Heartlands Building Company

At Heartlands, our favorite decking is GeoDeck. It's tongue and groove design makes it ideal for installing in screen rooms and has performed very well. Check out the attached link to see an article from About.com showing GeoDeck voted as the best decking material from 2012. About.com 2012 Best Decking Winner Geodeck

Heartlands is building a beautiful outdoor room for a customer in Town and Country. When one of our employees lifted the post cap off an old masonry post and looked down into the cavity, he saw something move. Look what the guys pulled out!

Keep tracks free of dirt and debris by performing a monthly cleaning (or as needed). Use a clean cloth and mild (non-abrasive) detergent to wipe down entire tracks, both top and bottom. After cleaning the tracks, apply a thin even coat of dry silicone spray (greaseless) to both the top and bottom tracks. Wipe off any over spray. Dry silicone spray is available from Heartlands or from most hardware stores. The main housing unit can be wiped down with a clean cloth and mild, non-abrasive detergent. To protect the screen material, always keep the screen rolled up into the housing when not needed for ventilation. You may clean the screen by wiping it down using a “moist towel” or by vacuuming it with an upholstery brush. Carefully vacuum the outside, then the inside taking care not to snag the screen. Keep pets from clawing or scratching at the screen mesh. Do not push on the screen to make the unit open. This will cause damage over time and is not recommended.

We don’t estimate jobs based on a price per square foot. Honestly, there are too many variables. Besides site conditions and requirements to successfully connect it to your home, the features and the level of finish are what really make a difference on the cost of a construction project. Of course, the fluctuating costs of materials such as decking and aluminum can also affect the final price of your project. A good way to get a ballpark number is to first decide what you would like the general size of the room to be. Is there something already in that area that would need to be removed? Demolition needs to be included in the final cost unless you will be doing that yourself. Are there piers for an existing deck that can be re-used? Is there already a frost wall in place around an existing patio? If you are considering a roofed structure, have you considered where it would tie into the existing roof? The design of the project will directly affect its cost. First, it takes ...

Heartlands often installs GeoDeck handrails with powder coated extruded aluminum balusters on elevated decks and screen rooms that we design and build. While they are engineered for this use, we recently did our own testing, supervised by a certified professional structural engineer to comply with safety regulations for their use together. This is a supplement to the GeoDeck safety certification. As seen in the photos, we applied 232 pounds of weight to the handrail and balusters, from the top and the side, exceeding the strictest of building code requirements.  As you can see from the photos, data was recorded and the railing and balusters passed with flying colors. So, you can rest assured, that the safety and durability of our decks and outdoor rooms is as important to us as our beautiful design and quality workmanship.

Top Five Reasons to Add an Outdoor Room Entertaining – whether you’re hosting a barbeque, a pool party, a child’s birthday or team celebration, or something more formal, when the weather is pleasant, your guests will want to go outdoors. The addition of some custom features and some landscaping will make your outdoor room the go to space for young and old alike. Relaxation – If your outdoor room includes a roof and or screens, you will be protected from the heat of the sun and the annoyance of insects. Our customers love that they can sip a drink by the warmth of a fire in the cool crisp air of spring and fall, have quiet family dinners in a screened room, or fall asleep while watching their favorite tv show or game in the comfort and open air of their outdoor haven of relaxation. Add usable space that’s less expensive than a standard home addition. While a roof structure still requires a foundation and permits, and we still insulate ceilings, screen walls or no ...

By definition, Spring fever is a restlessness or excitement brought on by the promise of longer days, warmer weather and nature's rebirth. In the contracting business though, it's really about a renewal of people's interest in starting building projects. Here's a fun list of signs of Spring Fever that mean our phones will be ringing more: 1. It's still light enough when you get home from work to do something outside. 2. Spring cleaning reminds you of all the projects that have been ignored around the house. 3. Looking at your backyard from the landscaping beds you're cleaning out reminds you that your outdoor living space could use a pick-me-up. 4. When you're barbequing or eating outside for the first few times of the season, you realize how great it would be to have an outdoor room. 5. Your neighbors wave to you while they are relaxing in front of their outdoor fireplace roasting smores on a cool evening. 6. You went to the home show and got so many ...