More Fun :)

I went out to the site today to shoot a couple pics . . . here's what I found. Basically we're just a few more steps along the way. Yeah, yeah, I know it's only been a day of work since my last posting (no, we don't work on the weekends), but still - there's progress. First off, take a look at the pantry:

I know - definitely not the most exciting photo. However, you can start to see the form taking shape. And at the top of the photo you can also see a little deeper into what a "remodel" means to us. Many people don't realize the extent of work included. It's not always needed, but usually provides the best end result.

See, by tearing out all of the ceiling and drywall, we can make sure there isn't any moisture damage, structural faults, or that kind of stuff. It also allows us to come back in with everything being new, therefor giving our clients a known quantity. There's no question marks about the construction or it's integrity. That's just one of the reasons we'll come back years later if the homeowner calls with a problem. You can see a little more in the next photo:

This is looking back at our "landmark" - the kitchen window. Yep, we've stripped everything down to studs. Again - it may seem like overkill to some, and it's not always required . . . however, it's not much more to do it right either. In our 30+ years of experience, this is typically the best way to avoid future issues. That's when it's a problem - when you have your "new" kitchen and something goes wrong inside the wall. Not where we want to be.

Well, that's about it for today's post. I'll be keeping track of the progress and will probably have another post up by the end of the week. Depends on what they've got on the schedule next.

Word.

Moving Right Along . . . .

Ok, we're just wrapping up the first week of being on site and things are looking pretty good - as usual, right? :) Right. You can start to see how the space is being impacted by the removal of certain walls and how the light is affecting the area as well. Here . . . let me show you what I mean:


As you look from the dining room in the picture above, you can see how the removal of the old kitchen wall and small pantry open things up. If you look on the floor, you can see the 2x4's layed down in the footprint of the future pantry. Check out all that daylight - awwwe yeaaahh. Ok, sorry about that.







Now if you look to the right from about the same spot as that last photo, here's what you see. The old dropped ceiling is torn out and you can imagine how the space will feel when all the ceiling planes are at the same level. Keep your eye on the kitchen window through the process as one point of reference.

Now we'll look from the small living room in this next photo.

In this shot you can see the temporary kitchen all set up in the background as well as what used to be the kitchen. I gotta say, I still can't get over how the field guys keep the "construction site". If any of you have ever been in construction - you gotta give props here. These guys are silly awesome. I also want to point out the wall behind the temporary fridge - notice how it's covered in OSB? Well that's because the wood veneer needs to be protected. Cool, eh?

Here we have a shot looking back to the dining area and the new pantry. Again, look on the floor to see the footprint of the walls that will be going up.

Looks like we actually tore down the old hallway walls too rather than trying to keep them. Cool.

I gotta interject my thoughts here . . . when I look at these photos I wish I could share it with more people. Especially those thinking of doing a remodel. I'm just reminded of how a remodel is so much more than the final picture - it's a process and a relationship between homeowner and remodel company.

I have to admit - it's stuff like this that's so hard to convey to people when I first meet with them. Especially without them thinking I'm full of garbage or just blowing hot air about "oh, we're the best , blah, blah, blah". It's way bigger than that - people need to really make sure they're comfortable with the remodeler/designer and that the company will meet or exceed their expectations during construction. Ok, that's a total tangent that should be in another posting or something. I'll break that down some other time :) Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Ready, Set, Go!!

When a remodel starts up, we always have what we call "site prep". I guess that's the PC word for demolition, right? Well, that's what it is really, however we do a few things that set us apart. I say "we" loosely - it's really our field guys. They rock and I'm not one of them - I'm a designer . . . you don't want me swinging a hammer in your house!

Some of the stuff they do is build temporary walls, temporary kitchens, and visqueen walls with zipper doors (think back to the movie ET). Check it out:

Nice clean white "Strite" truck and site sign - always the sign of something good! :) Ok, enough of that - this next picture is of the "ET" zipper door stuff and temporary doors/walls we build out.

Now for the really cool stuff - tearing things out. I use the term "tear" very loosely though - they guys in the field don't just start busting out jack hammers and going hog wild. As you'll see in the next photos, they're very careful in what, when and how they dig in.

And to end this post, I have to give a little "behind the scenes" stuff. The first photo is one of the reasons I love being at SDR. It's a shot of Bob and Mark packing up the cabinets we pulled out of the client's kitchen. Instead of trashing them or going to landfill - they carefully pulled everything out and are taking it to an underprivileged family. How freaking cool is that? Sorry, but that's just awesome. Here is what I "caught" them doing:


And the very last picture is absolutely useless but still worth posting - if nothing else than for blackmail purposes.

I know what you're thinking . . . "No way!!!! Tim Conway is in construction now!!" Believe it or not, that's not "Dorf on Construction", it's actually one of our crazy project managers. Ed's going to kill me, but hey it's funny, right? Oh well, I hope you all enjoyed.

Start of a New Day . . . I Mean a Kitchen Remodel

So, . . . how many of you would like to see the actual life of a kitchen remodel? Well class - here's your chance. Over the next several weeks, I'll be attempting to keep updating the progress on a sweet kitchen remodel located in the foothills of Boise. So, let's jump right in then!

Ok, so to start I guess I should post a few photos of what the kitchen looks like before anything happens. So, here you go:

Obviously, that's the kitchen . . . or was the kitchen :) And now, here's the Dining Room with an existing wood veneered wall that will remain, and following that is a view from the Kitchen into the small Living Room.

And the last picture coming up is as if you were to walk in the front entry and look towards the Kitchen. The plan is to actually take down that wall and open it up to the small Living Room in the photo above. The other intention is to bring more daylight from the Living Room windows into the Kitchen and Dining spaces.

Now the direction we're heading for this remodel will be toward a progressive & modern aesthetic while utilizing materials that are sustainable without sacrificing performance. So what all that jargon means is that it's going to be crazy cool. We'll be using stuff like horizontal grain Teak cabinetry with some vertical grain Wenge wood accents. Technically the wood is from a company called Brookside and it's not really Teak or Wenge. It's actually a combination of wood veneers that are fast growth and can be pressed into patterns and cut into new veneers to replicate woods. Here, check the site if you want more info: http://www.veneers.com/

We'll also be using some sweet cork flooring in these spaces made by Wicanders ( http://www.wicanders.com/context_select.php ) in a deep chocolate brown color. The countertops will be CaesarStone quartz for ultimate durability ( http://www.caesarstoneus.com/ ). I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but you'll get the dealeo as we go. In the next post I'll show you what it looks like a couple days into it - torn up!!

Newbie Celebration!!! Yippeeeee!!!!

Ok, this is pretty cool. First posting, first blog . . . very nice. Welcome to all of you stopping in - probably all 3 of you. I really hope to make this blog a great resource for anything that is going on in the residential remodel world - especially in regards to professional design.

Quick background on me . . . I'm a professional Interior Designer from Boise, Idaho and I've been in this line of work since getting my B.F.A. from the University of Idaho in 1995. I've been involved in everything from small residential remodels to multi-million dollar homes to large scale commercial design projects. Along the way I've also gotten awards here and there from those types of projects as well as furniture design and other "stuff". Currently I'm a Design Consultant at Strite design + remodel and have been here for about 4 years now. You can check us out at www.stritedr.com for more info and some project photos. Go easy on us though - our website is still being "updated".

What I hope to be doing in future posts is to post photos of the progress of projects under construction as well as descriptions of what's going on in the industry. I'm sure I'll be dropping some references in there along the way on my philosophy of design - especially in regards to remodeling. I know - you can't wait! :)

Anyway, hope you all like it!

Take care
Rob Sower, ASID