I, among many others, pointed out the silliness of this regulation when it was first proposed. Granted, there are 1.4 million wood burning appliances in the greater Bay Area. But if those 1.4 million homes aren’t burning wood, which is carbon neutral, then they’re going to be burning natural gas or propane or heating oil, which is not carbon neutral.

Had the Air Quality Control Board really been interested in air quality and the health of Bay Area residents, rather than job security, they would have mandated the use of high efficiency wood stoves, rather than just imposing a blanket ban. High efficiency wood stoves produce no more particulate matter than the average oil fired furnace — and the emissions are less complex. For every high efficiency wood stove heating a home in the Bay Area that’s one less fossil fuel driven furnace polluting the environment. For every home using a high efficiency wood stove in the Bay Area that’s one more home in America that has significantly reduced its carbon foot print.

For a supposedly progressive State, California can sometimes be very backwards.

San Francisco, Bay Area, wood heat, carbon neutral, high efficiency wood stoves, Air Quality Control Board

Powered by ScribeFire.

Share This

During the boom, understanding the difference between (self) employment and running a business was optional. If you knew how to estimate materials correctly and had an idea of what “everyone else” was charging for “similar jobs”, you were golden. That’s really all it took. Demand kept prices high, so even the least business savvy contractor was almost guaranteed to make money.

And believe it or not, that helped you, the customer. The contractor was making enough money to pay all the bills associated with the job. So even if the contractor you hired was a terrible business person, the chance that you’d get slapped with a mechanics lien by some subcontractor or supplier because your contractor didn’t pay them was reasonably low.

Not so today. Now that the bubble has burst, jobs are not so plentiful. Competition for those that remain is much higher. And while you may think that’s a good thing because it means you’ll get your job done cheaper, keep in mind that beyond a certain point, “cheaper” also means riskier. Sometimes, much riskier.

Back in February I told the story of a career carpenter, now self-employed, who was working for the same hourly wage he’d been paid as an employee.

Now you might think: “Wow! I can get this job done really cheap with this guy.” And, if all goes well, you might be right. Or, you might find out the hard way just how expensive this guy really is — not because he doesn’t know his trade, and not because he’s dishonest. Rather, because not being a business person, and therefore not knowing how to correctly price himself and his job, he leaves both himself and you vulnerable.

For an example, let’s suppose Mr. Carpenter here owes some back child support he hasn’t been able to pay (probably because he’s not really making any money on these jobs he’s doing). So, while he’s working for you the State decides to exercise its right to drain his bank account to collect. Well, Mr. Carpenter owes the Home Depot money for the materials he’s bought for your job. And the State just took the money and gave it to his ex-wife! They not only took that money, they also took the money he needs to live for the next month.

So now he has no money to pay for installed materials, no money to by food, no money to put gas in his truck to get to work (your job), and no money to fix any of his tools that might break on the job.

But all of that’s his problem, right? Yup — until it becomes yours!

Because in most states, Home Depot has the legal right to place a mechanics lien on your house for the materials Mr. Carpenter bought and installed in your home — whether he was a licensed contractor or not; whether the job was finished or not.

Now, I’ll admit that this is an extreme example. But in this economic climate, as contractors (and their former employees) get more and more desperate for work, you’re going to see more and more bid that are not just low-ball, they’re down right ridiculous.

In my article on how to choose a remodeling bid I provide some common sense ideas on how to at least winnow down the bids to those that make sense. Those same techniques will also eliminate individuals and contractors like Mr. Carpenter. Because this information is so important, especially now, let me repeat it here:

• If you have a bid that’s disproportionately low, throw it out. “Low balling” is a bidding tactic that some contractors use to get jobs that is, in my opinion, dishonest. Basically the contractor deliberately under bids the real price of the job in the hope of being the lowest bidder. Then, after s/he’s gotten the job and the work has started, s/he finds reasons to get you to sign Change Orders that progressively raise the price up to what the bid should have been in the first place. In some states, I understand a contractor can be disciplined for using this type of bidding tactic.

  Another reason a contractor might submit a low ball bid is because they have no intention of doing the work! They take your money and disappear with it. This year was a particularly nasty one for transient operators.

  In either case, this isn’t the kind of person you want to hire.

• If you have a bid that’s disproportionately high, throw it out unless you can find a darned good reason for the high bid — or you and this person just really hit it off.
• That leaves you with a pile of middle bids that are all worth your consideration. All other factor’s being equal, I recommend picking the contractor you get along with best, not the lowest bidder — though the two may be the same. Because remember, this individual and his or her crew is going to be around five or six days a week for months on end! You don’t want the industrial version of your mother-in-law!

Good luck evaluating the bids for your project!

contractor, bid, bids, bidding, soliticting, remodel, remodeling, recession

Powered by ScribeFire.

Share This

That meant, simply to get at the problem, that long cabinet you see there had to go. It was 14 feet long!

Now, this house was built in the 1950s, and the linoleum on the floor looked like it probably dated to the 1970s. In the foyer (through that door you see there) was a beautiful slate floor. Out of the picture (in fact, where I was standing to take the picture) was an equally gorgeous long-board oak floor that was original to the house. So, to line things up, the flooring installer had installed ¾ inch particle board, also called “underlayment”.

For generations particle board was the product of choice for flooring installers. It’s basically sawdust that’s held together by glues called “binders”. Formica® is made the same way. The difference between the two is that the binder used in Formica® is both waterproof and very, very hard! The binder used in particle board is neither waterproof nor as hard as Formica®. So when particle board gets wet it soaks up water like a sponge. And if it stays wet long enough, it reverts back to its original state: Sawdust!

That’s what had happened here. According to the home owner, there had been a pinhole water leak beneath the sink that had gone undiscovered for nobody knows how long. Then, even after the leak had been stopped, walking on the wet particle board compressed the particle board (now sawdust), in front of the high traffic areas in front of the dishwasher and sink.

The leak had apparently gone undetected for some time, because not only was the particle board degraded, but some of the planks that made up the sub-floor were as well. You can see from the photo at left where I’ve replaced a length of sub-flooring plank right in front of the door. Out of the picture at the bottom were two other planks that had to be replaced as well. One was completely rotted away, the others were so far gone there was nothing left to nail to.

On the left hand side of the picture you can see the sink plumbing hanging there, and a new piece of underlayment has already been laid.

Rather than replacing the old particle board with new, which would leave the new floor vulnerable to the same fate as the old, I used AC exterior plywood. It’s a slightly different thickness than particle board. But we knew going in that there was going to be a lot of prep work to ready the new floor for covering.

That gray compound you see in the two photos is “floor leveling compound”. It fills the gaps between pieces of underlayment and raises any low spots there might be so that the floor is level for the new covering.

Because the client chose marmoleum® for the new floor covering, we knew that this floor was going to be difficult. Marmoleum® is a difficult product to install to begin with, and it doesn’t like floors that flex. Because the girders in this house were spaced at 4 feet O.C., there’s a lot of flex! Yet another reason to use plywood underlayment. The to make sure the whole floor worked as one big unit, I glued the underlayment to the subfloor and screwed it down.

These next two pictures show the kitchen with the marmoleum® down. (I took two pictures, one from each end of the kitchen. The color is “cardinal”.)  The space you see there at the left in the first picture (that would be on the right in the second) is where the new kitchen cabinet will go. The width of the flooring was just perfect. The amount cut from under the cabinet filled in where the stove and fridge will go with almost no waste.

In fact, that little piece you see on the floor there is all that’s left! How’s that for a tight fit. The only complication to the whole business was the door into the laundry room (not pictured). The client bought extra flooring to put in the laundry room. But the two widths together don’t work as well together as just the kitchen alone. To complicate matters further, the laundry room floor is to be done later — meaning something temporary had to be done in the doorway. In the end, we tacked a bar down over the edge of the new marmoleum® flooring to protect it until the two can be seamed together.

In this last picture you can see we’re almost done. The client decided to have her plumber install the sink rather than us. The chap in the background there is from the cabinet shop. He’s removing the counter tops from the old cabinets. They look so nice the client decided to go ahead and change out all the old ones — including the breakfast bar. And, she wants to paint and do the other finish work herself as well.

All in all it came out rather nice and we were able to keep the cost down to within the client’s budget. Not an easy task at times on older houses. Often times opening things up is like opening a can of worms. One thing leads to another, and another, and another until you’re way over budget projections and nobody (including us contractors) are happy.

Preventing that from happening is something of an art!

kitchen, remodel, repair, marmoleum

Powered by ScribeFire.

Share This

It can cost an enormous amount of money to install a green roof! In an existing building it is doubtful the roof system will support the weight of the soil, plants, and the water the roof will absorb. The entire structure would have to be reinforced before a green roof can be installed. Meaning that, as stated in the video below, installing a green roof on an existing high rise apartment building can cost as much as $100,000!

But, as the Wall Street Journal reports, the cost may be worth it.

Technorati Tags: green roof, green building, roofing, roofing systems

Share This

Technorati Tags: greening your home

Share This

The USLBA “Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2008 USLBA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USLBA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA)

U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA) is a Washington D.C. based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USLBA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USLBA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Local Business Association

Technorati Tags: awards, small business, associations, customers, local community

Share This

The image at right shows the left and right side elevations. As you can see, we’re building a three story house here. The ground floor is the basement area, and the living quarters are above. I believe I said in a previous Cove House article that the original plans the client wanted to start with called for an 8/12 roof. I had to replace that with a 4/12 roof in order to meet the height restrictions for the area the home will be built in.

In the original plans the house was also built on concrete pillars. You can see remnants of them in the drawing here as I haven’t yet gotten around to “skinning” the drawing with the beautiful stone facade that will be used for the fully enclosed walk-out basement.

But rather than simply forming concrete, the basement area will be built out of ICF’s. That saves time, concrete, and provides built in insulation for the basement level.

At left you can see the basement floor plan. It’s been completely re-done from nothing more than a car port (complete with lattice work between the pillars) into a full walk out basement with a washroom and a shop.

We have stairs leading up to the first floor, washer and dryer hookups, a wash room (just a toilet and sink) off of a shop area on the left hand side. You probably can’t see it in this photo, but the rectangle at the foot of the stairs is a water softening system.

Below the stairs is the radiant floor central heating system, providing a nice even heat at much less cost than forced air. Since we’re heating water for heat, we’ll also use that hot water for the potable hot water supply.

Serious changes have also been made to the first floor. In the original drawings the bedroom at the bottom right did not have a bathroom attached, and the stairs leading up from the basement did not exist.

I designed the new bathroom to be very handicap friendly, since the occupant of that room will be an elderly woman. Notice that all the facilities are arranged in “turns”: Toilet opposite sink, bath/shower stall opposite the door, which is a full thirty-six inches to facilitate easy entry at right angles with a walker or wheel chair.

Handicapped friendly bathrooms are not something many home owners think about when designing their retirement home. Mostly, I think, because we a) don’t like thinking of ourselves as handicapped (unless we already are) and b) because our use of that word (”handicapped”) is almost exclusively pointed at handicapped individuals, not the elderly. And while the two sets of needs are not a perfect fit (you may not need grab bars in a shower for an otherwise healthy handicapped individual, for instance), there is a great deal of cross over.

Also note where the stairs from the basement come out. I had wanted to match them up to the existing stairs headed up to the second floor, since stacking stairs takes up the least amount of space (and stairwells consume huge amounts of real estate. That, however, would have eliminated the little Powder Room you see beneath the stair well (across from the kitchen) — not an option for the client. So, in order keep the necessary overhead clearance, I had to trunk the new stairwell out into the living room a bit.

You can also see the stairs coming down off the side deck at the front of the house in this picture. Something practically invisible in the elevation.

Not many changes have been made to the second floor. The whole left hand side is the Master Suite; bedroom at the front, bathroom along the back half. The yellow lines in the bedroom show the tray ceiling overhead, with two sky lights. The tray ceiling was part of the original plan, but I had to modify it when I changed the roof pitch. The sky lights are also new editions.

Also note the laundry room there at the head of the stairs. Yes, the client wanted two laundry setups. The tub you see in the master bath is to be an old cast iron claw foot tub, completely restored, of course!

Once the plans have been finalized I’ll skin them and give you a bit of a walk through prior to construction. So stay tuned!

Technorati Tags: design build, new construction, custom home

Share This

Now, I have to admit that, as a matter of self preservation, the CSLB is always on about fraud. But we’re now into the realm of ridiculousness where these transient operators are concerned.

In their article, the CSLB tells the story of one group from Connecticut had been cited by SWIFT twice and was still operating, with cases pending in eight California Counties. They also had cases pending in other States!

The “company” would show up, offering to a paving job at deeply discounted prices because they had left-over materials that needed to be used. Then, once the job was started they’d find reasons to charge more. (That’s called “low balling”. See my related articles: Fast Talking Sales, Picking the Right Remodeling Bid, and He Can’t Do It For That.) They also required prepayment — money which was quickly turned into cash so the customer couldn’t get it back. And of course, the materials used were so substandard that they broke down in a matter of days.

Wild Fire Victims Beware

Up here in Humboldt County we have over 1,400 forest fires burning; there are also fires burning in other parts of California. If your home has been damaged or destroyed by fire, be smart about who you hire to repair the damage:

• Stick with your local contractors. You don’t know who that “Fire Recovery Construction” company from SomeTown VA really is. They may be great — or they might be a Transient Operator!
• Ask the local hardware store about the company you’re looking to hire. Granted, they don’t know everybody, and just because they don’t know them doesn’t mean they’re bad, but it’s a good place to start.
• Look for the license number. Every legitimate California contractor is required to display their license number on all advertising — including their company vehicle(s). If it’s not on their truck (maybe they just bought a new one), ask for a business card, or better yet, ask to see their “pocket license.” Every legitimate California contractor is issued a credit card sized license card. If they can’t produce their pocket license, be worried!
• Check the license number here to make sure it’s a real license, and not a fake. If it’s a fake, and this company is trying to pass themselves off as a licensed contractor, let the CSLB know here.

I really hate to be this way — I really do. There are lots of very good individuals out there who do good work who are not licensed. And in the end, regulation and bureaucracy only breeds more of the same, inevitably costing you, the consumer, more money.

On the other hand, it makes me sick to see how some people will behave and treat their fellow man. It’s what causes all these rules and regulations in the first place. And it’s in cases like the one above that the regulations do work to help us all out.

So be careful! And good luck getting your home rebuilt quickly, competently, and at a fair price.

Technorati Tags: Contractor’s State License Board, CSLB, Humboldt County, Wild Fire Victims, transient operators, illegal contractors, unlicensed contractors, California wild fires

Share This

It’s finally happened! BernzOmatic has finally released a recyclable line of fuel cylinders they’ve dubbed the Fat Boy™.

I mean, I don’t know about you, but for me, dealing with spent propane and MAPP gas cylinders has just been a pain. You’re not supposed to throw them into the trash, though many people do. And you can’t put them into the recycling bin, because even though you’ve used all the gas, they’re still under pressure and explosive. Technically they’re hazardous waste — though in all honesty, the vast majority have ended up in our land fills.

Up until now, the best I’ve seen anybody do with an empty propane cylinder is to (illegally) refill it and reuse it until the seals gave out. But you’re not supposed to do that either.

Finally addressing growing environmental demands of professionals and do-it-yourselfers, BernzOmatic developed what it’s labeled its Green Key® technology. It allows consumers to completely discharge an empty Fat Boy™ cylinder. Empty cylinders can therefore be taken to the local recyclers.

Another bonus, the Fat Boy™ is bigger than the old cylinders. You, like me, have probably seen folks screwing their torch head onto those larger camp stove gas cylinders. Well, that might slow down some as the Fat Boy™ gets into the distribution stream, because it contains 20% more fuel that the old tall, slim cylinders. Another, more dubious bonus, the Fat Boy™ is 25% shorter than the old cylinders, to allow “greater accessibility in tight spaces,” a company press release said.

Well, maybe. A loss in height means an increase in girth — doubly so because it holds more fuel. So what’s lost in one dimension will no doubt be gained in another. We’ll have to see.

The Fat Boy™ is apparently not yet in full roll out, though I gather the company will do so soon. I’ve asked a rep to send me a Fat Boy™ to try out. If they do, you’ll be reading about how well it worked in the field right here!

Technorati Tags: BernzOmatic, Fat Boy™, propane torch, MAPP gas torch, recycling

Share This

The Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association (PPFA) has listed some of the characteristics that make PEX both popular and positive from both the consumer’s and installer’s point of view:

• Its high temperature capability, up to 200° F
• Its High pressure capability/stability
• The smooth walls provide excellent flow characteristics
• Its quieter than PVC or copper
• There’s less heat loss and condensation
• Because it’s a tubing, it allows flexibility for design
• It has a proven long life, rigorous certifications, and is highly tested
• It doesn’t corrode
• Unlike copper, it doesn’t develop pinholes
• No build-up inside
• Its secure and simple, but reliable fittings reduce the possibilities of leaks
• It’s lightweight, easy and safe to transport and handle
• It comes in long coils, and is therefore efficient to install, and joints are reduced
• It’s clean and safe to work with, unlike copper which requires flux and solder, or PVC which requires glues that produce toxic fumes

Why then, you ask, can’t we install it in California?

The Official reason is “environmental review.” But the fact is, PEX has already undergone an independent review — and passed! And because it passed, it’s already been approved by the four major model code standards, including the one just adopted by California itself in January 2008!

So the problem here really boils down to nothing more than politics. PEX is so easy to install you can do it yourself. The Plumbers Union is understandably not happy about that! (Which is also why until recently the only fittings available for PEX had to be installed with special equipment only licensed plumbers — not general contractors, not members of the public — could buy through special outlets.) And it’s plastic, so environmental groups weren’t happy either, despite the blatant reality that we have yet to develop any better environmentally friendly products through which to pump our water. But we decidedly have quite a few worse options. (PEX can be made from recycled grocery bags.)

Back to our story: The PPFA filed suit in 2001 and obtained a court order that basically said what everyone else had been saying for years: PEX was safe to install, so allow it to be installed already! The result: For almost 3 years PEX “was code” and was installed across California.

Then, in 2004 an appeals court reversed the ruling. Suddenly, PEX was again “not code” and couldn’t be installed. Ironically, during that brief three year period all kinds of rumors began to crop up about PEX. It was claimed, for example, that PEX pipes leech methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and benzene into the water, that PEX prematurely decays and then ruptures, and so on. I’ve even heard rumors that PEX will break down if exposed to chlorine treated water, and urban tales of “catastrophic failure” in homes where PEX has been installed, causing tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

None of these rumors have been found to be true.

PEX tubing bearing the marks “NSF-61″ or “NSF pw” — i.e. tubing rated for domestic potable water use has been tested by NSF International, an agency with a 60 year history of successfully protecting public health, and was found to meet the health requirements of NSF-61 and the long term strength and quality control requirements of NSF/ANSI Standard 14.

In other words, it’s at least as good (safe) as the alternatives.

(Warning! If the tubing has the mark “NSF rfh” it is only rated for radiant heat, not for potable water.)

Now… Let’s get real! If PEX weren’t safe, could it have possibly been approved by all four major, independent, model code standards — and California’s own CPC? Not likely.

The sad irony that this seven year (and counting) fiasco has cost California home owners and tax payers millions at the expense of its bloated, self righteous bureaucracy. And to prove precisely what?

In May (May 2008) the California Department of Public Health decided the rest of the civilized world was right after all. It proposed an Amendment to the 2007 California Plumbing Code, removing its restrictions against the installation of PEX “for occupancies regulated by The Department of Health Services.”

The public comment period closed July 7th. The regulations may not be approved for another 18 months.

What have they proved? You decide.

Technorati Tags: PEX tubing, California Building Code, International Plumbing Code, ANSI International, Uniform Plumbing Code, National Standard Plumbing Code, California Plumbing Code, California Department of Public Health

Share This