Wake Forest, North Carolina.  An Unusually Good Value In Hasentree. ”Honey, what would you like for Christmas?”  If you have a pocket that can handle $2.4 million this home offers a lot pizazz, is a very liveable, and is an absolutely great one to entertain in.  The first five photos of the home are two front views, the foyer, the office/study (15×18) and the dining room (15×16.5).  The foyer features a high arched window wall and a detailed woodwork frame.  The dining room has a slim and graceful wrought iron chandelier.  The recessed medalion area above the chandelier and wainscoating accent the room.     

 I AM REVISING THIS POST.  THE SIZE OF IT CAUSED PROBLEMS, AT LEAST ON MY END, SO I HAVE DELEATED THE BALANCE AND AM ADDING IT, ONE SECTION AT A TIME TO FUTURE POSTS - STARTING ON DECEMBER 4.  ALSO, I HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT THIS DOES TO THE SPIDERS BUT - - - - .

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

Triangle, North Carolina.  Jobless Rate Great.  The eight county Triangle employment numbers for October stayed steady at 3.8%.  National unemployment is at 4.7%.  The Triangle has added more than 21,000 jobs during the year.  Technology, Health and Drug Research companies continue to be the strong spots and are backed up by the areas stabilizing forces of state government and the three major universities.  I have not seen the figures for Duke and North Carolina enrollment for this year but North Carolina State indicates that this year’s enrollment is 29,642. 

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

Sanford, North Carolina.  Airport Improvements And Expansion To Continue.  The Sanford-Lee County Regional Airport governing authority has approved the construction of 10 more small plane hangers.  There is already a new terminal that provides conference rooms, showers and rest lounges.  Those in the area are aware of the very important fact that the airport has a 6,500 foot runway with a parallel taxiway.  This is very important for handling corporate jets and commercial jets.  It’s a great facility for corporate aircraft and for individuals who need excellent facilities, quick access to the Triangle area but would like to skip the hassel of flying into RDU.

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

Raleigh, North Carolina.  LEDs By Cree Inc. Saves City $2,800.  It is encouraging to see that there are programs that save money rather than lose it in cost overrides.  The program in question in Downtown Raleigh utilizes 141 LEDs in a downtown garage that saves the city through lower electricity costs.  By the seventh year the $42,300 cost will start to provide savings.  At the south end of Fayetteville Street another garage will also use LEDs.

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

Wake County, North Carolina.  Feeling Funky?  Call WakeMed Or Rex Healthcare.  These local healthcare giants have filed plans for new facilities in North Raleigh, Cary, Garner and Holly Springs.  Not to be outdone, Duke University Hospital filed for a $596 million expansion at its Durham campus.  Duke Raleigh East is building a $22 million satellite health facility in Knightdale.  WakeMed has just filed plans for a $34.5 million facility in the Brier Creek area.  They also want to build a $25 million facility in Garner.  They are already building ”healthplexes” in Apex and Wendell. 

Want more? Rex has filed plans for a $6.8 million urgent care center in west Cary and another one of $5.5 million in Holly Springs.  This puts me in mind of the saying, “All dressed up and no place to go.”  THe media is full of the almost desperate need for doctors and nurses in the Triangle so how they are going to staff all these facilities is beyond me.   I seem to hear the click of a single pair of shoes echoing and re-echoing down an empty corridor and a voice saying, “The doctor will see you - - on April 19, 2008.”  Think I’m kidding?

When I was young it was a gas station on every corner.  Now, it looks like it is going to be a healthcare facility on every corner; for all the good it may do.

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

Cary, North Carolina.  Epic Games Licenses UE3 to SouthPeak Games of Texas.  UE3 (Engine 3 Technology) is software other companies can use as a base to develop their own PC and video games.  SouthPeak will use Epic’s technology in its “Monster Madness EX: Battle for Suburbia” game.  Makes one wonder whatever happened to Black Bart and BB guns.

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

Raleigh, North Carolina.  Homewood Nursery Christmas Displays.  Because of all the poinsettia photos from Homewood I have been putting into by posts, some of you will think I own a piece of their business.  Nope!  I think we all like pretty things and so I am showing some.  Second, I have been learning how to add photos to by blog so as they say - - practice, practice, practice! As to today’s photos, I am putting in several of their Christmas displays because I like them, because the post I had intended for today is at home on the coffee table, because I have a tooth ache and can stand something pretty to look at and because the last couple of days have been less than “user friendly”.    I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and survived “Black Friday”.

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

Raleigh, North Carolina.  Fake Stone Or Real?  Most people can’t tell the difference. 

NEW CASTING METHODS.  New methods of casting have given manufactured stone a natural look that’s hard to tell from the real thing.  A mixture of concrete, small stones and color pigments are poured into detailed rubber molds.  While the resulting texture and colors look like natural stone they are only surface deep.  Cuts need to be hidden along mortar lines to assure a realistic appearance.  Concrete stone colors are not just the grey, tan, brown and black of the past.  Now there are reds, greens, purples and blues that give a homes’ exterior more life and interest and provide much more latitude in the colors that can be used for wood trim and windows plus matching with the roofing material of choice.  If you add to this the difficulty many areas have in finding quality stone masons, the realtive ease of application of manufactured stone, the publics appetite for the for the product and the locations within a home it can be used in as well as outsife you come up with a very winning combination.

PRICE AND WEIGHT.  Manufactured stone and brick are about the same price.  It is about half the price of natural stone and about half the weight.  Because it is lighter in weight it is easier to move around where it is produced and in the locations where it is used.  The warranty for the product that is offered by most companies is 50 Years.  Since it is concrete it can take any type of weather you can throw at it.

USES for manufactured stone, other than for the exterior of a home, include kitchens, bathrooms, columns, hot tubs and indoor and outdoor fireplacesc.  As an exterior siding it is, in fact, the fastest growing of all exterior sidings.  The growth rate is quoted by industry sources as fifteen to seventeen percent in each of the last five years. 

APPLICATION.  Manufactured stone is installed in much the same way tile is.  It can be applied over block walls, concrete, plywood, rigid-foam instulation or OSB. If you want the stone exterior look without the natural stone exterior cost you should contact one of your local companies that sell the product and ask them for a list of homes they recently supplied manufactured stone for.  Drive around and see them for yourself.  I think you will find that they look like the real thing and not like some kind of cheap imitation.

SOURCES.  Here are a few of the many companies that produce manufactured stone:  Arrowhead Stone Mfg. - www.arrowheadstone.com,  Artistic Stone - www.artisticstone.com,  Centurion Stone Products - www.centurionstone.com,  Coronado Stone - www.coronado.com,  Crown Hill Stone - www.crownhill.com,  Dufferin Stone - www.dufferinstone.com,  Eldorado Stone - www.eldoradostone.com,  Environmental StoneWorks - www.estoneworks.com,  GAF Materials Corp. - www.gaf.com,  Halquist Stone - www.halquiststone.com,  Hammer Stone - Www.hammerstone.net,  JR Stones - www.pierresjr.com,  Mountain Stone Products - www.mtstone.com,  Owens Corning - www.culturedstone.com  Petra Stone - www.petrastone.com,  River Valley Stone - www.rvsproducts.com,  Stone Warehouse - www.stonewarehouse.net,  Sunset Stone - www.sunsetstone.net,  TriLite Stone - www.trilitestone.com 

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

Raleigh, North Carolina - Romantic Homes For Zoro And You.   The book I am going to recommend to you is, in effect reviewed in the December issue of Veranda magazine.  I say in effect because it is as much an interview with its author as is is a review of the book.  The author, by the way, is actress Diane Keaton.

Admittedly I am hooked on the Spanish Colonial and Tuscan styles of architecture and their derivations.  Diane is as well.  In fact, she has restored three such homes.  Her love for this style of architecture has caused to put together a book called California Romantica.  In it she showcases nineteen Spanish Colonial Revival and related style homes.  A description of the style is best taken directly the magazine article: “The often sculptural dwellings are known for their red tiled roofs, stucco walls, carved wood doors, wrought-iron window grills, shady balconies, colorful decorative tiles, courtyards, aarches and splashing fountains.”  That, indeed, is what the style is all about.  If you are a romantic (in theory or in practice) it doesn’t get any better than this.

The book carries a hefty price tag but if you love architecture and marvelous photography I think you will find it throughly enjoyable and well worth the price. 

I am still having some problems getting the photos I put on these posts to open to full size when you click on them.  I will get it right.  As I understand it the problem is with my computer - - - - - - the one between my ears!  I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving.  God Bless.

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

Durham, North Carolina.  Hawthorne Retail Partners Buys Fourth Shopping Center In Triangle.  Hawthorne’s purchase of the 40,524 square foot Shannon Plaza center for $2.43 million was equal to $59.96 per square foot.  Hawthorne is a Charlotte company.  They plan to update the center.  About a mile away they are doing an extensive re-do on what was Regency Plaza.  When finished the mix of shops and residences will be called University Marketplace.

TRIANGLE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SALES AT RECORD LEVELS.  Several commercial real estate deals in the area have fallen apart recently because of increased interest rates and increased equity demands.  Even so, CB Richard Ellis data indicates that at the end of the third quarter Triangle commercial properties sales were 3 percent ahead of the full year of 2006.

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