 If you are planning on installing a hardwood floor in a new home,
in an addition to an existing home or as a replacement for an old floor, you might consider an alternative hardwood - bamboo. Yes, bamboo! Even though bamboo is a member of the grass family, it is classified as a hardwood when used as a flooring material. How does it compare to the conventional hardwoods? Bamboo is 25% harder than Red Oak which is the material most people pick for their new hardwood floor. It is even harder than Rock Maple, making it extremely durable and resistant to impact. Once bamboo has been installed, it expands and contracts 50% less than other hardwoods. Bamboo, the fastest growing plant in the world, can be harvested every five years unlike trees which can take decades to grow to a size large enough to produce the wood required to create a floor. It gets a 25% higher yield than any other hardwood source. Since bamboo is a grass, harvesting bamboo does not kill the plant. It just sends up more shoots. Also, bamboo very rapidly reproduces itself by sending out runners under the ground from which new plants sprout up. It can be planted and grown in areas where trees won’t grow and will very soon create a bamboo forest, ready for harvesting in only half a decade and continuously replacing itself without any help from Man. Bamboo hardwood comes in many lovely colors. So take a look at samples of bamboo before you pick your flooring material. You can have a beautiful and durable hardwood floor that is also environmentally friendly. Call Gilbert Rocha at Rocha Construction, (310) 484-4256, to get a quote on a beautiful new, "green" hardwood floor!
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 This term can be confusing as it implies decay occurring without
the presence of moisture. “Dry” refers to the “dry” wood used in construction as opposed to “wet” wood - the wood in living or newly-felled trees. Dry rot is the decay of building timbers used in the construction of wooden structures. Most of the homes in this area are constructed using wood. Even though these homes have brick or stucco or stone exterior walls, the basic structure – the frame – is made of wood. The trim on most houses is also made of wood. Dry rot is caused by a fungus which changes the composition of the wood, making it brittle. Over time, the decay can cause instability and eventually the collapse of the house. Again, the term “dry rot” can be misleading in that the fungus requires an elevated moisture content of 28-30% in order to start growing on the wood. Both continued dryness and continued saturation with water will inhibit dry rot. The first step in handling dry rot is to correct the condition that led to the initial growth of the fungus. Eliminate the cause of dampness in the area and increase ventilation to the site. Letting the affected wood dry out will kill dry rot since it is a fungus and requires water in order to live and grow. Depending on the extent of the damage, you would then want to repair or replace the wood that was weakened by this fungus growth. Signs of Dry Rot Inside: Water spots on walls, ceilings or carpets; discoloration of vinyl floors, carpets or shelf under sink; warping of flooring (usually in kitchen or bathroom); wrinkling, sagging or crumbling of sheetrock on walls or ceilings. Outside: Warping or swelling of siding; bubbling or lifting of paint; ends of fascia boards are soft or crumbling; any wood with areas of softness where a screwdriver can be pushed in easily. If you discover any of the above symptoms of dry rot in your home, Rocha Construction can easily repair the damage and stop the dry rot from spreading. Dry rot repairs done early can save thousands of home repair dollars. Give Gilbert Rocha a call at 310-484-4256 for a free in-home estimate today!  Are you ready for a kitchen, bathroom or other home remodeling project but you’re unsure where to start? Do you have ideas about how you want your new room to look but don’t know how to create a working design for the contractor? Are you overwhelmed by all the new appliances, fixtures and materials on the market today and don’t know which ones would work best for you? We can help! Roger Klein, a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and a Certified Interior Designer (CID), works closely with Rocha Construction to create an incredible team to help you with your next home improvement project. Roger has over 25 years of experience as a professional interior designer and his work has been featured in Architectural Digest, as well as other publications.  Roger will work closely with you to achieve the best possible layout of the kitchen, bathrooms and other areas of your home with the goal of enhancing the functionality of the space to suit the needs of all the family members. He will go with you to the product showrooms and help you to choose appliances, countertop and flooring materials, lighting, windows, doors, paint, wall paper, etc. He is very knowledgeable about all the latest products and can make positive suggestions that will align with your personal preferences.  Roger will produce computer-generated, three-dimensional drawings to show you exactly how the new layout will look.
Once the structure is complete, he can even help you choose furniture, window treatments and accessories. Working together, Spectrum West and Rocha Construction give you the invaluable benefit of a full-service home improvement team. From concept to completion, we are there for you! You can visit Roger's website to see samples of his work. Click on this link - www.spectrumwestdesign.com  Many people feel they can save money on a home-improvement project by overseeing the job themselves, thus saving the cost of a general contractor. In the long run, this decision only ends up costing them MORE. An experienced general contractor has been doing this kind of work for years. He can spot things that are not to code in the current construction of your home and can fix them. He knows not to use sub-standard materials which won’t last long. He will ensure that all the subcontractors are licensed and fully insured.  He will hire only subcontractors that really know what they are doing so there is no waste of materials and/or money.
He is experienced at coordinating the subcontractors and pushing their production schedules so that there is no waste of time. When you hire a licensed, competent general contractor with a good track record, you will be saving yourself not only money but a lot of stress as well. Give Rocha Construction a call at 310-484-4256 and ask Gilbert Rocha to give you a free, in-home estimate for your next home improvement project! |
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