How To Choose A Style For Your Kitchen

Before you start designing or redesigning your kitchen you need to settle on a style.  This video has some great tips to help you decide what kitchen style is right for your home.  Luckily an Eclipse Stainless Sink fits in with pretty much any kitchen style.

How to choose a kitchen style

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Things To Know Before Hiring A Contractor

When you invite a contractor in to your home you are offering a fair amount of trust to that professional.  You are trusting them to work in your home, you are trusting them to be an expert and to know what they are doing, and you are trusting them to make things better.

Before you let anyone work on your home you should always ask them to show their certificate of insurance.  Once you know that they have one, you can ask to be added to the contractor’s policy as an “additional insured.”  Most people have no idea this is even an option, and once you’re added the contractor’s insurance covers the customer in case a worker is hurt on their property.  If they have not done this and a worker is hurt, their homeowners insurance would be responsible.

You also need to make sure that anyone working on your home is licensed to do so.  This includes a general contractor as well as all of the subcontractors working with them.  If someone is working on your home and they don’t have a license your insurance company can choose to walk away if something goes wrong.  If your home was built before 1978 the federal government requires all such tradespeople to become certified renovators and to take required steps to contain lead contamination.

Take all of things in to account before hiring your next contractor and you will feel a lot more confident about the contractor and the project.

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Sinks 101

This is a presentation that we put together showing a lot of facts and information about sinks, that most people don’t know.  To find more information check out Eclipse Stainless.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jg7d8Ya9Ns

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Lead Free Healthy Choice

This is our presentation comparing traditional brass faucets to our lead free healthy choice faucets.  It is in the best interest for you and your family to go lead free.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM3Wsl5gZ2o

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Choosing A New Kitchen Counter

Though it may be tempting to choose a new counter based on appearance along, there are several more things you should consider before making your final decision.  We put together a few ideas and tips to help you choose the best counter for your kitchen.

Think About Its Use

One of the most important things to think about before you decide on a new counter is how you use it.  If you have several kids and plenty of messy projects you might not want to choose white granite or marble countertops.  Take the time to consider the kind of abuse your counter may take.

Explore Your Options

Just because you find something that looks the way you want it to doesn’t mean that is your only option.  You may find a marble or soapstone look you really like, but need something more durable.  Granite is available in a variety of shades and two different finishes.

Be Edgy

Though square edges are standard, using something different is a great way to customize your kitchen.  Choose from decorative edges like radius, bullnose, bevel, egg and ogee, if you are looking for something to set your kitchen apart from the rest.

Mix It Up

You don’t have to settle with just one material.  Many designers have used different materials for their islands and counters. You can also insert a different material for a specific purpose like a butcher block.

 

If you are planning a kitchen remodel Eclipse Stainless is your best choice for your sink and faucet needs.

 

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Build Your Own Repair Kit For Plumbing Emergencies

When water is filling a room in your home, you don’t really have the time to wait for a plumber to come and help you.  With a very basic set of supplies and knowledge you can be ready to handle or at least hold off most plumbing emergencies.

 

First steps

No matter what kind of problem you’re dealing with or repair you are attempting: Turn off the water.  If you haven’t spotted them already, every plumbing fixture has a cutoff valve, or two if it takes hot and cold lines. The valves should be located near the fixture, look under the sink or behind the toilet.  These valves are there to make sure you can handle a problem while still allowing water to run in the rest of the house.

If you need to make repairs to a line be sure to drain it and let it dry.

Repairing plastic

Cut plastic pipe with a pipe cutter, hacksaw or any sharp saw, even one intended for wood. You will most likely see rough edges from cutting the plastic piping, be sure to sand the edges smooth before using them for repairs.  Dry and fit the new pieces and trim as needed.  Then apply a cleaner-primer followed by solvent cement, and connect the fittings again.

Emergency kit: saw, a few short lengths of pipe, a couple of elbows and tees and couplings (they join straight lengths together), rough sandpaper, a can of cleaner-primer and a can of solvent. Read More.

 

 

 

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Light Up Your Kitchen

If you haven’t noticed by now, one light fixture in the middle of your kitchen doesn’t cut it.  It can often times create spots with blinding glare and dark spots where it hard to see.  The best way to light a kitchen is to combine layers of task, ambient, accent and decorative lighting.

Task Lighting

Task lighting is the practical lighting used to assist in food preparation.  For the best results, place these lights under cabinets or over your island, any place you will be chopping or preparing food.

Ambient Lighting

Ambient lighting adds a warm feeling to your kitchen.  It can make the difference between a kitchen for cooking and a kitchen for hosting.  Ambient lighting fixtures may include flush-mounted ceiling fixtures, a pendant hanging over the island and adjustable track lighting.

Accent Lighting

Accent lighting is becoming more common as people spend more time entertaining in the kitchen.  These lights can be used to light up artwork, a tile splashback, or even placed inside cabinets to highlight a special collection of china.  Track lighting, up-lighters, directional eyeball lights and wall sconces are all accent fixtures.

Decorative Lighting

Decorative lighting should be in proportion to the size of your kitchen – the larger the space, the greater importance chandeliers, hanging pendants and other eye-catching fixtures play.  You want to always make sure the size of your fixture fits with the size of the kitchen and that the shade material doesn’t show the bulb behind it.

Combine these lighting elements to add visual layers to your kitchen.  You should also consider installing dimmers so that you can change the entire mood and function of your kitchen with minimal effort.  Read More.

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Why Your Sink Should Be Certified

Your kitchen sinks needs to be certified for quality and safety reasons. Our sinks have been tested by an approved IAPMO testing facility. This additional testing is extremely important. You want to make sure that the sink that you are putting in your kitchen meets or exceeds the requirements set forth in ASME A112.193-2000 stainless steel plumbing fixtures.

At Eclipse Stainless we believe that all components of a plumbing system are required to be certified to meed ASME standards. This includes not only sinks and faucets but toilets, water heaters etc. Back when most plumbing fixtures were sold through plumbing supply houses where plumbers understood the requirement and self policed the issue.

Then came the internet and anyone could sell anything.  Many countertop fabricators and others in the retail chain began offering “free” sinks to generate business.  Responding to competitive pressures fabricators sought out to create the cheapest sink possible. They either did not understand the requirement or did not care, after all they are not selling it they are giving it away.

Today there are many distributors that don’t certify the quality and safety of their products.  Having one of these products in your home could be unsafe for your entire family.

 

 

 

 

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Lead Free Is The Way To Be

“…lead in drinking water can also cause a variety of adverse health effects. In babies and children, exposure to lead in drinking water above the action level can result in delays in physical and mental development, along with slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. In adults, it can cause increases in blood pressure. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure.” Learn More.



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3 Ways To Make Your Tiny Kitchen Feel Bigger

There are not many things more frustrating that being stuck with a small kitchen.  You may feel trapped and option-less, but we put together some ideas to help turn your tiny kitchen in to a place you love to be.

 

Downsize your appliances. If you can get by with smaller appliances, do it.  When working with a small kitchen a size down from normal appliances will make it feel like you have a lot more space.

Use an open floor plan. Allowing your kitchen space to flow in to the living room or dining room will make it feel like you have a lot more space to work with.  You can also decorate your kitchen to compliment the connecting room.

Use natural lighting and clean hues. Using lighter colors and more window light makes your kitchen feel a lot more open.  You can also switch out your closed cabinet doors for glass to help compliment the open feeling you are going for.  Read More.

Eclipse Stainless has a variety of great sinks to go with any size kitchen.

 

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