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Drywall vs plaster
Most homes built in the past 50 years have interiors made with drywall—large, thin sheets of paper-covered gypsum nailed directly to wall studs and ceiling joists. Drywall is inexpensive to buy and install and easy to repair.
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Although durable, it is also easily damaged—doors bang into it, furniture scuffs and marks it, water damages it. Occasionally, drywall nails pop into view (most often in new homes because of settling or framing shrinkage), though drywall screws tend not to pop out. The areas between wood framing members are unsupported and therefore particularly vulnerable.
Before drywall, most homes had plaster interiors. Plaster work is still done in new construction, but it requires more skill and is more expensive, so today it is usually found only in higher priced homes. Working with plaster takes some practice. Once mixed, it has a very brief “open” time in which the material is liquid and pliable, requiring a skilled installer, but it sets quickly and becomes rock-hard in an instant. Plaster applied to wood lath is held in place by the “keys” that form when it squishes through the lath.
Media rooms
While a dedicated home theater is a financial stretch for many homeowners, a media room in which to watch movies, play video games, and listen to music is more likely within reach. Read the full article here.
Choosing tile – where to start…
Tile has been showing up in residential construction almost since the primitive hut expanded into a subdivision. Oh, okay. It probably didn’t show up until the first primitive hut owner decided to remodel. It was a good choice, too, for a lot of reasons. Click here for the full article.
visit Daltile’s website to explore some of the possibilities for your home.
Design directions for a bathroom
You’ve hemmed, and you’ve hawed, and you’ve finally come to the conclusion that you just can’t stand your bathroom for another day. You know what you don’t like: The olive green sinks, the flourescent light box, and the chipped pink art-deco tile…and let’s not even get started on why the previous owners thought carpeting a bathroom with rust-colored shag was a good idea. But where do you go from there? What do you want? There are so many options that it can seem overwhelming to begn the process, but, every project has to start somewhere, and figuring out your style is a great place to start.
Here’s a list of a few styles that can help you to figure out the direction that you’d like to go in:
It IS easy being green!
“Going green” seems to be the trend these days, and it’s not only beneficial for our environment and future generations. Energy efficiency can save you some cash as well:
Water heating can account for 14%–25% of the energy consumed in your home. You can reduce your monthly water heating bills by selecting the appropriate water heater for your home or pool and by using some energy-efficient water heating strategies. Click here for more information.
When selecting energy-efficient lighting, it’s a good idea to understand basic lighting and principles. Also, it helps to explore your lighting options indoors and/or outdoors if you haven’t already. This will help narrow your selection. To read more, click here
You can reduce your home’s heating and cooling costs through proper insulation and air sealing techniques. These techniques will also make your home more comfortable. Any air sealing efforts will complement your insulation efforts, and vice versa. Proper moisture control and ventilation strategies will improve the effectiveness of air sealing and insulation, and vice versa. To get more information, click here.
bathrooms: from the ground up
Tile accounts for a very large portion of the materials portion of a bathroom remodel. What are the options for tile, and what are the pros and cons of each?
It’s all kosher!
From time to time, we get asked the question, “Do you design and build kosher kitchens?”. And the answer is, ABSOLUTELY!
Depending upon your level of observance, you may wish to have two separate sinks, two disposals, two dishwashers, and two ovens. Stainless steel can be koshered (to make kosher) to allow for separate use of dairy and meat items. Therefore, you could use a single stainless steel sink and dishwasher. However, since this option would require the item to be koshered in between crossover usage you might want to consider your time and effort vs. the cost and space requirements of the second item.
The biggest challenge in designing a kosher kitchen is to create a kitchen that doesn’t look like a complete appliance lineup. You can do anything aesthetically that you like. But to uphold Orthodox Jewish traditions you need separate preparation, cooking, and cleanup areas for dairy products, for meats, and for any dairy, which includes all other foods, such as vegetables, fruits, eggs, and fish.
the kitchen work triangle
In the traditional kitchen the three main work sites are:
- Refrigerator – the cold storage work site
- Sink – the cleaning/preparation work site
- Stove – the cooking work site
These represent the three points of the kitchen work triangle. If you place these too far away from each other you waste a lot of steps while preparing a meal. If they are too close to each other you have a cramped kitchen with out any place to work.
Kitchen Work Triangle Basics
- Each leg of the triangle should be between 4 and 9 feet
- The total of all three legs should be between 12 and 26 feet
- No obstructions (cabinets, islands, etc.) should intersect a leg of the work triangle
- Household traffic should not flow through the work triangle
Finishing an attic
Finished attic space – bonus room above the present living area of your home – can be a valuable space to remodel. Converting an attic to living or storage space is one of the least expensive ways to gain an extra bedroom, playroom, game room, sitting area, office, storage roomspecial use room without adding on to the exterior of your house. The attic can be finished with or without adding dormers to your roof. The benefit of adding dormers or roof windows are they will brighten up the space and make the attic more comfortable for living space.
If you are considering doing some improvements to your attic the first thing you need to do is make a list of what you would like to use the space for. Are you just looking to use the attic to store seasonal items and only occasionally go in the attic? if so, doing this can be as simple as installing folding attic stairs, a light fixture and a few sheets of plywood on top of the existing ceiling rafters to be used as a floor. If you are considering or planning much more than this you will need to get up into the attic to survey the entire area and get dimensions and details with clearances and obstacles that may be in the way.
Things to consider when planning to finish your attic are; how to access the attic- stairs, stairway, how to deal with sloping roof rafters, insulation, roof windows, framing, existing rafter size, adding supports to the attic floor joists, electric service, circuits, outlets, lighting, heating/cooling, windows or skylights and interior finishes.
Kitchen Fixtures: How to Select a Kitchen Sink
When it comes to shopping for kitchen fixtures, the sink is one of the most overlooked components of the room. Used to clean dirty dishes and food preparation, most homes come equipped with a basic stainless steel sink. But as for matching the sink with other kitchen fixtures, a wealth of buying considerations simplifies the decision.
