Ratcheting screwdrivers aren't all that new, but this is by far the best one I've found. It's better made and less expensive than a lot of others out there, and – at my house at least – replaces a whole bunch of other screwdrivers in my toolbox. Its advantages over the Snap-On and Sears models are innumerable, but principally, the knob on the shaft that allows the bit to turn four times for every handle turn – it's as fast as a drill driver in this respect, and is a huge time saver for long screws. It also has far better bit storage is easier and faster and much more secure than the clips on the Sears model. $17 from Bubba Deals, probably as good a price at your local independent hardware store.
remodel / restore
how to remodel a kitchen in 905 days
About 2 1/2 years ago we started on a kitchen remodel project. If you have never done a massive kitchen remodel to an 83 year old house on hill, in a historic neighborhood, then you may doubt that it is a
process that could take more than two years. 2 1/2 ago I would have
doubted it too.To be fair, the kitchen has been "done" for about 7 months. In fact
I started this blog right about the time the kitchen was "done".But now the kitchen is done "done". The last painful details
(including a crack in a custom built sink) were finally completed about
3 weeks ago. So I have decided to document this kitchen. And where do I
document everything in my life? Well here of course!I won't go into all the gory details. But basically we knocked out
walls and turned a kitchen, a laundry room and my old office into a
large kitchen and eating area. We moved the laundry room to what was
formerly a spooky little space under the garage. We blasted through the
foundation of the house to make a door that attaches the new laundry
room to the kitchen.The finished product is a beautiful, warm room. Alternatively modern, Victorian and Prairie, it uses light and wood and tile in concert better than any other remodel I've seen in the last few years.
Congratulations to greg and his hard-working architects, Victoria Yust & Ian McIlvain of Tierra Sol y Mar, and the craftspeople who did the actual building of the room.
a Greentea Design remodeled kitchen in Ottawa
[the finished kitchen; photo by Kim]Last week, in our post on Greentea Design, I made a quick mention of
one specific old-house kitchen remodel using their cabinets. Since
then, Mike Ramsey at Greentea was kind enough to supply me with
comprehensive background information on this particular project, and I
thought it would be of interest to all of you – not just those
considering a kitchen remodel, but anyone interested in how this
Asian-influenced cabinetry can work in a Craftsman home.The
kitchen in Kim's turn-of-the-century Ottawa bungalow was originally
attractive, I'm sure, but long before she moved in there, someone with
a surfeit of love for Formica ripped out the original cabinetry and,
unfortunately, expressed themselves all over the room. Fast forward to the both modern and at the same time classic finished product – but don't worry, we'll spell out the whole process for you below; you can read even more about it on Kim's own blog.Kim
had already decided to remove the non-bearing wall that separated the
kitchen from the living room, which made the previous owner's kitchen
cramped and difficult to use. In doing the demolition, she found all sorts of interesting things – layers upon layers of wallpaper and newsprint dating back to 1903. Other demo-related discoveries included what appeared to be horse hair – possibly used for insulation in the ceiling – found when removing wood paneling to allow for can lights,Next, Greentea interviewed Kim regarding what she wanted and what she needed from the new kitchen, and produced a rough sketch of what would be possible in the new room. Kim picked out which pieces she wanted, and Greentea rendered them in Google Sketchup for confirmation of sizing before they submitted the order to their factory. Pieces included 2 single and one double Mizuya
upper cabinets, three Mizuya
base cabinets – two 3 drawer versions and a smaller one
with chopstick drawers in place of the third drawer – and finally a standard 4
foot Mizuya Pantry. Google Sketchup,
the (free) savior to the design/build industries and with a learning
curve that allows anyone to pick it up, is again called into use, this
time to generate a full render of the finished kitchen.Soon after the demolition and basic structural changes were completed, Kim received the (very well-packed) cabinetry
from Greentea and began to put things into place. Appliances were
brought in, base cabinets were installed, and whatever minimal
modifications that were needed for plumbing were made, then sink, lighting,
and countertops came next; at this point, it was really starting to
look like the kitchen she'd been waiting for – certainly a feeling
we've all been very happy to have as a remodel starts to actually
resemble the picture we have in our heads. One neat addition at this
point: Kim had a cat hole made in the hatch to her basement, which was mounted on shock absorbers to let it move up and down smoothly – a really nice feature worth emulating.And voila: it is done! Finally, you can see how well everything fits into the new cabinetry; her four-foot Mizuya pantry is especially spacious. Kim even made a short video tour
of the finished product, which really shows how well these cabinets
define the tone of the room, but don't overpower the rest of the house
at all.Again, if you're at all interested in a really good deal on step tansu – my single favorite piece of cabinetry – note that Greentea is running their Step Into Summer promotion, with large discounts on all step tansu, for another two weeks (it ends on June 15!).
Greentea Design: spectacular custom kitchens
Toronto-based Greentea Design has a special place in my heart: not only do they design, build and sell some of the most beautiful kitchen cabinetry available anywhere – in beautiful Japanese-influenced styles that are a perfect match for any Mission or Craftsman home – but they also carry a range of both antique and contemporary reclaimed-wood furniture, some in historic Craftsman and Japanese designs and others in more contemporary shapes. And the prices, even including the (very professional and speedy) shipping from Canada are surprisingly low, making them competitive with any of the larger semi-custom cabinet makers out there, even while using better materials like a clear coat for kitchen cabinets and sturdier building techniques..
While many of their signature pieces – step tansu and other room-defining wood furniture items – are gorgeous, it's that line of kitchen cabinets that I keep coming back to. Sold as custom kitchen sets or as individual stock pieces, the grain of the wood, beautiful (and exclusive to Greentea) hand-forged hardware and trim detail is both Asian and Craftsman at the same time, with enough character to be beautiful and enough attention to design to be eminently useful. Their Loft Kitchen custom design, above, is a combination of the various Mizuya cabinets, including an island and a full range of wall cabinets and accessories; other past custom kitchens have included the simplified Asian Bistro, minimalist Zen Modern, and Chalet Chic, which was tailored for a more open, airy space. Of course, each piece is available by itself as well – all the islands, hutches, wall and base cabinets and pantries you could possibly need are available piecemeal should you wish to design your own kitchen, amd all can be installed in a fixed position or left free-standing (for a movable island, for example). The custom design services offered are impressive – Greentea's staff of furniture and room designers are more than happy to assist with your own custom project or do the work for you; their staff worked extensively with Kim Johnson, owner of a 100-year-old home in Ottawa, on her recent remodel, and the results were very impressive; Kim blogged the entire process on her website, Design to Inspire.
I'm very happy to have a piece of theirs up in my own modern Craftsman kitchen, and I hope to have a few photographs of it soon; a smaller version of the Dana cabinet (pictured above; mine is a similar to what sits above the glass cabinets on the right and left of this unit) completes the rear wall of that recently-remodeled room in my 1925 Mission Revival bungalow in Sacramento, California, and it's a perfect complement for the bamboo floors, stone countertops and glass tile backsplash that round out the project. Some day, I'd like to own one of their step tansus, which I have always maintained are the perfect bridge between an austere Asian design style and the earthy workmanship of the Craftsman aesthetic. And they're running a special "Stepping Into Summer" promotion right now, with 20% discounts on these unique pieces, including the Elm Burl step tansu, shown below.
Owner Dale Storer has worked hard to make sure that Greentea's products complement a wide range of architectural styles, though, and much of their more contemporary designs would look at home whether in a traditional Japanese home, a Craftsman bungalow, or a modern high-tech apartment. The Lattice TV Stand, pictured below, hides components behind a latticed sliding door that still allows remote controls to function, and is just as good a match for an urban loft as it is for a 90-year-old brown-shingle Craftsman bungalow. Every one of these pieces is made from reclaimed wood, and all come in a variety of finishes with different types of hardware available as well. Mike Ramsey writes that the reclaimed wood usually comes from "aging rural structures that are being taken down to make way for Asia's rapidly expanding urban centers. The Maru tables are the best example since they're turned into tables directly from being reclaimed. The original supports are cut into legs who have correspondingly sized holes cut in the base of the slabs of floor."
Their antiques stock, some of which is on hand at their Toronto showroom, is also worth checking out; I'm partial to the large selection of all sorts of Japanese tansu, but they also carry plenty of Chinese and Korean pieces as well.
I'm not so used to giving such praise to a business – as regular readers know, I'm pretty stingy with compliments and generous with criticism, which is certainly a fault. However, after dealing with this company myself and going gaga over their website, I just wanted to make sure you were all as familiar with them as I've become. After seeing so many (primarily) Japanese antiques blend so well with the large shingled Craftsman homes of California, but noticing the absence of same elsewhere in the country, I thought perhaps most people didn't realize that the two styles matched so well.
If you're in or near Toronto, definitely check out the Greentea showroom; otherwise, spend a few minutes browsing their website, or call them at 1.866.426.7286 to talk with someone about your kitchen design or furniture needs.
I've made a small Flickr album for photos of their work; I'll soon add a good shot of the Dana cabinet in my own kitchen; those of you who already have Greentea cabinets, please do send me your photos, and I'll add them as well!
a truly highwater bungalow
Offered without comment: a truly highwater bungalow in Sacramento, California.video: make way for progress
Grab a kleenex and watch the City of Seattle destroy Kay Rood’s gorgeous, 100-year old Capitol Hill Queen Anne / Craftsman to make way for a light rail station. Civic development and growth at any cost. More on this from the Seattle Press-Intelligencer.Dallas: preservationists compromise on teardowns
from Robert Wilonsky's article at News You Can Actually Use, Actually:Ever since last summer, the city — specifically, Development Services
and the City Attorney's Office — have been attempting to streamline
the process that allows for the demolition of buildings in historic
districts that it considers "an imminent threat to health or safety."
Initially, the Landmark Commission was horrified by the plan, which
essentially eliminated the commission from the conversation and allowed
the Fire Marshal's office to call in the wrecking ball. But several meetings later, the city has a compromise, which will be debuted this afternoon at the council's Public Safety Committee meeting.In
short, if the city wants a property gone, the Landmark Commission still
gets a review before a certificate of demolition's granted — but the
time line's significantly shorter, the property owner or contractor has
to show significant and continued progress on a monthly basis, and the
Fire Marshal can "order demolition of a structure, without Landmark
approval, if a clear and imminent threat exists." It's that last part
that concerns Preservation Dallas executive director Katherine Seale,
who this morning tells Unfair Park that caveat allows for the
"possibility of abuse."photo: The City Attorney's Office had hoped to tear down 2807 Tanner St., but preservationists intervened.
Greene & Greene-inspired remodel in New Berlin, WI
Master craftsman and Greene & Greene expert Tom Gallenberg recently finished an extremely impressive remodel project for client in New Berlin, WI; take a look at all the photos in our Flickr set.Tom writes:
Most of the woodwork was out of African Mahogany with an oxidizing treatment and an oil finish. The kitchen cabinets and trim package are an original design. The fireplace cabinets have a true divided german leaded glass door with the mullion design of the the original Thorsen House.
The client tells us a bit about the beautiful kitchen backsplash:
The backsplash is a mixture of three different shades of greenish/gold tile from North Prairie Tileworks in Minneapolis. All the tile was custom-sized to minimize cutting during installation and eliminate any visible sharp edges. The six electrical covers are made of the same tile in order to hide them as much as possible.
The color was chosen to blend with the paint coloring of the kitchen walls and the three different shades of greenish/gold paint in the adjacent great room. The three shades of gold in the great room are divided by bands of trim and the lowest portion of the wall is green. So the horizontal band of the backsplash mimics the horizontal frieze area in the great room, with the tropical green granite countertop mimicing the lower level green paint color, as well as the green tile on the fireplace (also from North Prairie) and the green Guildcraft rugs (from Northfield Carpets in Minnesota).
We chose a simple subway pattern because we wanted the backslash to be understated rather than call attention to itself. The narrow brick-like size was chosen so that the bottom row could fit effortlessly under the kitchen window trim, where we had very little space. We didn’t do the narrow granite backsplash for the counter because my wife didn’t like the look of it. (Enough said?)
how you treat woodwork makes all the difference
…Just make sure you do (mostly) the opposite of whatever this woman tells you to:
From Rita St. Clair's house/come column in today's Chicago Daily Herald:
Bargains are always alluring, and never more so than
now. But while good deals can indeed be had in today's housing market,
the "buyer beware" rule remains very much in force in regard to
fixer-uppers. An old, or even not so old, home that "needs some work"
can prove to be a great buy or a financial sinkhole, depending in part
on the dimensions of the buyer's dreams.In deciding whether to invest in an old house, my
advice is to resist the cute-puppy syndrome and to make an
unsentimental assessment of how much a rehab will really cost. Then
weigh your willingness to bend the project to fit your budget.Q. We need advice regarding the semicircular front hall
staircase in an old Dutch Colonial style home we recently bought. A
previous owner stained the oak steps and the entire balustrade,
including the stringer. It's a medium stain but still looks pretty
heavy in an average size entranceway with a wooden floor and with lots
of wood paneling and moldings. We had intended to cover the stairs with
a patterned carpet, but that turns out to be difficult and expensive
because of the circular turn in the staircase. Can you suggest a
different treatment?A. The simplest of several options is to paint most of
the woodwork – not just the staircase itself but the adjacent moldings
as well. In a relatively small space, I'd go with a light color for all
the painted surfaces, including the stringer, the spindles on the
railing and the risers but not the tread of the stairs. Then, to
produce an attractive contrast, I would use a dark stain on the floor,
the treads of the steps and the staircase's handrail.Paint over the wood?! This woman should not be writing a column on restoration, conservation or style in general! That's just ridiculous, and is an absolutely last-ditch option when all else fails. Why ruin future generations' enjoyment of the space just to save a few bucks? It's not worth it – we have a duty to conserve our homes, not ruin them … I assume this person would also advocate covering coved plaster ceilings with acoustic texture, putting plastic slipcovers on furniture instead of, you know, actually sitting on it, carpeting over hardwood floors…
She starts with good advice and then veers into the ridiculous, stupid, and cruel. And to top it off, after this excerpted portion, she goes on to advocate carpeting stair treads in Arts & Crafts homes, a practice that Gustav Stickley himself once (purportedly) called "an abomination." Yes, accent and show off your beautiful wood by covering it up. Pave the backyard, too, while you're at it.
getting rid of black mold
Our good friend and regular contributor Joel McDonald sends in the following, a followup to his last article – in November 2008 – on locating possible black-mold outbreaks (a must-read for anyone considering buying a home, or rehabbing an older house):
Move.
Just kidding. It’s not as bad as all that. Molds and their relatives are all around us. Their spores can be dormant for long periods of
time, only to become active and start reproducing when conditions are
right. The conditions they need, as you probably know, are moisture and
not too much light. It helps if the place is poorly ventilated since
that allows moisture to build up — but with enough moisture many molds
can grow even in a draft. Your basement, for example, is what mold
spores probably dream of when they’re resting. Damp, lonely, nobody
coming around trying to bother you all the time — absolutely heavenly,
if you’re a mold spore! Even in areas of the country that you might
think of as being too dry for mold to grow, all that’s needed is a
chronic spill or a little leak in an unventilated space, and moisture
buildup can lead to mold growth.The question of how to prevent the growth of black mold is pretty easily answered – keep the environment dry. Do that and you’ve pretty
much got the problem solved.What about the condition where the mold has already gotten ahead of you, and it’s growing one of your interior spaces? You’ll want to
remove the source of moisture, of course, and in most cases this can be
done by using a dehumidifier. If there has been a flood or leak, and
not just a normally-moist environment, then you’ll have to first pump
out or mop up, and use plenty of ventilation to dry the space. Use the
biggest fans you can get. It may take days or even weeks, and you might
be able to get started on mold removal in the meantime, but there’s not
much point in trying to get out all the mold if the place is still wet.
You should at least wash off the surfaces with detergent and water, and
spot-dry the affected areas as best you can while the space is being
dried out. If wallboard is affected, and it looks like it is more than
surface deep (warped or swollen panels) go ahead and remove the
worst-looking part to expose the spaces between the studs and evaluate
whether you have to remove more wallboard for drying and cleaning the
inside of the walls.When you have the humidity under control, you can start on the serious business of killing the mold.
You might prefer to just go to the grocery or hardware store and find a commercial preparation to do the job, but some people prefer to
avoid the use of strong chemicals. The use of bleach is sometimes
thought to be a strategy for getting rid of mold, but its use has not
been recommended by the EPA and there are drawbacks to using it — it
can be dangerous to handle anywhere outside of a washing machine, and
if combined with other common cleaning ingredients such as ammonia
(Caution: Don’t!) it can produce dangerous fumes.For absorbent and porous materials such as insulation, carpet, and acoustic ceiling tile, you may just have to get rid of the material if
is has mold growing throughout and not just on the surface. In most
jurisdictions you can discard it with other household refuse that goes
to a landfill, and it may be a good idea to put it in trashbags if you
can. You can expect to have better success with walls and floors,
particularly if they are smooth. Even with porous materials, though,
there is a chance that a good cleanup might work; depending on what the
material is and how much it will cost to replace, it could be worth
your effort.Cleaning Up Naturally
Plain white vinegar applied full strength is an effective mold killer. It may not restore the original appearance by itself, but any
stain remaining after a good dose of vinegar will have no living mold
and can be cleaned or painted over with a high degree of confidence
that the mold that was there will not grow back. Spray or brush it on,
full strength, and scrub a little if needed. The familiar smell is not
too disagreeable for most people, and it will dissipate after a while.Other natural remedies listed by the Household Mold Guide, which has a number of useful recommendations, are tea tree oil and grapefruit seed extract.
Mold should not be ignored. While you might think of it as nothing more than an unsightly mess or an inconvenience, it can cause a variety
of illnesses and — since it relies on the digestion of organic matter
such as wood and fiber to live – it eats your house. Getting rid of
mold, and preventing its recurrence, is worth whatever effort it takes.
So you may have to move, really – move yourself to action and dry it
out, clean it up!This article was presented by the ultimate Boulder real estate specialists of Colorado, Automated Homefinder.