Two Hammers

More people today plan to grow old in their own home, as opposed to an assisted living facility.  And the  temporary disability often times makes living alone in the home difficult.  So, plan for accessibility when designing a bathroom remodel.  Your design should incorporate grab bars in the shower, in the tub, and around the toilet.  Fixture manufacturers like Moen have designer grab bars to match their fixtures, these look much nicer than the commercial chrome models.  Plan for adequate maneuvering room for someone in a wheel chair or with a walker, i.e. space around the toilet, and a wide doorway.  The shower should have a dam less roll in floor for accessability with a wheel chair, a bench seat, and a handheld showerhead.  Change the lowboy toilet to a high rise model to make standing up easier.

A little forethought in the bathroom design can future proof your new bathroom for years to come.  For additional remodeling tips go here.

An often asked question is , what size of crown moulding should I use in my living room?  Our general rule of thumb on remodeling projects is:

• 7 foot ceiling - 3″ or smaller
• 8 foot ceiling - 3″- 4″
• 9 foot ceiling - 4″ - 5″
• 10 foot ceiling - 6″
• 17 foot ceiling - 8″ or larger

Smaller than these guidelines and the crown moulding appears out of proportion.  Where as, using crown moulding larger than these guide lines risks looking gaudy.

Read more about crown moulding

The soft touch on cabinet drawers and doors has become the dominant hardware choice for homeowners.  The hardware has matured to the point that it functions reliably and can be installed with confidence.  Blum offers a very nice soft closing under mount drawer glide which is a must have for a new kitchen.  The second generation of Blum Door closers has a very pleasing motion and should be considered for all kitchen cabinet doors.  If you have already remodeled your kitchen, all is not lost, Blum offers a unit which will retrofit onto most of their European style hinges.  Call your local cabinet shop and get retrofits for your doors.

For a new kitchen remodel the soft close hardware is available on custom cabinets and premanufactured cabinet lines like Diamond Cabinets Decora Cabinets, and Kraftmaid Cabinets.

Because of my child’s allergies I upgraded my home air filters six months ago; and there has been a noticeable improvement.  I installed pleated air filters in the central HVAC system and purchased two Honeywell room air filters.  The pleated filters in the central HVAC system catch alot of the airborne particulates in the house because of the high flow rate in the main system.  These filters will have to be changed about every 4-6 weeks depending on usage.  There cost is about $5-$15 each depending on the model.

The room air filters move about 200 cfm which is adequate for a living room or family room.  The units which I purchased do make a noticeable amount of noise, so we run them during the day when we are out.  They are also rather large, about 18-20 inches in diameter, so it is difficult to fit them in with anything but eclectic decor.  Though it is doubtful that smaller “personal size” air filters would have much of an effect.

So, after six months there is a noticeable decrease in airborne particulates, and the amount of dusting required around the house.  I strongly recommend upgrading to the pleated filters and adding separate room air filters in the more often used spaces in the home.

Update 23 Nov 2008

The room air filters in our house were life savers during the fires in Yorba Linda and Brea last week.  The air filters did a great job keeping the level of smoke in the house to  a tolerable level.