Home building is an art form
I just received your February/March 2004 issue (FHB #161), and I was surprised by two letters: “Nobody needs a $10,000 sink” from Alan Amenta and “Thinks back-cover staircase was wasteful” from Steve Denker.
As a contractor, I welcome the opportunity to be creative and to work with unusualmaterials. I understand $10,000 for a sink or $50,000 for a staircase is not in the budget of most projects and that this use of natural resources may offend some. However, I believe that the building and remodeling of homes can and should allow for individual taste and expression.
As I read the article on kitchen sinks (FHB #159, pp. 46-53), I was intrigued by some of the material options that I never considered, for instance copper. I immediately thought of several projects I’ve done, pool cabanas and outdoor barbecue areas, where a copper sink would have been an admired detail. Although it was too late for those projects, it’s not for similar ones in the future.
The design and building of a home represent the opportunity of an art form that can be seen and used by owners, guests, or passersby for generations. If a homeowner can spend $1 million plus for a piece of artwork to hang on his wall, then how much is the staircase worth that takes you to view the artwork? What design limitations would you put on the staircase?
Fine Homebuilding is about better construction methods and tasteful, unusual architectural details that set a home apart. These are values that I try to reflect in my work. I welcome and look forward to articles about amazing and sometimes outrageous projects. There should be no limits on the practical use of art or on the imagination in building.
—Jeff Sauerman, Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.
Weathertight outlets
I’ve installed exterior receptacles for customers on remodeling projects using the same technique Clifford A. Popejoy described in “Adding an Outside Outlet” (FHB #161, pp. 90-91). But I live in a fairly damp region of the country where the weather resistance of the installation has to go deeper than just a weather-resistant in-use cover. I use an electrical gang box flashing panel (# E-SGB) made by QuickFlash Weatherproofing Products Inc. (714-596-3800; www.quickflashproducts.com). The plastic snugly fits around the perimeter and onto the exterior edge of an electrical box and flashes it. The gasket of an exterior-grade electricalcover plate seats onto the QuickFlash to complete the seal.
The installer just has to integrate the flashing flange with the siding and/or housewrap shingle style to shed water. QuickFlash also makes similar products for all sorts of sidewall penetrations.
—Mike Guertin, East Greenwich, R.I.
Gate valve vs. globe valve
With regards to “What’s the Difference?” in your last issue (FHB #161), the valve that is shown to the right of the ball valve on p. 122 is not a gate valve as labeled; rather, it is a globe valve. There are three basic types of valve that are in use today: ball, gate, and globe valves. Ball and gate are full flow; a globe is not.
—Norman Newlands, Lexington, Mass.
Contributing editor Scott Gibson replies: You’re right; we were wrong. Both gate and globe valves are actuated by a round handle that is turned a number of times to open or close an internal stop fully. Gate valves, however, are designed to be either open or closed (such as for your main water supply), not left in an intermediate position. Globe valves can be used to regulate flow, like the throttle on a car. As we’ve learned, they look a lot alike.
Says it’s dangerous to run domestic hot water in your radiant floor
I applaud builder Al Rossetto’s approach to small and energy-efficient construction (“Energy Efficient from the Ground Up” FHB #161, pp. 74-79), even more so his use of solar energy and radiant heat. I hope that more builders take a look at this great technology.
However, combining a low-temperature hydronic system, as the drawings seem to indicate, with a potable domestic hot-water system is risky in my opinion. As a longtime radiantheating contractor and master plumber, I have seen some “ugly” water drained from radiant systems that sit idle for periods of time.
Plumbing codes require that plumbers “protect the potability” of the building’s water system. The parts and equipment to separate and isolate the two systems are simple and affordable.
—Bob Rohr, via email
Robert Starr of Radiantec, who designed Al Rossetto’s heating system, replies: The system that I designed for Al Rossetto’s house represents a new breed of radiant systems that are efficient, affordable, and compatible with solar. By using a single water heater for both radiant heating and domestic hot water, we can lower the cost of radiant heat and make it accessible to more people. Too many of today’s systems are overcomplicated, overpriced, and inefficient.
Health concerns arise from fears that water in the heating pipes will stagnate (in the summer, for instance), foster bacterial growth, and then be swallowed by someone singing in the shower or making morning coffee. Al’s system is designed to move water through the heating pipes all year long. Every time you take a shower or run the kitchen faucet, water flows through the radiant heating pipes. The system is safe.
The International Code Council (ICC) evaluated this system and several others that I’ve designed and found that they comply with the I-Codes, the BOCA National Building Code, the Standard Building Code, and the Uniform Building Code.
Finding an insulation contractor
I just finished reading Scott Gibson’s article on insulation in the December/January issue (FHB #160, pp. 50-55). It was very informative but left me with one nagging question: How do you pick the best insulation contractor?
—Leila Hill, Cohasset, Mass.
Scott Gibson replies: A good place to start is with the Insulation Contractors Association of America, a trade group whose members subscribe to a code of business ethics. The association’s Web site (www.insulate.org) can help you find an insulation contractor in your area (it lists eight in Massachusetts). In addition, the site provides valuable information for consumers, such as the specific information your contract with an installer should contain. It’s good background reading no matter what type of insulation you choose. If there is more than one qualified contractor, you might weigh the same factors you would in choosing any professional service: years in business, the experience and training of the installation crew, references from previous jobs, and, of course, the cost of the project.
Liked the router article, basic as it was
Many thanks to John Michael Davis for his comprehensive article on routers and to you for printing it (FHB #160, pp. 70-75). I’ve used routers for everything from building decks to highly detailed mantels. They are truly the most versatile portable woodworking tool there is.
I would like to add two bits of advice for beginners. First, think ahead. Routers are unforgiving and will take advantage of the slightest error, easily ruining a project irreparably just as it nears completion. Second, less is more. Several shallow passes (especially with large bits) will leave you with crisp lines and smooth curves. Even if the bit is brand new and the router’s motor can handle the load, sometimes the wood can’t.
I hope you will continue to print and then ignore the letters from readers who complain about “simpleton” articles and who accuse you of “dumbing down.” As a full-time craftsman with 16 years under my belt, I guess I could have written to claim the router article wasted six pages because it wascovering a topic I’m quite familiar with. Instead, I took the opportunity to study the photographs as I inwardly applauded the text. I already have an idea on how to improve my mortising jig by borrowing from the one pictured on p. 73.
It’s been a decade for me reading your magazine as well. Perhaps the difference between me and the author of the “simpleton” letter is that I remember how much it meant to me that a publication like yours was still willing to devote some of its time to those just starting out. I guess he expected your content to become more complicated in pace with his experience.
—Kevin E. Reilly, Wilmington, Del.
A safer jig for acute angles on the miter saw
I noticed the acute-angle jig featured on p. 32 of the latest issue (FHB #161, “Tips & Techniques”). I’ve been using and improving just such a jig for several years and would like to suggest some modifications with an eye toward safety. First, I would never consider using such a jig with a fence set at 90º to the miter-saw fence because the sawblade would pull the material right into the blade. Instead, set the accessory fence at 45º to the miter-saw fence. Even then, the sawblade pulls the material strongly toward the blade. Therefore, on my acute-angle jig, I run the 1⁄4-in. plywood base out beyond the accessory fence so that the molding can be clamped to the bottom of the jig. Casing can’t always be clamped to the accessory fence, nor can crown molding.
—Gary M. Katz, Reseda, Calif.
Longer life for glue
Your article on outdoor glues was fantastic (FHB #158, pp. 50-55). But when storing polyurethane glues, you don’t have to waste half the bottle. Just squeeze out the air before putting the cap on. I have a half-full, 8-oz. bottle that is almost a year old. I used some just a couple of weeks ago, and it is fine. I now have to use my vise to displace the air because the bottle is so strong.
—Dan Thompson, San Jose, Calif.
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