Featuring Pella

New Earth is always looking for quality durable products to feature in its lineup of services. We're really excited to tell our customers that we are currently offering Pella products as part of our offerings. Pella is a company that we really like because they have been around for many years and they offer quality construction in all of their windows and doors, so you know that you will be getting a product that not only lasts but also looks nice. 

They have an extensive product catalogue so our customers can find different home solutions that fit their budget and are also energy efficient. They've made it a point to specialize in doors and windows and not over extend themselves so they can get it right, every time. We are strong believers of the Pella guarantee and want our customers to join us in that belief. 

Give us a call today so you can get more information about how New Earth can incorporate Pella products in your home, your satisfaction is very important to us. (804) 955-0257

Labor Day Drink Recipes

Labor Day Weekend is coming and we are looking at the last few days of true summer for this year. At some point this weekend you might attend or host a cookout. If you have been dreading what to kind of drinks you want to make, don't worry New Earth has you covered!

Here are some of our favorite recipes courtesy of AllRecipes.com

"Tea, mint, sugar, orange and lemon juices make this a quick and easy, refreshingly delicious drink on a hot summer's day, given to me by a true Southern lady. Goes great with Cajun or spicy foods too. Every time I serve this someone asks me for the recipe!"

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups boiling water 12 sprigs fresh mint 4 tea bags 1 cup white sugar 1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice 5 cups cold water 3 orange slices for garnish (optional) 3 lemon slices for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Place the tea bags and mint sprigs into a large pitcher. Pour boiling water over them, and allow to steep for about 8 minutes. Remove and discard the tea bags and mint leaves, squeezing out excess liquid. Stir in sugar until dissolved, then stir in the orange juice and lemon juice. Pour in the cold water. Serve over ice cubes, garnished with orange or lemon slices. "Lemons, sugar, and water--in a process that has been handed down since the 19th century. A true classic of a lemonade recipe." INGREDIENTS: 5 lemons 1 1/4 cups white sugar 1 1/4 quarts water DIRECTIONS: 1. Peel the rinds from the 5 lemons and cut them into 1/2 inch slices. Set the lemons aside. 2. Place the rinds in a bowl and sprinkle the sugar over them. Let this stand for about one hour, so that the sugar begins to soak up the oils from the lemons. 3. Bring water to a boil in a covered saucepan and then pour the hot water over the sugared lemon rinds. Allow this mixture to cool for 20 minutes and then remove the rinds. 4. Squeeze the lemons into another bowl. Pour the juice through a strainer into the sugar mixture. Stir well, pour into pitcher and pop it in the fridge! Serve with ice cubes.

"This is the sangria that my friends taught me to make in Spain. It's quick and easy and makes a great drink to mix up for a summer party."
INGREDIENTS:

4 (750 milliliter) bottles red wine 1 1/4 cups white sugar 2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced 4 sliced fresh peaches

2 bananas, peeled and sliced 2 cinnamon sticks, crushed 3 liters lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large pitcher, combine red wine, sugar, apples, peaches, bananas and cinnamon sticks. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
2.	When you're ready to serve, stir in the lemon-lime soda.

"Considered Cuba's national drink, this lime and rum cocktail is a favorite with pirates, swashbucklers, and colorful characters in the Caribbean and beyond."INGREDIENTS:

10 fresh mint leaves 1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges 2 tablespoons white sugar, or to taste

1 cup ice cubes 1 1/2 fluid ounces white rum 1/2 cup club soda

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Place mint leaves and 1 lime wedge into a sturdy glass. Use a muddler to crush the mint and lime to release the mint oils and lime juice. Add 2 more lime wedges and the sugar, and muddle again to release the lime juice. Do not strain the mixture. Fill the glass almost to the top with ice. Pour the rum over the ice, and fill the glass with carbonated water. Stir, taste, and add more sugar if desired. Garnish with the remaining lime wedge. For more fun recipes, please visit this link For more tips and tricks for all your home needs visit: NewEarthVA.com Or follow us on Instagram Facebook

Sunday Park

What ever happened to just enjoying a beautiful day in the park? Most of us are so busy with hectic schedules that sometimes we forget to just stop and appreciate nature and beauty that surrounds us. Visiting a local park is a great way to connect with nature, the outdoor air can be good for your health, it's relaxing and best of all it's free. 

Some fun ideas to do at the park are: setting a play date for the kids, having a picnic with friends or loved ones, practice that artistic hobby that you've been wanting to pursue like photography or painting, or just simply take a nice long walk. Fortunately Richmond has some great places to take a nice Sunday park stroll. We've put together a list of some of our favorites. 

Hollywood Cementery

This park can be a little under rated but if you look at different travel guides for people visiting Richmond, you'll always find it on their list of attractions. Hollywood Cementery offers breath taking views of downtown Richmond and the river, the view from there offers some of the most iconic scenes of Central Virginia. When you think of cementeries, you don't immediately associate that with a beautiful park, this Cementery manages to offer a unique view of the city, a sense of peace and different corners for added privacy when visiting the park. There are areas all over the park where one can relax, read a book and just take in some sunrays and because of the way that the park was built, there are enough hills and trees to create separate areas where people can hang out. 

Where?

412 S Cherry St, Richmond, VA 23220

Byrd Park & Maymont

Byrd Park

Even though Byrd Park and Maymont are in close proximity to each other, they serve two different purposes. Byrd park was design with people in the area in mind, it has courses where you can exercise including push up stations, monkey bars, balancing obstacles among other exercises. These are all located alongside a trail that people can run around. Other areas of the park include, a pond with a waterfountain in the middle, tennis courts and the Dogwood Dell Amphitheather were many different productions have taken place which are typically free to the public like the 4th of July Symphony and the Opera at the Park productions. 

Where?

600 Swan Lake  Dr. Richmond, VA 23221

Maymont

This park used to be a rich estate finished in 1983, over the next few years after that more attractions were added. Some of the things added to Maymont over the course of a few years were a mini zoo and petting center, an italian and japanese garden, and a nature center. Maymont is an experience on its own and it is easy to spend a few housr in this hundred acre estate if you have not been before. There are scheduled tours of the house that sits on top of the hill which offers a glimpse into everyday life over a hundred years ago. 

Where?

1700 Hampton St, Richmond, VA 23220

Libby Hill Park

Probably one of the most historic parks in all of Central Virginia, Libby Hill Park offers a close up look of downtown Richmond. It sits at the top of a hill that overlooks the river and the Lucky Strike building. Richmond got its name from the view from this park that resembled that of a town in England. Libby Hill Park doesn't have all the amneties that some of the other parks offer so it is a more quiet space to meditate and relax. Because this park doesn't have a lot of traffic coming through it, it is an ideal place to bring your dog for a nice breezy walk. 

Where?

2801 E Franklin St, Richmond, VA

Joseph Bryan Park

This park is on the outskirts of downtown Richmond, closer to Hermitage Rd. This park's greatest strenght it that it is quite large which makes it ideal for joggers and bikers. They have well defined trails that are mostly closed off to through traffic. This park has a kids playground, frisbee games and a soccer field. You could say that this park is mostly aimed to families with kids and young adults. The park has a lot of trees and shade with many sections filled with flowers and assorted plants. 

Where?

4308 Hermitage Rd, Richmond, VA

Even though we have not covered all the parks that exist in the area, these are some of the best ones, each having its own weaknesses and strenghts. 

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This Neighborhood, Good or Bad?

(image courtesy of AreaVibes.com)

As a contractor and a Class-A builder, New Earth comes across different kinds of neighborhoods, if you're new to the area it may be a little bit overwhelming to figure out where is a good place to live. Even as a current resident of RVA, it may be difficult to keep up with all the neighborhoods that are up and coming and the ones that have deteriorated. For the most part, Richmond is growing, at an alarmingly exponential rate. This is great for anyone living here or considering moving to Richmond. The value of property is rising. This is especially important for a homeowner to know because home care and maintenance are more crucial than ever.

So what's the best way of knowing if your neighborhood or a neighborhood that you're interested in is worth living in? Thankfully the internet has a lot of different websites that offer all kinds of information including statistical facts about any particular neighborhood. One of our personal favorites is AreaVibes.com. They offer useful knowledge like: crime rate, average household income, property value and the amenities available in any specific area. The only problem that we find with Area Vibes is that you need to do preliminary research on an area that you're interested in since they want you to plug in the name of the subdivision, zip code or address.

Richmond.com breaks the different neighborhoods down for you, they tell you stories of what's happening in some of them so it offers a more personable perspective to give you a sense of what that place is like. They talk about upcoming areas and complexes, specifically what places are being built out. This is important because if different stores and shops see the value of building in a neighborhood, that means that others will follow and see the value in it too. This means more and better housing.

They also include Real Estate listings so you can check out what is available on the market, this allows you to make easy comparisons between properties and see what your competitors are doing if you are in the market to sell.

Even though we are partial to downtown Richmond and the Churchill area, we like knowing what is going around in the Richmond Tri-Cities area, so we find these two resources incredibly useful. You will probably find them useful too.

Are you working on home improvements? Check out what your neighbors are doing by reading about it online, see what works and what doesn't. Some properties will have better value than others and this could be a good way to find out why.

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Beautiful Renovated Apartment Located Near VCU

In addition to building high quality wooden furnishings, New Earth restores and renovates properties throughout Richmond. We've recently finished a beautiful three bedroom apartment in the VCU downtown area. 

The apartment has wooden floors and a great location. This apartment is available starting today for rent. If you're interested in renting it or want to schedule an appointment to view it, please contact Paul Iwashchenko at (804) 955-0257.

(One of two bedrooms that are similar in dimensions)

(Hallway leading to bedrooms)

(Apartment located above Magpie, voted one of the best restaurants in Richmond)

(Fridge with ice maker) 

(Cabinets Kitchen)

(Gas Stove and Microwave)

(Shared Bathroom)

(Master Bedroom) 

(Magpie Entrance)

(Closet Space)

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Unique Wooden Furnishings

There are so many beautiful pieces than be created from wood, but our absolute favorites are the ones that still resemble their natural patterns that already exist in them. Most consumers think that in order for them to have a great piece of furniture they need to have the ideal piece of wood. Most often this is not the case. At New Earth we’ve found ways to incorporate the natural look of wood into timeless furniture pieces. 

We start by studying the shape and patterns of the wood, and creating something that is completely special. An irregular size or piece is of material can be manipulated and joined with other pieces. Ideally we like to preserve the integrity of the wood and make sure that it stays true to its irregularities and original shape. 

A lot of the work is done by hand, New Earth has a saw mill so we can create all sorts of custom made creations, which is not just limited to furniture. Distinct pieces like the ones we make require a lot of time and expertise. All of our products are treated after they are complete with high quality and durable finishes to withstand every day use for many years to come. 

We’ve worked with very different types of wood in the past, including some that have been found by our customers directly. We really enjoy when this happens because it offers a sense of pride to have located a piece of wood that permanently lives in one’s home as furniture. 

Some of our most popular designs include: mantels, salt & pepper grinders, dining and coffee tables and coat racks. Our expertise has very little limitations and we can fulfill most of our customers requests, even when they are a bit unorthodox. 

One of the greatest things about this approach to building furniture is that you get an entirely  new piece of furniture every time, that is processed minimally keeping the operation eco-friendly. 

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DIY: Safety Tips

Whether you are making home improvements that require a contractor or not, safety should always be a priority in everyone’s list. Anytime that you are dealing with tools it is important to keep the following things in mind: 

Protective Gear

Tools are made to cut through hard materials like steel and wood, our skin is made of something that is much more fragile than that. There are areas of our bodies, like that eye, that is even more flimsy than our skin. This is why we must protect them with googles and gloves. If you are working with things that produce fire like soldering materials you may want to invest in clothing that protects you from burns. 

Clean Workspace

You’ll want to make sure that the space that you are working on is clear of any obstacles that could potentially lead to an accident. More specifically don’t leave tools laying around, watch out for nails and things like furniture that you could trip on. When you’re done working, put everything away, this can prevent you or others who may wander into your area to hurt themselves. 

Ladders are one of the biggest reasons for an accident in a workspace. People often don’t clean up their workspace or they don’t secure the ladder properly causing accidents. Make sure that your ladder isn’t shaky and that it is on solid ground before starting getting on it. 

Abilities 

Do you know how to properly and safely work your power tools? Do you also know yourself well enough to know how much strength you’ll apply when using these tools? These are two questions that you need to ask yourself before you start any major DIY project. Knowing and respecting your power tools is extremely important, you need to know how much damage they can cause if not used properly. Also giving them routine maintenance is important, a tool that is not properly greased or that has loose parts can have catastrophic consequences. 

The strength applied to a tool can also cause unwanted mistakes, apply too much pressure or strength and a project can be ruined. You can also lose grip on a tool if you put in too much strength into it leading to a potential risk of injury for yourself and/or others. 

Capability

Out of all the previous reasons why there are accidents when working on DIY projects, this the one that causes the most issues. People tend to be over confident on their ability to execute a project. We’ve talked about before how it is important to know one’s boundaries when working on a home improvement project, so don’t bit more than you can chew. If you’re not confident on a project then don’t be scared to ask for help or hire a professional like New Earth.

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Outdoor Decks Explained

It's no secret that we're big fans of the outdoors, here in Richmond we get at least six to nine months of weather that can be spent outdoors. Some months might be hotter than others, and some are chillier. Either way, we think Virginia homes that have outdoor spaces are very enjoyable. Our customers will sometimes come to us asking questions about what is the best way to go when building an outdoor deck. We are partial to natural materials but we'd like to explain the different kinds that you can get your deck made out of.

Timber
This is by far the most popular option. We really like it because it tends to blend with the outdoors well and it is naturally water resistant. If you decide to use timber as your primary material make sure that it is treated against termites, ants and other unwanted pests. Timber also tends to last for a long time and because it does need to be put together in sections, it can be easily replaced if part of your deck becomes damaged. You can get this material in different colors and finishes so you can configure it to match the rest of your home and furniture. This is the option that we would recommend most.

Polyethylene
This is a bit of a toss up, literally. It's a mixture of both natural materials and synthetic ones, so it is a blend. The blend consists of recycled plastic and wood components. This is a cost effective option as an alternative from timber, it is slip resistant and will endure against the elements. The only downside is that it tends to fade overtime, so what you see in the store is not what you will get as a final product. It is also fairly environmentally friendly since it does used recycled plastics as a source material.

Aluminum
This is by far the most cost effective option but it's longevity is questionable. The look of aluminum is not the most attractive and you have limited color options. Aluminum is easy to install since it typically comes in interlocking pieces that can be easily assembled. It does not expand and contract like it's other counterparts so it might get damaged easier. New Earth recommends to use this type of material as your last option.

So there you have it, when building an outside deck or patio keep in mind that you have different options for materials. Your first option should be timber, which is long lasting and looks the best. Polyethylene should be your second because it is still friendly to the environment and preserves a natural look. We'd tell you hold off on building a deck if you're thinking of using aluminum until you can afford one of the latter options.

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Pros & Cons of Owning a Pool

It's hot outside and you think to yourself it might be very nice to have a pool in your backyard. You think to yourself that it would probably be a nice addition to your home and that it could potentially add some value to your property if done correctly. We have compiled a list of Pro's and Con's so you can make a better decision:

Pros:

• In a neighborhood that is full of houses with pools, not having one might make your house less desirable to a house that does

• The weather here in Virginia will allow you to use the pool between three to six months per year depending on the weather

• If you have a roomy yard this can definitely make a very much welcomed addition

Cons:

• The cost of the pool. An in-ground pool can cost between $30k up to $100k depending on the additions and details that you decide to add to the pool. This is an investment that you may or may not see back once you decide to sell

• You may limit the market that you are selling to. Families with small children might not like the idea of toddlers around pools but on the contrary families with older kids might be highly interested. 

• Maintenance is an added expense for a pool. There can be heating, filtration, repairs and materials for preservation of your pool. These all add to your already existing bills. 

There are many other things to consider when thinking of getting a pool and looking at alternatives like above ground pools that are sold as kits. What you need to take away from this article is that you may not get the cost of your pool back when you sell your home, try to keep the cost of your pool around ten percent of the value of your home so that way if you don't see your money back it is not a huge loss. Think of a pool as an added luxury that not everyone will want.


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Summer Insulation - 4 Tips

Insulation is not just for Winter, yes we want to stay warm during cold weather but just as heat can escape our homes or apartments over the winter so can cool air during the summer. Here are 5 things you want to look for in your home to ensure that you conserve as much cool temperature as possible while keeping your energy bill down.

1. Windows - A crack in the window, faulty seals, and lack of curtains can all contribute to increased heat in your home. Checking to ensure that there isn't any leaks of air can help keep the house a few degrees cooler which in turn will help with your electricity bill. Also, repairing and updating old windows can also affect how effective your cooling system is. 

1. Doors - They can expand and contract with the season's causing if they are made from wood, causing all kinds of gaps between the door frames, this can easily be fixed with door weather strips from your local home supply store. Also having a storm door can insulate better as well as allow you to have natural air flowing through the house during cooler days, this is an upgrade that is well welcomed by homeowners. 

1. Roof - Having little insulation in the roof can also have an impact because the roof receives so much heat during bright sunny days that if it is not properly covered, it can have some of that heat transferred indoors. We think of this especially during Winter because air rising but it is also important to keep an eye on it during the summer!

1. A/C Unit - Make sure your A/C unit is working the way it is supposed to, if you don't feel like the air it is pumping out is cool then check to make sure it has all the necessary fluids, that the unit has even properly maintained and that all the vents are cleared. A/C Units also have a warranty so make sure your warranty is active to qualify for free or reduced maintenance costs. 

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