How to Customize Your Own Art

Meet today's podcast guest, Don Rattner. He is an architect like me and has been creating ways for you and I to customize our own artwork for our home and office. Check out the short video to hear more about it.

Go to this link to download the podcast to listen at your leisure... "Click Here For a FREE Podcast!"

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Yikes! Mold in your basement! What do you do?

Maybe it is the same in your area; we have had a lot of rain during the last few days in the NYC area. The rain has made the air really humid in-between the times when the downpours come. During this season, you need to be aware of any mold that might be growing around your home and office.

Here is a photo of one of the areas where they found a patch that looks like black mold.



It seems to be caused by water that was allowed to enter the basement through a poorly sealed air intake grille. Here is a photo of the grille. Notice the bead of sealant that is uneven and clumped up in some areas. If you were there, you would be able to see daylight shining through gaps from the inside of the basement at this joint.


First things first: Remember, you must have the source of the moisture removed before you attach the mold – or it will just come back again. No remediation of mold is final. Mold can always find its way back to the area remediated.

The photos above are from a property that a client wanted us to see. Once we shared with our client some methods that work well at keeping moisture out of the basement and what construction materials can be used that are not proned to accept mold, we also let them know a little about mold. Since Lane Architecture + Design is not an office with any experts in mold, we obtained a lot of the information that you will see can be found almost word for word in an excellent book by a mold expert, Michael Pugliese, The Homeowner’s Guide to Mold, (Reed Construction Data, Inc., Construction Publishers & Consultants, 63 Smiths Lane, Kingston, MA 02364-0880, (781) 422-5000, Copyright 2006). Michael is also a mold remediation contractor…

Although mold can be very dangerous to our health, know the facts about mold so you don't get snookered by some of the mold remediation contractors who are not very honest. They will try to scare you into hiring them at any cost.

Here is some basic facts about mold and how it spreads:

Mold spores need a few things to grow:
• Moisture – a relative humidity of roughly 50% or higher. Some people use hygrometers in their homes to keep track of the humidity.
• Food – material it can grow on, such as wood and wood products, paper, cotton, and leather. Mold will grow on anything where there is moisture and food, such as dirt or dust.
• The right temperature – above freezing and below 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Summer-like temperatures, between 70 - 90 degrees, are especially conducive to mold growth. Freezing does not kill mold spores; it just makes them go dormant until temperatures warm up again.


Does bleach get rid of the mold?
Certain types of mold are chlorine-resistant. People apply bleach, but the mold comes right back. In fact, it never went away. Some mold remeditators use ammonia based cleaners. Ammonia and bleach combined can cause toxic fumes and should especially be avoided if you are planning to have an expert help you get rid of it.

Here are some great questions that Michael Pugliese recommends you to ask mold remediation contractors before hiring any:

• Are you mold-certified?
• What organization provided your certification?
• Are the individuals who will actually perform the work certified?
• How long have you been in business?
• Can you provide me with at least three references?
• May I have copies of your liability and Worker’s Compensation insurance?
• Do you clean HVAC systems and air ducts?
• What methods do you use to keep mold spores from spreading?

I hope you are having a great summer and staying dry.

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Freedom Is Not Free

Hope you are having a wonderful 4th of July.

Take pause for a moment and watch this video by a mentor of mine, Mr. Ron Legrand. (His name sounds alot like "Legare'" doesn't it?).

Ron shares a story about the sacrifices that the signers of the Declaration of Independence had to risk and endure.

It will help you appreciate today even more!

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Bamboo Living Homes

This short video shows how efficient bamboo is as a building product.

Would you like to live in any of the homes in this video?

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Office Furniture Ideas

In case you were not able to attend the NeoCon convention this year, let me share with you some of the things that I saw there.

"Haworth" had an outstanding showroom filled with awesome furniture that can be used in offices and classrooms.

Knoll’s and Herman Miller’s showrooms were a good place to visit too. Some of the things that I saw in their showroom and in some of their “me too” competitors included:

• Ergonomically designed chairs. They had lines that were designed with various uses in mind. There were conference room chairs and desk chairs that looked enough alike but different enough to serve unique spacial needs.

• White boards were common too. Some showrooms showed entire walls finished with glossy white laminate surfaces that allowed the officer user to mark upon them with erasable color markers. Another variation of this was a special glossy white paint that can be applied to gypsum board walls that allow for erasable color markers to be used on them.

• Haworth has a good raised floor system that allows for almost any finished panel to be placed in tile like fashion. The finish of these panels could be terrazzo, VCT, stone, wood, or anything else you might want to step on. Raised floor systems allow the office to be wired and ducted below the walking surface. This allows the users to have easier access to the electrical, data, and HVAC systems in case these systems need to be altered during a future renovation of the office.

• There were several wall systems out there too. Every showroom had a slight variation of their design at the corners, base boards, and the way they butt the glass at joints. Some looked better than others. Haworth had one of the better designs.

• Of course, there were some gratuitous “green” designs. One showroom had polished river rocks in some kind of resin flooring system with log type benches and lime green upholstery. It was so “in your face” green that it just looked just manipulative towards anyone they hoped were overzealous about being environmentally conscience. I looked for photos of a particularly annoying showroom that had so much fake green stuff in it, it should have been in a Disney set, but I guess even that vendor was too embarrassed to broadcast photos to everyone.

There were a lot of other things that were there to see and I would be happy to talk with you further to even compare notes about what you might have seen there. Feel free to leave a comment below, email me at info@LaneArchitecture.net or call me at 212-594-2007 to catch up.



-Larry

P.S. Haworth flew me up there to join them at NeoCon and to see their factory in Michigan. Thank you, Haworth for giving me such the red carpet treatment.

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Give Your Dad This for Father's Day!

"Click Here to Get the Best Father's Day Present Ever"

Don't forget that this Sunday is Father's Day. What are going to give that person who mentored you?

Here is a great idea, give him a package of Kennedy's All-American shaving products. They have been developed over 9 months of trials by my friend, Chris Hurn.




This is my buddy, Chris Hurn.

You may remember Chris from my last two podcast shows. He is the guy that has been spilling the beans about how to buy commercial real estate even in the recession. Chris used his own commercial loan product and bought a chain of barber shops and renamed it Kennedy's All-American Barber Club.

Go to this link to download the podcast to listen at your leisure... "Click Here to Hear More"

Some people say that the barber shop was named after the famous business and motivational speaker/author, Dan Kennedy. The concept of the club is a lot more involved than what I can explain here, but listen to this Monday's radio show to learn more after you given your dad the Kennedy's awesome shaving products.



During the upcoming radio show, will hear how Chris trashed up his own bathroom while developing this new set of shaving products to the point that his wife was about to kick him out of the house. Don't miss hearing more about it during the upcoming radio show on Monday, June 21, 2010 at 5:30 pm EST.

Here is the link to the list of podcasts that you can just click on the itunes icon to listen at your leisure as a podcast "Click Here to Hear Our Radio Show about Kennedy's Barber Club"

Read more about what I have to say about this great way to start your day and buy your dad the best gift you can ever find at


"Click Here to Get the Best Father's Day Present Ever"











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David Byrne: How architecture helped music evolve

I have always been a fan of David Byrne because he has consistantly hit a nerve inside of me. From studying (architecture, I think) at the Rhode Island School of Design, writing and filming a spoof about living in my home republic of Texas, and to his experiencial use of spaces to create music, David has demonstrated that he really is a creative artist that likes to push the envelope.

Take a look at how he explains how architecture shapes music and then let me know what you think. Have you noticed that the music you hear is affected by where it is performed?

On a side note, I will be attending the NeoCon convention this week. If you are going there too, give me a call at 212-594-2007 so we can meet and greet while there.

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