Hardwood Fireplace Hearth Transition Molding

In our recent hardwood installation we glossed over a discussion of how we framed the Brazilian Walnut hardwood flooring around our brick fireplace. For those of you who have fireplaces, we thought it would be good to show you some pictures of how we did it in our house, and how we handled a similar situation in a fireplace with a flat hearth, in case you’re facing either of these situations in your own home.

Raised Hearth Fireplace Transition

First up is our raised hearth brick fireplace. When you have a raised hearth, we think the best possible transition solution is no transition molding at all. The key to making this work is to cut the wood straight and tight around the existing raised hearth. Take a look at this picture of how we surrounded the hearth with hardwood flooring.

The unfortunate challenge about raised heaths is that most masonry isn’t 100% straight. In our situation, the hearth varies from a perfect straight line by about 1/8″ either in or out from the wall. We opted the keep the hardwoods perfectly straight and as close as possible to the hearth. This creates a very straight visual line, but it leaves a gap between the hardwoods and the hearth. It can only be seen looking straight down up close to the hearth.

We don’t mind the small gap because it isn’t visible unless you’re directly over the fireplace. However, if you’re faced with this situation and don’t like the visible gap, you could use a black or very dark brown caulk to the fill it. You could also use 1/2″ flat molding–the kind that is used at the top of kitchen cabinets to hide a gap between the cabinet and soffit or ceiling. If you’ve chosen an exotic hardwood, it may be difficult to find 1/2 flat molding to match your hardwood’s color and sheen. If that’s the case, you can purchase pine molding at the local big box and stain it to match your hardwoods.

We suggest avoiding using a shoe molding or quarter round. While these moldings can look good surrounding a floor with baseboard, they won’t look good around the fireplace because they will make the floor look like it is climbing the side of the hearth.

Flat Hearth Fireplace Transition

Last year we tackled a similar project with a flat hearth. In this case, we chose to use T-molding between the hearth and the wood floor to create a flat transition.  This allowed us to leave some spacing between the hardwoods and the hearth during the installation to allow for the T-molding to fit.

And here’s a picture of the flat-hearth fireplace with the T-Molding installed:

What do you think? How is it installed on your hardwood floor?

Before & After: Stair Project by Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality

This week’s Before and After winner comes from a well know style and design resource on the web: Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality. Rhoda’s been an annual supporter of our Before and After series and always has an amazing DIY project to share.

We chose Rhoda’s submission because it’s such a dramatic difference and she really walks you through doing it yourself.

For winning this week’s contest, Rhoda gets a $50 gift card to Home Depot, Lowes, or Amazon. And, we’ll make a $100 donation to Habitat for Humanity in her honor.  The end-of-year contest is coming up soon and Rhoda is now entered for a $150 gift card to the home improvement store of her choice. Read on for Rhoda’s story and for this week’s Habitat quick fact.

Stair Project Renovation by Rhoda

Here’s how it all started. Ripping that carpet off, one step at a time. Unearthing all the ugliness that was hiding beneath. Our builder certainly never meant for these stairs to be shown, that’s for sure. And like I mentioned, if I had any delusions of something nice lurking beneath this mess of carpet, that was quickly put to rest after the first couple of stairs.

In fact, it just got worse, as I went down the stairs ripping that carpet and padding off.

Like this gaping hole! I know, it’s really bad. So bad that I started to question my sanity. But, one thing I’ve learned in the DIY world is this fact. Most anything can be improved upon by hiding it with molding or caulking with caulk and that was my motto here. Hide it, cover it up, or make it look better.

Look at the ends of the stairs. Pretty darn bad, with all the carpet fuzz and the milllllllions of staples that were in here. That itself took awhile, just to get the staples pulled out. This wood was not meant to be seen either, so I had to cover it all up with molding. Evil, evil carpet tack strips. I pulled and tugged and finally got them all out of there.

Using these tools. Don’t even try this without safety glasses and leather gloves. I didn’t have a crowbar or I would have used it.

How about these lovely edges with drywall trapped inside. Is there any hope to beautify THIS?? Well, yes there is. You see, I had a vision. Or maybe it was a nightmare after I saw what I was working with.

First, I bought a nice hand sander and began sanding as much roughness as I could off all the stair treads and risers. I went through several pieces of heavy duty sandpaper and sanded them as good as I could. And no, they were not even smooth at this point either, but then came the wood filler putty. That works pretty good too for smoothing out holes and gaps in wood. There’s only so much you can do with rough raw wood like this, but paint works wonders too. I went back and resanded after I added the wood putty to all the holes and uneven gaps.

So then began the process of covering all the ugly gaping holes with molding. I went to the store and bought about 3 or 4 kinds of molding, going back a couple of times when I fine-tuned things a little more and figured out what all I needed. I started at the top, cutting those pieces to fit and used wood glue to hold them in place. Cause they are nothing but foam and could be cut with scissors. You gotta love molding you can cut with scissors.

See, here it is. It will splinter a little, but I made it work just fine. It was all I needed to cover underneath the stairs and on the sides to cover up the ugly holes and it was cheap. Cheap, I like for something like this. Held in place with blue tape til dry.

Here’s all the different size moldings I used, so you can be on the lookout for it as I explain it all. Some of this was leftover from other projects and some I bought.

Left to Right:

• 3″ Reeded molding
• 1/2″ fluted trim (bottom of stairs)
• 1 1/4″ small chairrail type
• 1″ MDF (this is the one I cut with scissors)
• 1/2″ shoe molding
• 1 1/2″ to trim out the stair nose

All of this was real wood molding, except that one piece. Someone asked if I have an an electric miter saw. NO! I wish I did and one of these days, I may have to break down and get one. I used a less than $10 yellow miter box that you can buy at the home stores. It works fine, of course takes much longer than an electric one would.

And I knew I would need some wider molding to cover the really BIG gaps, like this one that you see above. One nice piece of 3″ reeded molding covered it right up. I had some of this leftover from another project, so I raided my extras for this and used up all my left over pieces.

Used quarter round on the edges of the stair treads to cover more gaps. And you can see the big gap on either side of the stair nose. I knew I would have to cover that up, so that’s what drove me to use a nice molding piece on each stair nose. It looked better AND it covered up that gap too. You’ll see more of those down below.

Making progress all down the stairs, one at a time. Aren’t they starting to look beautiful now. Ha! Not yet, but we’re getting there.

Now, this bottom part down on the edges of the stairs was the most challenging part. I knew I’d have to cover the ugly down here and be creative about it too. Again, left over fluted molding was used as well as some of the quarter round I had bought. I figured it out as I went along and started with a small base piece of molding at the bottom.

One good thing about the stair treads were that they were nice and thick. I figured out that I need to put some molding on the front of them to help hide gaps on either side of the stairs, so I found this flat piece that fit on there perfectly to make the stair treads look better AND hide the gaps on the sides. This is about 1 1/2″ wide. I used wood glue AND finishing nails on these.

Working on the bottom 3 steps that had more molding to deal with. I just kept going, again figuring it out as I went along. I started with one layer and that wasn’t looking so great, so I just added another layer on top and they started to look decent.

Cut, glue and wait. All the way down. Getting there.

Cut more, glue more, keep on going. Getting to the final part here, this was the last thing I did was figure out this corner.

You can see I used all the leftover pieces I could find in the garage to make it all work. And it did! Once it’s all painted out with my white trim paint, it looks beautiful.

When all the molding was in, it was time to caulk. Again, caulk hides a multitude of flaws. It’s a DIYer’s best friend! I used an entire large tube of caulk in my caulk gun on these stairs.

Caulk, caulk and more caulk hides all those seams and gaps. Another sanding and it was time to prime. Even the primer looks pretty good! I then painted all the white trim with my interior white trim semi-gloss paint, letting it all dry overnight between coats. I figured it would be easier to do that first and then go back and do the stair treads black.

One quart of black porch and floor paint was plenty for this project. I didn’t even use 1/2 of this can.

And I put on 3 coats, letting it all dry at least overnight in between. I used a small foam roller and a tiny craft brush to get around the edges by the white trim.

Just a quick visual here…BEFORE

And AFTER….here are the ends all trimmed out and painted. Lots of difference between Before and After on this for sure! These are SO not perfect, but unless your nose is right down here, it all looks great.

After 3 coats, the black painted stairs are done. You can see nails in the stairs. There’s just no way to completely cover them, since they are on each end and in the middle. So, that was one reason I decided to add a runner. That and the fact that I really love natural runners. But, really if you have steps that are in pretty good condition, I think the 2-3 coats of black porch paint look pretty fabulous too and I would not have had a problem leaving them like this. But, I like that extra touch that the runner added.

And one final addition of molding here at the back of the stair treads. It was impossible to keep a straight line back here. So I just added an additional small shoe molding on top and that hid all the wavy lines.

Next, stapling on the jute runner which I got from Overstock. I had to order 2 of them, since one wasn’t quite long enough. I needed to cut an extra foot or so off the 2nd one to fit that last step and it was easy enough to cut with scissors. And I have a whole section from the 2nd runner in case I need to replace one stair tread later on (like if something gets spilled, etc.). Nice to have a backup piece.

I did go back and add a little jute twine at the back of the stair treads to sort of hide the staples, since I had 6 of them that came with my rug. I simply wrapped them around the rug on either side and they are laying in place just fine. But really, those staples don’t bother me a bit. I had the twine so I used it.

Dramatic AND beautiful, a great combo! We will definitely be enjoying these stairs for a long time to come. When the runner wears out or gets too dirty, I can pull it up for something else.

This whole project cost around $200:

1/2 for the molding, paint and supplies and 1/2 for the runner.

It was very cost effective and SO totally worth every penny. Keep in mind, I only had 6 stairs here, so if you have a whole staircase, it will be even more work. But, it is TOTALLY worth every minute of pain.

Here’s a visual from the top of our upper stairs looking down towards the foyer landing, and down to the newly painted stairs, so you can see how it all ties together.

As you can see from the pics, our foyer landing already has beautiful finished hardwoods, as do the flight of stairs going up to our main living area. I simply wanted to tie these down stairs into what we already have and get rid of that ugly carpet! Mission accomplished!

Thanks from One Project Closer!

Rhoda, the stairs look great! Thanks so much for sharing your renovation story with us.

Habitat Quick Fact

From the World Habitat Day Photo Wall:

For the second year, Habitat for Humanity is collecting photos to send to leaders in Washington, D.C., to persuade them that adequate housing for all should be a priority. Take a stand this World Habitat Day and add your photo to the World Habitat Day Photo Wall.

Will you add your photo to the wall?

Submit Your Own Entry!

There’s only two weeks left! Submit your own entry to beforeandafter@oneprojectcloser.com. Include your Before and After pictures as JPEG attachments and tell us a story about your remodel in the body of the e-mail!

Hurricane Insurance Deductible

As Hurricane Earl makes his way up the Atlantic coast, we have a tangible reminder to review our homeowners insurance policies for hurricane and tropical storm deductibles and exclusions.

Hurricane insurance deductibles can have a dramatic affect on how an insurance company will compensate you in the event your house is damaged in a storm. All too many homeowners find out about these limitations for the first time in the aftermath of a storm, when stresses and tensions are already high and losses are piling up.

What Are Hurricane & Tropical Storm Deductibles?

For those who live in areas rarely or never affected by hurricanes and tropical storms, a special deductible that applies only to “named storms” is probably a new idea. Simple stated, these deductibles limit the amount of money an insurance company will pay you if your house is damaged by a storm, either directly or indirectly.

The deductibles are usually expressed as a percentage of the value of your home’s coverage. For example, you might see language that says “Named storm deductible – 5%” on your policy declarations page. While this percentage may sound small, the deductible is calculated by multiplying the percentage by the entire coverage value stated in the policy.

For example, if you have $500,000 of coverage on your home, the applicable deductible is a whopping $25,000! That means you have to pay for the first $25,000 in repairs before your insurance company will contribute a dime to helping you rebuild. If the repairs fall short of $25,000, you’ll cover the entire cost out of pocket.

What is a Named Storm and How Is the Term Used?

Some insurance companies use the term “named storm” to classify storms that are included in the deductible limitations, while other companies will limit coverage for all windstorms. A named storm is usually defined as a storm that is given a name by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Names of storms are pre-planned (a list of them can be found here) and dolled out to storms that meet the criteria for classification.

By relying on a storm’s named status, insurance carriers can remove some of the ambiguity around whether a particular wind storm is affected by the limitations.

What are Typical Hurricane Insurance Deductibles?

While not all policies include hurricane and tropical storm limitations, those that do can range anywhere from 1% all the way up to 100% of the property. When they are 100% excluded, they are no longer described as “deductibles” but rather as “exclusions” or “limitations.” Unfortunately, there is no benchmark for what is typical, because disaster risk varies significantly between geography, location, house type, and more.

That said, it is important to realize that not all insurance companies provide identical coverage, even in the same areas. For example, in Baltimore County, Maryland, Allstate has a 3% hurricane deductible, while Geico and other companies have no such limitation. Even individual insurance company policies will vary by state.

To find out what is typical in your area, there’s really only one way to go about it: get multiple quotes. You can use an online service to do this for you, call each company individually, or get a broker to help out. When discussing your options with the company, let them know what is important to you. For example, if you absolutely don’t want to bear a large risk for a named storm, state that as your goal up front. It will save you and them a lot of time.

Insurance Dispute Rights

Rights for insured persons vary heavily by state, so you should contact your state’s insurance regulatory body to understand what limitations might be imposed on insurers in your state in terms of exclusions and limitations. Be aware, however, that tropical storm deductibles and exclusions are generally legal and binding. Once a hurricane causes the damage on your house, the time has passed where you can shop around or negotiate the deductible.

What do you think? If you live in hurricane alley and are affected by a deductible like this, please let us know in the comments.

(image: weather.com)

Optimize Your Dishwasher for Better Cleaning

You may have a slick, new dishwasher with all the features but it won’t matter unless you know how to make it work for you. There are a couple things you can do to improve your dishwasher efficiency and best of all, they only take a few moments to accomplish.

Dishwasher Filter

Dishwashers have a filter to keep objects and large food particles from entering the pump. Many new dishwashers have self-cleaning filters but even some of the latest and greatest still have manual clean filters. Take a moment to check your filter. Most gunk is easily removed by rinsing the filter in water. For calcium deposits, you may need a soft scrub-brush.

Water Temperature

Hot water is great for activating and dissolving dishwasher detergent. It’s also good for removing grease and leaving spot-free dishes. Most dishwashers assume a supply of about 120 F coming from the hot-water heater. Check your manual to find the recommended temperature for your dishwasher.

Time Matters

When you run your dishwasher can also affect efficiency. Running your dishwasher during off-peak energy hours means the electricity costs less. Also, during summer months, running your dishwasher at night means less heat build-up while you are around.

Loading the Dishwasher

How you load the dishwasher is another important consideration. It goes beyond things like making sure you don’t block the detergent dispenser and making sure that spray arms spin freely. Take advantage of adjustable tines, silverware slots, knife holders, utensil baskets and adjustable rack height. All these things are designed for better cleaning.

Lots of people pre-rinse dishes but scraping them clean can achieve the same results. Read your manual for recommended loading instructions.

If your dishwasher has specialty options, make sure you load items in the right orientation. For instance, Kenmore Elite dishwashers have TURBOZONE for baked on foods. Items should be loaded facing the rear of the dishwasher.

What do you think? Any tips for getting the most out of your dishwasher?

Ryan Homes Blueprint & Floor Plan for Shenandoah A

Do you know what the coolest thing is about blogging? It’s the interesting connections you make with people that live down the street or across the country. For example, Kim met one of the home improvement blogging giants–Tim Carter from Ask the Builder– earlier this month at a Delta Faucet PR Event. And earlier this year she had the opportunity to meet the entire Tigressa Carpet Design Team down in Atlanta Georgia at their kick-off event.

Sometimes, though, the connections are more personal. We hear from do-it-yourselfers all over the country (and even internationally) who are tackling projects just like ours. They’re usually working in their own homes and facing similar challenges as we did on a project.

For instance, at least twice a month we get a question on self leveling cement from an article where we described our challenges in getting it level in our basement radiant heating installation. Turns out a slotted squeegee will go a long way to helping you solve this problem.

But there are few more interesting connections we’ve made than finding someone half way across the U.S. who lives in the exact same house as us. Apparently, Ryan Homes gets around. Back when we wrote about removing non-load bearing walls from our first floor, Shannon from Mason, Ohio contacted us with this message:

A friend forwarded me this link to your blog: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/how-to-remove-stud-walls-to-create-an-open-floor-plan/

I seriously laughed out loud when I scrolled down and saw the room that I’m sitting in right this very minute. Apparently, we also have the “Shenandoah A” floorplan! I’m dying for more pictures of what you’ve done, specifically with the kitchen. Have you knocked down the hanging cabinets yet? [We did!] Have you thought about tearing down the wall to the laundry room, moving the washer/dryer somewhere else, and expanding the kitchen? (This is my biggest dream!) [We thought about it, but decided not to...]

We purchased this house five years ago from the original owners… who had lived here since 1978 and apparently didn’t like change. Since then we’ve ripped down ALL the wallpaper (some of which I’m convinced was original to the house), finished the basement ourselves, replaced the vinyl, brick-look flooring in the kitchen and the carpet in the dining room (yes, carpet in the dining room) with hardwood, painted just about every wall and cabinet in the entire house and (of course) knocked down all the spindles. I’m in the middle of a family-room redo at the moment.

Anyway, thanks so much for the inspiration! I’d love to see some follow-up pictures if you have them!

So Shannon and I exchanged several e-mails about our house, and I always forward her articles when we complete projects. And then she said:

By the way, I was thinking of you guys the other day when we were cleaning our basement. We have the original blueprints to this house tucked away somewhere. Not sure if you could benefit from having a copy or not, but if you’d be interested, let me know.

The original blueprints! Wow! Absolutely we want them!

I had actually called Ryan Homes about 5 years ago and asked them if there was any way we could get a copy of the blueprints since we intended to do a lot of work on this house. Unfortunately, they said they didn’t have them anymore because this model pre-dates their current electronic database system.

Shannon was nice enough to send us the blueprints totally free! Here’s a copy of them sprawled out on our floor:

There are so many interesting details here, and the house is extremely similar to ours. Shannon’s house was built in 1978 and ours in 1985…

In seven years Ryan didn’t make many changes. Our front windows are a little larger than Shannon’s. You can even see this on the Shenandoah marketing materials we found when we moved in vs. the picture above.

It was also neat to see that there are some options that our original owners didn’t choose. For example, there was an optional door between the Master Bedroom and the second bedroom to make that more usable as a nursery. We’re glad we don’t have that in this house, but when the kids are old and move out, maybe we’ll add it in and put a bigger bathroom and closet off our MBR

Anyhow, we wanted to say a big, public Thank You to Shannon for sending us these plans. I also wanted to offer these to anyone else out there who lives in the Ryan Homes Shenandoah A and wants a copy: we can make a set and ship them to you if you’ll foot the shipping expense. Just e-mail me @ fred@oneprojectcloser.com and I’ll be happy to send it off.

Channellock 4 ‘N 1 Wrench Set Review

By now, you’ve probably seen a few different “multifunction wrenches”- the ones that combine several popular socket sizes into one handy tool. Craftsman has the Dog Bone Wrench while Black & Decker has the Ready Wrench. Now, Channellock is on the scene with a new offering, the 4 ‘N 1 Wrench Set. They were kind enough to send us a pair and here’s what I thought.

Pros & Cons of Multifunction Wrenches

I like multifunction wrenches for a couple different reasons.

• Compact: Small and compact; fits in a tool box, drawer or glove box.
• Multiple Sockets: I usually try a couple sockets before I find the right one. Multifunction wrenches enable me to grab one tool instead of five different sockets.

As much as I like them, multifunction wrenches only provide a handful of socket sizes. That means that these tools make for good additions, not replacements, for a standard socket set. But that also means that these tools are great gifts!

Channellock’s New 4 ‘N 1 Wrench Set

I was able to use these wrenches for a few different jobs including an oil change on my car. This set combines 8 sockets into two tools. It’s available in SAE (standard) and metric. Here’s a rundown of the available sizes:

• SAE: 5/16″ x 3/8″, 7/16″ x 1/2″, 9/16″ x 5/8″, 11/16″ x 3/4″
• Metric: 8mm x 10mm, 16mm x 17mm, 12mm x 13mm, 18mm x 19mm

Both sets are heat-treated for better durability and coated to prevent rust. They are designed to create 12-points of contact to evenly distribute torque.

Compared to the Rest
So what makes the 4 ‘N 1 better than the competition? I think Channellock included a couple features that sets these wrenches apart.

• Ratcheting: Ratcheting wrenches are so much faster! And, the reverse levers make for easy, one-handed operation.
• Hollow sockets: Great for deep socket applications.

What do you think? Ever use these wrenches?

Kichler Design Pro LED Under Cabinet Lighting

We told you last week that coming up soon on our list of articles would be a tutorial for installing under cabinet lighting, a project we’ll be tackling next in our ongoing kitchen remodel. Coincidentally, as we were planning the project, Kichler Lighting reached out to us and asked if we’d like to try their new Design Pro LED Under Cabinet Lighting solution in the space. We jumped at the opportunity!

We like the idea of installing an LED-based under cabinet system for two reasons: (1) it uses less energy than incandescent or halogen alternatives; and, (2) the LED light bulbs last for 20,000 hours (or in practical terms, forever).

Kichler gave us access to Jeff Dross, their senior product manager for the Design Pro series and a veteran of the lighting industry. Jeff told us to treat him like we would any sales person, and helped us select the components that would work best with our kitchen. I asked Jeff some tough questions: would the Kichler Design Pro system add sufficient brightness to our under cabinet area? He assured me it would, and that the only brighter solution would be a florescent fixture. I asked if the system would be easy to install and reliable. He said without question it would. This system is designed for ease of use.

We intend to put Kichler’s claims to the test in our upcoming installation. But first, we wanted to show you what things look like right out of the box in their raw form.  After all, you aren’t supposed to see under cabinet lighting components, just their effects. So consider this a look under the hood of Kichler’s latest LED product. Our initial impression: we are impressed with just how simple the system actually appears to be.

Here’s a picture of all the components we’ll be using. Below we describe each one with some close-up shots.

Kichler Design Pro LED Lighting Components

Power Supply & Leads: The black box on the upper right is the power supply for the system. The power supply takes in 120 Volts AC (standard household wiring) and outputs 24Volts DC. Kichler sells power supplies in several sizes depending on the load of the panels you need. This one serves up 100 watts. The two rather thick coils of wire on the left are 25′ leads that will connect the power supply to the first panels under the cabinets. We will be installing the power supply in the basement, connected to 120VAC off a switch in the kitchen, with the leads going up the wall and through the back of the cabinets to the panels.

LED Lighting Panels: The five bronze panels in the middle are the LED lights themselves. While somewhat deep (all are about 3.25″), they are only 3/8″ thick, and will be easily concealed on the underside of our cabinets. Each panel has two connectors–one on each end–so they can be daisy chained together.  These panels are available in a variety of colors including black, white, brushed nickel, and bronze. Kichler recommends selecting panels that closely match your cabinet color. Since we’re installing mid-tone wood cabinets, bronze is the right choice for us.

Kichler makes the Design Pro LED panels in three sizes: 6″, 12″, and 18″ (all three are shown in the picture above). Below you can see a shot of the panel up close.  From the looks of it, installation will be a snap, with just two screws to tighten to the underside of the cabinet and interconnect wires connecting both ends.

Connector Wires: Each panel can be either directly connected to the panel next to it (they will flush mount against one another–a cool feature) or they are connected with wires. You select wire lengths based on how far you will be traveling from one lighting unit to the next (9″, 14″ and 21″ wires are available). Kichler designed the panels so that the power supply wire can be connected to either side of the units for maximum flexibility. This allows you to bring power up on the right side or left side of the first cabinet depending on which side of the kitchen you start on. If you are making an extremely long run, the 8″ and 25″ lead wires can also double as an interconnect.

Dimmer Switches: The two small black boxes sitting above the panels in the first picture are small dimmer switches that can be installed anywhere in the circuit.  They feature a single button that lets you set the lighting to one of three levels (low, medium, high) or off.  These are good if you don’t already have a switch on your 120VAC line going to the transformer, or if you have a switch on the AC line but want to have the lights set to a lower level. The dimmer will remember the lighting level even when the AC switch is cycled.  Unfortunately, with LED lighting you cannot use a dimmer on the AC side.

Selecting Kichler Under Cabinet Lighting Components

Kichler has designed the system to make it easy to select the right modular components for your installation. Essentially, you want to fit the largest possible panels under each cabinet without leaving any cabinet blank. Note that the space available under a cabinet is always shorter than the cabinet’s nominal length. For example, our 24″ cabinets actually have about 22.5 inches of available under cabinet space, making the 18″ panel an ideal choice, especially after you consider the space required for the interconnect wires.

Each component in the system uses a set amount of under cabinet space that is generally measured in whole numbers. For example, the 12″ LED panel takes up 12 inches + 0.25″ for a male connector. Unless the panel is the last one in the series, you can ignore the space taken by the male connector because it will be accounted for in the adjacent component or wire.  The 6″ and 18″ LED panels work the same for their respective lengths.  The dimmer switches are 2″ wide + the male connector length if they are the last unit in the chain.

Interconnect wire ends consumes about 1.5″  of under cabinet space adjacent to the panel. Assuming you are exiting the underside of the cabinet through a cutout, you can ignore any additional length that might be needed to bend the wire. If not, you’ll need to reserve about 1/2 to 3/4 inch to make the bend.

You can see all of the Kichler Modular LED products using the search feature on their site. (That link takes you to the right results page).

Stay Tuned for Installation and a Final Review

We’ll be installing and reviewing the Kichler system in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for the full articles.

In the meantime, if you are in the market for an under cabinet lighting solution, you can find a retailer using Kichler’s Retailer Locater, which lists several online merchants and local pick-up options.

Before and After: Green Bathroom Remodel by Candice

This week’s Before and After winner comes from Candice in Southern California.  Candice and her husband, Scott, give a badly outdated and worn bathroom a new life.

We chose Candice’s submission because this remodel required completely gutting a wood-rotted room–an intimidating task to say the least.  We’ve worked in environments like this in some of our Rebuilding Together sponsor houses. It isn’t easy. We also think it’s great that Candice worked in eco- and cost-saving devices like a dual-flush toilet and a water saving faucet, something we all should think about in a bathroom remodel.

For winning this week’s contest, Candice gets a $50 gift card to Home Depot, Lowes, or Amazon. And, we’ll be making a $100 donation to Habitat for Humanity in her honor.  Candice is also entered into our end-of-year contest for a $150 gift card to the home improvement store of her choice. Read on for Candice’s story and for this week’s Habitat quick fact.

Eco-Friendly Bathroom Remodel by Candice

We purchased this house – also known as The Place Where Wood Comes to Die, in 2009 from relatives who were moving out of state. When you’re young, not wealthy, and living in Southern California, you kind of take what you can get if you find a house in a nice neighborhood – even if it is a super fixer-upper. The entire house was a nightmare – wood everywhere, dirty indoor outdoor carpeting, falling apart windows – you get the idea. But the bathroom was the worst of the worst. The wooden (see I told you) paneling & countertops were rotten and warped, the linoleum tile was cracked and chipped, and the toilet rocked from side to side if you sat on it. Needless to say it was a complete gut job.

Being non-profit workers my husband, Scott, and I could not afford to hire contractors to redo our bathroom. It was also important to us to have an eco-friendly room. We had a plumber put in the dual flush toilet and hook up the sink’s water saving faucet. We did everything else. We started by gutting the entire space. We soon discovered that the walls were in even worse shape that we thought! We patched the walls up and decided to brighten the small space with a light paint & wainscoting. We chose Sherwin Williams’ Harmony line base because it is environmentally friendly with no VOCs. The color is Friendly Yellow. We then picked up some affordable, easy-to-install bead board panels from Home Depot along with chair rails and baseboards. We taught ourselves to use a saw and studfinder, and after lots of mistakes we managed to turn out pretty decent looking walls. We decided to simply polish the concrete subfloor to save money on tile for now. Finally, we added some rugs, replaced the old mirror with a pretty matte silver oval framed one, grabbed some curtains at Target, and added accessories.

We love our new eco-friendly bathroom and had fun doing it ourselves! Thank you for allowing us to share our story.

Before…

During…

…and After!

Thanks from One Project Closer!

Candice, thanks so much for sharing your Before and After story.  This was a big job. We’re impressed!

Habitat Quick Fact

Did you know that Habitat has a special Disaster Corps comprised of specially trained individuals who help respond to disasters whenever and wherever they strike.  This special team is focused on augmenting local Habitat affiliates, and was created in response to Hurricane Katrina.

Disaster Corps is an integral part of the resources available to local communities through Habitat for Humanity. This specialized program trains and mobilizes volunteer leaders, consultants and skilled Habitat staffers to support Habitat for Humanity disaster response and preparedness initiatives across the United States. Disaster Corps members have unique backgrounds in addition to their Habitat training in areas such as logistics, project management, volunteer management, disaster preparedness and mitigation, response planning, resource development and construction, among other areas.

For more information or to apply as a member call (800) 422-4828 or e-mail: disaster@habitat.org.

Submit Your Own Entry!

There’s still time to submit your own entry!  Just send an e-mail to beforeandafter@oneprojectcloser.com. Include your Before and After pictures as JPEG attachments and tell us a story about your remodel in the body of the e-mail!

Mid-Week Round-up: Tiling a Kitchen BackSplash Edition

I’ve been meaning to share a few good reads with you and just haven’t gotten around to it… So instead of waiting for the weekend (when we usually run round-ups), I’ve decided to go way outside the box and share a bunch of links with you mid-week. <gasp!>

Number 1: Headlining this round-up is a great tutorial for how to tile a kitchen backsplash from Todd over at Home Construction Improvement. Todd shares all the steps in great detail, demystifying this project. He also includes some short videos to walk you through the harder steps.

As you can see on the right, Todd’s kitchen already sported under cabinet lighting, a feature we’ll be installing in our kitchen remodel in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for our tutorial on that!

Number 2: Staying with the kitchen theme, our friends over at Calfinder recently added some new library pages to their collection of articles. Of particular interest is their new section on kitchen cabinet finishes, which covers a wide variety of ways to refinish cabinets, including one of the least expensive methods–painting the cabinets.

Number 3: We’ve been having a lot of fun reading Meet my Ugly Baby, a relatively new blog that is tracking a Vancouver couple as they climb the property ladder. They’re currently 1 day away from settling on the purchase of their first apartment to flip, with a goal to be out of the house just 367 days later! It should be a fun read all year long.

Number 4: On the carpentry front, A Concord Carpenter Comments gives us a quick tutorial on drilling pilot holes. It’s a fairly simple task but one that we sometimes skip in a hurry. If you want clean, tight joints with no wood splitting, good pilot holes are a must.

Number 5: One of the recent additions to our community blogs, Remodelaholic gives us instructions for refinishing bar stools purchased at the thrift store. Refinishing hardwood furniture is one of the best ways to get premium furniture into your home without paying a premium price!

Number 6: Finally, as the Fall approaches, we’re again considering a lawn service for our own home. It’s just been very difficult to keep the lawn green (with grass and not weeds) with the extensive periods of drought this Summer.  Green Gardenista gives us some tips for choosing a lawn service. In fact, her article is so good we updated several of our older lawn posts to reference hers.  It’s worth the read if you’re considering a service for your lawn.

Got something great to share? Feel free to e-mail me @ fred@oneprojectcloser.com with your suggestions. Happy Wednesday!

Kenmore Elite Dishwasher Review | Model# 1394

Kenmore just recently released a new line of Elite appliances including the new 1394, stainless dishwasher with 360° PowerWash technology. This dishwasher is elegant, efficient and packed with all the features you’d expect from an industry leader. Read on for the full review and feature guide.

What Is 360° PowerWash?

360° PowerWash is an innovated approach that “blasts dishes from all angles”.

Kenmore Elite Dishwasher Review

• The highs: Ultra-quiet; excellent washing; energy-efficient; stainless-steel; adjustable rack; cycle-status display.
• The lows: Very sensitive control buttons.
• The verdict: This is an amazing dishwasher; highly recommend it!

Installation

Installing this dishwasher took about 2 hours, including a quick trip to Big Orange. Kenmore made it very easy to install and included easy-to-understand instructions. Click here for the full post about how to install this dishwasher.

Features & Performance

Jocie and I have been using for about a month and here’s what we think so far:

Energy Efficiency
This dishwasher is ENERGY STAR compliant, utilizing the Ultra Wash® HE system to save water and energy. But lets put some meaningful numbers behind that:

• Estimated yearly operating cost (electric / gas water heater): $31 / $23
• Estimated yearly electric used: 290 kWh

You can also select a 4 hour delayed start. This is an important feature because it makes it so easy to run the dishwasher during off-peak energy hours.

Washing
We’ve been really impressed with how well this dishwasher cleans. It gets all the dishes spotless- even flatware with peanut butter! It could be the optical soil sensor or maybe it’s the TurboZone rotating spray jets that remove stuck on foods. In addition to the normal cycle, there are also several targeted cycles to choose from.

• Eco wash – This cycle increases water and energy savings by extending the cycle time.
• Pots & Pans – Great for casseroles and baked on grime.
• Smart Wash – This cycle is setup to optimize cleaning while conserving water and energy by sensing the load size and soil amount.
• Quick Wash – Runs a 1 hour cycle at the cost of some additional water and energy.

Controls and Status Display
The controls are found on the front side of the dishwasher. They enable you to select from the different cycles and options like heated dry or sanitizing rinse. They are simple to use and will even persist if you open the door to add one more dish. We really like the status display that indicates what cycle and remaining time. I mentioned that the controls are sensitive because you can inadvertently press a button just by leaning against the dishwasher. We quickly adopted the habit of locking the controls- a good idea for anyone with small children (who like to press on buttons).

Ultra Quiet
At 49 dba it is very easy to forget that this dishwasher is even on. Our old dishwasher was so loud you couldn’t even hold a conversation so it’s really refreshing to eliminate another noisy appliance.

Loading
A huge benefit of this dishwasher is the capacity. We can fit so much more in every load! There’s a couple features that make it easy to load this dishwasher even with large pots and pans. The upper rack is height adjustable so you can fit very tall items. Several rows of tines can be moved to accommodate large glasses or big pans. The flatware slots help make sure all the utensils are separated and each piece of the basket can be removed.

Specifications

• Rack Material: Nylon
• Tub Material: Stainless Steel
• Automatic Temperature Control: Yes
• Filter Cleaning: Manual-clean filter
• Built-in Design: Yes
• Control Type: Electronic
• General Warranty: 1 year limited
• Heated Dry: Yes
• No Heat Air Dry: Yes
• Control Lockout: Yes
• Cycle Status Lights: Yes
• Quiet Package: 49 dba
• Detergent Dispenser: Yes, dual cup
• Rinse Aid Dispenser: Yes
• Start Button Memory: Yes
• Height: 33-3/4 in.
• Width: 24 in.

Price & Where to Buy

If you’re looking for a quality appliance that will last a lifetime, this is an excellent choice. All Kenmore appliances are available at Sears or on Sears.com. This dishwasher is priced at $999.59. Here’s the link (but check our Sears coupons page first!):

• Kenmore Elite Dishwasher

What do you think? What’s your experience with the new Kenmore Elite line?