by Amy Hartman

www.Renaissance-Homes.com

As part of our continued segment on Maintaing your home, here is another tip for the winter months.

Roofing/Gutters

Maintenance Guidelines

Inspect the roof annually for broken or missing roofing materials. Check again after high winds or driven rains. Have any damaged or missing roofing materials replaced immediately.

• Inspect metal flashings and caulking for separation from chimneys, skylights, roof penetrations and any other construction joints. Use roofing mastic as needed to form a watertight seal.

• Remove all accumulations of leaves, plant material and debris from the roof surface, valleys, joints and flashing areas. Be sure trees growing over the roof line are trimmed back, away from the roof.

• Every six (6) months, or sooner if leaves are accumulating, inspect the roof gutters for leaves, plant material, and debris accumulation. Clear the gutters and downspout openings so that they are free flowing, then flush out the downspouts until they are running freely.

Note: Walking on roofing materials can cause serious damage to the roof covering and possibly breach the roofs’ integrity. It is highly recommended that a competent and properly licensed professional using a “Cherry Picker” lifting device perform all inspections, repairs and cleaning.

www.Renaissance-Homes.com

by Randy Sebastian

www.Renaissance-Homes.com

After 15 months of intense negotiations with banks and creditors, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon today approved the Plan of Reorganization developed and submitted by Renaissance Homes.  The effective date of the emergence will most likely be in January 1, 2010 and the Judge issued this decision at 11:02 am.

Renaissance President, Randal S. Sebastian, said he was “appreciative” of the support the company received from its various banks, suppliers and contractors, large and small, and added that “without their cooperation we could not now be emerging from Chapter 11.”  The Court has ruled that there was sufficient support for adoption of the plan that Renaissance put forth to its creditors.

In September of 2008 Renaissance filed for Chapter 11 protection which provides for the opportunity to reorganize and was authorized by the Court to conduct “business as usual” during the period of protection.  He added that  “although the 15 months were difficult, we will take some valuable ‘lessons learned’ which will assist us in the operation of our business in the future.” 

While operating under bankruptcy protection, the company achieved more than $25 million in sales.  Sebastian said that his company is exploring several different initiatives which he believes will enable Renaissance to compete favorably in the Portland market.“Of note is the fact that several area land owners, developers and banks and have requested that we assist them in selling their land and lots by marketing and selling and building our homes on their land.  They recognize the value of our high quality homes and reputation of Renaissance.”

“We have been fortunate to have had most of the key employees remain with the company so we believe we are poised to create a ‘Renaissance’ for Renaissance Homes. Our homeowners  have  historically relied on our quality of construction; our high degree of ‘fit and finish;’ our state of the art green building techniques and beautiful neighborhoods, ” according to Sebastian.

“Now, in addition to our existing neighborhoods, we will build our great homes on any building site, anywhere in the Portland metro area.  Instead of asking our buyers to purchase only in our neighborhoods, we will also bring our homes to their desired locations,”  Sebastian indicted.  He added that the Renaissance website, Renaissance-homes.com enables new home purchasers a wide variety of options of building sites in many neighborhoods around the Portland Metro area.

 For additional information contact:

Randy Sebastian @ (503) 572-2557

Tim Breedlove @ (503) 572-3060

by Darby Sargent

SC Design, Inc.

Welcome holiday visits with family and friends this season with a few easy steps!.

Prepare sleeping areas, whether it be a bedroom or sofa, by cleaning the area especially well. Change bed linens and wash all bedding in advance of your guests’ arrival. If you plan to use a sofa, you can create a private area with folding screens or be creative with clothes pins and curtains to create a space your guest will feel comfortable in. You could always treat yourself to an early holiday gift and hire a cleaning service for before and/or after your guests stay.

Ask guests if they have pet or food allergies. If possible, make arrangements for your pet to stay in a separate area of the home while guests with allergies are visiting. Make a list of any food allergies and avoid serving items that may trigger an allergic reaction, or be sure to let your guests know which food to avoid.

Stock up. On everything. Be sure to have extra bath towels, wash cloths, pillows, and a few extra blankets. A nice idea for the bathroom is to assemble a basket of travel sized toiletries for your guests to enjoy. Include items such as toothpaste, pain relief medication, shampoo, body wash or soap, lotions, extra toothbrush, and anything else you feel would be useful to your overnight guests. Display the basket in an easily accessible area of the bathroom and invite guests to help themselves to any needed items.  Be sure and stock extra toilet tissue in accessible areas as well.

Stock the pantry. Be sure you have plenty of food on hand that your guests will feel comfortable helping themselves to. If you will need certain items for a special dish you are preparing, set those items aside or label to make sure they are still on hand when you need them. Remember to stock extra beverages, coffee and tea. A welcome basket in the guest’s bedroom area is always a surprise treat as well- stock with convenient late snack items and silly souvenirs.

Remember guests are coming to visit YOU. Spend time with your guests. Hopefully the tips above will allow to relax and enjoy the festivities with your guests!.

by Amy Hartman

www.Renaissance-Homes.com

As part of our continued segment on Maintaing your home, here is another tip for the winter months.

Heating

Have licensed HVAC Contractor perform seasonal maintenance checkup for winter.

For optimum performance:

• Set thermostat at desired temperature and leave it there

• Setting a lower temperature at night will save energy costs

• Utilize the night setback feature of your thermostat to automatically adjust the temperature range during a 24 hour period

• If a cooler bedroom is desired partially close registers

• Be sure draperies and furniture do not restrict air circulation from registers or grilles

• Keep windows, doors and fireplace damper and flue tightly closed when not in use

• Clean or replace the air filters regularly, about every three months or according to the recommendations from the manufacturer

• To eliminate areas that cool quickly when the heating system has reached the desired temperature and has shut off, set the thermostat switch to the “fan” position instead of the “auto” position (the fan will continue to move air through the house while heater will still cycle on and off to maintain temperature)

Registers

With the changing of the seasons and demands on your heating & air-conditioning system(s), register should be adjusted to provide the desired temperature for each room as well as balancing the temperature through the house. Conserve energy and reduce cooling costs by closing off registers to rooms not in use. Remember that hot air rises. If you have vaulted or high ceilings, fully open the lower registers and close down the registers that are higher or upstairs. In colder weather do the opposite, helping regulate the temperatures between upstairs and downstairs.

by Darby Sargent

SC Design Northwest, LLC

A new year means a new start! Time to make resolutions and what better than to incorporate your resolutions to include your house and home. Here are a few suggestions for the new year

Santa will be setting up residence at Bridgeport Village in Tigard November 27- December 24th.  Gather the family and come visit Santa in his very own Renaissance Home this holiday season.  For more information click here

by Laura Wahlberg

www.Renaissance-Homes.com

Renaissance Homes has announced that the company is re-entering the semi-custom business of building their plans on their customers’ property – wherever that is.  Sebastian, President of the 25 year old Portland new home building company, said: “We are going back to basics.  For years people have been asking us to build one of our homes on their lot or land and we just were not set up for that part of the business – until now.”

Purchasers will have more than 100 plans to choose from and a starting price of $167,900 for the construction.  Sebastian will head up the new division, along with his sales team, which will be marketed under the Renaissance name “to take advantage of our solid reputation for quality built homes.”  Renaissance will build anywhere in the Portland Metropolitan Area, Clark County, or Central Oregon.

Renaissance currently builds in fourteen communities in Oregon and Washington and the same plans that are being built and modeled in those communities will be built ‘wherever we have the opportunity to build’.  Sebastian said, “I’m creating this division because this is what I know and do best – build a Renaissance home with proven livability on someone’s own special piece of land – it is what I’m passionate about”. 

“As our company evolved, we overlaid our custom building techniques on a production building template,” said Tim Breedlove, Chief Operating Officer, who has spent the last 12 years designing homes for the company.  Instead of every home being structurally different, “you offer plans that already have costs established, so you attain efficiencies.  The bones of the house are the same as any custom home, but you build as economically as possible.  You can build for less and pass the saving along to your customer,” Breedlove said.

Over the past 25 years Sebastian learned that many features offered as options by other builders are what most people want.  Therefore, such features as Earth Advantage and Energy Star certifications, slab granite counters, hardwood floors, and stainless steel appliances in homes are standard at Renaissance.

Sebastian indicated that the company’s internal studies suggest that the new division could generate an additional $4,000,000 in sales during 2009.  “Some have suggested that 2009 is not a good time to introduce a new business but I believe in the future of Oregon.  My passion for building goes beyond just building houses but in truly creating comfortable, high quality homes for people to live – places where children are raised, and family and friends gather.”

Renaissance Homes is one of the area’s largest builders with neighborhoods underway in Bend, Southwest Portland, Forest Grove, Beaverton, Wilsonville, West Linn, on the OGA golf course at Tukwila, several in Vancouver and Camas.  For more information on Renaissance Homes, visit www.Renaissance-Homes.com

by Amy Hartman

www.Renaissance-Homes.com

It’s important that your home is cared for to prevent problems that may occur because of temperature/weather changes as well as basic wear and tear.  The change of seasons is the perfect time to review/assess all of the basic functions of your home.  As a proud homeowner some of these things can be taken care of on your own while others may involve hiring a subcontractor. Over the course of the next weeks we will be offering some great tips on how you can protect your greated asset from the cold weather ahead.

Air Filters

A dirty air filter will decrease airflow and heating or cooling capability. This causes the equipment to operate much longer in order to reach the desired temperature (which in the case of an extremely dirty filter may never happen) and will increase operating costs.

Maintenance Guidelines

Filter should be cleaned or replaced every three months. For optimum performance at lowest operating cost and less wear and tear to your equipment, monthly cleaning or replacement is best.