ECLIPSE STAINLESS OUT OF BUSINESS DECEMBER 2017

Today selling your home is not an option for many families. Dropping home values is keeping people from relocating as the family grows or matures. Remodeling will make you home more livable and perhaps allow you to stay in the same home longer but if you are looking for return on investment in dollars spent of remodeling the news in not good.

According to a recent survey by Remodeling magazine you will recoup between 47 and 72% of your investment when you sell. Minor kitchen remodeling like a new counter is high on the list of return on investment at 72%.

While remodeling may not be the best return on investment it is likely better than the money lost by selling in a down market and the related expenses such as moving and refinancing which will return zero dollars on the money spent.

Debris in Plumbing Line Removed from Brand New Faucet

This is a picture of an aerator and cartridge we recently removed from a customer’s home just a few weeks after they installed a new faucet. Debris from the existing pipes had plugged the cartridge and aerator causing a leak and very poor water flow.

This problem could have been avoid had the homeowner flushed the water lines prior to installing the faucet.  Over time pipes can develop deposits of minerals and other debris in the pipes. When you are remodeling even is just replacing a sink or faucet some of these deposits can be knocked loose and if not flushed from the system will lodge in the faucet and cause problems as you see in the picture. In more extensive remodeling it is even more critical because not only can built up minerals be knock loose but there may be fine shaving or other debris from construction. When I was building new homes we always flushed the entire house before beginning the final installation of plumbing fixtures.

Make sure whoever installs you new faucet or other plumbing fixtures flushes the line prior to installation.

Here is a video from the TV Show How Its Made on How granite is quarried.

In twenty-eight years of building custom homes of all sizes I found that more than any other room the Kitchen was the center of the home. Not only was it used most often and where family gathered but my customers would tell me it was where they entertained the most because guests would gravitate to the kitchen at parties. I learned a couple of things to make the kitchen more functional;

1. Make sure there is lots of light both natural and electric. This is first and foremost a work area.
2. Select lighter colors makes the room brighter and seem bigger. That black granite top and dark cabinets may be beautiful but it make the room darker and less inviting.
3. Don’t make an island too big.  A kitchen island can be a great feature I have seen too many people try and force one into too small a space limiting circulation space. Make sure you have at least 3 feet between and island and other cabinets and appliances. If not it is likely not the right choice. One time when a customer insisted they wanted a island and I knew it would not work I “built” and island out of cardboard boxes and place it in their kitchen. They decided not to install an island.
4. If you have a peninsula cabinet and top installing an overhanging top and creating a breakfast bar can be a great addition.  Not only is it a great place for guests to gather it is also a convenient homework desk for kids while dinner is being prepared.
5. Make sure the refrigerator, stone and sink are in a convenient triangle. We found that no more than two steps between these items was a good rule of thumb.

You have likely seen the commercial where the homeowner – an attractive young lady – waves her arms and her house suddenly changes before your eyes from old and worn to new and modern. Guess what… it does not work that way.

Here are a few tips to make it easier.

1. Do the items that have the most impact. Sometimes just painting can make a huge difference.
2. Decide if you need a professional. You may be able to DIY but how long can you live at a construction site. If you are tearing out and entire kitchen, for example, doing it SSH (Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays) can prolong a project and strain the most patient family.
3. If you are remodeling is the plumbing and electrical infrastructure of the house up the remodels. If you remodel the kitchen and older home and add appliances like dishwashers, electric stove, side-by-side refrigerator etc and the electrical is not up to handling the additional equipment you can run into a large unexpected cost as you add circuits or even a bigger panel. Get expert help in these area. I had a customer one time who had his uncle repair the shut off valve on the water supply to his near 100 year old house. The new valve allowed in so much new pressure he had leaks all over the house.
4. Do not take down walls without a thorough understanding of the structure. That short wall your though meant nothing may be holding up a  beam that is holding up the second floor. I watched a home being remodeled across the street from a home I was working on. There was a dumpster in the front yard and every evening for a week it was full with plaster and lumber from partitions. Over the weekend the roof collapsed into the second floor.
5. Make sure all your remodeling efforts work together. I know a countertop installer who went to install a granite counter on cabinets the homeowner had bought a Swedish big box store and installed himself. A week later the counter top installer had to go back because the sides of the cabinets were bowing out and near collapse.

We recently had a customer of one of our dealers who did not want to buy a stainless steel sink because he believe true stainless steel was not magnetic. He is right… and wrong.

Here is part of an article from Scientific American on the magnetic properties of Stainless Steel:

“The most popular stainless steel is Type 304, which contains approximately 18 percent chromium and 8 percent nickel. At room temperature, the thermodynamically stable crystal structure of 304 stainless steel is bcc; nevertheless, the alloy’s nickel concentration, as well as the small amounts of manganese (about 1 percent), carbon (less than 0.08 percent) and nitrogen (about 0.06 percent), maintains an fcc structure and therefore the alloy is nonmagnetic. If the alloy is mechanically deformed, i.e. bent, at room temperature, it will partially transform to the ferritic phase and will be partly magnetic, or ferromagnetic, as it is more precisely termed.” full article click here

When formed a sink is mechanically deformed as presented in this article and is why a magnet will stick.