Opinions differ on Kitchens & Baths
I just received your first annual issue of Kitchens & Baths (FHB #127). It seems a bit arrogant to have a first “annual” issue even before you know how it is received by your subscribers. I tried to keep an open mind and read its contents before I formed my opinion. To me, this is now just another wasted issue to be added to the annual HOUSES issue that I wish I didn’t have to pay for just to get the other six issues, which are exceptional.
I enjoy the letters, “Q&A,” “Tips & Techniques” and fine articles in six of your eight issues, but please stop wasting my money on issues that are not related to building fine homes. There are already plenty of magazines out there that can show me pictures of nice homes, baths and kitchens that are already built. The name of your magazine is Fine Homebuilding, not Architectural Digest.
—Carl Boger, Charlotte, NC
I want to thank you for an informative Kitchens & Baths issue. We are in the final stages of designing a new house, and I have gotten much useful information from the magazine, and continue to discover more by rereading.
This morning, I read Stephen Bobbitt’s “Recipe for a Soulful Kitchen” for the first time, and I want to say, “Amen.” We have, throughout the design process, maintained the kitchen as the center of the house, both for daily living and for entertaining. But although we agree with Stephen’s observations about today’s use and function of the kitchen, we are also the types who do “butchering, sausage-making, canning and even baking from scratch.” And we realize that this should not take place in your living space. Our solution was to build two kitchens. The second kitchen, which we call the “summer kitchen,” opens to an outdoor work area and is connected to the daily kitchen via a pantry with a large larder.
Admittedly, the idea is not our own; we saw it in a Stickley farmhouse plan, and it clicked. Instead of one large kitchen that has to serve both the daily needs and the big project needs, why not split it up into two smaller kitchens so that we can keep one tidy for daily life and close the door on the one with the ongoing, messy projects?
—Povl Lasbo, Lopez Island, WA
Should toilets be in their own room?
I have been reading your Kitchens & Baths issue and was suddenly struck by one of my pet peeves. Of the seven bathrooms featured, not a single one completely separates the toilet from the bath. How can it be in this age of ever-increasing bathroom luxury, and efforts to convert the bathroom to comfort zone, that we still see toilets in the same rooms as baths?
Since the beginning of time, man has known that you don’t crap where you wash; it just isn’t very hygienic, to say nothing of the effect of those malodorous waftings as you try to relax in your Olympic-size tub. When plumbing first moved indoors, the toilet had its own little room called the water closet, and the rest of the features were housed in the bathroom. This arrangement, of course, made perfect sense, as one had to do with a “dirty” activity and the rest were “clean” activities. Only when it was discovered that it was cheaper for the builder to group those related plumbing activities together did you see the toilet become a part of the bathroom.
I have always wondered why consumers were prepared to put up with this unsuitable marriage, especially given the huge sums of money some people spend on their bathrooms, but now that I see a publication of your standing encouraging this practice, I realize that it will be a long time before John and Jane Q. Public will know any better and start demanding the return to a more civilized world of “water closets” and “bathrooms.”
—Nick Roberts, via e-mail
My wife and I sat and drooled over the Kitchens & Baths issue with emotions that bordered on outright lust. The new issue is a welcome addition to the Fine Homebuilding collection, and we hope that this issue begins a tradition that will last for years to come.
We were surprised to find that most of the bathrooms relegated the toilet to a hidden alcove or locked it in a little claustrophobic closet. When we did a major remodel of our master bathroom, we realized that rather than sharing the bathroom, we used it separately. Because of this consideration, we opted for a single sink and a lot of counter space instead of having two sinks. And because only one of us would be in the bathroom at a time, the toilet didn’t need to be sequestered.
I have to take issue with the comments by Andy Engel in the “Fixtures & Materials” section (FHB #127, p. 106) where he discussed an add-on bidet. My wife, Karen, had spent time living in Europe and wanted to include a bidet in our bath design. I hesitated at first, but agreed to include it. Now that the bath has been completed and I’ve used it for a while, I’m glad I did. A bidet is not a second toilet; it’s more of a sink that you sit on. Unless you are among the few whose you-know-what doesn’t stink, I’m sure there are times when toilet paper leaves you wishing there was a better way to finish the job. Most women will agree that periodically, this situation is the case for them as well.
I hope that in the future you include a closer look at the bidet.
—Jay Neale, Afton, VA
Concrete counters aren’t easy to make
I was happy to see in your Kitchens & Baths issue that concrete counters, as featured in several of your articles, have entered the ranks of most-popular materials. As an early developer of this new application for a natural, common material, I want to clear up a growing concern of mine.
Concrete is indeed familiar and readily available to builders. It is not, however, an easy material to transform into the buttery and beautifully colored fabrications seen in Fine Homebuilding. George Kiskaddon, the Berkeley bookstore owner who wrote disparagingly (FHB #127, p. 112-114) about his inability to get answers and formulas from local craftsmen, discovered this message. The artists who have been developing precast concrete for interior counters and architectural elements have learned by much experimentation and hard-won experience how to avoid the pitfalls inherent in this material. We have developed methods and trade secrets for solving problems.
Some builders may have produced the desired results through their own experimentation and by following tips. Many others have failed with exasperation. I remember the feeling. It may be wise to spend the money and go to an experienced manufacturer for finished concrete counters, which will neither crack, fade nor look like a sidewalk brought indoors.
—Buddy Rhodes, San Francisco, CA
Shocked by generator article
I must take exception to an article published in FHB #128, “Installing a Portable Standby Generator” (pp. 98-101). I was shocked (excuse the pun) not only to read about but also to see pictures of code violations. At no time did the author make reference to the National Electrical Code (NEC). Article 700 deals strictly with emergency systems. Reference to article 700 should be made in any article dealing with emergency-system installation. Table 310-16 deals with conductor ampacities, and nowhere in article 310 does it state that it is acceptable to increase wire ampacity in a “short run.” A #12 wire is not capable of handling a continuous load of 6kw. This table was engineered to provide a minimum safeguard to people and to equipment. Any variations could be hazardous.
To show a photo of less than picture-perfect installation is total hypocrisy (top photo, p. 101). Broken raceways and exposed current-carrying conductors are a sign of shoddy workmanship and are a good example of the wrong way to perform an electrical installation.
—B. D. Hummel, Lake Ariel, PA
Author Rex Cauldwell replies: The generator load is placed over six 12-ga. circuits, not one, and each wire is fused at 15 amps (as shown in the close-up photo of the GenTran), well within Table 310-16. Everything is fused at 15 amps because there is no way of knowing what gauge wire you will be connecting to.
The 6000w is the grand total available to all circuits, not what is pulled by any one circuit. An analogy would be the total power available at the utility transformer: No one circuit in the panel or house pulls it—it is spread out over many circuits.
The exposed conductors and broken conduit you refer to, I assume, are where the flex conduit has separated a slight amount. If so, the flex is not broken; the spiral has simply pulled apart slightly. As all working electricians know, flex separation is a common problem. If the gap is small, it is ignored, but if it is large, we tape it up. Picture-perfect installations just don’t exist.
You seem to think I created the system—I did not. The entire system is factory built (including the 12-ga. wire and flex-separating conduit) and is UL-approved for the situation shown. All you do is open a knockout in your service panel, pull the factory-made pigtail into the main service panel, and wire it in.
Article 700 concerns emergency systems defined as those legally required. Therefore, most of the article doesn’t apply to installing a portable standby generator in a house. Overall, I think that referring people, other than qualified electricians, to code sections and charts is a waste of the printed word because most of the readers wouldn’t understand them.
Statement about architects’ code of conduct was wrong
An incorrect and somewhat alarming statement was published in the “Breaktime” section of your October/November issue (FHB #126, p. 14). Lawrence was quoted as having made the following statement in the thread about “Maybe contractors need a code of ethics”:
“Are you aware that architects have a code of conduct? Included in it, if an architect cannot come to terms with a client (and has already commenced the job), no other architect can or will, knowingly, take over the job.”
Lawrence’s statement is incorrect and places the architectural profession in an unjust light. The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) code of ethics is generally considered to speak for the entire industry. Past versions of the AIA code have had various noncompetitive articles, but I don’t believe that any of them prevented one architect from completing the work of another. In the 1980s, a legal agreement between the AIA and the U. S. Department of Justice resulted in removal of all competitive limitation statements from the AIA code. The settlement included a major nationwide education program for all AIA members in which it was made clear that the AIA encourages open and unbounded competition among architects for commissions. Collusion such as Lawrence mentions, or of any other kind, is strictly and specifically prohibited.
Bottom line: upset with your architect? Fire him and hire another. Don’t be surprised if the second architect wonders why you and the first parted ways. After all, he doesn’t want to make the same mistakes. If he needs work, he’ll take the job. Check your contract first, though. The architect is likely to have legal ownership of the drawings. No big loss if you are terminating the relationship early in the design process. If you are deep into design and like the work that has been done to date, you might be able to negotiate ownership of the drawings to avoid starting from scratch.
—David S. Wright, Greenville, SC
Questions techniques in site-built cabinet article
In your October/November issue (FHB #126, pp. 64-69), you feature an article explaining several techniques for fabricating on-site cabinets. As a professional woodworker for more than 25 years, as a past contributor to Fine Woodworking and as Web master for woodworking.org, I found this article generally informative, but I find that I must take issue with some of the author’s assertions.
Granted, face-frame cabinets with inset doors are no piece of cake. But the idea that it’s faster and easier to make two face frames, one nailed onto the other, seems fundamentally wrong to me and certainly not any faster.
Using modern, inexpensive methods such as pocket screws, or biscuits and a few clamps, one can quickly knock out a single face frame much faster than building two, not to mention the material savings. Once the glue grabs, the frame can be nailed onto the cabinets (on site, if necessary) or, better yet, clamped and glued, leaving no nail holes to fill.
Another concern is the use of nails and glue to attach the cabinet bottoms to the sides when using melamine, a material that doesn’t adhere well with most common woodworking glues. This is no big deal for base cabinets supported by a subbase, but upper cabinets need a strong bond here. A router can cut a shallow rabbet through the melamine coating or, at the least, put some biscuits in. You also run into this problem with trying to use a melamine back, a more fitting material than plywood for melamine cabinet interiors. I’ve had great success screwing on 1⁄2-in. melamine to the cabinet boxes, and I don’t need to waste time fitting in a hanging rail.
Finally, I have to say something about all the time the author spends on his knees. If you don’t have a shop with a decent workbench, which makes cabinetmaking much more comfortable, not to mention much more efficient, at least throw a sheet of plywood over a couple sawhorses for a makeshift workbench. A good bench greatly speeds up hardware mounting as well as frame assembly. When you get to be my age, your knees will thank you.
—Jim Mattson, Severna Park, MD
A safer tip for lubricating light bulbs
In the “Tips & Techniques” column of your last issue (FHB #128, p. 36), Ed Storey suggests using automotive antiseize compound on the bases of light bulbs. Don’t do it, folks. Typical antiseize compound contains powdered metal (usually aluminum powder, if I’m not mistaken). That’s what makes it gray. It also makes the paste electrically conductive. Because there’s only about a 3⁄16-in. gap between the two contacts on the bottom of a standard Edison base lamp, the possibility of creating a short is fairly high. I suspect that this compound could cause an unsafe condition, or even a fire, under the right conditions.
Ed’s idea has merit, but I’d suggest going to Radio Shack or an electrical-supply house and picking up some dielectric grease, which is intended for the purpose.
—Tom O’Donovan, Highland Park, IL
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