Fall 1998 Remodeling Tips   Select an Issue Spring 2002 Winter 2002 Fall 2001 Summer 2001 Spring 2001 Winter 2001 Fall 2000 Summer 2000 Spring 2000 Winter 2000 Fall 1999 Summer 1999 Spring 1999 Winter 1999 Fall 1998 Summer 1998 Spring 1998 Winter 1998 Fall 1997 Summer 1997 Spring 1997 Winter 1997 Remodeling Goes On All Winter No Room For That Addition? Try the Basement! Basement Design Tips Kitchens That Work, Kitchens That Wow Shutters, Blinds & Shades A Sense of Well-Being Remodeling Goes On All Winter Many people have the misconception that remodeling and construction work stops during the winter months. Nothing could be further from the truth! Just because winter arrives does not mean that outside construction work cannot continue. If you are contemplating a remodeling project that may involve outside work, such as an addition, don't let the colder weather keep you from consulting with us about your project. Generally, weather is not a significant factor in planning a remodeling job in our area. Even on an exterior project such as an addition, most of the work is protected from the elements. Coastal Builders' knowledgeable and considerate employees will carefully and efficiently produce your job, in spite of the weather. Another reason to consider remodeling at this time of the year is that most major projects will take some time to plan and to get into our production schedule. Even though it is fall now, spring is only a few short weeks away. Now is the time for design and planning, if your project is sizable and you want to build in the spring.   To Top No Room For That Addition? Try the Basement! When homeowners need more living space, they usually look up to the attic or out to the backyard. Indeed, the vast majority of Coastal's remodeling projects are additions, including many second story additions over an existing garage. Sometimes when space or budget considerations rule out an addition, that space down under the home becomes prime remodeling territory. Remodelers and homeowners alike are discovering why the basement is the best kept secret in space expansion. Finishing the basement provides a simple and cost effective alternative to adding square footage to a house. Because basements are surrounded by earth that remains at a relatively constant temperature, they are naturally cooler in the summer than above ground rooms. Dense masonry foundations keep basements quiet, too, which makes them perfect for some of the functions people most want to add to their homes: a playroom for the kids, a home office, an exercise room or guest space. The dark end of a basement is the ideal place for a home theater. Perhaps best of all, the basic structure is already there: four unfinished walls, a subfloor and framed ceiling, all paid for when the home was built. What homeowner wouldn;t like to hear that the job is 30 percent finished even before the first nail is driven? To be sure, basements present challenges - small windows, low ceilings, structural columns - but they can be overcome or transformed into assets. Unlike other existing spaces, basement flaws are usually obvious, so you won't have to budget for unpleasant surprises. Because the work usually takes place in an out of the way area with its own entrance, the contractor can spare the occupants much of the hassle that goes with remodeling other parts of the house.   To Top Basement Design Tips • Maximize window area, for emergency escape as well as daylight. Funnel in as much daylight as possible. Do whatever it takes: dig the window wells deeper and/or break into the foundation and create new openings. • Don't be stingy with artificial lighting; a basement should be lit more heavily than above grade areas, especially if it will be used as a children's playroom. • Access to the outdoors is a great asset. If outside grade permits, replace the existing small door with a set of French doors or a slider connecting to the backyard. The results will be worth it, even if it requires breaking through the foundation. • Concentrate ducts and plumbing along walls or column lines, or existing heating trunks where head room is not so critical, and leave ceilings high in the center of rooms. Design the rooms so that the posts or columns are concealed inside the walls. • Use horizontal design elements to emphasize the width and length of the room rather than its lack of height. • For the cooler months you may want to include supplemental heat, the thermostat is still upstairs and sometimes the basement will stay cooler than the rest of the house. Of course this is an advantage in the warmer months so existing air conditioning equipment is usually adequate. • While you are remodeling your basement you should consider adding a bathroom; you will be forever grateful you did.   To Top Kitchens That Work, Kitchens That Wow By Stephanie J. Witt, CKD, CBD President Elect, National Kitchen and Bath Association Not a day goes by that the issue of form vs. function doesn’t come to play in the creation of a plan for the most used room in the average American home: the kitchen. When presented with a knock-out design, clients ask, "But will it work?" On the other hand, when they have laid out their ideal functioning kitchen, their concern is "How will it look?" Speaking from years of experience as a homemaker, coupled with my background in the field of art education, the resounding answer is "absolutely and terrific" -- if you keep a few simple concepts in mind. One notion that needs to be overcome is that symmetry rules. Asymmetrical arrangements are actually more pleasing to the eye. Odd number of similar items, such as cabinet doors, tend to give a more pleasing look than even numbered groupings. Hanging lights over counters in clusters of three or five are to be preferred over a group of four. Upper and lower cabinets rarely need to line up one over the other. The exception, of course, is with ranges and hoods; but even here it is wise to use a 36" hood over a 30" range with the centerline being in common. This technique addresses the issue of safety as well as creating a realistic capture zone for the heat and grease that are generated during the cooking process. Because the average kitchen today is much larger than in the past and serves many purposes, we have a wonderful opportunity to create spectacular task centers that make a statement of their own. Don’t hesitate to throw in a splash of color or to alter the height of cabinets serving as a baking center, for instance. The counter itself might be lowered here, as the function of kneading bread is actually more comfortable if done a few inches lower than the standard 36" high counter. The kitchen desk is almost always lowered and becomes a catch-all. Why not raise it to 42" and create a stand-up message center? Today’s hectic lifestyles allow few of us the luxury of sitting down at the desk anyway. Not too long ago we all had a "stove" in our kitchens. Today we might have a separate grill, wall oven, microwave, warming drawer and five-burner dual-fuel cook top. The first thing we need to remember is that all of these units serve a unique function and that they don’t necessarily relate to one another. In fact, if arranged throughout the work area, they allow more than one cook to work in the room more efficiently. The warming drawers and oven are for long term projects; thus can be located further away from the apex of the work triangle: which is still the kitchen sink. Because we all tend to congregate where the smells of good food originate, we naturally want our kitchen to be a beautiful room. Also, few of us dine "formally," preferring instead the casual elegance achieved by co-locating an expandable dining space in the "kitchen as great room" concept. A kitchen specialist, such as a Certified Kitchen Designer, can help guide you through the complexities of planning your dream kitchen. Just remember, good design is not dollar driven. Well planned rooms are available in a wide range of budgets, so feel free to discuss openly not only your needs but also your investment parameters.   To Top Shutters, Blinds & Shades Shutters, blinds and shades provide a wonderful variety of options for shutting out light, while giving a unique decorative touch to the room. A shutter is a window or door covering which has a frame and operates on hinges to close up the opening. Within the frame are often operating louvers used to control the amount of light and/or air coming in. A blind is normally a set of narrow wooden, metal or plastic slats attached together by cloth or nylon cord and hung from the top of an opening. Shades are similar to blinds, but instead of slats, they consist of fabric. The following describe a few of these options: Simple shutters: Rectangle of wide frame boards hinged to the window frame. The interior of the rectangle may be filled with a solid wood panel, shirred (i.e. gathered) fabric or even wooden blinds. Louvered shutters: Rectangular frame holding slats at an angle. These slats may be movable or fixed, vertical or horizontal. Full shutters: Shutters which cover the entire opening. If it is in a door frame, it can be called a "French door." Half shutters: Louvered shutters covering the bottom half of a window opening, for example, a cafe shutter. Wide blade shutters: The movable louvers in the frame are larger than the 1" slats normally used in louvered shutters or French doors. Sometimes called "Plantation shutters." Venetian blinds: Wooden, plastic, or metal slats held together by cloth tape or nylon cord and drawn up by a cord affixed to the bottom slat. The slats can be set simultaneously at particular angles by a series of cords and pulleys to limit the amount of light permitted in, while still allowing the breeze to enter the room. These blinds are called such because they were popular in Venice in the 1600’s. Mini blinds use thin plastic or metal slats less than 1" wide. Vertical blinds: Slats hanging vertically from a mechanism at the top of the opening which allows the slats to open or close by adjusting their angle. Stencil designs or wallpaper can be used to make this window covering blend in with the surrounding walls. Woven blinds: Narrow rods of bamboo, aluminum, or wood woven together with yarn to create a shade which reduces glare but permits ventilation. It can be operated by a spring roller (see roller shade), by a roll up process from the bottom, or like a Roman shade. Roller shades: Fabric attached to roll around a rod at the top of the opening which has been spring loaded to facilitate easy opening and closing. Roman shades: Fabric which, when pulled by a string, pleats together upward to the top of the opening. A pleated shade is similar, but the pleats are narrower and permanently creased. Austrian shades: Rows of lightweight fabric which fall into deep scallops. Cords or tape set between the scallops are used to draw the shade up or down. Variations of this are the balloon shade and the cloud shade.   To Top A Sense of Well-Being The sensory input we receive from all five of our senses profoundly affects our lives -- with smell as no exception. With aromatherapy gaining in recognition, people are realizing that our bodies and behavior can be helped by carefully using certain aromas at the appropriate times. Dr. Hasnain Walji states in his recent book, "Aromatherapy can be used to treat a wide range of health problems -- mental, emotional, and physical...[It] can help to counteract the effects of stress, but it can also be used to treat many common ailments, such as bruises, cuts and burns," etc. The idea may be new to us, but people in other parts of the world have been using these techniques for years. Lavender has been called "student’s herb" because it helps people perform mathematical calculations more accurately. The officials at London’s Heathrow Airport have sprayed the scent of pine needles in the terminals to put stressed passengers at ease. Japanese companies circulate the smell of lemon through air conditioning systems in the morning to help clerical workers make fewer data entry errors. Then in the early afternoon they switch to the smell of wood to keep morale up during the afternoon hours. Today, many homeowners incorporate aroma with candles and diffusers of essential oils. The future may see aromas programmed into "smart" homes air systems. © 2003 Coastal Builders, Inc.