Cozy up with a good book...outside!

We all love cozying up with a good book in front of a roaring fire on a cool fall day. Many don't expect to be cozied up outside in October, but now with outdoor fireplaces and fire pits it happens! Your family and friends can enjoy evenings in front of the fire, roasting marshmallows, telling scary stories and just enjoying the evening.

You may have noticed the outdoor fireplace trend at home shows and garden centers, ranging from small metal fire pits to massive custom built stone fireplaces with grills, waterfalls, stereos and seating built right in. The trend doesn't seem to be a trend as much as a change in how we look at our backyards, from a place to play in the summer with a plain slab patio to a 3 or 4 season outdoor room complete with stamped concrete and built in fireplaces, grills and pizza ovens!

By adding a roof extension to your home you can sit in the warmth of the fire and watch it snow or rain. With so many options to customizing your outdoor room, here's an abbreviated list of things to complete the room: fireplace, grill, water feature, patio furniture, outdoor rug, stamped concrete patio, gazebo and built-in speakers.

We've been adding brick and stone fireplaces to stamped concrete patios to homes and we don't see the trend slowing. Whether you're building a new home or just extending your living area outside, you'll want to remember to add a custom fireplace to your plans.

Say it with Concrete!

Say it in Concrete!

Recently you have probably seen our Facebook

photos and posts about the concrete work we've been doing. While Bob has been working with concrete for years, this spring he did some work with concrete stamping in place of wood on a deck that was just spectacular and generated a lot of comments.

Then, Ben Cook moved back to town to work with his Dad (Bob) and that allowed more time to invest in concrete work. We recently set up the concrete for the bus stop at Towne East Square for example.

During the Roman Empire concrete was made from quicklime, pumice, and pozzolana. You've no doubt seen images of the many Roman structures. Today's concrete is more sophisticated with chemicals that can accelerate the drying time, increase workability, and change colors. Mineral additives and blending cement mixtures improve the properties of concrete.

What people don't realize is that concrete has a miriad of uses from sidewalks to foundations, from faux stone walls to decks. Concrete is even becoming a popular countertop alternative to granite for it's durability and easy cleaning. It's crazy all the things you can do with concrete. And the great thing is, concrete made from all natural materials so it's environmentally friendly. It also doesn't require maintenance.

Contact us today to discover how we can use concrete to make your home special!

Keeping Cool with Cellulose Insulation

It's getting pretty hot out there, are you getting concerned about your cooling bill?

Almost everyone has some knowledge of insulation. It's usually in the walls and attics of the home and serves as a guard against the temperature outside and the temperature inside. You may not know how the different types of insulation vary. The thicker and more dense the insulation, the better the home is protected from outside temperatures, thus keeping the home cooler and the electric bill to a minimum.

Most builders use insulation that meets the minimum standards. The insulation may be made of: foam; rigid boards of fiberglass, polystyrene or polyurethane; batts of mineral fiber; or loose fill fibers or fiber pellets.

While all of these do insulate the home, the rating is not that high. And when there is a 20 mph wind combined with a 20 degree F temperature the insulation doesn't function any better than a wood board.

In Bob Cook homes we use only the best, highest rated insulation called cellulose.

Cellulose is a "green" insulation made from shredded newspapers, magazines and other paper items that would otherwise be in the landfill. It's fire retardant, has excellent sound control (so you won't hear the party next door) and has the highest "R Value" per inch. (see the side by side comparison in the image below)

[R-Value represents the measure of resistance to heat flow through a given thickness of material. The higher the value, the less likely heat will not flow through]

Insulation's purpose is to stop heat flow. When you're warm inside you don't want that to leave the house and when it's cool inside you don't want the warm air to come in. If the insulation is very dense, air can't move through it and the home stays a comfortable temperature and outside noise is less audible.

This is just one of the ways you'll see a difference when you choose Bob Cook to build your new home, of course ICF homes are even more energy efficient. Contact us today for more details.

Extreme Makeover Outtakes

If you missed Extreme Makeover last night or if you still want more - we've got some video featuring Bob the Builder & Paulie. Super time lapsed video of the house going up! (video courtesy of hulu.com & ABC).

Still want more? How about the complete home tour! This will take your breath away.

We want to thank each of you that came out and worked on the house. It's amazing to look back and see how much we accomplished in a very short amount of time and it wouldn't have happened without all of our volunteers. And thanks to the sponsors for donating all the materials, home decor, everything.

This was truly an amazing project. a labor of love.

Sneak Peek!

Just a few short days until the new season of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Wichita is the premiere episode! Here's a sneak peek at the show -

Volunteer Spotlight: Kristen Ward

Kristen became involved with the Extreme Makeover project when Tasha Brackeen (another awesome volunteer) and Cyndi Herdt, one of Bob's staff, approached her. She decided to "jump on board with a great team and a respected builder."

Kristen thought of Extreme Makeover as a way to make a difference in the community where she works as an insurance agent. She knew it would help a very deserving family.

The Extreme Makeover project was not Kristen's first experience with giving. She's an active member with the Derby Chamber of Commerce, the Wichita March of Dimes, NAIFA and she's served on the Economic Development Board for the City of Derby. It's amazing she had time for the Makeover, as busy as she is!

Kristen met most, if not all of the cast members. She, along with Tasha, were able to "hang out" with them at the Alley riding go carts and socializing. She said of the cast and crew, "They were great people with a passion to help others." She worked very closely with the project managers and coordinators throughout the project. "The hard work and around the clock hours they commit to amazed me" said Kristen.

When asked about her impression of the house Kristen replied,"The house was beautiful! The attention to detail and the personal touches given to this home showed an overwhelming love for the family and truly identified who they are."

Kristen said that the best part of being able to work with Extreme Makeover on this home was the ability to make a difference. She also enjoyed seeing the community come together and work together -- everyone from food vendors, retailers, labor and etc. "it was unbelievable!" said Kristen, "lots of amazing people with a common goal to pay it forward."

Kristen is fondly remembered by many volunteers. Her efforts did not go unnoticed. In real life, Kristen runs a Farmers Insurance Agency in Derby.

Photo courtesy Splurge Magazine - Kristen is 2nd from the left.

Basement Walls

How are we possibly going to get this house up in less than a week? On the outset it sounded like a daunting task and despite the very tight schedule (in 30 minute intervals) it still seems unimaginable.

One of the ways we were able to move forward so quickly was the basement. Instead of using a footing, the base of the walls was built on compacted gravel, something we had never used before. It's common up north where the building season is much shorter, so time is of the essence.

In this photo Bob, Ben (our son) and I look the basement walls (yes, basement walls) before they are set in place. The walls came from Superior Wall Systems. They are incredibly energy efficient, featuring styrofoam insulation pored into place. Superior does the basement walls for all of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition shows.

As you can tell, the delivery came at night so in the morning the basement was done and we were ready to start building upwards.

This is just one of the many ways we were able to keep on track. We also learned a few things we'll incorporate into homes we build in the future whenever feasible.

Volunteer Spotlight: Darcie Oursler

Darcie became involved with the Extreme Makeover project through Kristen Ward (another popular volunteer). Kristen was familiar with Darcie's work because they had recently worked together on a project for the March of Dimes. "She told me about the Extreme & I said yes," said Darcie, who is actually working as the marketing liaison with AutoMasters.

Darcie was even more excited about the project because of the family. When she saw the profile video she thought they were a fantastic, very deserving family.

Although Darcie was involved from almost the day we found out about Extreme Makeover, her employer (Auto Masters) was excited about the opportunity and agreed to give Darcie paid leave from her regular job to be available on site every day during the build. Her contribution to the project includes: organizing food for the catering tents (along with Kristen), arranging for the dry storage truck and cold storage truck, soliciting donations for drinks, bottled water, arranging a band for the fundraiser, helping with set up at the fundraiser, coordinating the wrap party and collecting funds for the wrap party.

"Everyday I would go to the site and check in with Lisa (Nelson, Derby Rec Center), Kristen (Farmers Insurance Company) and Deb to see what was needed, played the gopher and helper's helper," says Darcie.

"The best part (of the project) was the caliber of volunteers, their attitudes and the enthusiasm that everyone had about this project. It was such an uplifting affair."

She also got to meet the cast of the show: Jillian, Paige and Paulie. "They were very warm and open. All of them were fantastic. Even the security staff was professional and nice," Darcie stated, then laughed "I didn't get to talk to Ty but he backed up over my foot and apologized, if you can call that conversation."

Darcie thinks the best part of the new home is the dual fireplace with all the messages. "Just being able to open the door and see the amount of love that went into that particular part of the house is really great," says Darcie.

"It was such an amazing experience. I can't imagine not having the opportunity to participate in that as a person and I was thrilled to represent my company to be a part in giving back to the community," said Darcie.

That sentiment will surely be echoed by each and every person involved.

And on the 7th Day

It seems like only yesterday we got the call that Extreme Makeover wanted to talk to Bob about building a house. The week of the build was great, meeting so many people who gave so selflessly to make the dream of a home reality for the Hall family. Everything happened so fast. It's truly amazing how this all comes together so quickly.

Here then is the final video - the day of the reveal. Enjoy!

The Final Touches

Wednesday progress is left to the final touches. We've had great weather for the build and all of the volunteers have been wonderful.

Tuesday in Motion!

Another Great video of the day by Deanna -

For anyone who doesn't believe in miracles or the power of people - this is a testament to what can happen when prayers are answered.

Amazing!

This video was shot by Deanna of Today for Tomorrow Productions. A great view of what's been happening the last couple of days.

Day 2 at the Extreme Makeover site

Overnight from the first day there was a basement, and now there are concrete basement walls. Today we added the insulated concrete forms and the house outline can clearly be seen. The wind made it sometimes challenging but all in all we've had a good day. Met lots of people and had some fun.

You'll see that we are a bit behind adding the day by day - before we can show you photos they have to be approved by the ABC liaison. But we've got some good ones from people on site & from our photographers. Check the photo gallery and this blog daily from here on out for the latest. If you have any photos email us so we can post!
This video by Today for Tomorrow Productions:

Day 1 at the Extreme Makeover site

While people were enjoying the ambush of the Carl Hall family, the new home was already underway digging the basement of the home. Volunteers worked into the night getting the ground ready for the foundation and concrete forms. We were joined by troops from McConnell Air Force Base who all brought shovels & proudly donned hard hats & now famous blue t-shirts.

Bob was definitely the star of the show, directing the action and giving in interviews. He's excited to be able to build a home "at his pace."

The build site consists of several tents, cast trailers, work stations and, of course, the house. Spectator area will be open on Saturday - park at the Mel Hambelton Ford lot and get a free ride into the build site.

This house will come together very fast so even watching for an hour you'll see many changes.

Thanks to one of our 2 photographers, Courtney Cook, for these nighttime shots.

Happy Valentine's Day

We've had a busy 4 days starting with an awesome Pep Rally. We had cheerleaders, and a drum line to warm up the crowd. Bob even got up and had a very nice presentation about how and why he's involved. He also took the time to thank some of the key organizations & people who are a part of this project:

Mike Drumright, Randy Stovall, Mike Igo, David Shandy, Marlo Porter, Derek Lofgreen, Fenix Heating & Air, Fisher Lumber, Ruud Concrete, & Logix Insulated Concrete Forms, Adventure RV's, Il Primo Espresso Café, Wichita Area Builder's Association, Star Lumber, Kansas Lighting, and the Wichita Better Business Bureau. Additionally, Bob singled out these individuals for their contribution of time and talent thus far: Teajai Kimsey (Internet Idea Girl), Mike Mapes (David Hall Roofing), Kristen Ward (Farmer's Insurance), Darcie Oursler (AutoMasters), Shirley Harrold-Albright (Armstrong|Shank), Liz Willis-Henry, Tom Middlestadt, Cyndi, Christine & Marla (from Bob's office).

Then the Extreme Makeover crew was introduced to the city and Milan Vasic (Senior Producer) gave the history of the show. Not a dry eye in the house after Milan spoke.

Right from the Pep rally we were manning our booth at the Home Show through the weekend! It sure was busy there and the positive feedback from people visiting our booth was really nice to hear.

I also spent some time at the Extreme Makeover Booth at the show. We sold T-Shirts and signed up volunteers. And I have to say - We L O V E our volunteers & sponsors. If you haven't seen the growing list, please visit the resource page of our WichitaExtreme.com website. More are added daily.

This is a great week to show a family how much the community really does care. Coming on the heels of Valentine's day -- what better way to celebrate than to build a home!

Hope you will all come out and watch, looks like the weather will be cooperating.

Standing Room Only ~ We hope!

It's a busy week at Bob Cook Homes!

The Pep Rally is on Thursday and we're really hustling to make sure everything is ready. Today we met with the staff at Central Christian Church. It's a wonderful venue for the rally. Not a bad seat in the house!

The audio/visual staff were really great about meeting our needs and volunteering their services. The donation of the space is going to work out well for all of the people who attend. The photo was at the meeting this morning. Notice all the smiling faces! what a great way to start off the week.

We're also getting ready for Home Show. Can you believe it? Same week as the pep rally! But if you come to either the pep rally or the booth at the home show you'll find out more about the Extreme Makeover about to take place.

Also this week we're expecting to receive t-shirts that people can buy with a donation to the Extreme Makeover family. We sure appreciate Special T's and City Blue Print for coming in at short notice to deliver banners and tee shirts for the Pep Rally.

If you want to see a more current list of sponsors (and it changes daily!) please visit the sponsor area of the Extreme Makeover website. And if you see any of these folks or happen to do business with any of these companies, tell you saw their logo / listing on our site.

We hope to see you all on Thursday! And if you haven't volunteered yet - there's no time like the present :)

PS - Listen to Bob Cook on Kissin 96FM around 8:45 Thursday morning.

Will the groundhog be predicting an extreme weather situation for Extreme Makeover?

Due to begin building in mid February, if the Groundhog sees his shadow it could mean we'll be in for some wintery weather for that whole week. Of course with temperatures in the 70's just a couple of days ago - we never know.

Around the office we've been lining up our volunteers, planning a fundraiser and a pep rally. The products, services and people it takes for just these two events is huge! If you haven't volunteered yet, please consider lending a hand (or 2, or 4). Also, if you want to donate something to the silent auction we'll be having at the fundraiser that would be great as well. We're looking for valuable gifts, services etc. that can bring in high bids. We hope to earn enough at the fundraiser to pay off a mortgage or set up a home maintenance/tax fund.

We've added more to our core "behind the scenes" team and we would like to take this brief opportunity to recognize:

• Shirley Albright (Armstrong|Shank),
  
• Elizabeth Willis Henry ,
  
• Tom Middlestadt (Props & Design),
  
• Lisa Nelson (Derby Recreation),
  
• Teajai Stradley & Chris Keefer (Internet Marketing Strategies –Ideas That Work),
  
• Mike Drumright (Drumright Builders, LLC),
  
• Tasha Brackeen (Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc),
  
• Kristen Ward (Farmers Insurance),
  
• Darcie Ousler (Automasters Collision),
  
• Scott Ruud (Ruud and Son) and
  
• Derek Lofgreen (Landmark Home Improvement, LLC)

These folks are helping us put together a miracle to build a dream.

We have also been gathering our sponsors and adding them to the website and putting information about these great company donations on our Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. If you want to get in on some of the day to day posts on Twitter, follow #emict.

As we get closer to the big day we'll be adding some behind the scenes photos and we'll be recognizing all of the individuals and companies that are a part of this very Extreme Makeover.

Well it’s TGIF and we’re about 60 hours into the Extreme Makeover Home Edition project. It may be Friday to everyone else but it looks like all of us won’t actually have a real Friday until after the build is done! We’ve got almost everything designated to someone; it’s been pretty crazy around here with the production crew, vendor partners and marketing people.

Our volunteer coordinators are in place and they have been reviewing the info from people who would like to volunteer. Everyone who volunteers will be notified when the schedule is set up, we'll need over 4000 volunteers. If you want to volunteer please complete the form on our volunteer page.

Our sponsor list is starting to grow and that’s great because it’s going to take some really good sponsors to help us pull this off. We have several sponsorship levels and we’re finalizing the extra perks we can give to sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring please contact us at ehme@bobcookhomes.com, we will eagerly respond!

It’s no doubt that this is one project that will take a small village to pull off, and the number of spectators expected is really exciting. It's going to be great exposure for Wichita and all the business and people involved.