Comfortable House

You don’t have to hop on a plane and travel thousands of miles to find a relaxing retreat. Just step outside your front or back door. Now anyone can transform the exterior space around their home into a beautiful, carefree haven using vinyl columns, decking, railing, and fencing that revitalize home facades and yards—without breaking the bank or incurring a lifetime of upkeep hassles.

How about a vinyl deck that starts in the garden and climbs toward the treetops? Or a welcoming wrap-around porch with elegant vinyl columns? It’s easier than you think to create an enjoyable, unique outdoor space or give your home exterior a beautiful facelift. With so many affordable, low-maintenance choices available, homeowners have fresh opportunities to get creative without committing weekends every year to repainting and re-sealing worn outdoor surfaces. And, let’s face it, who wouldn’t rather relax on their breezy backyard deck with coffee and a good book?

When rejuvenating your home exterior, materials matter. You want durable weather-resistant products that add beauty and style—vinyl is the best choice for decks, porches, columns, rails, and fences. Of course, vinyl materials never have to be painted or sealed. Most wood, if not painted or treated regularly with sealant, can warp, split, and rot from moisture damage or attract termites and other critters seeking their own refuge.

“Decks and porches can extend living and entertaining spaces into the lush outdoors and function as the heart of any home sanctuary. Their design is limited only by your imagination and type of system you choose,” said Deron Manwaring, National Marketing and Sales Manager, Royal Outdoor Products.

A backyard deck can be ground-hugging and garden-friendly—or it can zigzag, wind, and soar upward, depending on terrain and budget. Front porches can be as inviting as they are elegant. Interlocking vinyl plank systems, which ensure fast, easy, error-free deck and porch installation, are perfect for people who want decades of reliable use, eye-catching beauty, and carefree maintenance. Decorative vinyl railing, posts, and trim add finishing touches.

Vinyl columns can give any home a fast, high-impact facelift. They add striking details to your home entranceway, front porch, or backyard deck. Vinyl columns should come ready-to-install with no paint needed, or prime-coated with flaw-free, ready-to-paint surfaces, so you can add your choice of color. If you have an older home with weathered columns or posts, you can replace them or purchase Decorative Column Wrap housing that cleverly hides worn supports.

Different styles of fencing, made from vinyl can create the enclosure you desire behind, in front of, and all around your home. “Fencing can be installed to follow the landscape for a natural and rugged look, or it can be uniquely configured to enclose a garden, patio, pool, hot tub, or other personal hideaway, ” said Manwaring. For a secluded space, choose solid fencing styles in various heights for different degrees of privacy and coziness. Picket and decorative fencing can be used anywhere to enhance home beauty and serenity.

Finally, look for vinyl products with a limited lifetime warranty (not that you’ll ever need it). For more information contact: Royal Outdoor Products, P.O. Box 360, Milford, IN 46542-0360. Phone: 1-800-488-5245. Fax: 1-877-725-3325. Web Site: www.royaloutdoor.com.

The winners of the 2009 Awards for Design Excellence (ADEX) have been announced, and Lightline^® door canopy products from Feeney, Inc. have been selected for the top level Platinum award. ADEX, sponsored by the international trade publication Design Journal, is the largest and most prestigious awards program for product design of furniture, fixtures and finishes marketed to the design trade. Every year a judging panel of professionals representing a cross section of the design industry selects the best product designs from a field of over 1,200 entries submitted by over 400 companies.

“We were thrilled to hear that the Lightline^® canopies had won a Platinum ADEX 2009 award, especially given the depth of the product entries,” said Del Leutbecher, Director of Business Development at Feeney, Inc. “Since it was first introduced in the United States, the Lightline^® product has inspired an incredibly enthusiastic response from the design and construction communities, and this award is a gratifying acknowledgement that we’re on the right track.”

Lightline^® canopy products are manufactured by Polymer Kunststoffe GmbH of Germany and distributed in the United States by Feeney Inc., Oakland, CA. These products have been widely used in Europe to shield people from the elements when they leave their homes or businesses. The manufacturer has taken an old concept of over-door canopies and awnings and created new, modern designs using innovative materials: stainless steel support arms, integrated aluminum gutters and UV resistant acrylic visor panels in a variety of finishes.

“Lightline^® canopy products require no custom design or one-off fabrication,” said Del Leutbecher. “Each canopy comes in an easy-to-assemble kit with all the hardware necessary to assemble and install; plus, a patented Click-Lock pane attachment feature makes installation a breeze without drilling holes through the acrylic visor panes. Simply insert the panes into the frame, lower the support arms, and snap the Click-Lock ends together. These canopies offer eye-catching designs that are easy to use, durable, low maintenance and sized to fit almost any standard doorway.”

Lightline^® canopies are available in a variety of styles. The Gable Canopy looks best on a pitched roof configuration; the rounded Arch Canopy works well with both modern and traditional designs; and the simple, versatile Curve Canopy complements virtually any doorway.

Kits also come in several standard widths ranging from 5 feet to 9 feet, and the Curve style even has an extended, multi-panel model that allows for continuous widths, a useful design for commercial storefronts.

For additional information on the ADEX award or Lightline^® canopies, please contact Andrew Penny or visit www.designjournalmag.com or www.lightlinecanopies.com. Detail drawings and 3-part specifications for the Lightline^® products are available for downloading from the website. Members of the media can get the latest news from Feeney at www.feeneyarchitectural.com/media

DesignRail^® aluminum railings from Feeney, Inc. are among the many prominent products featured in the NextGen “First to the Future” National Demonstration Home in Las Vegas. The 5,200 square foot, 5 bedroom home is a showcase of modern, next generation living ideas with a focus on four basic themes: strong, green, efficient and digital.

The DesignRail^® railings are installed on the foyer stairway and balcony of the NextGen home and include a silver powder-coated aluminum frame with stainless steel cable infill. These railings were selected for the project because of the durability, low maintenance, and environmental integrity of their materials as well as their innovative design details that ensured an attractive finished product.

“The characteristics of the DesignRail^® line blend perfectly with the ‘stronger’ and ‘greener’ concepts of the NextGen project,” said Del Leutbecher, Director of Business Development at Feeney. “Not only do our aluminum and stainless steel products contain a high percentage of recycled raw materials, but they are also incredibly strong and durable with long usage cycles and low maintenance costs. And our state-of-the-art, powder coating line emits no V.O.C.s or heavy metal waste, uses a non-chromium pre-treatment wash, and reclaims 93% of the waste water via a reverse-osmosis membrane filtration system.”

The DesignRail^® systems are designed for quick and easy on-site assembly using pre-engineered components that snap and screw together without any welding, grinding or special finishing. All of the rails and stanchions are made from high-strength 6000-series aluminum that contains a minimum of 25% reclaimed content. In addition, the lightweight nature of aluminum reduces shipping costs and related fuel use and makes the parts easier to handle on the job.

The aluminum components are available in 8 standard colors and over 200 custom colors to suit virtually any design requirements, and the tough powder coated finishes adhere to rigorous AAMA-2604 coating specifications for lasting performance.

Available with the system are ADA compliant applied grab rail designs, 5 different styles of cap rails, and 4 post-mounting options. Infill options include CableRail™ stainless steel cables (used on the NextGen project), tempered glass panels and aluminum pickets.

The low maintenance benefits include no rusting, peeling, splintering, cracking, or repainting, issues that are typically associated with many other types of materials and railing systems, and Feeney offers a 10-year warranty on the powder coated finishes and stainless steel cable infill.

For additional information on the NextGen project and DesignRail^® aluminum railings, please contact Andrew Penny or visit www.nextgenhome.com and www.designrail.com. Detail drawings, 3-D Sketch-up models and 3-part specifications for the DesignRail^® products are available for downloading from the website. Members of the media can get the latest news from Feeney at www.feeneyarchitectural.com/media

ABET LAMINATI, a leading manufacturer of High Pressure laminates, continues its tradition of daring, innovative design with Serigrafia — now in a raised Longline finish. The 16 new designs, produced by ABETs special silk-screening techniques, emulate exotic fabrics with a slightly raised surface of vertical lines. In addition to wallcovering, this laminate can also be used on furniture or any application that does not require a horizontal surface.

When combined with the already existing Serigrafia line of 21 dazzling designs in a smooth surface, the new silk-screened patterns bring the total number of choices to 37. Each sheet of postforming Serigrafia is individually silk-screened and measures 51 inches by 120 inches.

ABET LAMINATI continues to be the leader in high pressure laminate design. As with all our products, the Serigrafia line is in stock at ABET’s U.S. distribution centers as well as local distributors across the country. For further information call 1-800-228-2238 or 201-541-0700, fax 201-541-0701.