La Habra Heights: Unique Community

Kitchen Remodeling Done Right

Solutions For Selling in a Buyer’s Market

Home Systems: Energy Saving & Comfort
Tankless Hot Water Heaters, HVAC, Solar

DECKS, DECKS and More DECKS
Bring the Outdoors Indoors with Decks

C O O L R O O F . . .
GREEN Roofing Solutions in Southern California

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The La Habra Heights Experience

The Good. The hills of La Habra Heights are dotted with 1,887 homes (last count). These hills afford us a rural lifestyle without concrete sidewalks, curbs, nor night-spoiling street lamps. We have space for horses and other interesting 4-legged creatures; our properties are criss-crossed by horse paths, hiking trails, strolling deer, even our very own local bobcat. We appreciate giving wide–berth as we nudge our vehicles around those athletic visitors who have made our hills a challenging bike touring and racing route. Our views from our hills are often spectacular and dramatic: views of the sometimes snow-covered San Gabriel Mountains to the north and a panoramic view encompassing Mount Santiago to the far-south out to Catalina Island and up-coast to Rancho Palos Verdes and Santa Monica.

The Challenging. Hillside communities have their own set of challenges and problems that affect our homes. Hills are more demanding building sites than those on flat, level, stable land. If you’ve paid attention you will know that our hills are always “on the move!” If you have ever installed a retaining wall, planter wall, or a fence up here  – (block, wood, or chain link)  — more than 10 years ago — and you clearly remember that you installed it “level & plumb,” you are now a bit chagrined to see that it is likely leaning to the down–slope. “Now how did that happen?”

Living In The Hills. I once overheard a fitness instructor telling the mostly middle–aged women in her aerobics class “GRAVITY” is not a woman’s friend — let’s tone those muscles girls… Gravity is like Death and Taxes: gravity is relentless — gravity is patient — gravity is always victorious! Gravity and its close–cousin “Water,” cause the top layer of soil up here in the hills to continually march downhill. Much of our topsoil was mechanically moved about decades ago to create avocado and fruit groves. Bedrock is often exposed or within a few feet of the surface. Add water to gravity (from over-watering, rainfall, or poorly thought–out drainage) and the earth is even more on the move — putting extreme pressures on our fences, our walls — our homes too! Many a homeowner in the Heights can open a bathroom door without problem during the summer — but the door is literally “stuck” in the door frame following a few days of rain. What’s up with that? “Surely, that cannot  be all that good for our property — can it?”

Comes with the Territory. The Heights has high–content clay soil which is termed: expansive soil. When rain water or landscape water touches this type of soil it becomes a powerful foe. Wet, expansive soil close to the perimeter of your home can exert extreme, relentless hydraulic pressures that are so great that your concrete footings are moved up, down, left, and right. This evidences itself in stuck doors, sloped floors, cracked floors, cracks in the drywall, plaster, stucco, shower tile  — even dramatic cracks and breaks in reinforced concrete foundations. When the soil dries–out and contracts, the sheer weight of the home will push back. This push and pull works at damaging the foundation to the point where it can affect the value of your home.

These issues oftentimes are brought to light at the worst possible time — during the sale of a home. Every year the now–standard home inspection becomes more and more stringent and thorough. These more–stringent inspections are the result of numerous lawsuits brought against home inspectors for overlooked, obvious home defects in prior years. What was, simply an overlooked cracked floor in a home sold in the 1980’s — will end up a serious “Legal-Deal-Breaker” in today’s transaction. The problem is further exacerbated by home inspectors and engineers who then sometimes over-document all these problems. We have some “Hands-On” experience with defects found during the Sale, Escrow and Transfer of Southern California homes – – – we are a company that performed 100’s of home inspections from 2000–2008 from San Diego to Malibu. Our recommendation? Better to fix these issues before they become part of the home’s “Paper Trail.”

What we do. We are a General Contractor with a Twist…

We’ve been involved in building and improving properties so long that we have what some would call “SUBS” (Sub-Contractors) “In-House…”

We do our own electrical — from the Pole to the Pool: new services, sub-panels, underground service feeders — no electrical sub-contractor called–in which would add to your costs.

We do our own steel, concrete, framing, drywall, plumbing, tile, floors, welding (Real Wrought Iron), paint, stucco, Venetian plaster, faux finishes.

We partner in a cabinet shop in down the hill in Santa Fe Springs so that we can eliminate the overhead and profit that a Sub–Contracted Cabinet Shop would add to your project…  AND, you get exactly what you want  — at the price–point of those depressing Off–The–Shelf or Semi-Custom Home Depot ⁄ Lowe’s cabinets.

If your project has no need for our in–house Framer, our Stucco Guys, or our Kitchen Designer — they simply never show up! ZERO COST.

But if their talents are needed, they are there for you under our immediate supervision — at truly affordable cost (i.e. no SUBS)

PRIVACY - We are fiercely–private about you, your goals, your project. Small, close communities can be like small mid–western towns. We will not share your prospective plans for your home with anyone – anywhere – ever.  If you allow us to share some photos of your transformed space – we’d love that! But if not – we respect that! Period.

When & Who call upon us? When homeowners are unhappy with their home. When something is broken and can no longer be overlooked. When arriving at that place where —finally— the time is right; the money is pulled together: our clients can begin making their Heights-House a Home — a Dream Home… When thinking of selling but there are some issues that must be addressed. Who — It turns out we have no “ordinary client” nor oft–requested service.  Let us share with you the most common services we are asked to address:

SPECIALIZING IN HILLSIDE PROBLEMS

• Foundation Problems
• Leaning Structures
• Uneven Floors
• Crooked Doors That Don’t Close
• Windows That Won’t Budge
• Walls That Are Out Of Level
• Failing Retaining Walls
• Lacking Parking, Turn-Arounds
• Hillside Walks and Stairs to Inaccessible Property
• Troubled Septic Systems
• Poor Drainage

SPECIALIZING IN HILLSIDE OPPORTUNITIES

• DIG IN — DIG DOWN! Expand Your Home Downward!
  No set–back issues; No maximum height codes to challenge; No view restrictions; No impervious soil battles to wage
  Often the dug–in space has a MAGNIFICENT VIEW — not like a “basement”
• Spiral Staircases
• Residential Elevators
• Secret Doors, Safe Rooms, Panic Rooms, Hidden Walk–In Home Vaults
• Observation Decks (Attached, Free–Standing, Elevated)
• Wrought Iron Railings, Fences, Automated Gates
• Doors and Windows to Take Advantage of Views!
• Outdoor Fireplaces

CURB APPEAL

The home just doesn’t “cut it.”

There is absolutely no doubt THAT IF the Curb Appeal is addressed there is a direct correlation to a significantly–greater future Sales Price

Generally speaking, Curb Appeal is some combination of:

• Exterior walls — wood, stucco, doors and windows
• Entrances (especially in the Heights! — Sometimes our driveways send guests to the wrong entry doors!)
• Roof — What a difference the correct roof can make
• Hardscape (Concrete, Pavers, Walks & Paths)
• Landscape

KITCHENS AND BATHROOMS

Outdated  — (Note: WE DO EXCELLENT KITCHEN! — many gorgeous examples in La Habra Heights!)  – - – SEE our Kitchen Section…

DOORS AND WINDOWS

• Creaky, leaky
• Too–small windows (not taking full-advantage of views)
• Changing 1970’s Sliding Glass Doors— to Insulated Sliding or French Doors
• Enlarging existing windows to French Doors
• — Adding a new deck where none was

BEDROOMS

• Creating new spaces where we spend half of our life
• Raising ceilings to take advantage of unused attic space — this alone brings our living space into the 21st century
• Adding glamorous, functional, walk–in closets
• Adding a to–die–for Master Baths
• Expanding the “look & feel” of the bedroom by adding a private deck (on grade or elevated in the trees)

EXTREME HOME MAKEOVERS

From custom cabinetry to complete home renovation, our team has an extensive history of successful projects and satisfied clients. Incredible locations often make it unnecessary to relocate  — remodeling makes anything possible. Through subtle or dramatic changes, you can obtain more space and update amenities, and enhance the appearance and value of your home. We are completing our 3rd Extreme Home Makeover right here in these hills. These are amazing, satisfying projects — for you, the owner — and for us too! We love the transformation magic. You will too.

How to build a solid-surfaced deck using Wood Beams and Posts in a Fire Zone”

In the last POSTING we were involved in building a 42-foot long, elevated TREX DECK: an observation and entertaining deck – level with the surrounding treetops. Where that TREX deck stops, we are continuing around the front of the home with a different type of Deck System: a slightly-sloped, waterproof, Solid-Surface exterior deck.

Whereas Trex Decks allow sunlight to filter between the spaced boards – it is not a watertight covering. We want a Solid-Surface Deck to provide secure, dry space below.

continued…

We are in La Habra Heights, California – Fire Zone 4 area with the same propensity for fire as Malibu, California (the Fire Zone 4 that makes national news most every year). Thus our wood posts and Beams will be massive!

We frame a shallow pad footing in the driveway – in alignment with the dividing wall that separates the two single-car garage openings.

This Pad Footing requires a simple rebar “MESH” in the bottom of the footing – so we hand tie a reinforcing mesh for the hole.

We poured the footing and placed a Simpson 10 x 10, 7-gauge, column-base in the wet concrete.

We have set the base plate a bit higher than the finished concrete so that our 10 x 10 wood post will not be bathed in water when it rains. We will probably inject some high-strength, non-shrinking grout under the plate.

This Front Deck will be supported by TWO 10 x 10 Wooden Posts (below is the second footing). Additionally, the 28-foot 10 x 12 Beam will be secured on both ends: one with a custom-welded Beam Hanger secured to concrete and the cantilevered end connected to another cantilevered beam from our elevated Trex Deck.

We have to prepare the two (2) 10 x 10 rough-sawn posts. For you D.I.Y. folks that are going to be using similar big timbers for fire reasons – or – because it just looks so darn terrific – don’t fret, you can cut these intimidating posts with everyday power tools. Here is one way…

Using a common 7 or 8 inch power saw it is clearly obvious that it is going to require more than one cut. Using a construction square or a Speed Square, mark a line around the outside of the lumber where you need to make your cut.

Make four cuts rotating the post after each pass on your work surface. This sucker is HEAVY!

When all four sides of the post are cut to the maximum depth of your power saw, you will likely have a square, uncut center section, that is STILL the equivalent of a 6 by 6!

Any homeowner tackling a project of this complexity, already has – or needs to drop everything right this minute and go buy a Reciprocating Saw.

Most contractors use the Milwaukee Brand “Sawzall” – but there are so many terrifically-designed power tools these days that we have no further comment. Our Sawzall was all locked up, so we grabbed this Home Depot brand tool: their low-end, Ryobi. It got kind of hot to hold – but it managed the job.

A few of us wrestled the now cut-to-length, drilled, and routed post up and onto the column base. We then bolted it securely into place checking it for level in both planes.

Here is the whole post – in place and ready for that Herculean-Sized beam…

On to preparing the second 10 x 10 Wooden Post. The column bases we purchased were for “Finished Lumber.” A “finished” 10 x 10 is actually 9-1/2″ x 9-1/2″. So the 7-gauge steel that rises up to hold the post has to be accommodated. We used a router – you could use some wood chisels for such a small area or special-order some 10×10 “actual” column bases oversized especially for rough-sawn lumber.

We went to pick up the 28-foot 10×12 beam using a Ford Ranger (like we used to pick up this “small” 26-foot 8×8). The Ford has a pretty good-quality, welded lumber rack – but alas – when the fork lift driver set the 10×12 x 28-foot long beam onto the truck the shear weight –bolstered by the long leverage– smashed the lumber rack into the truck cab’s roof. We asked Ganahl Lumber to deliver it with their smallest lumber truck and an experienced driver.

Their experienced driver took almost half an hour painstakingly backing his truck up the steep, winding driveway.

Finally, he made it all the way. Four of us couldn’t even budge it so we used the John Deere Skid-Steer to off-load it.

Thank God for Cool Tools!

With our two 10×10 posts in place, we have to install a custom-welded Beam Hanger to the side of what we lovingly-call our “Bomb Shelter.” Using a big Hilti Drill we created 4 accurately-aligned holes for our concrete bolts.

Below is the attached Beam Hanger. Now we need to prepare the end of the beam. We have to notch the end to miss the heads of the concrete bolts and we want to pre-drill the holes that will accept the 12-inch long, 5/8-inch diameter machine bolts.

HANDY woodworking TIP: When you need to drill a hole –as straight as possible– through a big timber – setting a Speed Square on the surface of your timber will allow you to visually-align your long drill bit very, very accurately…

Two of the guys are acting as human-ballast so that the beam will not crash down the mountain as we work it off of the edge of the concrete “Bomb Shelter” into its cradle.

Smiling now! The beam has been painstakingly “inched” from about 2 feet over the concrete to where it is now – about a 1/4-inch from the edge – 1/4 inch away from its “controlled-crash” into the beam hanger below.

Success!

The beam is attached to the concrete porch and sitting atop one of our two posts.

To sum up this project so far…(Picture Below)

We have the 2nd 10×10 Wood Post installed.

We have dropped in the final 8×8 x 20-foot Deck Beam from the connecting 42-foot long elevated TREX Deck to this huge new 10×12 Beam.

We have applied the Jasco Green Termin-8 Wood Preservative and Pesticide to all the wood.

Tell you what… That Termin-8 should keep the termites away! When working with it we joke that we are human rats at “Little Chernobyl.”

From experience, we can tell you that you will be able to smell its characteristic “copper smell” a whole year later…

We have completed all of the Deck Rafters for the Trex Deck – AND we have framed the Solid-Surface Deck with 2×8 rafters, 16-inches on-center with the preliminary 1/2-inch layer of CDX plywood set “flush” with that huge 10″ x 12″ Beam.

Here is a view looking at this Solid-Surface Deck from the driveway leading into the two garages that are beneath this new deck.

The 1/2-inch CDX plywood is just the first layer. Next we are going to install a second layer of 3/4-inch CDX plywood offset such that joints of the 1/2-inch plywood will not line up with the joints of the 2nd layer. The overall thickness of our solid deck surface will then be 1-1/4″ – which is just fine for that “solid deck” feeling.

Here is the underside of the deck. We will install 8 each, 4-inch, recessed can lights (4 in front of each garage). Then we will install a “ceiling” (a lid) of 1/2 plywood and get it ready for stucco. Because the underside will be stuccoed, with a full-inch of concrete, we can use a traditional 2x deck rafter here – as fire concerns for these rafters is not a factor.

I need to sell A.S.A.P.

I Must Sell My House Now!

It is at the TOP of your TO-DO-LIST.

You want it SOLD – but not given away.

There’s so much to do – you are feeling overwhelmed…

How did Selling a House sneak up on you? Well, here is our experience:

• Your sole, surviving parent passed away unexpectedly
  • but your plate is already FULL.
• You were honored by a relative to be named their Trustee years ago
  • but now you must PERFORM and sell the house.
• You have a fantastic job opportunity in ANOTHER state
  • but you need to wow your new employer – you can’t travel back and forth.
• You live outside of California and try as you will to get his project going
  • now you surrender! You really need to find some competent local help.
• You’ve taken advantage of this market and bought a different house
  • as great as that is, you are tired and need HELP
  • you will pay for a lot of help one way or the other
  • you want some energetic guys to help unload your old house FAST.

So here you are researching your task. You are READY to make a plan and run with it.

You would welcome, with open arms —a no-nonsense, PLAN-of-ACTION.

How to Sell a House FAST

We are assuming you understand ALL that is involved in selling a house in today’s market.

If not – and you have 30 minutes, please read through our articles on : Home Selling 101

1. Home Selling 101: Preparing Your Home For Sale
2. Home Selling 101: How to Sell Your Home in a Buyer’s Market
3. Home Selling 101: De-Clutter the House
4. Home Selling 101: De-Personalize the House
5. Home Selling 101: Ceilings, Walls, Floors and Painting
6. Home Selling 101: The Exterior of the House
7. Home Selling 101: How to Get Rid of Cigarette Smell
8. Home Selling 101: How to Get Rid of Pet Odors

Okay – you “get it.”

You agree that you are facing a big task. You agree that you will require some help; some labor (some bodies – some helpful people) to stand alongside you in order to get this DONE.

Almost always, there is some deferred maintenance that needs to be repaired. Often the house is packed to the rafters with furniture and lots of stuff — stuff that you must deal with. Surely there there is some new paint needed here and there – and frankly, most of us must admit that we were not blessed with the color-picking gene! You may know the the name of the local neighborhood’s Realtors —but you are open to the absolute BEST marketing campaign you can orchestrate to sell this house in a market with too-few Buyers and too-many Houses for sale.

Likely, you have a life! You simply cannot take a leave of absence, make numerous trips to the property, abandon your family and responsibilities for a month or two months of dawn-to-dusk work.  You need a plan… You need help!

No matter where you are — if your property is located here in SoCAL — we can provide you some with some hands-on help.

Is your property out of our area? – You might be able to put a plan of action together in other states – you will simply need to find the right people and put a team together. Contact us – maybe we can give you some pointers. We hope that these 30+ Home Selling 101 action-articles will be a helpful road-map for you to begin putting together your own, local plan of action.

We only have two crews available for this – so please check with us if your sales date is rapidly approaching.

HELP ME SELL MY HOUSE – A Plan of Action

• Initial Property Visit and Pre-Sale Home Inspection
• There is Furniture and Clutter to Move, Sell or Discard
• Repairs and Maintenance Tasks
• Staging
• Selling

One of our Kitchens.

A Kitchen Remodel is not a Do-It-Yourself Project!

Considering some off-the-shelf cabinets?

New granite counter tops… New appliances…

Thinking of doing it yourself?

If you are super-capable, this is a ” do-able” project. But, before you get started, have you reviewed ALL the steps necessary for a GREAT new kitchen?

I don’t want to bore you with details – but there are many details…

Unfortunately, the more involved steps are almost always overlooked by Do_It-Yourself (DIY) homeowners, and contractors lacking wisdom or simple experience.  Overlooked details you will wish you would have considered when it was easy, accessible and cheap to do right.  Many people get to the place where they are installing new cabinets before they realize they royally screwed-up. They should have dug deeper. They should have opened the walls and ceiling of the kitchen.  Now they have to start over, or compromise BIG TIME.

As experienced, Kitchen Remodeling Contractors, let us share a list of our USUAL steps for EVERY kitchen:

1. demo old cabinets
2. demo walls  – removing plaster or drywall – to the bare studs
3. demo ceiling – remove plaster or drywall
4. demo flooring – remove to concrete or sub-floor
5. haul debris to landfill
6. change / move water pipes
7. change galvanized piping (if there)  to copper plumbing
8. change any cast-iron drain and vents piping to ABS Plastic
   • (fewer problems and clogs)
9. increase drain pipes from 1-1/2 to 2-inch
   • (less clogging)
10. install hot and cold to new sink location
    • (most sinks are not where they should be)
11. install hot water line for dishwasher
12. install cold water for refrigerator – water and ice
13. install cold water to stove – pot filler faucet
14. install hot and cold to secondary sink or island
15. change old electrical wires (if old or aluminum) to copper
16. add new circuits
    • minimum: 2 20-amp for counter areas
    • split circuit for Dishwasher and Garbage Disposal
    • dedicated circuit for Refrigerator
    • 240-v for many Convection Ovens
    • plugs located as per new codes
    • power for under-counter and in-cabinet lighting
    • new lighting in ceiling: recessed, energy-efficient, etc.
17. install vent for new hood system – get vented to outside
18. install new drywall – tape and mud to smooth finish
19. install tile backer-board to floor (if wood construction)
20. install tile flooring, grout and seal – before installing cabinets
21. install base cabinets and wall cabinets
22. install cabinet trims and moldings
23. install plywood counter-backing
24. install tile counter top, or…
25. make counter-top template for granite, marble or stone slab(s)
26. make slab(s) and install

Our point? – Do-It-Yourself folks, inexperienced or lazy contractors, often think they will just replace the old cabinets with new cabinets – without taking the kitchen down to the studs. Homeowners are often very unhappy with the outcome.

Why? Because new cabinets – even inexpensive ones – ADD up to thousands of dollars.  To go to that expense, while overlooking many of the problems and shortcomings of a typical old kitchen, is criminal!  The kitchen’s problems and shortcomings are inside the walls! There are the typical plumbing issues: water pressure, regularly clogged drains; pipes ready to burst or clog. There are always too-few electrical circuits (not to code), missing circuits for new appliances (like convection ovens), old and dangerous wiring, aluminum wires in some cases, oddly-located switches and plugs, old, inadequate lighting, etc., etc.

If you want a new kitchen, take the whole plunge, and get the kitchen you want!

If the scope of the project is beyond your capabilities and spare time, then hire a contractor who has a lot of new-kitchen experience.  Or, minimally, open up the walls and hire an electrician and a plumber, then go back to your DIY project.  Remember, your kitchen is the most expensive room in the house; adds or subtracts the most value at time of sale or appraisal; and, has a dramatic effect on how happy you will be with your home. A half-right new kitchen will rob you of your daily enjoyment of life.

If you are skeptical about what might be lurking behind those kitchen walls – can we show you what we have uncovered?

Plumbing: Hot and Cold Water

Typical Galvanized Water Pipe.

If you have galvanized plumbing you need to know what these pipes look like inside.

Even if you are fully-aware of the the galvanized piping issue, but you are not prepared to do a whole-house copper re-pipe, you can selectively replace just the pipes in the kitchen walls only.

To do this correctly, you use a dielectric coupler where the old and new pipes join together. You take a picture or mark the walls where the couplers are – so that the future completion of the home’s re-pipe is a simple matter.

Looks like copper - but NOT...

We have come upon kitchens where the owner thinks that a former homeowner replaced the old galvanized water pipes with copper – but it was a ruse. Maybe to sell the house, or perhaps to get a newer connection. Either way, there was a plumbing-disaster waiting to happen behind the drywall.

Plumbing: Drains and Vent Pipes

Here is a 1-1/2 inch Drain Pipe.

If your house has galvanized water pipes, chances are you have galvanized or cast-iron drain pipes too.  Likely they are in a similar condition as the water pipes: rusted, rotted, and obstructed… Besides being obstructed and subject to routine drain clogs because of the inside build-up, they are likely under-sized too. Sure, plumbing code may have allowed 1-1/2-inch drain pipes for a kitchen sink – but kitchen sinks and their garbage disposals feed organic solids down this undersized pipe. Dishwashers also feed solids into this clog waiting to happen! Solution? Re-pipe with ABS plastic and oversize everything: use 2-inch drain pipe!

Electrical

Where do we start! Every kitchen gets new wiring. Period.

24-Circuit Sub-Panel

A new kitchen will need – at minimum – 4 or more 20-amp circuits. Older kitchens have ONE. With a coffee maker on, all that is necessary to blow a circuit is to use a toaster oven. Not Good!

Our high-end kitchens often get their own 12-to-24-circuit Sub Panels (see picture)!

Consider minimum codes and new appliances. For starters, you must have 2 20-amp counter circuits – we install 3 or 4; one or two circuits for dishwasher and garbage disposal; 1 dedicated for the refrigerator; 1 for a high-end microwave oven; a 240-volt circuit for a convection oven. Many new kitchens have 2 drawer style dishwashers, 2 ovens, and 1 or 2 warming drawers. There are never enough circuits.

We often have a 240-Volt, 50-Amp Circuit under sink!

We often use a 240-volt, 50-amp circuit just to supply an electric instant-heat, under-sink, water heater that preheats our kitchen sink and dishwasher hot water – so that there is NO WAIT for hot water.  Great for clean and bacteria-free dishes!

Even if there is a new tankless hot water heater supplying the home with hot water – it takes a while in most kitchens for the hot water to arrive. NOTE: When the home’s hot water gets to the kitchen faucet (or dishwasher) this unit shuts off.

Old Wiring is typical.

Even if you do have a couple of 20-amp circuits in the old kitchen, you should remove the plug and switch covers to closely-examine the wiring. Get a visual assessment of the age of the wiring and check for fire-prone, aluminum conductors.

Electrical – Lighting

Kitchens demand Good Lighting!

Kitchen lighting is critical to make or break a new kitchen.  If your kitchen has those, now-dated, florescent fixtures with the ugly plastic panels – those need to go!  If there is only one or two lights you also need an upgrade.

You will often want to install recessed 4-inch cans over the counters, over an island or work space, and possibly as wall-washers to accent a wall here or there.  This means you need access to the ceiling. It is easier to simply remove the drywall.

Stove Hoods and Other Ventilation

Base for Hood.

Another reason to remove the ceiling drywall is if you are going to install one of those beautiful, stainless steel vent hoods…

Preparation behind drywall.

These are fantastic appliances – so much more valuable and more sophisticated than those obviously-cheap, $40 painted hoods.

These high-end ventilation hoods require electric wiring run to the exact location. The hood’s sturdy, internal steel frame needs to be securely mounted to the home’s structure – not just to drywall.

Sometimes a soffit (see picture) is needed to be constructed so as to obtain the exact height above the stove without the need for purchasing a horribly-expensive extension section.

And let’s not forget that a water-proof hole might need to be made through the roof or an exterior wall. These cannot be installed very easily – and certainly not without access above and behind the drywall.

Serious issues hide in the walls.

There are just TOO MANY details hiding inside of your kitchen walls and ceiling.  We would strongly suggest that you do not take short-cuts if you really want a functional, problem-free, new kitchen!

The extra expense is not that overwhelming in ratio to the whole cost of a new kitchen.

The self-recriminations, regrets, and future problems will be eliminated. Plumbing and electrical systems will be brought up to code and make the new kitchen a true Dream Kitchen in functionality and design.

Do it right. Head off untold problems that will surely haunt you if you take the easy road.

In my NEXT ARTICLE in this series I will show you all of the things you or your contractor should seriously consider while the walls and ceiling are OPEN and ACCESSIBLE. Without proper consideration, you will end up with a new-looking kitchen – but you will not be satisfied. If you plan – just a little bit – and focus on some key details, you will end up with a fabulous DREAM KITCHEN!

New Kitchens: Inside the walls – where it ALL happens!

Hillside Homes need Roads, Paths, Walkways, Stairs, Terracing and Retaining Walls

Hillsides homes are more expensive because they usually sit on more land, have an abundance of character and offer a multitude of views.”Views,” in real-estate terms, are often defined by one or more: peek-a-boo, canyon, valley, mountain, ocean, vast, 360, infinite . Where we live, some homes straddling the crests of the hilltops have all of those views – sweet!

Hillside home ownership has other benefits: greater distance and separation between homes and the resulting privacy that distance affords; a feeling of SPACE; a more rural, outdoor-lifestyle; surprise visits from wildlife; less night-time “light-pollution” from rows of city street lamps.Many folks consider these unique benefits worth the extra expense required to purchase a home in the hills.As with all good things in LIFE, come some draw backs. Many hillside homes have valuable land that is going to waste!If you have such a property – say an acre or more – and there are places on your property where you can say RIGHT NOW – that you haven’t been there in a while… For instance, have you been to all the corners of your lot recently?May I suggest a challenge?  Please – take my test…

My Test: On a comfortable evening – an hour before dark, make yourself a drink, grab a water bottle, grab your cell or house phone, put your outside shoes on and go Walk your Property.Take a chair and a book if you want…Walk your lot as if you were walking it for the very first time – when the property was first yours. Pretend you are a buyer – - -considering buying your  own house!Look at your dirt (you own that!), your hills, your possible paths, your plants and trees.Look at ALL THE POSSIBLE VIEWS from each part you visit.

Here is a view of a private membership golf course (Hacienda Golf Club) from the tip of a local property.

A great place for a private entertaining deck or covered gazebo…

Here is a view to Catalina Island.

When I walk a new property – I can always find those magical places – some offering seclusion and privacy – and some with interesting views. Go ahead! Study YOUR sizable INVESTMENT as if you have never seen it before – as if you were paying the taxes on it! Why not enjoy it?Consider how cool it might be to incorporate ALL of your hillside lot into your easily-accessible lifestyle – as it should be.Consider what would make that house – (your house) – on that lot – (your lot) – reach it’s full potential.When your home and your entire lot are transformed into one wonderful, seamless property – then and only then will it be fully-enjoyable. It will also be hugely more valuable when it comes time to sell or appraise.

As contractors who work almost exclusively in the hills surrounding Los Angeles and Orange County, we have found that most people do not enjoy their whole property. Some of it is inaccessible , difficult to get to, too steep, overgrown.

As a homeowner with such a home, I know first-hand the challenges of landscaping an acre or more.Most hillsides require usable paths, walkways, stairs, fences, bridges, grading, terracing and retaining walls here and there to make the property all it can be.

While the golf-cart or ATV width paths circumnavigate the property, the stairs and bridges can criss-cross the interior of the lot – allowing short cuts to gardens and destination Focal Points.

A remarkable landscape will add serious value to a large property.

I can demonstrate in virtually any hillside community, using a Realtor map with links to homes for sale, that a large hillside lot with just an improved landscape — a landscape that has paths to ALL of the wonderful sections  — will often sell for double the sales price when compared to a similar house on a similar large lot but having LIMITED access to the whole of the property!More important than losing-out on the home’s maximum-possible increased financial value, is missing the very-tangible, day-to-day enjoyment you utterly sacrifice when the property is not ALL yours for your family’s very own pleasure!Unwinding after a stressful day by simply walking your property, checking your plants, shrubs and trees; strolling out to your new gazebo; maybe stroll up the path and  enjoy that crystal-clear view to Catalina Island following a rain storm – for many of my neighbors – that is living life in the hills!Me.? I shut off the automatic irrigation so that I can spend an hour hand-watering.

Some of my neighbors – who have developed their land – enjoy jumping into their golf-cart with family and friends…

… or onto their 4-Wheel ATV with the lazy, family dog and Riding their Fence Line — as if our city-slicker homes were a big Texas cattle ranch!

Making ALL SECTIONS of any given property accessible, be it by foot or ATV, will bring that property to it’s highest and best use (a helpful real estate concept that is good to run through your mind when surveying your parcel) .Planting a vegetable garden each year is a treat when the area is easily reached — a joy to tend to! Perhaps resurrecting some trees left-over from the original hillside groves -oranges, avocados is in your future. Having some useful out-buildings; establishing some interesting seating areas along your long, winding golf-cart / walking path; erecting a gazebo or special outdoor entertaining space – making these goals happen are a worthwhile undertaking.

It’s one thing to purchase and own an acre-sized or larger hillside property, but you will truly appreciate your wonderful home when your landscape becomes a part of your families’ day-to-day lives. You need not take on the whole property at one time!  All BIG projects are nothing more than a series of LITTLE projects.We have hillside clients with more than an acre of property that they NEVER set foot at the extreme boundaries of their parcel.Maybe once a year they get a look at it as they struggle to get to the inaccessible sections to point-out the properties’ boundaries to the weed-abatement guys they hire. Hillside homeowners have to clear their lots once or twice each year before the annual Fire Inspection. On an accessible property with nice, gentle paths, there are rarely any areas where hired-help is even necessary as the wild vegetation is under control year-round- or easily taken care-of.

As we get older, getting around a hillside property can be very trying without some improvements. Adding some walking paths — that can also be used by an inexpensive golf cart — can make all the difference. These paths are typically perimeter paths that are cleverly and discretely woven-into the environment but get you and your guests to the far corners of your property as casually as getting to your car.A good first project is getting a walking path ~ or cart path around the entirety of the parcel. All the other mini-projects to come are then easily accessible.

Where level or slightly-sloped paths are not the answer, consider criss-crossing the steep areas by adding great-looking steps and stairs. ALL of these improvements can be created as Amazing Garden Hardscapes and Focal Points (like below) – or very basic and utilitarian… Regardless of the design or cost they add tremendously to the value of the whole estate.

In other sections of the property perhaps you will install less fancy,more cost-effective — BUT still awesome-looking stairs and steps.

For very steep challenges, or places where you have dense vegetation, you might want to walk ABOVE the irregular slope – ABOVE the vegetation that is often planted and maintained for hillside erosion-control. Treated lumber stairs might be the ticket as a cost-effective, VALUE choice. Treated wood stairs can smooth out the steep and uneven terrain – and put family and friends conveniently above any hillside vegetation.

Galvanized Steel steps are for the very serious “gardening club” types who spend more time outside than inside – the steel steps also allows more light to reach erosion-control plants under the steps.  A less-costly approach is to build the stairs from all treated lumber – these less costly steps are fine for most any environment…

While you are designing access to the far-destinations of your hillside parcel – consider reclaiming some valuable FLAT land in-close to the house. Terracing the hills with minimally-high retaining elements is both useful and adds huge value to the property.

Here in Southern California, we can plant the terraces using water-miserly plants that are are absolutely gorgeous.

Wood steps embedded into the soil will not last as long as other materials – but treated lumber might last a solid 20-years. The wood steps have a wonderful look and feel: a certain earthy-cachet – as the wooden steps dovetail into the soil.

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Good Kitchen Remodels:Down to the Studs...

Kitchen Remodeling done Right!

What steps are involved in a Kitchen Remodel – done right?

Kitchens are the most expensive room in the typical home.

Make sure your contractor is not taking shortcuts!

If you landed here without reading my prior article:

Kitchen Remodeling – Ideas – Pictures – How to!

I would suggest you go there first.

There are a lot of details about doing a Kitchen Remodel the right way…

At the end of the article there is a BACK button that will return here.

DESIGN – We are assuming you, your kitchen designer, or your kitchen remodeling contractor has worked out the initial floor-plan. That you have worked out the Kitchen “triangle” work flow. If so, it is likely that the positions of the refrigerator, the stove and the sink may have been changed for the better.

DEMO – Demo everything! Remove old cabinets. Remove the plaster or drywall from ALL walls and the ceiling.

LAYOUT – Use masking tape and put the cabinet layout on the walls (use a felt pen on the wall tape). Likewise, put masking tape on the floor where all the cabinets and appliances are to go. Likely there will be changes!

ELECTRICAL – Run new circuits where necessary, carefully and shrewdly place outlets above counters where your counter-top appliances might be used. Code is a minimum of 2-each, 20-amp GFCI-protected circuits. If you have any high-wattage appliances: coffee brewer, toaster, toaster-oven, crock-pot, electric waffle maker, make SURE that no more than ANY one will be plugged into the same 20-amp counter circuit. As a rule-of-thumb, we put a new circuit on every wall.

Hard to Wire...

Most contractors install GFCI outlets. They can be installed so that the first GFCI outlet protects all other down-line outlets connected to it, but you need a more-expensive, 20-amp-rated GFCI’s.  Also, GFCI outlets are big and fat when compared to a standard outlet. They take up a lot of space inside their outlet boxes, making wiring difficult and sometimes damaging the wires.

GFCI Breaker.

Instead of GFCI outlets, we almost always install GFCI circuit breakers. These are installed in the main electrical panel, or the kitchen’s new sup-panel, so that the kitchen is not overwhelmed by those fat, hard to wire GFCI outlets.

Plan for Cabinet Lights.

Don’t forget to plan for above-cabinet, inside-cabinet, and under-cabinet lighting.

An experienced kitchen remodeling contractor will work with you on light-switch locations that do not clutter your back-splash wall space, and will then run the appropriate wiring to the exact future locations necessary.

Under-Cabinet Power!

Other nifty electrical options – We often install special kitchen power strips that hide under the wall cabinets: thus your back-splash can be a work-of-art, uninterrupted by plugs. Remember the electrical code requires outlets at the end of protruding L-shape and island cabinets too…

Wolf Microwave Oven.

Dedicated Circuits – For commercial-quality, microwave ovens (1,200-1,800-watts) we often provide a dedicated circuit. Remember, a 20-amp circuit is maxed-out at 2,400 watts. Building codes want you to be at 75% of the circuit’s maximum. 75% of 2,400 watts is 1,800 watts!

[Volts x Amps = Watts] ~  [120v x 20a = 2,400w]

SubZero Refrigerator.

Dedicated Circuits – Common, single-pole, circuit breakers are $5. They are cheap insurance for a reliable kitchen where your expensive appliances will not be compromised or ruined because a family member plugs a crock-pot into a shared-circuit. Appliance motors are damaged by local circuit “brown-out” conditions. Our Southern California kitchen remodels also get a dedicated circuit for the refrigerator – especially for larger Sub-Zero type appliances.

A good kitchen remodeling contractor will make your kitchen goof-proof. You shouldn’t need a pilot’s check list when you go to plug in a counter-top appliance!

Don't forget other appliances.

Ovens and Warming Drawers – Run 240-volt circuits where necessary – remember to research that convection oven you bought (but is not yet delivered) – you want to download the specifications. Likely it is a 240-volt appliance that requires a 20, 30, 40 or 50-amp breaker: which will determine your wire size: 12, 10, 8, or 6-gauge. It is a BIG set-back when you go to install your oven and all you have behind it is a 120-volt outlet!

LIGHTING - Run more than one lighting circuit. You want good lighting over your counters and work areas. If there is an eating area in the confines of the kitchen – be it a table or a counter, you will want separate lighting for those areas: all controlled by separate switches: preferably dimmer switches.

Separate your lighting circuits for a wonderful kitchen.

VENTILATION - If you are doing a real kitchen remodel — i.e. you have the studs exposed — you might take a serious look at the air movement and air quality in your kitchen before you re-install the drywall.  Oftentimes, in tract homes the lowest-bidding HVAC contractor who ran the air ducts was not going to be living in your home.  Consider the air flow and if it is adequate for your needs.  Maybe you can split the air from one vent to two vents for better, more even, more subtle flow. Look at the two large air vents we installed in this new kitchen…

Kitchen Remodeling Contractors should address HVAC issues!

Kitchen Air Exhaust – Another standard feature we, at Home-Remodeling-Experts, install in most of our kitchens is a super-quiet, super-efficient, air extractor. How many times have you triggered your smoke detectors while deep frying or cooking Chinese in a wok? What about that smelly fish odor that permeates the entire house for hours? Notice in the picture (above) those two 6-inch exhaust vents?  If the kitchen is smoky, smelly or just plain hot – say cooking at Thanksgiving or the holidays – flip a switch and the kitchen air is rapidly fresh, clean and the hot and stuffy kitchen is cooler too!

Galvanized vs. Copper.

PLUMBING – If you have galvanized plumbing you need to replace these old pipes with copper.

We ALWAYS replace galvanized pipes. If you are not prepared to do a whole-house, copper re-pipe, you can selectively replace just the pipes in the kitchen walls only.

To do this correctly, your contractor should install dielectric couplers where the old and new pipes join together.

Here is a 1-1/2 inch Drain Pipe.

If your house has galvanized water pipes, chances are you have galvanized or cast-iron drain pipes too. Likely they are in a similar condition as the water pipes: rusted, rotted, and obstructed… Besides being more-prone to routine drain clogs, they are likely under-sized too. Code allows 1-1/2-inch drain pipes for a kitchen sink – but kitchen sinks and their garbage disposals feed clog-forming, organic solids into this undersized pipe. Your dishwasher also feed solids into this pipe! Solution? Re-pipe with smooth, free-flowing, ABS plastic drain pipe and oversize it: use 2-inch drain pipe!

Gas Valve ready for stove.

GAS PIPING. – Most people prefer natural gas or propane stoves over their electric electric counterparts.  If your stove is moving location or if you are ditching that old electric stove-top for a more popular gas stove, remember that you may need a new gas line or need it rerouted.

INSIDE THE WALLS – CONCLUSION

There are serious distinctions between getting a NEW KITCHEN vs. some simple, superficial COSMETIC CHANGES.

If you are changing-out some old cabinets for a quick-fix, or for budgetary reasons – fine. We just don’t want you to incorrectly think that you are getting a new, up to current building-codes and current-technology, more functional, feature-rich new kitchen. There are big distinctions and it is better you know exactly what they are.

NEW KITCHEN – If you really want a whole new kitchen we hope that you are discovering that there is a lot involved. We see ads for: new kitchens cheap.  How scary is that?  Are they really new kitchens – or are they just some cheap cosmetics?

I suspect we will chase people away presenting all of these attention-to-detail pictures: especially people searching for pretty new kitchen pictures. We cater to people who want to do it right the first time. We also share our 40-years of experience with our readers outside of SoCAL. We clearly and specifically point out ALL that is involved in doing a new kitchen properly. Then they can make good choices when interviewing contractors in their geographical areas.

My last inside-the-walls photo – There is a RIGHT way to remodel a kitchen. Here is a kitchen where the innards are done and we are now ready to reinstall the drywall.  THIS is where a new kitchen happens: INSIDE the walls.

Kitchens are complex - it happens inside the walls!

In my NEXT ARTICLE in this series I will point out some insider hints and tips you might take advantage of as we install new drywall, and the kitchen’s new flooring.

New Kitchens: Installing Drywall and Tile Flooring

Kitchen Drywall Installed.

Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

The insides of the walls and ceilings are now dialed-in.

If we did EVERYTHING right,

EVERYTHING will line-up

exactly with our new:

Cabinets — being built.

Appliances — on order.

Kitchen Remodeling: Installing and Finishing Drywall

Drywall defines the new space!

Your kitchen remodeling contractor may install the drywall or have a sub contractor do it. All the drywall can be installed in one day. Then it is taped and mudded. If you are going for a smooth, easy-to-clean drywall finish, this might take 2 or 3 more days – but not FULL days. Each day’s coat needs to fully-dry and then be lightly sanded. Then even more drywall topping applied in ever-smoother layers until there are no obvious tape joints showing.

Recessed Kitchen Ceilings Look Great!

While we are on the drywall topic, one of the possibilities you might want to consider back in the planning stage of your new kitchen remodel is raising the ceiling of your kitchen.

If there is attic space above your kitchen (and no engineered roof trusses) – it may be possible.

Recessed Ceiling Designs Define the Space.

When possible, we often get a better-looking end result. It creates an interesting look, makes the space look bigger and more “defines” the kitchen space as being architecturally-engineered and special.

Use a quality primer and paint.

When the taped and mudded drywall meets our satisfaction, we apply some quality drywall primer.

Drywall primer is not a devious scheme hatched by paint manufacturers to sell more product – it is an absolute necessity.

On many new kitchen projects we paint our final paint colors NOW – before the cabinets and appliances are installed.

It is easier. If scuffed up, it is a small thing to do some minor touch-up. Frankly, other than the ceiling, most of the walls will be completely hidden by cabinets, appliances, and back-splash tile.

Kitchen Remodeling: Flooring

Defining Spaces within Spaces!

Most kitchens floors are ceramic tile.

Some are wood.

Some are a mixture of tile and wood.

Tile is our clients’ most common choice. It is good looking and durable.

When you use a tile border - you change pattern too...

You can create simple patterns that further define the spaces within the kitchen space!

For example, we often border the cabinetry, but then switch to a different pattern in the open area. We often outline island cabinetry and dining table areas to give an interesting and finished look.

Ceramic Tile – If you pick a competent kitchen remodeling contractor, they will properly prepare the floor for the ceramic tile.

Tile Backer is screwed to the wood sub-floor.

If your kitchen is on a concrete slab – and the slab has ZERO cracks, the tile can be installed with modified Thin-Set mortar.

If cracks are obvious, an anti-fracture membrane should be used before installing the tile.

Tile Backer Board should be taped.

If your kitchen is on a wood sub-floor, then a quality tile backer board needs to be installed first.

This tile backer should be set in a thin bed of thinset and immediately screwed securely to the sub-floor using special tile-backer screws. Tile backer is typically 3′ x 5′.

Thinset Mortar is used to set Kitchen Floor tile.

These sheets are then taped with a fiberglass, webbed-tape using yet more thinset mortar as seen in the photo (right).

Many contractors install the cabinets first and then install the floor tile around the cabinet bases. We will do this, if our customers insist, but we would prefer to install the floor tile from wall-to-wall.

Pros and Cons?

Floor Tile Installed Wall-To-Wall.

Pros - We strongly suggest installing the floor tile under all cabinets.

The tile is leveled as it is installed – giving us a wonderfully level and consistent floor.  The cabinets sit on the tile and do not have to be shimmed up on little pieces of wood and scraps.

Floor Tile Not Installed Wall-To-Wall...

Moreover, appliances such as stoves, refrigerators and dish washers sit flush with ALL of the kitchen’s floor tile – not on raw plywood “in a hole.”

Homeowners and plumbers servicing dishwasher problems have a heck of a time attempting to get a dishwasher out from under the counter top when it is not on a common, and level tile floor: it is pinched down in a hole.

Cons - Some homeowners and contractors want to save every possible nickel. Their argument: It requires less tile when you do not tile the floor under the cabinets and appliances. My come-back? The time and money that is wasted cutting the tile, raising the cabinets on little pieces of scrap, wrestling the appliances to “appear to be level” with the floor: it just doesn’t make sense to us.

I believe this penny-wise and pound-foolish….

In my NEXT ARTICLE in this series, we will install the kitchen’s new cabinets. Whether store-purchased or custom-built, this is where the kitchen begins to come together!

New Kitchens: Installing your New Kitchen Cabinets

We want Purchase OFFERS!

In a Seller’s Market you will receive more offers: better offers with a well-presented home. In a Buyer’s Market (such as we are in now) you MUST prepare your home for it to sell. Selling your home in a market where there is a huge inventory of unsold homes takes elbow grease on the Seller’s part.

Presentation is everything!

Prepare your HOUSE for SALE.

Home buyers are attracted to clean, spacious and attractive houses. Your goal is to dazzle prospective buyers. This means you must brighten-up the house and remove all clutter from counter tops, tables and rooms. Scrub-down your house from top to bottom before you even consider letting someone inside of it for a tour – even prospective real estate agents. Would you buy a dirty house? Would you want to sell one?

You want the house to Sparkle!

You should make cosmetic improvements such as fertilizing and watering lawns, trimming trees, planting flowers, fixing broken tiles, shampooing carpets, and re-painting anything which won’t look Sparkly-New with just a thorough cleaning.

Crisp, Clean, Bright and Spacious Houses SELL-FAST

Every seller wants her home to sell fast and bring top dollar. Does that sound good to you? Well, it’s not luck that makes that happen. It’s careful planning and knowing how to professionally spruce up your home that will send home buyers scurrying for their checkbooks. Here is how to prep a house and turn it into an irresistible and marketable home.

Disassociate Yourself With Your Home.

Say to yourself, This is not my home; it is a house — a commodity —a product to be sold much like a cleaned up and detailed used car you need to unload.

Make the mental decision to “let go” of your emotional-attachment and focus on the fact that soon this house will no longer be yours.

Just like signing the Pink Slip and handing two sets of car keys to your car buyer — see yourself handing over the house keys to the new owners!

De-Clutter!

Box it UP - Put it in STORAGE!

People collect an amazing quantity of stuff. We all have way too much stuff! If you don’t need it: sell it, donate it or give it away. If you must keep it – consider it being hauled off of the property and put into storage. Remove all books from bookcases. Pack up and store all collectibles and knickknacks. Clean everything from kitchen counters: even the toaster.

De-Personalize.

Put away Family Pictures.

Box up all personal photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers want to imagine their own photos on top of dressers and on the walls, and they can’t do that if yours are still there.
Clean out the medicine cabinet – make it look like a model home medicine cabinet (no medicines, no personal items!).

Put essential personal bathroom items in a shaving case or a makeup bag and store in a cabinet or closet. Live more cleanly and more neatly than you would in a hotel room.

Thin out and organize Closets, Kitchen and Bathroom Cabinets. Clean your garage and storage shed to the very walls. CLEAN and EMPTY – lots of Open Space! Make the De-Cluttering process a good start on the packing you will eventually have to do anyway.

Neat and Orderly - Sells Houses!

Buyers will snoop. They will open closets, cabinet doors and bathroom drawers! Besides being nosy, they are actually gauging how much storage is there – envisioning their STUFF in these spaces. It is text-book smart of you to make all these areas drop-dead neat and orderly. When the foodstuffs and canned goods in a pantry are lined up like little soldiers with the green bean labels ALL facing forward – the prospective buyers now assume you’ve taken wonderful care of the entire house. This is a strong, POSITIVE message you want your house to SCREAM out loud!

Pants with pants - open space!

• Alphabetize spice containers.
• Neatly stack dishes, pots and pans.
• Turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.
• Thin your closets to the “Bare Bones!”
• Costco: Buy packs of 50 like hangers!
• Hang pants and shirts and dresses in order.
• Leave a lot of OPEN SPACE!
• Line up shoes you have not PACKED

You have too much Furniture!

Rent a Storage Unit or Have a POD Delivered.

Take EVERYTHING to Storage!

Almost every home will show better with less furniture. Haul off ALL non-essential furniture to storage . Especially if the furniture creates road-blocks or makes the rooms look small and cluttered.

If you have done your De-Cluttering tasks as you should have, your shelving units and bookcases will now be empty. Haul them to storage too. Reduce the diameter of kitchen and dining room tables by removing the fill-in expander leaves.

Define the SPACES.

Room Staging. Hang on to the cleanest and best looking furniture that might be necessary to “define” a room or a space.

If a section of the living room is a dining area – and the house needs a dining area – you want to stage that idea. You want to tell the tale visually.

Remove or Replace Special Items and Equipment.

If you want to take a special crystal chandelier with you – take it down now! If you have 16 full-color, security cameras with Internet distribution hardware – remove it, thin it down.

Remove or Replace!

Perhaps you finally purchased that $10,000 Free-Standing Hot Tub that you are definitely moving to your new house? Guess What? These are the seeds of BIG PROBLEMS to come! Every Realtor has several stories about “Special Items.” Many of these stories are worked out in courtrooms – since no one remembered to clarify what was and was-not included with the sale of a house!

Remove these things NOW!

Otherwise, buyers will appreciate these things and agree with you that they are “perfect” for the house. They will be terribly disappointed that they are not “included” and will focus on their disappointment – utterly distracted from making an offer to buy the house.You can completely avoid these deal-killers by simply removing your Favorite Items that you do not want included in the sale of the house. If they seem necessary for the space – like a big light fixture in a Foyer – consider replacing with a new, but much less-expensive, replacement.

Cabinet's are Next!

Which Kitchen Cabinets Should I Buy?

The drywall is installed and finished.

The walls and ceilings are primed and painted.

The flooring is installed.

Now we can install Kitchen Cabinets!

Everyone is always excited as the New Kitchen “comes-together…“

Sources for Kitchen Cabinets

As local contractors here in Southern California, our customers have lots of cabinet choices.

An SUV full of Lowe's Cabinets.

There are 100’s of custom cabinet shops, as well as the big box stores: Home Depot, HD Supply Repair and Remodel, Lowe’s and others. The box stores do a lot of business. You are able to sit down while their employees help you design a floor-plan. Their software prints out 2D and 3D printouts for you.

You then have choices of purchasing off-the-shelf cabinets (many require assembly), as well as semi-custom cabinets that are built to order and shipped to your local store for pick-up or for delivery.

An TRAILER full of Lowe's Cabinets.

We get frustrated by even the best of the box stores’ semi-custom cabinets. They take weeks to receive. The construction (while better than the off-the-shelf cabinets) is still a little cheap; with wood doors but melamine sides and backs.When we have jobs with missing or damaged parts it can take more weeks to rectify.

We build Kitchen Cabinets.

We build our own cabinets. We have ultimate control over the quality (all furniture-grade, birch and maple hardwood plywood); we can dial-in the stain or paint color. And the installation and finish is utterly custom – as we install the crown moldings and detail trim to pull-together the cabinets into one beautiful work of art.

We control the color and finish.

No, we don’t insist on our custom cabinets, or other custom cabinets. Our customers are the “boss.” We try to make a strong argument to consider them. We usually have clients visit some recent new kitchens.

Just this month we looked over a pending order for some semi-custom cabinets from a box store for a townhouse in Fullerton, CA. The cost was $20,000 and another $2,000 of sales tax. That $22,000 was just for the cabinets – no installation! Our better-built, custom cabinets – made of ALL wood (no melamine) – came to $17,000 – installed!

Installing the Kitchen Cabinets

Off-The-Shelf Home Depot Cabinets

While we see cabinets installed in a day by the box stores – it looks like it!

Off-The-Shelf Lowe's Cabinets

The finished look – is like a display of individual cabinets inside the store. Our 2 to 4 men installation crew will spend 2 to 4 days meticulously leveling and securing the cabinets, installing the cabinet doors, then adjusting the doors for fit and finish. Then the real magic happens as the crown moldings and other trim pieces make the cabinets into an integrated kitchen – taking away the “individual cabinet” look.

I would suggest you interview some custom cabinet shops before resigning yourself to cookie-cutter cabinets. That said, let’s get on to installing our cabinets!

Our cabinet Installation Team.

The cabinet installation team are the SAME GUYS who make the cabinets in the cabinet shop. This is the only way to go if you have the option. The installation guys are going to handle their “babies” with extreme care; they are going to install the cabinets to the walls with the tools and fasteners that furniture-makers use – not a handful of brittle drywall screws!

Wall Cabinets being Installed.

At our jobs, the flooring is installed by our people and is FLAT and LEVEL – perfect conditions.

Unfortunately, at many homes, there are high and low spots throughout the kitchen – so the base cabinets should begin to be installed at the high spots and shimmed-level everywhere else.

If this is not done, and you are going to install granite, quartz or marble stone-slab counter-tops, you are looking for trouble. The slabs will be prone to cracking: not a good thing for a new kitchen!

Similar to the base cabinets, the wall cabinets are precisely squared with each other and made exactly level as they are installed one at a time.

This is a painstaking process and should not be left to “general laborers.”

Plywood affixed to Base Cabinets.

After the base cabinets are installed, we install a plywood top to the base cabinets that further strengthens and integrates the cabinets as a strengthened group.

Adding Crown Molding to Kitchen.

Next, the cabinet doors are unpacked from their plastic bubble wrap and installed to the cabinets.

They are checked for fit – the gaps between the doors adjusted so that they are even, parallel, and do not rub or touch one another.

Then the real magic happens!

This is where custom cabinets and a custom-installation makes or breaks a new kitchen.

Various trims and moldings are lovingly installed that makes the various sections of cabinets into clusters of furniture!

Cabinet details from a recent, custom kitchen:

A Recent New Kitchen Remodel - Custom Cabinet Details

A Recent New Kitchen Remodel - Custom Cabinet Details

A Broom Closet and Small Auxiliary Pantry

Above the Broom Closet.

We used an Opaque Glass - There are lights ABOVE and INSIDE!

Glass shelves allow the light to better light up the cabinet.

This base cabinet is HIGHER than usual for Aesthetic Design.

Pizza Pans? Cookie Sheets? Cutting Boards? Serving Platters?

Pizza Pans? Cookie Sheets? Cutting Boards? Serving Platters?

Slide-Out Shelves for pots and pans is a WONDERFUL feature!

Slide-Out Shelves for pots and pans.

A large pull-out "Pots and Pans" drawer.

We often add an Open Shelf at the end of some Base Cabinets

Trash Containers under sinks are a Big Problem! This solves that...

Istead of a "False-Front" in front of sinks - this is VERY HANDY!

This is a Laundry Sink next to a Stacking Washer and Dryer.

This is a Laundry Sink next to a Stacking Washer and Dryer.

The Stacking Washer and Dryer are hard to move: So we have ACCESS!

In my NEXT ARTICLE in this series we will make counter-top templates, go choose our slabs of granite at a slab yard for our new counter-tops, take some behind-the-scenes secret photos inside a granite slab fabrication shop and then install our new kitchen counter-tops.