<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167723387259714117</id><updated>2011-07-08T00:49:33.373-04:00</updated><category term='porch'/><category term='outdoor'/><category term='ipe'/><category term='open house'/><category term='deck'/><category term='screened-in porch'/><category term='sunroom'/><category term='kitchen'/><category term='green building'/><title type='text'>Drake Custom Builders, LLC</title><subtitle type='html'>A blog to journal the ongoing activities of Drake Custom Builders, LLC, including client projects, product research/review, open houses, and more.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3167723387259714117/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Stacy and Kevin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15363378049218739740</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>4</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167723387259714117.post-9218502112638939809</id><published>2010-01-23T16:34:00.011-05:00</published><updated>2010-01-23T17:10:08.427-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='porch'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sunroom'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='outdoor'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='deck'/><title type='text'>Decks, Porches, and Outdoor Living Spaces</title><content type='html'>&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/S1twwU2LUrI/AAAAAAAAAC4/td3gB2S5j8A/s1600-h/IMG_0192.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430057751257240242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/S1twwU2LUrI/AAAAAAAAAC4/td3gB2S5j8A/s320/IMG_0192.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;This has been a busy week for deck planning! The warmer weather is evidently encouraging people to think about spring and improving their outdoor living spaces. We have met with several clients this week who want a deck by March. Now is a great time to start planning your new outdoor living space. If the economy has you planning a staycation, we would love to help you create a great space! We can assist you in designing and building a space customized to your needs. Call 703.606.4063 to schedule an appointment.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430059205664849650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 190px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/S1tyE-7-PvI/AAAAAAAAADA/bHXMNkY9bIQ/s200/hinkle+porch.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/S1tv_DcJ09I/AAAAAAAAACw/ivwUL4ripxI/s1600-h/hinkle+porch.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3167723387259714117-9218502112638939809?l=drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/feeds/9218502112638939809/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/2010/01/decks-porches-and-outdoor-living-spaces.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3167723387259714117/posts/default/9218502112638939809'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3167723387259714117/posts/default/9218502112638939809'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/2010/01/decks-porches-and-outdoor-living-spaces.html' title='Decks, Porches, and Outdoor Living Spaces'/><author><name>Stacy and Kevin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15363378049218739740</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/S1twwU2LUrI/AAAAAAAAAC4/td3gB2S5j8A/s72-c/IMG_0192.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167723387259714117.post-340136252670904144</id><published>2009-09-14T22:21:00.005-04:00</published><updated>2009-09-15T19:50:28.017-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='kitchen'/><title type='text'>New Kitchen in Time for the Holidays</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/Sq78so9zfoI/AAAAAAAAABc/IIn1buBmtXI/s1600-h/Kitchen+A+02.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381516448595410562" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/Sq78so9zfoI/AAAAAAAAABc/IIn1buBmtXI/s320/Kitchen+A+02.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Want a new kitchen for the holidays? Now is the perfect time to start in order to have that perfect kitchen ready for entertaining those holiday guests. Worried about the economy? It's still a good time to make improvements to your &lt;a href="http://www.ebuild.com/articles/957216.hwx"&gt;kitchen&lt;/a&gt;. According to &lt;a href="http://www.remodeling.hw.net/2008/costvsvalue/division/south-atlantic/city/washington--dc.aspx"&gt;Remodeler&lt;/a&gt; magazine, you can expect to get a return of around 80% of your investment in our region. Whether you are interested in a little updating, or new cabinets, perhaps a granite counter top, and energy efficient appliances, or a complete overhaul, now is the time to get started to have a brand new living space for the holidays. Start checking the internet for &lt;a href="http://www.superkitchens.com/"&gt;design ideas &lt;/a&gt;and give us a call. We'll be happy to help you find your dream kitchen.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For contracts signed by September 30, 2009, receive a $500 discount on kitchens valued at $5000 or more.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3167723387259714117-340136252670904144?l=drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/feeds/340136252670904144/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/2009/09/new-kitchen-in-time-for-holidays.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3167723387259714117/posts/default/340136252670904144'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3167723387259714117/posts/default/340136252670904144'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/2009/09/new-kitchen-in-time-for-holidays.html' title='New Kitchen in Time for the Holidays'/><author><name>Stacy and Kevin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15363378049218739740</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/Sq78so9zfoI/AAAAAAAAABc/IIn1buBmtXI/s72-c/Kitchen+A+02.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167723387259714117.post-8167519066131581903</id><published>2009-07-20T13:33:00.012-04:00</published><updated>2009-07-20T19:56:28.252-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='ipe'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='open house'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='screened-in porch'/><title type='text'>Our First Open House</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/SmTn3P4kp5I/AAAAAAAAABU/Cv-l3tLaUEg/s1600-h/040.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360664392820369298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/SmTn3P4kp5I/AAAAAAAAABU/Cv-l3tLaUEg/s320/040.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/SmTm4HU_RAI/AAAAAAAAABM/zUaakJOtrSc/s1600-h/037.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;We recently completed a screened-in porch in Winchester in Battle Park Estates. I had sent several mailers to the neighborhood through &lt;a href="http://www.colonypress.com/"&gt;Colony Press&lt;/a&gt; announcing we were going to be there and what we were doing. There seemed to be a lot of interest in the neighborhood, which we had worked in previously. We decided an Open House would be a good idea to give the neighbors a chance to meet us and see our work. I sent out an invitation through Colony Press as well. We also put out Open House signs. The turn out was good, we enjoyed the time with the client, and meeting the neighbors as well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;To meet the client's needs, we used a no maintenance &lt;a href="http://www.fiberondecking.com/products/railing"&gt;railing system&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.ipedepot.com/"&gt;ipe&lt;/a&gt; for the decking.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360610846169354194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/SmS3KbEHz9I/AAAAAAAAAAk/Gw0ROTZKQyI/s320/043.jpg" border="0" /&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The ipe decking looks awesome with a coat of rosewood oil. This is a great natural way to maintain the mahogany color of the ipe. It's not necessary, though. Ipe becomes a silvery gray without the oil.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360625554410969730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/SmTEijiMGoI/AAAAAAAAAAs/mBDclYSJTSM/s320/047.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;For those of you who were unable to attend the Open House, here's what you missed!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360660600774489362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/SmTkahaYdRI/AAAAAAAAAA8/U2DFHKNM8DU/s320/016.jpg" border="0" /&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3167723387259714117-8167519066131581903?l=drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/feeds/8167519066131581903/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-first-open-house.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3167723387259714117/posts/default/8167519066131581903'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3167723387259714117/posts/default/8167519066131581903'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-first-open-house.html' title='Our First Open House'/><author><name>Stacy and Kevin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15363378049218739740</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aQrGfzkViY/SmTn3P4kp5I/AAAAAAAAABU/Cv-l3tLaUEg/s72-c/040.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3167723387259714117.post-7866003842652985997</id><published>2009-06-14T10:28:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2009-06-14T12:00:28.312-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='green building'/><title type='text'>AOK Home Improvement is now Drake Custom Builders, LLC</title><content type='html'>Earlier this spring, we started operating as Drake Custom Builders, LLC. What began as AOK Home Improvement in the late nineties has evolved to become a full service builder; Drake Custom Builders, LLC, operating with a Class A contractor's license. However, we love doing our service work and will continue to do so. Whether you have a handyman type of need, a larger project, a complete renovation, or a new house planned, we can help you. We continue to work in northern Virginia, including the Winchester area, and are quickly expanding in Rappahannock County, our new place of residence. We are also focusing more on sustainable building. Stacy recently completed training through &lt;a href="http://www.ecvirginia.org/"&gt;EarthCraft Virginia&lt;/a&gt;, and we are now approved builders, the first in Rappahannock County!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3167723387259714117-7866003842652985997?l=drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/feeds/7866003842652985997/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/2009/06/aok-home-improvement-is-nowdrake-custom.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3167723387259714117/posts/default/7866003842652985997'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3167723387259714117/posts/default/7866003842652985997'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://drakecustombuilders.blogspot.com/2009/06/aok-home-improvement-is-nowdrake-custom.html' title='AOK Home Improvement is now Drake Custom Builders, LLC'/><author><name>Stacy and Kevin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15363378049218739740</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
