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A B C
D E F
G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ACUPUNCTURE
The Center
for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Inc., 365-8008. 3100 South Tamiami
Trail,
AIR CONDITIONING
Sharkey's
Air, Inc., 941-625-2143. Sharkey's has maintained and serviced our air
conditioning system and propane pool heater for several years, and they
have
proven to be very reliable and responsive. We are very satisfied with
their
service, and recommend them highly to other Rivendell homeowners. Mike
and
Holly Gruenfeld
BOATING/FISHING
CB's
Saltwater Outfitters, 349-4400.
CARPENTRY/CABINETS
All-Star
Cabinets, 955-4968. Richard Bakan is the owner at
Rod
Hafford, 923-8059. Rod is a carpenter and does very nice cabinet work.
He built
an entertainment center for us and opened a door from a bedroom into a
bathroom. He does what he says he will do, charges what he promises and
does
the work in a reasonable time frame. Charles Kiblinger
CLOSETS
Decorating SRQ, 487-7479. This is a great company run by Rivendell resident Lis Hansen for all your custom closets (www.CaliforniaClosets.com), custom window treatments, bedding, reupholstering, etc. I visited many places inCOMPUTER SUPPORT
Scott
James, 927-3121. Scott is a computer expert and will come to your house
and
help you set up your computer, fix whatever you cannot, or transfer
data from
an old computer to a new one. He charges $75 an hour and is very
pleasant to
work with. Charles Kiblinger
Bryan Lin,
544-8058. For computer system trouble shooting and optimization,
networking,
firewall and malware protection; also web design and administration. He
has
helped many Rivendell residents, most recently Al Nardi, who insisted
on paying
CONTRACTORS
FOR BUILDING
Chris
Brantley, 376-2461. After an extensive search for a reputable and
qualified
contractor to expand the bonus room on the back of our home, we
selected Chris
Brantley of Chris Brantley Contracting, Inc. to do the work. Working
with Chris
for over 3 months through every aspect of the construction process, we
have found
him to be one of the most knowledgeable, conscientious and detailed
oriented
building contractors that we have ever worked with. Every stage of our
room
expansion has gone according to plan. We were kept completely informed
during
each phase of the project and the quality of the work has been
excellent. If
you are considering any type of remodeling, addition or new
construction, we
highly recommend that you contact Chris. Please feel free to call Janet
or me
if you have any questions or would like to discuss Chris Brantley’s
qualifications further. Dave Swanson & Janet Tehrani
DECORATING
Decorating SRQ, 487-7479. This is a great company run by Rivendell resident Lis Hansen for all your custom closets (www.CaliforniaClosets.com) ,custom window treatments, bedding, reupholstering, etc. I visited many places inDRYER VENT CLEANING
Curry's
Chimney Sweeping, Inc. (Jeff Curry) 755-0002. When your dryer stops
heating
right, you probably have a stopped-up vent--which goes out the roof in
most of
these houses. Jeff will come and take care of it efficiently and with
no mess.
Charles Kiblinger
EBAY SALES
Steph
Lazare, 870-3236 or 313-1043 (cell). Barbara Gahry
ELECTRICAL/LIGHTING
Lighthouse
Installations, Michael D. Gould, 966-4824. Mike is a great electrician
and will
do any size job you need with skill, efficiency and good humor. And his
rates
are very fair. Charles Kiblinger
Ed with
Generation Electric, 927-8438. Ed was originally recommended by
Blue-Aqua
Pools, our pool builder. He installed new lights in the kitchen, master
bedroom, closet, garage, and an outlet box in the attic. We think his
pricing
is very reasonable. Timely, accurate price quotes, and excellent
quality of
work. Vic McMurry
Louis Pryor
Supply Inc., 756-8753. The best prices for the TORK Model 3000 Photo
Control
for our light post. Located at
FUNERAL HOMES
Ewing
Funeral Home, owned by George Kalbfleisch, 488-7737. A good, kind man
(also a
classmate of mine) with a heart of gold. Located on
HAIR SALONS
The II
Master's, 966-1353. I have been getting my hair cut there since 2002.
Vic
McMurry
HANDYMAN/GENERAL REPAIR
Jon's
Handyman Service, 941-893-0269. Does small repairs, light hauling,
painting,
minor plumbing, door locks. I have used Jon Lewis of
Repair
Express, Isaac Sasson, 544-0920. General repairs, electrical. Barbara
Gahry
HOUSE CLEANING
Keep It
Clean, Cindy Murch, 966-0260. I originally had a friend recommend Cindy
for
cleaning windows, but she now cleans our home once a month. She cleans
so
thoroughly that I would rather have her once than some light cleaners
coming
twice. She works very hard, and I trust her to come and go on her own.
And
she's an Osprey resident. Sara Jones
HOUSE PAINTING
Rick and
Sharon Wilsen, 921-5174. I highly recommend Rick and Sharon for
interior
painting and wallpapering. They recently worked on 4 bedrooms for us.
They were
prompt, clean, pleasant and willing to try new things (e.g. helping our
teenager stencil her walls). Lori Yohann
HOUSE SITTING
Ellie
Hartle, 918-2114. Ellie, a Rivendell resident, has assisted us
repeatedly
throughout the past few years by providing house sitting and house
security
services whenever we traveled away from home, for several weeks at a
time. She
thoroughly checked our home, and all of its utilities, on a daily
basis, and
remained in close touch with us, in accordance with our request. It's
as a
consequence of Ellie's excellent care and reliability that we highly
recommend
her to other Rivendell homeowners who may need these services. Mike and
Holly
Gruenfeld
Barbara
Tarlowsky, 966-5762. Barbara is a great house watcher. She is
absolutely
dependable and very knowledgeable about the ins and outs of keeping a
house in
order while you are gone. Charles Kiblinger; seconded by Barb Gahry
HURRICANE PROTECTION
Tropical
Storm Shield, 355-5611. They manufacture the product, so you save the
cost of
the middleman. We spoke to Randy Faust, the Director of Marketing, who
gave us
a very good price. They also sell hurricane shutters for your windows.
Their
price for them is comparable, but not less, than the other companies we
interviewed. Carol and Ken Heckert
Additional
recommendation: We have done all we can to protect our home because we
do not
want to be on I-75 during a hurricane. Tropical Storm Shield, owner
Steve
Johnson, did our overhang mesh material - called "StormCatcher," the
garage door braces, and the window film. They have many other products. http://www.tropicalstormshield.com
I would suggest that you explore their web sites very carefully and be
extremely thorough. For
example, on my
window screens I just read: "Why tell the burglars you are not home as
folding shutters do?" That is one advantage I had not thought of. Vic
McMurry
http://www.hurricanescreens.com.
This is the company
that makes the stainless
steel screens that we have on our windows. Steve Johnson sells these.
Vic
McMurry
Hurricane
Shutters 2 Go, 924-6788. We recently purchased sheets of Lexan, cut to
specifications, and installed hurricane shutters on the front of our
house.
Hurricane Shutters 2 Go made it easy and affordable. Lee Allen and his
staff
were very helpful in answering our questions and helping us consider
various
options. Their office is conveniently located near
IRRIGATION
Ace Pump
South in Osprey, 966-2433. Located at 50
Care-Free
Irrigation, 922-8677. Worked on sprinkler system at our old house.
Installed
new sprinkler clock (the old fashioned kind that is easy to work with).
Found
the valves in the lawn that had been covered over with grass. Vic
McMurry
JEWELRY/JEWELRY
REPAIR
Shrode Jewelry,
488-3119. Located at
LANDSCAPING/PLANTS
Florida
Native Plants, Inc., 322-19730.
LAWN EQUIPMENT
Sunset Lawn
Equipment, 924-9709. 6201 Macintosh,
LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE
Alan D.
Pollak & Associates, Inc.; 929-9299. Location:
MARINE REPAIR
Full Circle
Marine Service, 486-8987. Located at
Marine
Outlet Center, Inc, 921-7070. Located at
MEDICAL: EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES
RMS
(Respiratory Medical Services), 388-9266. I started using medical
equipment for
my sleep apnea in 1994 and have had to work with several different
companies
since then; some of them were horrible. Witt Banks at RMS is extremely
knowledgeable and is so easy to work with. Sara Jones
PET SITTING
Ellie
Hartle, 918-2114. Ellie has taken care of my two cats, Marco and Mongo,
numerous
times while I've been away. They
are
always quite happy, enjoy her company, and are in wonderful condition
when I
return. They also tell me that she is more fun than I am! Seriously
though, she
is extremely competent and an excellent person to call if you want a
loving,
professional caretaker for your pets. Lory Turner
Additional
Recommendation: We have used Ellie on several occasions when we were
going to
be out of the area for an extended period. She has been very
conscientious and trustworthy,
and our dogs "almost" love her more than us. Jeannette and Jim Munger
PIANO TUNER
Ken Snow,
493-3803. Ken is an excellent piano tuner. He works for Prichard Piano
and Van
Wezel, as well as doing private tuning. Charles Kiblinger
PLUMBING
Bob Rizi
Plumbing, 924-4895. Bob Rizi is the owner. We have known Bob for over
25 years.
His employees have always cleaned up after themselves and his pricing
has
always been fair. Vic McMurry
Aqua
Plumbing 366-7676. If you need your home repiped because of pinhole
leaks in
your copper pipe, Aqua Plumbing has at least two experienced teams (one
headed
by Mike Schwartz and the other by Dave [last name unknown]) that can
get the
job done as non-invasively as possible. Repiping behind walls and over
the
attic require special skills that only a select group of plumbers have.
Even
among those that “do” repiping, many are not intelligent in their
approach
(cutting more holes in the walls than necessary and tearing up floor
tiles
which may be hard to replace). If I had hired some of the companies I
interviewed,
I’d have ended up replacing my kitchen and master bath tile because
they do not
know how to get it done otherwise. Aqua provided excellent workmanship
at a
good price. After the work was done, their drywall person, Jeff Miller
of
Miller Drywall 713-4625, did a superb repair job; so good, it is
impossible to
tell where they had cut into the wall. Ed Lin
POOL/POOL NEEDS
Southwest
Pools, Builders & Service, 941-484-2339. SW Pools has
maintained our pool
on a weekly basis for a couple of years, and they have proven to be
exceptionally reliable and responsive. We are very satisfied with their
service, and therefore recommend them highly to other Rivendell
homeowners.
Mike and Holly Gruenfeld
Sharkey's
Air, Inc., 941-625-2143. Sharkey's has maintained and serviced our air
conditioning system and propane pool heater for several years, and they
have
proven to be very reliable and responsive. We are very satisfied with
their service,
and recommend them highly to other Rivendell homeowners. Mike and Holly
Gruenfeld
H2O Pool
Service, 780-4891. Nigel Day, a Rivendell resident, has taken care our
pool for
over one year, and it has never looked or functioned better. He is
dependable
and his rates are very reasonable. We formerly used another pool
company and
experienced very inconsistent service with them.
By contrast, Nigel treats our pool like it's
his own. If anyone would like to speak to us directly, feel free to
contact us. Doreen
D'Amico & Chuck Montgomery
Additional
Recommendation: Because of Nigel Day's care, my pool is pristine all
the time.
He is thorough, conscientious and maintains my pool on a timely basis.
Shirley
Borean
Culver
Aluminum Products, 355-0011. Located at
Blue-Aqua
Pool Corporation, 371-4808. Located at
Miradecks
Inc., 378-4365. Located at
PRESSURE WASHING
Ocean
Image: Pressure Washing & Painting, Nic Arnsby, 809-3155. We
just had our
house, roof and pool cage power washed, and we were very pleased with
Nic's work.
Elaine and Allen Roeter C. J.'s Pressure Washing, Kevin Reichenbach,
928-1188.
Has your roof seen better days? Kevin did a great job at a terrific
price.
Terry Leopold; seconded by Deborah Berzins
Second
recommendation: For pressure washing of house and roof, I asked Kevin a
lot of
questions and included them in an article for a previous issue of the
Woodlands
Word. Vic McMurry
Bill's
Window Services, 228-8177. Bill also does pressure washing. Barbara
Gahry
RESTAURANTS
Deja Vu,
926-2994.
Allen and I found a superb little restaurant on
Curry Creek
Café, 485-6560. This delightful new Nokomis restaurant is chef-owned
and
operated. It features fresh seafood, beef, potpies, and even some
Indonesian
style dishes. The food is excellent, the atmosphere relaxed and easy,
and the
prices reasonable. You’ll find it diagonally across Tamiami Trail from
Capt.
Eddie’s seafood restaurant, beyond the road construction! Linda and Bob
Pearlstein; Carol and Ken Heckert; Bill and
TRAVEL AGENT
FNTC (First
National Travel Corp), Toni Liang, 678-530-0840/800-888-0208. Fax:
678-530-0768. Located at
VISION CARE
Center For
Sight, 925-2020. Located at 2601 S. Tamiami Trail,
Additional
recommendation: Dr. Lahners is also great for Lasik surgery. etc. and
Dr.
Gindoff, for regular exams. I usually go to the building on
WATER
PURIFICATION SYSTEMS
WATER HEATERS
Terry
Leopold, 918-2718. Terry, a Rivendell resident, is the sales rep. for
Mirasol
solar water heaters. Barbara Gahry
WILDLIFE REMOVAL
Al Harris,
378-0000. Al will come and remove your unwanted wildlife. Charles Kiblinger
WINDOW CLEANING
Bill's
Window Services, 228-8177. Bill also does pressure washing. Barbara
Gahry
WINDOW SERVICES
All Brands
Window Service and Glass, 484-3037. They do all kinds of glass and
screens, and
did a good job of replacing a window. Charles Kiblinger
WINDOW TREATMENTS, UPHOLSTERY
Decorating SRQ,
487-7479. This is a
great company run by Rivendell resident Lis Hansen for all your custom
window treatments,
bedding, reupholstering, etc. I visited many places in