Category — Just For Fun

Having handmade, custom cherry bookshelves in your home would tend to draw someone to the home office just for the ambiance they create.  Design elements of bookshelves can be beautiful, functional and intriguing.  With a little creativity and some master carpentry, we found a way to have a secret passage in our homes.  Bookshelves can be placed anywhere; in an office, a hallway, or outside a bedroom perhaps.  The fun part is making a functional door through the cabinets that is not apparent but can provide some utility and mystery in the home. 

In this case, the cabinets are installed at the top of a cantilevered, custom, handmade walnut staircase, but are also accessible to another room through a hidden doorway designed into the bookshelves.  The bookshelf design features floor to ceiling columns,  full caps and bases with adjustable shelves that are certain to be filled. 

On one side of the hidden door you see the bookshelves.  On the other side, the door face will match the design of the solid core doors used throughout the home. 

Feel free to e-mail me with your questions and comments.  I can be reached at Bob@NatelliHomes.com or visit our website www.natellihomes.com.

It is late Wednesday morning, the day before Thanksgiving, a very quiet business day, many people are traveling to their families for the holiday and we plan to close the office early so our employees can get some extra time at home.  This is one of those days when you can catch up on all the busy work without interruption – even e-mail traffic is slow.

Then I get the call.  Not one of those calls about an accident or an emergency regarding someone’s health, but an emergency call nonetheless.  A client calls about a sink in a granite top that has an issue and they can’t use the sink.  My immediate thoughts wander through the true urgency of the call, but the more I listen the more I understand this could affect the pending Thankskgiving holiday for our client.  But it is close to 11:00, late in the morning, the day before a long holiday weekend – how in the world can I realistically help?

All I can do is call Greg, the supervisor who built the home, and see if he can put a band-aid on the problem, enough at least to get them through to Monday.  Greg is probably having the same day as I am, things progressing in order, somewhat quiet and many discussions about the weekend plans, football games and time with family.  I hate making the call to Greg, but what choice do I have?  The problem with this client’s sink could effect their whole Thanksgiving weekend.

Within 4 hours of making that call on Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Greg had the sink repaired and the house ready for the holidays for our client.  Greg could have easily said, “this is impossible – it’s the afternoon of the day before Thanksgiving and I don’t have any of the subcontactors at any of my jobs that can fix this problem”.  But without any hesitation, Greg rallied the necessary vendors, dropped what he was doing and got  the sink repaired.  Credit also goes to the team at R. Bratti & Associates, who did the same as Greg, recognized the nature of the situation, knew the value of our clients and dropped what they were doing to fix the sink.

Looking back over that afternoon, I realize that I all did was call Greg.  I did not demand anything of Greg except to inform him of the call I just received.  I don’t know what Greg did, how R. Bratti pulled crews off of other jobs and what hurdles everyone did to help our client.  What I do know is this:  what took place was engrained in Greg, his assistant, Luis, R. Bratti’s employees and anyone else who lent a hand.  Our client’s situation was most important - our client called with an urgent issue and our employees and vendors reacted approproately.  Not one person questioned if this was warranty work, something caused by the homeowner or simply not our problem.  The timing of the problem could not have been worse; it was the afternoon before a holiday and things were going pretty well otherwise.

I have a lot of these stories over the years.  Ron and Pete help a client when a storm drain overfows in hurricane like rainfall, Bob comes down from Hagerstown in over 24″ of snow to ensure our client has access to their home during a renovation and Tom and John often help clients on weekends or evenings when the call comes to them. 

From an employer’s viewpoint, I am very blessed.  Not only because I have such a great team on my side, but because my team knows the value of our clients.  We many not be able to pull off the miracle that Greg did on the afternoon before Thanksgiving, but we know how important our clients are and that we should always try to assist when we can regardless of the timing, ease or responsibility.

Thanks for reading.  I can be reached at Bob@NatelliHomes.com or visit our website at www.NatelliHomes.com

The stink bug, also known as Halyomorpha halys, or the brown marmorated stink bug, BMSB, has created a special place in the hearts of homeowners across the region. According to Penn State University, the bug was accidentally introduced into Pennsylvania and it has taken up residence in the mid-Atlantic. It could be here to stay. It is damaging as an agricultural pest and much more of a nuisance in the home as dwellings provide a convenient over-wintering habitat for the insects. But don’t go whipping out the poisonous foggers, aerosols, sprays and powders just yet.

From a builder’s perspective, the first approach is to ensure that the little winged pariahs don’t have access to your home. So go take a look around the exterior of the house to identify the cracks and crevices in walls, windows, doors, behind chimneys, and underneath wood fascia; the pipes and tubing that may need a blast of expansive foam to truly seal them from the outside; the vents that may have small openings; and the screened porches, doors and windows that may have damaged screens. A good silicone, or silicone-latex caulk will seal many of these small openings. BMSBs are like bad pennies and relatives that come for a visit and never leave – they will find a way to get into your home, if you give them one.

Once you are certain that all the little nooks and crannies are sealed, and the problem still persists, then a solid second step is to use the vacuum cleaner and wipe out every little congregation that you see. Place the contents of the vacuum cleaner in a sealed bag and place outside in the trash. If you find the odor of stink bugs offensive, then use a vacuum cleaner with a bag system that eliminates odors.
As a last resort to stem an invasion, insecticides can be applied. Exterior applications of insecticides may offer some minor relief from infestations where the task of completely sealing the exterior is difficult or impossible. Applications should consist of a synthetic pyrethroid (i.e. deltamethrin, cyfluthrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, sumithrin or tralomethrin) and should be applied by a licensed pest control operator in the fall just prior to bug congregation. Unfortunately, because insecticides are broken down by sunlight, the residual effect of the material will be greatly decreased and may not kill the insects much beyond several days or a week.

A PDF on stink bugs from the Agricultural Extension Service of Penn State can be found at the following link: http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/pdf/BrownMarmoratedStinkBug.pdf

Sorry to digress from our more serious building topics, but these bugs appear to be with us for some time.  I can be reached at Bob@NatelliHomes.com or visit our website www.natellihomes.com