Mon - August 15, 2005
dimmers and low voltage UC lights and such
RE: Advantages of low voltage UC
lights?
* Posted by: Snoonyb (My Page)
on Wed, Aug 10, 05 at 5:42
Basically,
when a dimmer is added, you are adjusting the line voltage either to the fixture
directly, to a magnetic or electronic transformer, either in the fixture or in a
remote location.
Regardless of the
lighting system you select, install a quality dimming device in a metal box, NOT
PLASTIC.
Though I will install the
customers product, my first recommendation is the JUNO T-12 because of the
quality and versatility.
* Posted by:
Snoonyb (My Page) on Thu, Aug 11, 05 at
0:16
Any dimmer will heat as a function
of it's use. Metal boxes act as a heat sink, dissipating the heat over it's
entirety and in doing so allows the dimmer to operate at an overall lower
ambient temperature, extending it's life beyond the same dimmer mounted in a
plastic box, which does not share the same "heat transfer"
properties.
Posted at 10:54 AM
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Tue - August 9, 2005
dish drawer organizers
Posted at 09:51 PM
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Sat
- August 6, 2005
cork considerations
Look at several brands. Things to consider are the
thickness of the top cork layer, whether or not there is a cork layer on the
bottom as well and the density of the inner core (HDF is more durable than
MDF).
Posted at 09:29 PM
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Mon - August 1, 2005
Mop Organizer
Take a look at this mop
organizer : will it work for our narrow space next to fridge? (and
can I talk my cabinet makers out of a door for that space??? Let's hope so!)
Although my original plan was to have mops and such in that cabinet next to
desk... hmm, gotta settle this.
Posted at 10:01 AM
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Sat
- July 30, 2005
aluminum tape for VAH installation
Just a note to add: My DH & Contractor used
alluminum tape on all the flexible joints on the ducting. While this isn't a
requirement or a factoid that means mine is quietier than one without this tape.
It was just a nice little extra DH thought of to reduce any possible vibration,
rattles and/or air leaks that may occur. You can sort of make it out in this
image. Call it a 'good work practice' I
suppose.
Posted at 11:49 PM
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Sat
- July 23, 2005
suggestions for lining cabinets
cork liner (protects wood finish if glasses put away
wet)Rationell
drawer mat (a bumpy liner from
Ikea)odd lots of
wallpaperthat cushy grip liner
stuff"Duck" from Wal-mart
(washable)Reasons: protects finish,
soft landing, noise reducing, Since
I'm a little worried that my finishing won't be enough, maybe I should be sure
to get some!
Posted at 12:00 AM
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Fri - July 22, 2005
delta waterfall faucet
Posted at 12:24 PM
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Tue - July 19, 2005
nice wood edges for laminate
RE: Nicer laminate
edges
* Posted by: Miss_Marble on Mon,
Jul 11, 05 at 20:20
My favorite is the
one marys1000 described. We had it in our house in Pennsylvania and loved it.
Please note that in order for it to look beautiful, the formica has to come out
to the edge, and the ogee-ed wood trim be a teensy bit below that. Otherwise the
wood will get water-worn and grungy looking (if it comes up over the edge onto
the countertop). But with this way, whatever you clean the countertops with does
not touch it because it is completely on the edge. In my opinion, it is a most
gorgeous treatment and not dated at all (and what is dated, is the one that
comes up onto the countertop.) Also, it looks the best if you use a really
pretty wood like birch, cherry, maple, and give it a rich
stain.
* Posted by: Miss_Marble on Wed,
Jul 13, 05 at 21:46
Imagine the piece
of laminate itself coming all the way to the edge of the plywood, with nothing
covering its thin little edge (which, in the color laminate I had, was kind of a
brownish color). So, you can see the entire edge of the laminate, thin as it is.
(I think maybe they did something to the edge, because it was very smooth and
presentable.) Then picture immediately below that, nailed or glued to the edge
of the plywood, a beautiful piece of solid wood with some routing, perhaps an
ogee edge. It could even be something more decorative. Mine was birch stained a
wonderful cinammon color.
The thinness
of the laminate, and the brownness of its edge (which is now making me think the
cabinetmaker definitely stained it or something because it matched the stain on
my wood) makes the laminate edge look like it is part of the routing of the
wood. It's truly gorgeous.
Posted at 10:51 AM
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Drawer Slide Jig
The jig for installing Blum Tandems is at the bottom
of this
page on
woodworker.comhttp://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=134-840
Posted at 09:51 AM
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Fri - July 8, 2005
susans
from here:
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Kitchen_Corner_Cabinets.html
----------
From
contributor K:
Like others, we've done a lot
of the above, but over the years we've come up with a solution that customers
seem to really like. We call it a super-susan (sounds better than lazy). We've
since seen versions of it on the
market.
We make our own susan platters,
and attach them on the bottom of the cabinet, and on a middle shelf, so they are
actually sitting on a platform. We also make the middle shelf/platter adjustable
so they can even put large pots and pans on the bottom and whatever on the
middle shelf, as height is less of an issue. Nice thing about it is that they no
longer have to worry about items falling off the susan, as it has a 1 1/4" side
lip (total of 2 1/2", minus 3/4" material and 1/2" recess) and the farthest it
can go is on the shelf. The platter is 3/4" maple (sometimes I use 1/2" if stock
is low), ribbon around the side is 3/16" solid maple (although it can be any
color), attached to 3/4" solid wood front (either splay or 90 degree). The susan
is a stainless steel ball-bearing, which is rated at 1000 lb., and the pegs for
the adjustable shelves are custom-made solid brass, which go 5/8" into the 3/4"
side and back material. If the kitchen is large enough, I usually suggest a
splay corner, with a splay cabinet above and an appliance garage up
top.
An added benefit is being that the
platter is set on the shelf, they can also place items to the left and right of
the susan, in the back, that they use every once in a while, so the area which
used to be a space thief is now wholly utilized. If you are doing a splay corner
cabinet as opposed to a 90 degree, an added benefit is that you can also add a
drawer on top.
No poles to adjust or
re-adjust, simple installation, great product, great effect.
----------------
Part
of the answer lies in the quality of the lasy suzan you install. In high end
cabinets, I suggest my own custom lasy suzan. It's three shelves attached
together with four dowels close to the edge, with a flat bearing at the bottom
and a pivot at the top and no post in the middle. I use rubber plywood for the
edging that is about 3/4" higher than the surface of the shelf. They turn very
smoothly and are very stable. Very seldom will something fall from the shelves.
They are a lot more solid than those plastic or wire lasy suzans. They are also
priced accordingly, but clients don't complain when I show them the
quality.
I use 2 12" doors attached
together with the Blum concealed bifold hinges. They have their own self-closing
mechanism like their regular hinges. You can find those hinges with most of the
manufacturers of concealed hinges.
-----
From
contributor L:
Here is my solution to the
"wasted space" in the corner issue - forget about it! Here is why: Suppose you
just make that space in the corner "dead." Now, compare that to a lazy susan -
first I have to take away 12" of good, usable, direct access cabinetry from each
side. Accounting for 2" fillers, that is a loss of 10" on each face, or 20"
total. 20" times the interior depth of 23" is 460 sq.in. So that is a net loss
of 3.19 sq.ft. of horizontal interior surface. Then I put a 32" pie-cut susan in
there and gain back 603 sq.in* - a net gain of only 143 sq.in. or 1 sq.ft. Since
you have 2 levels, that is a net gain of 2 sq.ft. so far - and then you lose
20"** of top drawers, since most of us leave the top drawers out to improve
access to the lazy susan. That is an additional net loss of 20"x 22"= 440 sq.in.
or 3 sq.ft. So, to sum it up, with a lazy susan you loose 1 sq.ft. of storage
space compared to a dead corner. Plus you just spent a bunch of the customer's
money for that lazy susan.
When you
explain this to customers, most of them get it. I have only done two lazy susans
in the last two years, and that was in the same kitchen, in an unusual
condition.
My preferred solution to the
"dead corner" issue is to design it out from the start. If possible, I run one
wall of cabinets to the corner, then hold the other wall of cabinets about 5
feet clear of the corner, giving about 3 feet for access to the other wall of
base cabinets. Now we are able to use the corner, have almost the same net
usable cabinet space, lower cabinet cost, and a more interesting kitchen design
because it breaks up that strong horizontal effect of having the countertops
running unbroken all around the
kitchen.
Note:
*16"x16"
x pi x .75=603sq.in.
**2x (12"-2"filler)=
20"
-------------
Posted at 05:21 PM
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Thu - July 7, 2005
interesting faucet
Posted at 11:30 AM
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Wed - July 6, 2005
desk area design
Like the desk design here
(kitchen by "bosche" on kitchen forum) - 6 smaller cubbies on bottom; 3 larger
on top, wide enough for 'in basket' kind of thing; then the top level has two
flanking areas for magazine holders. Very nice.
Posted at 12:54 AM
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Tue - July 5, 2005
nice hardware
Posted at 11:36 AM
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details when ordering
along the lines of sweeby's
comments
-most companies have a
"touchup" or "home care kit" get one even if you are buying stain. It should
have a few ounces of stain, a touch up pen, a touch up wax crayon and a few
ounces of topcoat.
-before ordering
stain find out if they are going to ship the stain with the order. If not you
are going to pay as much for shipping as for the stain since it is hazardous
material. (that is why to get it when you order the cabinets BTW) If you are
getting stain get a quart, it is usuall barely a few $ more than a pint.
Consider an aerosol can of top
coat.
-we order an extra piece of
matching solid stock, if available, more useful than
fillers
-order at least one piece of
scribe molding always
-we order a nice
looking baseboard molding (not toe kick) to use on the ends of runs and the
backs of islands to compensate for floor
irregularities.
-don't forget to order
overlays for fillers with Full overlay
cabinets.
-don't skimp on molding,
allow one extra foot for every cut. If it is a DIY allow for an extra
length.
-if wooden drawer dividers are
available order 1 or 2 extras, cheaper than having one shipped
later.
as to the glass cabinets that
can vary a lot by mfg.
Yes always get the
interior finished (if that is not standard for glass),
BUT
if they have a glass you like, check to
see what the difference is between prepped for glass and with
glass.
For instance one with one MFG
the difference between prepped and WITH a decorative glass is less than $12 per
door, to the customer. The finish around the interior of the glass is MUCH nicer
when they do it, and breakage is then their problem.
Posted at 11:35 AM
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Mon - July 4, 2005
Faucet Basics
You should decide whether you want a single handle
or 2. That will narrow down your choices a lot. Singles win out a lot because
you can operate with one hand, obviously, while holding a pot or dish or veggie
to be washed with the other. It's also much easier to adjust the temp with a
single handle than with 2, although we do it all the time in our bathrooms, but
there, we are not usually holding anything else at the
time.
Some like the pullout sprayer
because they have one less item on the sink. I got a faucet based on the design,
with a high arch so I could get any pot under it, and it came with a side
sprayer.
Finish is important too. Oil
rubbed bronze, satin nickel and chrome or stainless are very popular, as is
copper.
Faucets can be really cheap or
really expensive, but the more expensive ones are usually solid brass, well
constructed, often with lifetime guarantees, and beautiful finishes that will
last well. You can find a faucet you want, then shop online for better prices.
============
Steve_o
wrote:
You want a quality faucet. The
very best faucets use lots of cast brass and are heavy for their size. They have
ceramic disks instead of cartridges or a ball valve. There are good faucets that
have some plastic parts and cartridges or ball valves, so don't forego a faucet
for these features if it otherwise meets your needs. Note that finishes beyond
chrome or stainless steel really can drive up the price of a faucet. You might
also consider how well that finish might match similar finishes on other
products in your kitchen.
I prefer
one-handle faucets myself -- easier to deal with when your hands are full or
dirty and they are a better match for my contemporary house. I might think twice
about a single-lever faucet in a Victorian house, though, for esthetic
reasons.
As for side-sprayers vs.
built-ins, I think diykitchen covered it well; I will add that most plumbers and
honest dealers will tell you that a pull-out faucet will not last as long as a
non-pull-out faucet before it needs repair, and it will be significantly more
expensive (or impossible) to replace that pull-out part than to simply buy and
connect another side-sprayer.
A couple
of other tips: There are several lesser-known brands; many of them are discussed
on this forum. Buying a lesser-known brand is not a bad thing. But look for a
brand that has fairly wide retail distribution. I'm skeptical of the
quality/level of customer service I'll get with a brand available only from a
big-box store or on eBay. There are some excellent deals on eBay, BTW, so you
might want to check there. Make sure you know what you're buying, though. As for
faucets at big-box stores, some will tell you that these faucets are inferior to
those available at plumbing-supply houses. That's not necessarily true. Compare
part numbers; if the part number for the big-box-store faucet is exactly the
same as the plumbing-supply-store faucet, it is the same faucet. If they're not,
make sure you understand what is different.
==============
*
Posted by: HeyPearly on Mon, Jul 4, 05 at
9:21
Quality of "lesser known brands"
can be better than the top of the line well known brands. I am thrilled with the
form and function of my Cucina faucet. Italian made, heavy weight solid brass,
with a Tuscan Bronze finish that is PVD protected and appears to have a "living"
finish. Delta and others PVD coatings look like a big dip in the plastic pot!
Not inexpensive but not insane either. The Herbeau I was interested in ran about
$1200.00, the Cucina equivalent with MORE options went about $600.00. Google The
HICO Group and you should find it. Home base is Chicago, VERY nice and VERY
effecient customer service. They sent me a sample of the metal finishes
overnight. Think I bought it from Homeclick. Just love it!
Posted at 05:12 PM
Read More
walnut trim?
alternatives to HomeClick
gas cutoff position
mixer lift? spice tray?
color ideas
tung oil for butcher block
Crown Molding ala MomJ47
tile pattern tester
Cabinet Detailing
Kindred sink details
FP comments
nice modest backsplashes
dishwasher detergents (from CR)
some laminate preferences
new fridge thoughts
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Published On: Aug 20, 2005 09:59 PM
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