28 Mar
Vancouver Tours Blog

Find the Best Roofing Company

I live in Vancouver, WA and know how hard it is to find a decent contractor to work on your house. They all seem genuine first and they all promise you the world. Unfortunately there are a few that actually deliver on these promises.

Roofing contractors are no exception and need to do your due diligence to be able to weed out the good ones from the bad ones.

The roof is an important component of any home. This is your main barrier of many of the elements found outside. If you have a leaky roof you could find yourself placing lots of pots and pans throughout your house to catch the water. If your roof gets really bad you also risk it caving in at one point.

Luckily if a roof is constructed the right way it will last for several decades. There are even some roofs that are both so good they can last for half a century.

Finding a dependable roofing company in Vancouver Washington and you need this type of work done is of the utmost importance. You want someone who's going to give you a fair bid, do the job in a timely manner, and use standard or above average materials.

This is the goal you just have to fine a roof for an area who is willing and able to do it.

Here are some things that I personally would look for and will apply for not only Vancouver, WA but every area in the country:

I first like to start with referrals. I know I am not the only one who has a home and I want to ask other people their opinion but had roofing work done before me. Friends, family members, coworkers, acquaintances, and other people you know will usually not steer you wrong. They can use a direct you to a person who has done a great job for them. Unless a person does not like you they were usually not recommend a roofing company in Vancouver WA who has done shoddy work.

Next, you want to get at least three estimates. Roofing work is expensive by nature and you want a contractor who is going to give you a fair and reasonable price. Keep in mind even a fair and reasonable quote will be high. Understand as well that roofing contractors pay some of the highest insurance rates out of any industry in the nation. Because the work done roofing companies workers compensation rates are about five times higher than other like businesses. It is not out of the ordinary for this type of company to pay $ 30 in workers compensation premiums for every hundred dollars they pay out in payroll. These costs have to be passed on to the consumer. So, when you get a bid from a roofer understand that at least 30 to 40% of what he's charging you is just to cover administrative and insurance costs. A person who submits to you and extremely low bid is probably uninsured were not insured at all.

Everything should be written on the contract. This includes the materials to be used in your home and the time it will take to install them. Do not leave anything as a verbal agreement. You need to be able to accurately assess what you were getting for the price you're paying and make an informed decision. When the estimators come they will try to bait you into signing something right away. Do not do it. You need three estimates, side by side on your table, and you need to take the time to read them each carefully including the fine print.

Finally, check on a Vancouver WA's roofing companies experience and reputation. You want them to have enough experience to be able to do the job. Optimally, you want a business that has been around the block and nothing can surprise them. If they have been around for at least five years they will have a reputation of either doing great work are being con artists. Some of the best people to ask our local contractors. Even if it's their competitor a business owner were usually not talk bad about another company unless he really feels he does care terrible work. You can also ask roofing suppliers who they think is the best. They work with hundreds a roofer's every month and are in a great position to give you inside information.

These are the three items I would look for when choosing my roofing contractor. I am picky about the people I choose to do business with and you should be picky as well. You cannot depend on a businesses yellow page ad to tell you what they are about. Every company says of their the best. Roofing companies are no exception and sometimes accompany what the largest phone book ad of the biggest crooks.

Do your homework and you should be able to find a decent Vancouver WA roofing business. Take your time and do not let anyone rush you. Go with your gut and do not spend your money with anyone you feel uncomfortable with

Source by Wesley A Barras

20 Dec
Vancouver Tours Blog

Find The Best Chicago Wedding Limo Company

Chicago, also known as "The Windy City" is a place to visit. There are numerous things to do and see in this nod of culture, business and entertainment. The Windy city offers great experiences for all visitors from beautiful panoramas, luxury shopping, Chicago style dining to flawless transportation service. Chicago is home for multiple events, concerts, sporting games and festivals. Beside the sightseeing, you will always be able to find public events that will suite your taste.

Those that decide to have their wedding in this magnificent city, should consider the numerous places of interest to explore with a limousine. They include going to Chicago's botanical garden, seeing Adler planetarium, visiting Navy Pier, take pictures at Millenium park, explore museums and have a reception at one of the luxury hotels located in the heart of the city.

To have your wedding in Chicago is a true blessing. The city is so big and offers so many things to do that you will be overwhelmed. Variety of places for the reception ranges from small banquet halls in suburbs to large halls in Chicago loop area. If your favorite church or chapel is in one area, and the reception is in the other site of the city, consider renting a limousine to transfer the party to those different locations. On the way you also can visit you chosen parks to take pictures or just go through Chicago downtown for stunning panoramas.

When renting a wedding limousine in the Windy city, you should know there is a big competition. You should look for a company that offers great quality service, are responsive, professional and flexible. Do not forget to check out the value they offer for the price you pay. Try calling around for quotes, type of service and pictures. If you do not trust pictures, set several appointments to check out the limousines yourself. It is a good idea to look in the internet for the reviews in wedding oriented websites. You can also ask around couples that have recently married what limo companies they booked.

Before you sign a contract, make sure to read all the terms of conditions and privacy policy. Also, check if all the details are included into the contract. It should include date, time, duration of the trip. Have the addresses of the pick up, church and the reception in the contract too. It should also be clear how much you have to pay and what are the additional fees. Good luck searching for the best wedding limo company in Chicago!

Source by Wiliam G. Johnson

22 Jul
Vancouver Tours Blog

10 Richest Canadian Billionaires – Find Out How They Got So Rich

Canadian Billionaires – Who are the Richest People in Canada?‘

Almost all annual listings of the world’s richest people mention the same names year after year. On the top of these lists you will find Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Although the lists are generally accurate, you will often observe an American-centric pattern, wherein entrepreneurial skills and wealth of the country’s northern neighbor are often overlooked. Canada has its share of top richest people and even if recession has affected the Billionaire Balance Sheets of 2008 to 2009, the top richest people in the world have $2 trillion in asset valuation. Forbes, the trusted magazine all around the globe when it comes to entrepreneurial stories and news, came up with the list of 10 richest Canadians for 2009. The list includes a brief background on how these top 10 richest Canadians became very wealthy and successful. All figures below are in US dollars, unless otherwise stated.

1. David Thomson and family – media conglomerate – $13 billion

David Thomson is the reputed grandson of Roy Thomson who is the founder of the Thomson Corporation. The company started out as a book publishing enterprise. Today, it continues to be one of the premier textbook providers for higher education in the world. The company grew even more as it got involved in information technology and electronic media. It dominates the healthcare, science, financial services, and the law sectors. It acquired Reuters News last 2007 and is currently known as the Thomson Reuters.

2. Galen Weston and family – retail – $5 billion

This family owns a couple of giant retail establishments in the UK and Canada, which include Loblaws, Selfridges, and the Holt Renfrew. Galen Weston is the descendant of George Weston, who founded the George Weston Bakeries Ltd. as a food business. Weston’s Loblaws is the largest retailer in Canada, with net sales amounting to more than $30 billion Canadian dollars in 2008.

3. James, Arthur, and Jack Irving – oil and other natural resources – $3.9 billion

The Irving brothers are the sons of the Canadian oil king billionaire K.C. Irving, who passed away in 1992. The three brothers took over the family’s natural resource holdings and divided these based on their personal responsibilities and expertise. Arthur Irving manages the Irving Oil and its various retail sites in Canada, plus transportation and refineries. Jack Irving, on the other hand, handles the engineering, steel fabricating, and construction entities of the company. James Irving is the one handling the parent company, which focuses on forestry, shipbuilding, and other types of transportation.

4. Paul Desmarais, Sr. – transportation and finance – $2.6 billion

Paul started out as the manager of their family business, the Desmarais’s bus service. He began to acquire other lines and created a holding enterprise that eventually branched out to other fields such as life insurance and publishing. He always made sure to personally oversee the financial aspect of his businesses. As of today, Paul’s Power Corporation of Canada owns large interests in financial and media services in Europe and North America. These include interest in the French oil company, Total.

5. Guy Laliberte – Cirque du Soleil – $2.5 billion

Laliberte is among the few figures on this list of rich Canadians who did not get wealthy by inheritance or some other forms of existing family enterprise. When Guy was younger, he was actually a poor street performer. He eventually came up with some circus-type productions that included contracts with numerous US and Canadian municipalities to conduct street shows. This was how the Cirque du Soleil empire started. Guy’s company now has regular shows in a number of casinos in Las Vegas, and he also conducts shows around the world. His shows are altered and customized yearly, and they are booked years in advance by both loyal and new clients.

6. Bernard or Barry Sherman – pharmaceuticals – $2.5 billion

Bernard Sherman has a PhD in astrophysics from MIT. However, his current position as founder of Apotex Inc., a reputed generic drugs manufacturer, is a result of his experience from working for a relative at Empire Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company that he acquired later. Barry saw the growth potential of generic drugs in the worldwide market. Since then, Apotex is known as one of the leading generic drug manufacturers in the world.

7. David Azrieli – construction – $2.1 billion

David Azrieli was a holocaust survivor from Israel. He migrated to Canada in 1954, and used his degree in architecture to start a small construction company in Montreal. David’s company, Canpro Investments, continuously built and constructed numerous office buildings, shopping malls, as well as high-rise residences throughout Canada, US, and even in Israel. The Azrieli Center in Tel Aviv, Israel is known as the biggest real estate project in the entire Middle East.

8. Robert Miller – electronic – $2.1 billion

Robert Miller is seen by many as reclusive, but the company he built in 1968, Future Electronic, is far from withdrawn or isolated. In fact Miller’s company is one of the biggest and most widely known private corporations in Quebec. Future Electronics sells electronic components such as LEDs and circuit boards. It has over 170 locations in more than 40 countries worldwide. Miller’s company is ranked as the fourth largest electronics distributor in the world, with annual sales of up to $4.5 billion Canadian dollars.

9. Jim Pattison – diversified portfolio – $2.1 billion

Jim Pattison Group is a Vancouver-based corporation and among Canada’s largest companies in private management. Jim Pattison started out as an automobile dealer. He used the profits from this business to get into other businesses in different industries. These companies are television and radio stations, advertising and other media companies, warehouse facility management corporations, food distributors, as well as the Ripley’s “Believe It Or Not” attractions.

10. Wallace McCain – food distribution and processing – $2 billion

If you have been eating French fries in America or Europe for the last 20 years, there is a good chance that these were cut and processed in McCain’s processing plants. Ever since the establishment of McCain Foods Ltd. in 1956, Wallace has acquired facilities throughout Argentina, Canada, Australia, France, and various US states. The company later on expanded into pizza, orange juice, as well as frozen vegetables as McCain diligently saw the high demand for frozen food.

So what do these 10 richest Canadians have in common? The richest people in Canada either inherited or started their own businesses.

Source by Brian Ernst

21 Jun
Vancouver Tours Blog

Relocating To Canada – How To Find A Place To Live

Relocating to a big and popular country like Canada is indeed exciting but when it comes to establishing yourself there firmly, right from the time you have landed, things may seem daunting. One of the most challenging aspects immigrants experience post-immigration is finding a comfortable accommodation. Taking into account this fact, we’ll help you with some good information on how to find a comfortable accommodation in Canada and a few sources that shall help you find a good place to live in Canada. Keep reading!

Finding accommodation in Canada:

More often immigrants plan for a temporary accommodation first, and then transit to a permanent solution, probably when they have settled with a good job and found a place of their preference in Canada. These temporary accommodations could be hotels, monthly rental apartments, hostels, etc. But, a thing to remember here is that most monthly rental apartments of Canada are subjected to 12 month lease periods. For that very reason, Canada has introduced newcomer services for immigrants, which assists immigrants in their settlement and integration process and are completely free to access. Among these many services, one is assistance of finding an accommodation in Canada. Depending on these services will greatly help you as an immigrant to find the best place to live in Canada and at a much speedier pace. When you apply for an accommodation assistance, do consider the following aspects:

  • Desired location in Canada
  • Your budget
  • Ease of commute to your work place (distance and time)
  • Other associated expenses

What is the cost of living in Canada?

The cost of living in Canada merely depends upon the area you choose to live. While reviews say that places like Montreal and Saskatchewan are the most affordable places in Canada, terming them to be incredibly economical, Alberta and Vancouver are expensive cities. But, no matter where you plan to stay, you should be financially prepared as the cost of living in Canada will certainly be a little higher than the cost of living in your home country.

Sources to find a place to live in Canada:

Canada’s Mortgage and Housing Corporation: CMHC is the Government of Canada’s national housing agency and the best resource for you to settle in Canada. This corporation aims to provide products and resources of housing for people looking for accommodation in Canada. Be it a newcomer renting an apartment or a permanent residence planning for a home, this cooperation helps all with resources of their preference.

Housing directories: Depending upon the type of housing you are looking for, temporary or permanent, you can search for accommodations of your choice in the housing directories of Canada.

Classifieds or local newspapers: Often the classified section of local newspapers feature ads which feature the rental- houses of the respective area. Referring such will help you find a good place to live, according to your budget.

Websites: One of the most reputed and highly reviewed website of Canada is Padmapper.com. This website has a map of your chosen area in Canada, and will show you all the housing options available in that particular region. Also, kiji.ca and craigslist.ca are good places which features listings of jobs, services, accommodations etc. available in Canada.

The best way to relocate to Canada is on a PR visa. By relocating to Canada on a PR visa, applicants get to enjoy several benefits from the Canadian government- free education, free medical for entire family etc. Connect to the best visa experts and get a detailed information about the PR benefits and process.

Source by Farheen Banu