Wayne McCormick
Broker/Owner
Realty Executives of Northern Arizona
Tempe has Arizona State University, Mill Avenue and a man-made lake. Tucson has funky Fourth Avenue and a huge grassy mall on the University of Arizona campus.
But Flagstaff has them both beat, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, which ranks the northern Arizona town as one of the nation’s five best college towns.
“Flagstaff’s ambience is cozy and cultural, with a symphony orchestra, museums and art galleries,” the magazine’s May issue says.
Northern Arizona University and Coconino Community College wield a strong influence on the town, but college students aren’t they only ones attracted to Flagstaff. Baby boomers are also lured there because the campuses “generate so much energy that it’s infectious,” said Jack Welch, who retired to Flagstaff from St. Louis eight years ago.
Delaware native Ray Lynch, who fell in love with Flagstaff while passing through on a road trip, moved there, told the magazine that “very few people wish they were someplace else.”
Northern Arizona University's (NAU) program in Engineering received recognition from U.S. News & World Report recently ranking it 38th in the Nation. Out of approximately 110 other colleges offering Bachelor's and Master's Degrees for their Engineering Dept., NAU tied 38th place with nine other colleges and universities. Included in these were Miami University in Oxford Ohio, Boise State University and The Citadel in South Carolina.
With Arizona State University and University of Arizona offering doctoral programs in Engineering, they ranked 37th and 48th out of nearly 100 other universities in their class, according to Robert Morse, director of data research for this report.
Learn more about Northern Arizona University HERE.
Greater Flagstaff ranks high economically
According to Milken Institute, an independent public-policy think tank, Flagstaff ranks the region 21st among 179 small cities, despite failing job growth.
Continued steady production from local high-tech industries in the region has helped keep the metropolitan area on the list of best performing cities across the nation. The Flagstaff Metro Area includes most of northern Arizona and a small portion of Southern Utah. The study focuses on populations under 235,000. Milken has been ranking Flagstaff since 2004 and Flagstaff receives high ratings primarily due to growth at W.L. Gore & Associates a major employer in the area and the high wages paid to those that work at those jobs. The report ranked the northern Arizona region as fourth in the nation among small cities in terms of high tech production for a five year period.
W.L. Gore is a leader in developing and producing stents and other high-tech medical devices. It has added about 200 jobs in Flagstaff in the last three years. Other spin-off companies such as Machine Solutions have grown, along with Nestle Purina.
The report found Flagstaff businesses produce goods and services valued at 78% more per employee than the national average when reviewing production between 2001 & 2006. Local high-tech production between 2005 & 2006 earned Flagstaff the sixth position in the same study. Flat job growth for the area over the same period hurt Flagstaff's overall rating. The report found job growth between March 2005 & March 2006 was just 0.3%. The slow job growth pushed the ratings for Flagstaff to 136th on the list of 179 cities. The last time Milken published the study in 2005, the city was ranked 25th for new jobs.
The Greater Flagstaff Economic Council, reported it helped to attract a total of 132 new jobs to the city last year.
Features include lights, controls, sensors
By James Dulley
Question: My bathroom vent fan is noisy and there is a mold problem around the tub, so I think a new vent fan is needed. I want an efficient, quite one. What features should I look for and how big should it be?
Answer: Most older bathroom vent fans were noisy when new and the sound level increases with age.
Bathroom mold and mildew problems are caused by excessive humidity from using a vent fan that is too small or not running it long enough.
Your budget will determine the quality (noise level and features) of the vent fan you select. The top-of-the-line, quietest models with the latest features can cost up to $200. These quiet vent fans are ideal for a bathroom in a master bedroom where another person is trying to sleep.
A new lower-cost option, if you just need somewhat quieter operation and more airflow, is a rebuilding kit for about $20. These kits work in many older Broan and Nutone vent fans that were installed by builders in many homes. The kit includes a modern grille, two motor plates and a new motor.
You have quite a few bathroom vent fan options: fan only, fan/light, fan/light/heater and fan/light/night-light. There are also different types of controls: on-off wall switch, motion-sensing and humidity-sensing.
Humidity-sensing vent fans are most effective and efficient because they come on automatically only when needed and then shut off. This allows you to leave for work without switching off the fan while the bathroom is still too humid. The best models sense the rate of change in humidity as opposed to just to overall humidity level. You can manually override the sensor.
Fan noise level is rated in sones, so compare them for various models. The quietest ones are only 0.3 sones, which is barely audible. Special grille designs and large blades, which turn slower, reduce the sound level. Models designed with a 6-inch duct, instead of the typical 4 inches, are quieter.
Installing a remote in-line fan with multiple ports is another quiet option. If you select a fan/light model, get one that uses fluorescent bulbs for greater-efficiency. To be Energy Star qualified, fan/light models must use these bulbs. Night-light options use only about four watts.
Another lighting option is a new ceiling recessed fan/light. It resembles a standard recessed light but doubles as a vent fan.
Venting tubular skylights for bathrooms are also available. The size of a vent fan is rated in cfm (cubic feet per minute) of airflow.
A general rule is you need 1.1 cfms for each square foot of bathroom floor area. Dividing the cfm of a fan by its electricity usage (watts) is a good way to compare their efficiencies.
By Rosie Romero
Few things are worse than beautiful ceramic tile designs embedded in dirty, stained grout. Grout is tough to clean and maintain.
Tile is durable and is resistant to staining. However, grout is permeable. Proper care should be used to clean and maintain tile and grout, and sealing the grout reduces the problem of stains and discolorations.
The best way to clean and maintain grout is by using a neutral pH cleaner, a lot of water for cleaning, and a lot of elbow grease. Other types of cleaners, such as more acidic products or steam cleaners, raise concerns that these products can damage grout over time.
The No. 1 thing you need to remember when cleaning grout is to change the water frequently. Fresh, clean water to wash and rinse will help keep the dirt from settling back into the porous grout.
If your grout needs something stronger than a neutral cleaner to get the dirt out, consider hiring professionals. If the do-it-yourself project goes wrong, it can be much more costly to fix.
Is the grout stained or just dirty? To find out, try this test: Take warm water and a little dishwashing soap and brush the grout with a soft bristle brush. Spots left behind more than likely are stains.
What should you do if staining has occurred? You can consider ripping ou the grout and replacing it, but this can be very tough. Also, you won’t be able to get exactly the same color grout every time.
Color Seal is a better and easier way to go. Acu-Chem’s color-seal products can stain most grout to give it an even color, or completely change the color of the grout. Typically, this can be done for a fraction of the cost of replacing the grout. To go from a very dark to a very light grout color, or vice versa, can prove difficult, but it’s not impossible. However, changing colors within similar color ranges is no problem. Acu-Chem covers the stains and maintains the grout’s color, and any repairs that need to be done will match every time. The colors last the life of the floor, with minor touch-ups and repairs.
Color Seal can be used in almost every area of the home. The only place you cannot use the seal in on shower floors, due to the excessive water. However, Color Seal can be used on shower walls.
Stains more commonly happen in high-traffic areas. These areas on your floor and countertop (especially around sinks) may need to be touched up periodically, but Color Seal will make this maintenance much easier.
Some builders are offering to color-seal grout throughout the house to protect against staining. Some homeowners are choosing to do this instead of the more commonly known clear seals.
The difference between clear seal and grout color seal is that even thought clear seal bonds to grout particles, it also leaves open pores. Once dirt and oils enter the pores, they can migrate under the clear seal and cannot be removed. Acu-Chem’s color grout sealers penetrate the grout and seal off the pores. Color Seal in an excellent solution for protecting grout and giving it the ability to be easily cleaned.
Throughout history people have sought practical heating solutions to make their small spaces more comfortable from a tiny fireplace in a Colonial bedroom in the Northeast to a rounded adobe firebox in the Southwest.
In houses built in the 1940s and ‘50s, there were usually wall heaters in bedroom hallways and another in the living room.
Today’s homes are constructed using a “wholehouse” central heating system. The concept is revolutionary and wonderful, but it means that you probably turn on the heat in the morning for the entire house when all you want to do is take the chill off or warm your feet.
The latest innovation in cozymaking is the comfort of heated tile, stone or engineered wood floors. If you are remodeling or at least willing to pull up your old floor, you might want to take advantage of a product that is like an electric blanket for your floor.
Available for purchase in more than 60 standard sizes, Nuheat is an electrical radiant floor-warming system than can heat one room at a time. Thin heating wires are embedded in durable material; those mats are then laid under your flooring surface Available in 110- and 220-volt formats, the product is designed to deliver even heating with no cold spots.
Standard mat sizes fit most room applications. For spaces with curves or angles, you can get custom-size mats. The actual product is 1/8-inch thick, so it works wisely in remodeling situations where the heights of other elements in the room are fixed.
The product literature boasts that installation is easy and hassle-free, but an authorized installer is still the best way to ensure maximum efficiency.
Basically, the installation goes like this: A professional tile-setter would use thinset, adhering the system to the subfloor. The tile or stone is then laid over the top of the mat in a second layer of thinset. A certified electrician connects the system to your household wiring. If you have laminate or engineered-wood floors instead of stone, then the mat is simply rolled out on top of the floor’s underlay product.
The mats must be placed in the exact spots where you want heat, as only the flooring directly over the top of the mat will be heated. The system is designed for use with ceramic tile, natural stone – such as marble, granite or slate- laminate and engineered-wood surfaces. It can also be used on countertops.
Magic? No, but it might seem so if you have programmable thermostat controls that allow the floor to warm up before you open your eyes in the morning. This luxury is affordable. A 30-square-foot heated area uses the same amount of electricity as three 100-watt light bulbs. Nuheat is Energy Star qualified when used with programmable thermostats.
Of course you would not want to leave this system on all day. It generates 12 watts per square foot at full power, creating a floor temperature of 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the type of applications and the potential in the room for heat loss.
If a remodel is in your future, investigate this practical way to bring warmth to special areas. The kitchen, bathroom and playroom floors need never be cold again, and you’ll be going barefoot all year round.
