leaders, ramping up quickly and effectively to reach their goals ahead of schedule. Through June, New Hampshire has weatherized a total of more than 1,000 homes under the Recovery Act. New Hampshire was also recently selected to receive an additional $3.1 million to complement and expand their existing weatherization program, drive innovation, and deliver even greater energy bill savings for local families.

New Hampshire’s efforts are contributing to the success of the program nationwide. After ramping up last year, the Weatherization Assistance Program is now weatherizing homes at its optimal rate—approximately 25,000 homes per month. With 200,000 homes weatherized nationally, states are more than a third of the way to reaching the President’s goal of weatherizing nearly 600,000 homes under the Recovery Act. This summer alone, more than 80,000 homes are being weatherized nationwide versus 3,000 last summer. Including homes weatherized with annual program funding, more than 300,000 homes have now been weatherized since the Recovery Act began.

The weatherization program is also creating thousands of jobs locally—putting carpenters, electricians, and factory workers back to work installing insulation, upgrading appliances, and improving heating and cooling systems. According to state reports, the Recovery Act Weatherization Assistance Program supported more than 13,000 jobs in the second quarter of 2010, including approximately 120 jobs in New Hampshire. These workers are receiving training in energy upgrades that will help form the foundation for a sustainable energy efficiency industry in America that can extend to the more than 100 million middle-class homes that stand to benefit from weatherization.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program helps lower-income families save energy and money by improving the energy efficiency of their homes. According to a recent study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, weatherization services save families an average of more than $400 in energy costs during the first year after home retrofits are installed. Overall, the Administration is investing about $90 billion through the Recovery Act in clean energy and energy-efficiency projects that cut costs, reduce energy use and create new jobs.

The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Counterfeit “Square D” Circuit Breakers

Units: About 43,600

Distributor: Miami Breaker Inc. MBI, of Miami, Fla.

Importer: General Breakers and Panels Inc., of Miami, Fla.

Hazard: The recalled circuit breakers labeled “Square D” or “SQD” have been determined to be counterfeit by Square D and can fail to trip when they are overloaded, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The counterfeit circuit breakers are marked as Square D in the QO series. The models are QO115 about 7,800 units, QO120 about 26,300 units, QO130 about 3,200 units, QO215 about 350 units, QO220 about 720 units, QO230 about 1,780 units, QO240 about 1,130 units, QO250 about 1,150 units and QO260 about 1,150 units. Genuine Square D QO breakers have the following: 1 the amp rating written on the handle in white paint on the front of the breaker, 2 the Square D insignia molded onto the breaker side; 3 a yellow chromate clip with half of the top of the clip visible. If your breaker does not match this description, it could be counterfeit.

Sold to: Electrical product distributors and wholesalers nationwide from March 2005 through July 2006. Single pole breakers sold for between $3 and $4, double pole breakers were sold for between $8 and $9.

Manufactured in: Unknown

Remedy: Consumers should immediately contact Miami Breaker to determine if their circuit breaker is counterfeit and if necessary, arrange a free inspection and replacement.

Consumer Contact: Consumers can contact MBI at 800 941-1112 between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. Consumers can email the firm at info@miamibreaker.com

If you have an air conditioner that uses R-22 you don’t have to replace it now and you can get it repaired if it has problems. The EPA does recommend that if you need major repairs you think about replacing it with an ENERGY STAR air conditioner or use an alternative coolant that doesn’t harm the ozone layer. As the EPA phases out the R-22 chemical over the next decade, the price will go up, and by 2020 there will be very little R-22 left.

via new_air_conditioner_regulations.

The regulation in question—the “Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program LRRP”—implements a new rule that requires renovation and repair contractors working on homes, schools and day care centers built before 1978 to be lead-safe certified as approved by the EPA or face hefty fines.

The goal of the rule is to protect people’s health, especially children’s, the EPA said in a press release.

One of the bigger problems, opponents say, is the EPA overlooked a crucial step in making the regulation a costly reality. There are not enough certified trainers to accommodate the demand of contractors across the country.

The limited number of training providers hurts contractors who must go out of their way to find or wait on training. A May 26 press release from the office of Senator Susan Collins R-Maine points out that there are only three EPA-certified trainers in Maine, forcing hundreds of contractors to wait for training.

The amendment to the Fiscal Year 2010 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations H.R. 4899 bill aims to protect contractors against EPA fines if they sign up for training by September 30, 2010.

Another dilemma with the regulation is the EPA’s elimination of the regulation’s opt-out option—contractors working in homes without children and/or pregnant women need not be trained. The removal of the opt-out doubles the number of potential contractor jobs subject to the rule, exacerbating the backlog of people waiting to be trained.

In a letter to the EPA dated November 27, 2009, the Office of Advocacy advised against a proposed amendment to eliminate the opt-out option in the rule.

“Under the current ‘opt-out’ provision, the homeowner may choose whether or not to comply with the full set of LRRP requirements,” the letter reads.

Advocacy “supports EPA’s effort to impose reasonable minimum work practice standards, including clean-up standards that will ensure protection of the health of young children and pregnant women.” However, due to the high expense and current lack of training providers, Advocacy opposes the expansion of this rule.

—Reese Higgins, Office of Advocacy Intern

via The Small Business Watchdog » Blog Archive » » Bill Would Give Contractors More Time to Sign up For Lead-Safe Certification Training.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Dishwashers

Units: About 1.7 million in the United States

Manufacturer: Maytag Corp. of Newton, Iowa or Maytag Corp. of Benton Harbor, Mich.

Hazard: An electrical failure in the dishwasher’s heating element can pose a serious fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: Maytag has received 12 reports of dishwasher heating element failures that resulted in fires and dishwasher damage, including one report of extensive kitchen damage from a fire. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recall includes Maytag®, Amana®, Jenn-Air®, Admiral®, Magic Chef®, Performa by Maytag® and Crosley® brand dishwashers with plastic tubs and certain serial numbers. The affected dishwashers were manufactured with black, bisque, white, silver and stainless steel front panels. The brand name is printed on the front of the dishwasher. The model and serial numbers are printed on a label located inside the plastic tub on a tag near the left side of the door opening. Serial numbers will start or end with one of the following sequences.

Sold at: Department and appliance stores and by homebuilders nationwide from February 2006 through April 2010 for between $250 and $900.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled dishwashers, disconnect the electric supply by shutting off the fuse or circuit breaker controlling it, inform all users of the dishwasher about the risk of fire and contact Maytag to verify if their dishwasher is included in the recall. If the dishwasher is included in the recall, consumers can either schedule a free in-home repair or receive a rebate following the purchase of certain new Maytag brand stainless-steel tub dishwashers. The rebate is $150 if the consumer purchases new dishwasher models MDB7759, MDB7609 or MDBH979; or $250 if the consumer purchases new dishwasher models MDB8959, MDB8859, MDB7809 or MDB7709. Consumers should not return the recalled dishwashers to the retailer where purchased as retailers are not prepared to take the units back.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Maytag at (800) 544-5513 anytime, or visit the firm’s website at www.repair.maytag.com

In a recent enforcement action, EPA alleged that Michael Perugini violated the federal Lead Disclosure Rule when he failed to disclose information about lead paint to seven tenants when leasing units at his Bristol apartment buildings. Specifically, Mr. Perugini failed to provide records or reports regarding lead hazards, failed to make sure that the lease included a Lead Warning Statement and a statement disclosing the known or unknown presence of lead- based paint, and failed to provide a copy of EPA’s lead hazard information pamphlet to its lessees.

In addition to paying the fine, Mr. Perugini will perform a lead abatement project that will include the replacement of windows and doors, presumed to contain lead paint, in several residential apartment buildings in Bristol, Conn.The violations all occured in Bristol, at units owned and operated by Mr. Perugini, at 309, 353 and 372 Park Street, 41 Stearns Street and 21 Wolcott Street.

The purpose of the Disclosure Rule is to give tenants adequate information about the risks associated with lead paint so that they can make informed decisions before signing a lease agreement.

Infants and young children are especially vulnerable to lead paint exposure, which can cause developmental impairment, reading and learning disabilities; impaired hearing; reduced attention span, hyperactivity and behavioral problems. Adults with high lead levels can suffer difficulties during pregnancy, high blood pressure, nerve disorders, memory problems and muscle and joint pain.

Federal law requires that property owners, property managers and real estate agents leasing or selling housing built before 1978 provide the following information to tenants and buyers: an EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlet, called Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home; a lead warning statement; statements disclosing any known lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards; and copies of all available records or reports regarding lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards. This information must be provided to tenants and buyers before they enter into leases or purchase and sales agreements. Property owners, property managers and real estate agents equally share responsibility for providing lead disclosure information and must retain copies of records regarding lead disclosures for three years.

via 06/02/2010:.

The company, WCI Communities, was so concerned that it started planning to tear out the material and rebuild the houses. But it never disclosed the problem to the bulk of its customers or to government authorities.

Read full article via Tainted Chinese Drywall - ProPublica.

‘The most striking thing that differentiates our line of exterior doors from anything else in the market is the strong sensual appeal of our unique formed glass designs’ said Bill McColl, creative director of Sculptural Glass Doors. ‘The ClearCast glass has a lot of visual pop and definitely makes a statement. That is often a desirable quality in a front door or main entry. You want to draw the eye and clearly mark the point of entry.’

The collection of stile and rail doors from Sculptural Glass Doors exploits the way ClearCast Glass interacts with light resulting in a range of dynamic aesthetic effects. ClearCast Glass has also been patented for its enhanced thermal performance. For more information about the aesthetic qualities and functional features of ClearCast Glass, see ‘About ClearCast Glass’ on the company website.

Sculptural Glass Doors provides personal attention to clients throughout the process from sale through production to delivery. Handcrafted doors are made-to-order only, built to each client’s individual specifications. Choices within each design include a variety of glass tints, wood species, and finishes, along with custom sizing and an optional prehang package. Both single and double door packages are available. Prices start at $1,890 and all options are clearly priced on the website. Entry doors are shipped nationwide at low flat rates. Available exclusively at www.SculpturalGlassDoors.com.

Read full article via Spring Brings Contractor Con Artists Out Of Hibernation - Clarke Daily News