Raleigh, North Carolina. Home elevators.  I received an email from a couple who are thinking about having an elevator installed in the home they are going to have built.  Since more and more high end homes either have an elevator or have plans that provide for the installation of one later on, this is a good time to discuss them.  Some are installed just for the sake of convenience (or perhaps to show off a little) while others provide a solution to very real need such as physical problems or getting heavy items from floor to floor.  Typical home elevators range in price from around $13,000 to $30,000 while custom elevators can START at about $50,000.  You can personalize the elevator cab with glass, match the wood used in your home, paint a mural, whatever you think goes well with the style of home being built and the interior woods and paints being used.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

COST - The cost varies and is based on size, cab finish, drive system and speed.  WEIGHT CAPACITY - Capacity ranges from about 450 to 1,500 pounds.  I think you should opt for one that can handle 900 to 1000 lbs.   CAR SIZE - Common sizes are 36 x 48,  36 x 60,  40 x 54  and 42 x 60.  You need to work this out with your plan designer/architect and/or builder.  WARRANTY - Most companies offer a one-year warranty on materials and workmanship.  You would do well to see if your builder will give you a one-year warranty on any installation work he does.  SERVICE CONTRACT - Ask the company you are considering purchasing from if they offer a service contract for maintainance and what it covers.  CODES - Forgive the vulgarity but CYA ALL THE WAY!  Have your builder provide you with both the national and local codes that apply to residential elevators.  A building permit is required prior to installation.  You want to know what it says and you should go over it with your builder.

There are four types of residential elevators: Winding Drum, Traction, Hydraulic and Pneumatic.  The two most commonly used are Winding Drum and Hydraulic.  The Winding Drum has a set of cables attached to the car.  Winding the cables in one direction lifts the car while unwinding lowers it.  There is a backup battery that is used to lower the car in case of a disruption of power. Advantages of this system: (1) It has been around a long time and is a proven system.  (2) No need for a separate room to house the machine  (3) While it costs less than a hydraulic system, the battery backup makes the prices of the two systems about equal.  Disadvantages of the system: (1) As many winding drum systems have the motor in the shaft it can be noisy.  (2) As the motor is in the shaft they are more difficult to repair.  (3) A relatively large motor is needed to carry the weight of the car  (4) Room is needed above, below or to the side of the elevator to house the motor and the back up battery. 

Hydraulic Systems move an elevator by pumping oil in and out of a cylinder.  The most used technology is cable hydraulic. The car in pulled up and down from above.  In this system the motor (which is a pump) in only needed for the up direction. Gravity is used for the down direction.  For power outages a battery is needed but a smaller one than is needed for the winding drum system because gravity takes care of most of what is needed to lower the car.  Advantages of the sytem: (1) - They provide a smoother ride.  (2) - The motor doesn’t have to adjoin the car  (3) - They are quieter because the motor is surrounded by oil which buffers the sound.  (4) - It can be put in any temperature-controlled area away from the core living space.  Disadvantages of the system:  (1) A separate room is needed for the hydraulic pump and battery.   

The kind (brand if you will) of elevator you get will usually depend on your builder, his local suppliers, and/or where it has to be ordered from.

Some of the elevator manufacturers are: (1) - LEV Home Elevator - www.dreamelevator.com  (2) - Cemcolift - www.cemcolift.com  (3) - Elevator Concepts - www.elevatorconcepts.com  (4) - Inclinator - www.inclinator.com  (5) - Schumacher Elevator Co. - www.schumacherelevator.com  (6) - Universal Elevator - www.universalelevator.com  (7) - Waupaca Elevator Co. - www.waupachaelevator.com

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh, North Carolina.  New million dollar homes.  There are currently 41 homes under construction in North Raleigh ranging from $1 million to $ 4 million plus.  By subdivision and the number in each: Belmont Ridge - 2, Chatsworth Overlook - 1, Devon - 1, Faircroft - 1, Falls Preserve - 1, Glenlake South - 1, Hasentree - 10, Leesville Crest - 2, Linville - 2, North Ridge - 2, Papillon Park - 1, Rose Hall - 4, The Barony - 4, The Gates at Ethan’s Glen - 1, The Registry - 3, Tuscan Lake - 2, and Wakefield Plantation - 1.

Homes that will be open during the Parade of Homes that I would recommend that you take the time to see are (by Builder, subdivision and address): Walt Steen - Hasentree - 7500 Hasentree Club Dr., Steven Dilger - Hasentree - 1300 Glennis Court, Phil Miller - Linville - 2920 Cone Manor Lane, Silver Crest Homes - Linville - 2921 Cone Manor Lane, J.H. Carter - The Registry - 5867 Byrn Brooke, and Mike Houseman - Rose Hall - 2108 Cadenza Lane.  The quality presented by each of these builders speaks for itself.

If you would like information on any of these subdivisions or any of these homes or if you would like to arrange to see any of them please feel free to call me or send me an email.

John Fish (919) 696-3474    Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com     Website: www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh, North Carolina.  Trammell Crow and York Ventures to do downtown Raleigh condo project.   There is a new condo project on the boards for downtown Raleigh.  It is called Hue.  I don’t know where the name comes from and I don’t think it would have taken much time for me (or you) to come up with a better one but we weren’t asked so - Hue - it will be.

Trammel Crow Residential and York Ventures purchased a 1.73 acre parking lot at the northwest corner of Hargett and Dawson streets from Bradshaw Parking for the project.  The cost was a tidy $4.3 million.  The project will consist of 208 condos, a 300-space parking deck and 7,300 square feet of shops.

John Fish (919) 696-3474     Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com     Website:  www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh, North Carolina.  Greek Revival Home Style.  If you have ever seen and enjoyed the grace and charm of a southern plantation home with a huge veranda and tall, stately columns, chances are you were seeing a Greek Revival style home.  Scarlett O’Hara’s Tara was an example of Greek Revival style architecture.  The architect in America who seems to have been the first to use classical Greek design for homes was Benjamin Latrobe.  Benjamin came to America from England and his main period of influence was in the mid-1800s. 

The decorative design elements of a Greek Revival home are:  * Symmetrical facades   * Doric, Ionic and Corinthian details on the columns   * Gabled or hipped low-pitched roof   * Decorative pilasters   * High first-floor double-hung windows   * Cornice line with wide trim band   * Tin roof (sounds great when it rains)   * Front pedimented gables on entablature   * Clapboard siding (usually painted white)   * Pediment-shaped window heads   * Front porch supported by columns   * Simple exterior and interior moldings   * Narrow sidelights on both sides of the front door and a horizontal transom above it.  * Hopper windows in the frieze   * Fireplace chimneys on each of the wings

John Fish (919) 696-3474    Email:  Marvmax@mindspring.com    Website:  www.JohnFish.com

Apex, North Carolina.  A 1000 acre, 10 year project called Trinity is on the way in Apex.  It will be between downtown Apex and Holly Springs and have a dramatic impact on the size and economy of Apex and surrounding areas.  It will have as many as 4,000 homes, half a million square feet of commercial space and a hotel.  The site, which is bordered by U.S. 1, N.C. 55, and the future I-540, was approved for rezoning at an Apex board meeting on Tuesday evening.  Projects of this size don’t just happen overnight.  It may take another year for site plans to be drawn up and approved by the Apex planning board.

Those who still think of Apex as a sleepy small town just West of Raleigh aren’t keeping up with the times.  In 1990, Apex counted 7,257 residents.  In 2006 that number had grown to 26,311. Projections call for that number to be nearly 31,500 by 2011.

John Fish (919) 696-3474         Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com         Website:  www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh, North Carolina.  Georgian Style homes were built for the well to do in the 1700s and they continue to be popular today. Their style instantly brings to mind the style and look of Williamburg, Virginia.  There was a variation in Georgian styles as built in Southern, Mid-Atlantic and New England states.

Almost everything about this style speaks of balance.  In books and articles I have read about Georgian homes over the years the style is sometimes talked about as an “elegant box.”  I find it hard to agee with that evaluation.  Let’s look at the characteristics of the style:

* Balanced proportion   * A very symmetrical design   * Several dormers   * Paneled doors   * Aligned double-hung multipaneled windows with flat arch   * Steep pitched roof - gabled or hipped in the South and gambrel in New England       * Roof Balustrades   * Two chimneys   * Siding of brick or stone or wood.  The Georgian homes you see in magazines such as Architectural Digest are usually all brick.  * Ornate entrances with cornices having decorative moldings and pilasters.

I have seen seen a couple of Georgian style homes that present a very striking and unusual appearance.  They are done in stucco with brick quoins and belt courses.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website:  www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh, North Carolina.  In the continuing search for new industry, new jobs and a strong economic future for North Carollina the North Carolina State Legislature budget calls for $120 million in research funds.  This includes funds to UNC-Chapel Hill for cancer research, a new research campus in Kannapolis, bioenergy and bioengineering at N.C. State and UNC-Greensboro, biomanufacturing at N.C. Central University, regenerative medicine at Wake Forest University and N.C.A&T and UNCG will create a joint school in nanoscience and nano-engineering.

John Fish (919) 696-3474    Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com 

Durham, North Carolina.  America’s Capital Partners, a Miami investment group, purchased nine office buildings at the Meridian Business Campus.  The price they paid Prince Properties for the 612,000 square feet involved was $93.75 million or about $153 per square foot.  Buildings in Meridian are about 65% leased.  However, the strong demand for office space throughout the area and increasing rent rates make the availability of space a commodity to be desired.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

Durham, North Carolina.  The Imperial Center in Durham will be the site of a 10-story global headquarters building for Quintiles International.  The site, off I-40 at Page Road will also have a 207-room, eight-story Westin Hotel.  Quintiles, a contract medical research company, helps pharmaceutical companies test medicines before they are marketed.

John Fish (919) 696-3474       Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com       Website: www.JohnFish.com

Apex, North Carolina.  1,300 homes. townhomes, and condos, 220,000 square feet of retail shops, 80,000 square feet of office space, 35 miles of walkways and a 13 acre park are all coming to 170 acres in neartheast Apex.  The area in question connects downtown Apex with U.S. 64.  The development will be called The Villages of Apex.  Construction will start this month and the build-out period is projected to be about five years.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website:  www.JohnFish.com