Even though I had walked the floor the whole day before, I still had a lot of ground to cover yesterday morning at the International Builders’ Show (IBS). After lunch, I headed to the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS). While I’ve been to IBS eight or nine times before, this was only my second time at KBIS. KBIS is nearly as large as IBS, and the exhibits are often jaw-dropping. The Kohler booth is as big as a large grocery store and has entire bath suites on display. These suites have showers with multiple body sprays spraying, toilets that flush, and hundreds of other products that you can look at and touch.
Other exhibits were equally amazing, especially when you consider what it costs to get the all the booth fixtures delivered to the show, set up for three days, and taken down–not to mention the many people there to answer questions and give tours to media folks like myself. I’m always impressed with their good cheer, even after hours of giving the same spiel and answering the same questions over and over. Today my goal is to finish walking the KBIS show and then to visit the IBS outdoor exhibits, which have model homes on display. I’ll tell you about that tomorrow.
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Domes, groin vaults, and other complicated ceilings are increasingly common, even in modest homes. Figuring out the math and cutting the various pieces can take a really long time for the uninitiated, but you can make your life easier with the precut kits from Archways Ceilings. Besides standard and custom ceilings, the company also makes preformed wall niches and range-hood enclosures. The domed ceiling kit shown sells for $400.
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Of all the things I've seen so far, this product might be my favorite. It's a Tile Redi one-piece, leakproof, sloped shower pan made of polyurethane. Available in sizes from 3 ft. sq. to 3-1/2 ft. by 8 ft., it works with many styles of drains, including tile-over and linear styles, and it can be molded with or without a curb. The tile is adhered with epoxy mortar, supplied by the pan manufacturer.
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My countertop at home is cluttered with two containers filled with spoons, spatulas, and tongs, so this cool gadget organizer from Rev-A-Shelf caught my eye in an instant. In addition to the wooden model shown, the company offers a sleeker chrome-wire model. A similar product has a built-in knife block in addition to the cylindrical organizers.
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With a little boy living in my house, easy-to-clean skirted toilets is a bathroom trend I can definitely appreciate. This was one of several models from Kohler. Other manufacturers have similar models on display. I also saw high-tech heated toilet seats and one toilet seat with a built-in night light.
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In addition to millions of building products, the International Builders' Show also displays trucks from every major manufacturer. Since I work for a building magazine, I've resisted my gear-head tendency to spend a lot of time looking at trucks, but I couldn't walk by this Ford F350 pickup equipped with an Xtra Lift from Stellar Industries. The electric-hydraulic lift attachment has a 1320-lb. capacity and sells for $7200. The manufacturer's rep told me that it's the favorite setup of motorcycle dealers and crews that change tires on jet aircraft.
