Building Cleaning Services Alerts the Public of Danger of Mold in Older Office Buildings

LOS ANGELES, CA: Building Cleaning Services (BCS) (http://buildingcleaningservices.net), a mold remediation company, is alerting the public of the dangers of mold in older office buildings. This comes in light of a recent $1 million mold remediation project that has been proposed to remove mold in a Department of Education building in Dandridge,Tennesee.

The proposal is to restore the Department of Education building, part of which was built in 1845. Mold problems caused the office staff to move out in July of this year and find quarters in a bank building in Dandridge. The mold removal proposal is being considered, as opposed to a $11 million proposal for a brand new building.

Kathy Liverance, co-owner of Building Cleaning Services, stated: “It is vital for owners and managers of older office buildings, to be on the lookout for mold and have an independent mold inspector test for mold whenever common signs are present, such as water staining, musty odors, etc. We see this often in buildings we work on in the Los Angeles area. If mold is suspected, it is best to have testing done by an independent company that doesn’t do the actual mold removal work. That way there is no conflict of interest.”

BCS performs mold remediation and environmental deep cleanings in office buildings, apartments and homes. BCS is often chosen for the job because it consistently gets excellent results. Reviews of BCS’s work is available on Yelp at http://www.yelp.com/biz/building-cleaning-services-glendale

For more information about mold removal, go to BCS’s informational website (http://buildingcleaningservices.net).

BCS provides water damage dry out, mold removal services, environmental deep cleaning, post construction cleaning, and commercial janitorial services for the Greater Los Angeles area and other areas of Southern California. Established in 1997, they have over a decade of experience as a company with excellent service, high professionalism and work ethic. BCS is certified by the Institute of Inspection and Cleaning and Restoration and Environmental Testing & Technology. To learn more, visit http://www.BuildingCleaningServices.net, or call 818-953-7100 or e-mail bcs@buildingcleaningservices.net.

Study Reveals Possible Role Mold Plays in Asthma Development

LOS ANGELES, CA: Building Cleaning Services (BCS) (http://buildingcleaningservices.net), wants the public to be aware of a study released in September 2011 that shows exposure to mold at certain points in a child’s development has an impact on the development of asthma.

The study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and by scientists at the University of Cincinnati (UC) found that mold exposure during a critical window of child development was associated with a three-fold greater risk for asthma later in childhood.

Information on the NIEHS study can be found here:
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2011/september/science-asthma/index.cfm

This study also references previous other studies where asthma is estimated to cause several thousand deaths each year and to cost more than $15 billion per year in direct medical expenses.

Kathy Liverance, co-owner of Building Cleaning Services, stated: “It is important for parents of young children to be aware of the signs of mold in their homes, and when mold is suspected, to get the residence tested by a certified mold inspector as soon as possible. Asthma is a serious problem, and when we know there is a correlation between mold and asthma, it becomes even more important to remove mold when it shows up.”

BCS performs mold remediation and environmental deep cleanings in office buildings, apartments and homes. BCS is often chosen for the job because it consistently gets excellent results. Reviews of BCS’s work is available on Yelp at http://www.yelp.com/biz/building-cleaning-services-glendale

For more information about mold removal, go to BCS’s informational website (http://buildingcleaningservices.net).

BCS provides water damage dry out, mold removal services, environmental deep cleaning, post construction cleaning, and commercial janitorial services for the Greater Los Angeles area and other areas of Southern California. Established in 1997, they have nearly 20 years of experience as a company with excellent service, high professionalism and work ethic. BCS is certified by the Institute of Inspection and Cleaning and Restoration and Environmental Testing & Technology. To learn more, visit http://www.BuildingCleaningServices.net, or call 818-953-7100 or e-mail bcs@buildingcleaningservices.net.

Brite Smiles Dental Care Now Offering FastBraces® Turbo™ Braces

New Technical Advance Allows Braces in Just 100 Days

APPLE VALLEY, MN – Brite Smiles Dental Care (http://www.britesmilesdentalcare.com), in Apple Valley is now offering teeth straightening with FastBraces® Turbo™ in 100 days or less.

FastBraces® Turbo™ braces are the latest in cutting edge orthodontic technology offered by Brite Smiles Dental Care.

Dr. Dennis Simmons, founder of Brite Smiles Dental Care stated “You really can get your teeth beautifully straightened in 100 days or less due to the FastBraces® Turbo™ brackets, which are uniquely different. These are faster than fast and have the same great results for the patient – straight and beautiful teeth that stay straight forever. We are proud to offer this new technical advance to our patients.”

Dr. Dennis Simmons graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry in 1976, receiving the Class Honor in prosthetics – dentures partial and full. Since then he has participated in over 3000 hours of continuing education courses, focusing primarily on cosmetic and reconstructive dentistry, dental implants and implant-supported restorations, orthodontics, extractions, crown/bridge, root canals, bite and TMJ disorders, and sleep apnea. For his studies, he has been honored with the status of “Diplomate” from the International Congress of Oral Implantology and the International Osseous (bone) Integration Society. For more information on orthodontics services and options from Brite Smiles Dental Care, visit http://britesmilesdentalcare.com, or call 952-891-8484.

Crowder Law Center Holds “Trial of the Century” Songwriting Contest

LOS ANGELES, CA: Los Angeles Attorney Douglas A. Crowder (http://crowderlaw.com) is holding a songwriting contest in which the first prize is $1,000, second prize is $500, and third prize is $250.

Dubbed the “Trial of the Century Songwriting Contest,” the contest is specifically for songwriters to write music to go along with lyrics written by Crowder for a musical comedy play entitled “Trial of the Century.” Crowder has written lyrics for 14 songs to be used in the musical, and contest entrants can write music for one or all of the 14 songs.

Douglas Crowder stated “Write the music for any of the 14 songs in the musical. If you need to modify the lyrics to make the music fit, that’s ok, so long as you keep the message of the song. Then send me a recording to demonstrate the melody and tempo. No entry fee for the contest. No limit to the number of entries you can make. You can write the music for one song, or for all 14 songs. ANY type of music is acceptable, including rock, folk, country, hip-hop, rap, pop, polka, classical – with one exception. No Country-Metal if you please! I will be the sole judge of the contest, and the only criteria will be whichever tune I like the best, or possibly what I think will sell the best.”

Songwriters interested in entering the contest can find out more here:
http://www.crowderlaw.com/trial-of-the-century/

Mr. Crowder has been practicing debt relief and other areas of law in California since 1989, and has been approved by the California Bar to provide Continuing Legal Education to attorneys (Provider Number 13474). Those interested in attending one of his seminars (attorneys and non-attorneys) can contact Mr. Crowder’s office at 213-325-3040, by email at dcrowder@crowderlaw.com, or on their website at http://crowderlaw.com.

Big Trees Inc. Ships Big Blue Spruce to California

SNOHOMISH, WA: Big Trees Inc., (http://bigtreesupply.com/), a tree transplant and tree nursery company in the Seattle area, shipped a large Blue Spruce tree to Northern California, near San Francisco.

Big Trees was contacted over a year ago by a landscape coordinator for a city near San Francisco. The coordinator had a request for a large Blue Spruce, and Big Trees let him know about the 25’ tall Blue Spruce they had in their nursery. After a number of exchanges and discussions, the tree was shipped out to their location this week to be planted by their team.

Once the details and expenses were arranged and agreed on, a receiving date was set. Big Trees coordinated the appropriate USDA certifications to ship the tree into that region of California, and coordinated the trucking and trailer configuration. Their crews went to work digging and root-balling the tree a few days before the truck’s arrival, getting it ready to be loaded out. The tree dug out at a weight of 10,000 pounds, and had a root ball that was 6’x6’ wide, and 3’ deep. The tree was rigged and loaded onto the deck of the truck, where it was padded and arranged so as to resist much of the settling and impact a root ball can suffer on a long highway trip.

Nancy Penrose, owner of Big Trees Inc., stated “The Big Trees team worked hard to accommodate this interstate order, and from the office to the handling crew, everyone put their best effort and experience into making this a successful offering to our associates in the San Francisco area. The experience of sending out one of our large trees to a community states away is an exciting one for sure, and knowing that it will go on to have a new life in a different region, after it came close to being cut down a few years ago, is very rewarding.”

Nancy Penrose is the owner of Big Trees Inc. (http://www.bigtreesupply.com), located in Snohomish, WA, in the Seattle area. The company is one of the largest tree nurseries in the Seattle area with over 120,000 trees available in over 300 varieties. They not only can deliver young trees but also mature trees in a wide range of sizes. Some types of trees available include spring flowering, deciduous, evergreen, and privacy trees. The company also does tree transplanting including large trees. Their blog can be seen at http://bigtreesupply.com/blog or at http://bigtreemover.net/blog/.

Is Your Home Safe in an Earthquake?

Julian Construction, Inc., (http://www.julianconstruction.com), a foundation repair and construction company in Los Angeles, is releasing information to the public on a few types of homes that are especially at risk during an earthquake.

What: Wood Frame Multi-Family Buildings

Risk: Soft-Story Problems. A soft-story residential building is one that has wide open spaces on the ground floor for windows or garage doors, retail or parking space, and housing on upper floors, and built before recent stricter building codes. The risk is that the lower floor can collapse.

What to do: If you live in this type of building and you own it, contact a foundation contractor or structural engineer to handle the retrofitting and ensure it’s safe. If you rent, ask your landlord what has been done in the way of earthquake retrofitting to bring the building up to current codes.

What: Older Single-Family Homes

Risk: Cripple Wall Problems. Older (often pre-WWII) houses are often not properly bolted to their foundations and/or don’t have properly braced cripple walls. (The walls around the crawl space below the structure). In an earthquake the wood frame could come off of its foundation, the cripple walls can lean or collapse, the foundation itself can crack, or the chimney could break at the roof line.

What to do: Earthquake retrofitting can be done by a qualified foundation contractor. This would typically include a combination of anchor bolting and reinforcing the cripple walls to prevent collapse.

What: Mobile Homes

Risk: Mobile homes installed prior to 1995 that are not properly secured to their foundations can shift off their supports during an earthquake.

What to do: There are three common earthquake retrofitting methods that can ensure that mobile homes are properly secured to their foundations (in order of effectiveness and cost):

1. You can have a conventional foundation installed (similar to what’s used for a wood frame home);
2. For new homes or existing homes being relocated, owners are required to install an engineered tiedown system using standard plan approvals; or
3. For existing homes, owners can install a certified earthquake resistant bracing system.


Julian De La Torre, founder and owner of Julian Construction, stated: “You shouldn’t have to worry about whether your home will be safe in the event of an earthquake. You should rest easy, knowing your home rests on a structurally sound foundation. We can inspect your home to find out what steps are needed to get it there. We offer free foundation inspections for homeowners, and for those with a higher cripple wall, we can review plans or obtain the engineering necessary for your project.”

Julian Construction owns its own company and is built on a “no middlemen” model – no salesmen, no subcontractors. When you work with Julian Construction you get the principals of the company and workers of Julian Construction under your home. The result is the highest quality work at affordable prices. They can be contacted by phone at 323 733-3377, by fax at 323 733-4477 or via their websites, http://www.julianconstruction.com, or http://quakeproofers.com. You can see tips and advice about home foundations on their blog, at http://julianconstruction.com/blog/

What are the Most Common Types of Earthquake Damage?

Julian Construction, Inc., (http://www.julianconstruction.com), a foundation repair and construction company in Los Angeles, explains the most common types of damage caused by earthquakes to single-family homes.

Most earthquake damage is caused by shaking. The intensity of the shaking depends on three main factors:

1. The magnitude of the earthquake—in general, the bigger the earthquake, the more intense the shaking and the bigger the area affected.

2. The distance from the earthquake—the closer to the origination point, the more intense the shaking.

3. The type of ground material beneath the structure—different soil types can accentuate or minimize movement during an earthquake.

The most common types of damage caused by earthquakes are:
• Cripple wall shearing and collapse. The walls around a crawl space under the home can shear (lean) or collapse if not correctly braced.
• Improperly bolted houses sliding off their foundations.
• Damaged electrical or gas lines. These can cause fires and even explosions if not handled immediately.
• Unsecured furniture and appliances falling and causing damage to the home or bodily injury.
• Chimneys can separate at the roof line, collapse, and fall over.
• Windows can crack or shatter. Windows with rounded corners are less likely to break, though not as common or readily available.
• Uprooted trees or broken branches falling on the house. Trees can cause a lot of damage if they fall on your home. Consider removing trees that are too close to the home or would be at risk of falling over.

Before the next big earthquake, you should put together an emergency kit that has enough water and supplies for 3 days. Then go through your home and check for risk factors for these types of damage. If you can- have your home’s foundation inspected and repair anything that needs to be fixed. If your home needs earthquake retrofitting, have it done as soon as possible so that you’re prepared.

"You shouldn’t have to worry about whether your home will be safe in the event of an earthquake. You should rest easy, knowing your home rests on a structurally sound foundation. We can inspect your home to find out what steps are needed to get it there. We offer free foundation inspections, and for those with a higher cripple wall, we can review plans or obtain the engineering necessary for your project," says Julian De La Torre, founder and owner of Julian Construction.

Julian Construction owns its own company and is built on a “no middlemen” model – no salesmen, no subcontractors. When you work with Julian Construction you get the principals of the company and workers of Julian Construction under your home. The result is the highest quality work at affordable prices. They can be contacted by phone at 323 733-3377, by fax at 323 733-4477 or via their websites, http://www.julianconstruction.com, or http://quakeproofers.com. You can see tips and advice about home foundations on their blog, at http://julianconstruction.com/blog/