There are a variety of products out there that can save you water, but some are counter productive and some are a pain in the you-know-what. Others are certainly worthwhile and can even save you money.

The biggest factor involved in water and energy wastage is human behavior. It’s our behaviors that waste the most energy and the most water. We all does it… leave lights on, leave water running when not necessary, linger in the shower… Going green seems to often lead to less convenience. But humans are after exactly that… convenience. That’s why microwave ovens, took off. Dishwashers, washing machines, trash compactors, automatic sprinkler systems, it’s all about convenience.

Some water conservation products address these behaviors. Low flow fixtures reduce the rate at which water flows from a fixture, so we use less water when we leave it running. This can be an inconvenience though, when you have to stand there and wait longer to fill up that pitcher or sink. Low flow toilets that don’t always work with one flush.

There are numerous “gray water” systems that reclaim waste water like from your washing machine to use in flushing toilets or watering the lawn.

It’s not hard to find water saving appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines. Probably all of them now at least have water conservation cycles or modes. I recently was talking to a guy who had just bought a new Bosch water conserving dishwasher. He was having a problem because the dishwasher didn’t draw a high enough flow of water to turn on the water heater. To get clean dishes he has to run hot water in the sink while the dishwasher fills. So much for water conservation.

There are some water conservation products which do offer both convenience and save water. They are known as hot water demand systems. They get you your hot water to you faster and you don’t run any water down the drain. The pumps are very efficient consuming less than $2.00 per year in electricity to operate. Not only are you saving water and energy with a demand system, but you are also reducing your carbon foot print.

Every gallon of water that you do not dump down the drain is one gallon less sewage that has to be treated and pumped etc which in turn uses less energy and thus results in reduced green house gas being released into the atmosphere.

Don’t confuse hot water demand systems with those “luke warm circulating systems” on the market like the Laing Autocirc1, the Grundfos Comfort System, and the Watts Premier. These systems circulate warm water through the hot water piping and the cold water piping, but in doing so consume a lot of energy making your water heater work harder and costing you money. You also end up with warm water in your cold water lines and you must purge those lines of the lukewarm water to get cold water from the faucet.

Tankless water heaters typically take longer to get hot water to your fixtures wasting more water than hot water systems that use tank type water heaters. Demand hot water systems do work with tankless water heaters as long as you get one powerful enough, some just don’t have enough power to generate enough flow to turn on a tankless water heater.

So go green and install a hot water demand system. It’s a very earth friendly thing to do. You will feel good about what you are doing for the planet and you get the added convenience of fast hot water!

Water Heaters, How They Work and How to Repair Water Heaters: Water Heater Problems

Hot water demand systems,: Instant Hot Water Tankless and tank type water heater demand pump information.

Tankless Water Heaters Compared: Tankless Water Heater Savings

Let me say at the outset that I have nothing against the box stores. In fact I spend several thousand dollars there every year. If I need an item they carry I pick it up, take it home, plug it in and use it. If it doesn’t work properly I return it for a replacement or my money back. No problem.

Have you ever tried to return a kitchen or bath remodel? Of course not; that’s ridiculous too. That’s another reason why the big box model doesn’t work well for complicated design/build projects.

Make no mistake the box stores want very much to provide top quality services as well as off the shelf products. It’s not for lack of desire that they fall short.

Why would a homeowner consider buying a kitchen or bath from a store like Home Depot or Lowes?

There are 3 primary reasons:

1) We assume the price will be better since we benefit from their leveraged buying power.

2) We assume they will be around in case we have any warranty issues in the future.

3) They offer financing and/or other incentives.

Let’s examine these one by one. First, while it is true that large chains buy more volume than most retail outlets, they also obtain some products (eg cabinets) from name brand manufacturers that are not of the same quality as those the manufacturer provides their retailers.

This provides the box store with better margins but at the expense of the homeowner who is getting a product of slightly lesser quality marketed under the same brand name.

Secondly, while most large chains have very good return and warranty policies, once you add outside subcontractors and the subcontractor’s subcontractors to the equation it becomes extremely difficult to resolve any of the myriad issues that can come up during or after a kitchen or bathroom remodel.

Finally, the offer of financing or some other token incentive will never compensate for the complications and frustrations often associated with box store construction projects of any size. Also, most retailers have access to third party financing and are willing to throw in a sink or some other item to close a sale.

Let’s go thru a simplified example of contracting with a box store to have a kitchen remodeled.

First the homeowner visits the kitchen department of the store either with dimensions of their own or to arrange for the store to send someone to their home to gather the necessary information.

So the first person the homeowner has contact with is the salesperson in the store. Next a second person visits the home and sketches a floor plan which is taken back to the store and given to a designer, which may or may not be the original salesperson.

The designer works up a kitchen design and invites the homeowner to the store to review it and look a cabinet and countertop options. If other decisions are to be made, such as plumbing or lighting fixtures, the homeowner will need to work with people in those departments to make those choices and get the items required.

Assuming that the homeowner approves the design and agrees to the price they then pay for the full price of the cabinets and perhaps the countertop material as well.

The project is then turned over to the expediting department to order the materials and select the subcontractor to give the job to. This subcontractor in most cases has never seen the job and is working off a pay sheet that dictates what they get paid for each task of a project.

It is worth noting that the primary subcontractor, rarely if ever, works on the project himself. They pass the project to one of their subcontractors who in turn uses whatever labor is at their disposal to do the job. None of the subcontractors who actually do the work want to continue working under this arrangement any longer than they have to. For one thing, the pay isn’t that good. The box stores squeeze the primary subcontractor so they can offer attractive pricing to their customers. The primary subcontractor in turn squeezes his subcontractors so that he can make as much as possible on each job. The subcontractor who does the work will quit as soon as he has a better offer or can get a job of his own. Sometimes this happens in the middle of a project. It’s not hard to imagine what kind of problems that creates.

The cabinets are shipped directly to the customer’s home where someone must be waiting to accept the shipment. If the subcontractor who is to do the work is even slightly professional he will inspect the order for damage before deconstructing the homeowner’s kitchen thus avoiding a major inconvenient delay if one of the primary components has arrived damaged.

Now you have some idea of the number of people involved and how no one person has followed the project from the very beginning to a happy conclusion.

This method provides too many opportunities for miscommunication, lack of follow up and general apathy which result in the horror stories everyone has heard of many times.

If a kitchen or bath remodel is in your future, consider finding a smaller, perhaps family owned company where personal attention and responsibility are the hallmarks. Cabinets and countertops are commodities. The success and stress level of the project will be determined by the care and professionalism of the person you work with and they should be there for the entire project.

Good luck with your remodeling project, David Allen (Preferred Cabinets)

Wm David Allen

First let me mention why I feel qualified to address the subject. I have been in the remodeling and construction industry for nearly 40 years. Currently my wife and I own and operate a kitchen and bath remodeling firm in southern California. We were involved indirectly with the importation and directly with the installation of hundreds of sets of Chinese cabinets in the past. We purchased, with others, from several manufacturing sources and have experience with over a dozen types of product. I also have numerous friends and contacts in the remodeling and construction industry across the country, who have shared their experiences with me. Also my wife is Chinese.

First let’s talk about the channels of distribution and then get into the features of the product itself.

Most of the people importing Chinese cabinets to the states are Asian or Middleastern. This is only natural since they are from that part of the world and are accustomed to bringing eastern wares to the western market. Typically a sizeable company or consortium will contract with a manufacturing facility in China either directly or thru a proxy. They obtain pricing based upon a agreed number of units/container loads over a specified period of time. They receive the containers from the Long Beach or LA harbors and warehouse the product locally or ship it overland to be warehoused in some inexpensive logistically advantageous location.

The product is then disbursed thru a loose network consisting of builders, remodelers and retail outlets. These retail outlets are generally small showrooms in strip centers or flooring and carpet centers.

The product is hawked as quality for cheap. It is not uncommon to see ads in the newspaper offering complete 10×10 kitchens of solid oak including granite countertops for under $3,000.00.

This massive onslaught of inexpensive cabinets has taken considerable market share away from US manufacturers who catered to the new construction and low end remodeling markets. This has had only a marginal effect on manufacturers who cater to more upscale clients. However, as occurred in other areas, most notably the automobile industry, the competition from the east began with inexpensive low quality offerings but later adapted higher quality standards such as those employed by Lexus. You know the rest of the story. The same scenario is likely to play out in this market as well and astute manufacturers need to avoid the complacency that sent the US automobile industry into bankruptcy.

Let’s take a look at the product. In the interest of time we will only deal with the general characteristics of the product. This will suffice to make consumers aware of the products limitations.

First let it be said that the Chinese have done their homework to the extent that they know which buzzwords to use for American audiences. They have learned how to position their product so as to appear nearly the same as the competition yet for less than half the cost.

Let’s start with the wood itself. The most common types used for the doors, drawer fronts and face frames are oak, beech and birch. They are plentiful in that part of the world. The oak is sold as oak whereas what passes for maple or cherry is beech and birch stained to look the part.

Secondly, the wood is not kiln dried but dried using other quicker, cheaper methods. This is important because kiln drying stabilizes the wood which in turn prevents warping, cracking and checking.

The balance of the cabinet box is made of plywood but not of the quality typical of western manufacturers. If you were to saw cut the plywood sides you would see that the plywood panels have large voids inside, out of view that compromise the stability of the construction. One only can wonder about the adhesives used since the Chinese are notorious for using toxic materials, when cost effective, with little if any regard for consumer safety. Think candy and sheetrock.

The finish is not the oil based pre-catalyzed varnish that distinguishes the best quality for durability and appearance. It is also not dried with lights like a car finish but with other quicker cheaper methods. Also, because the methods and materials are changing rapidly, finishes that were available at one time may be impossible to find or duplicate the following year.

Finally the hardware, while it is made to look like the good stuff, is made of cheap metal that allows for fatigue and breaking after a short period of time.

In conclusion, the market for these cabinets is currently the very low end for good reason but over time these products will continue to improve and perhaps in 10 years will be highly regarded.

Good luck with your remodeling project, David Allen (Preferred Cabinets)

Wm David Allen

The dictionary defines “custom” when used as an adjective as meaning “made for an individual”. It says nothing regarding the quality of what is made. This is an important distinction primarily because people make assumptions and decisions based on the meaning they associate with a word.

To illustrate, let’s say that I offer to build a “custom home” for you. You agree and I proceed to construct one out of popsicle sticks. This would by definition be a “custom home” but would not meet any sane person’s criteria for quality nor match your idea of what a “custom home “should be.

Something similar occurs when people consider, as one of their options for a kitchen or bath remodel, purchasing “custom cabinets’. The problem arises when they discover that what they have purchased falls short of their expectations. This is, more often than not, the result of making assumptions based on a false definition of the terminology and neglecting to investigate the quality of the products important components.

There are basically 3 types of custom cabinetry:

Those made by fine craftsmen both here and abroad.

Those made by major manufacturers with customization capabilities.

Those made by small to medium sized local shops.

The first type ends up in exclusive high end homes or establishments. These clients have both the time and financial resources to acquire something unique. This satisfies their discriminating taste and sets them apart from others much like owning an exclusive watch, car etc..

The second type appeals to reasonably affluent clients who want something better than average and don’t mind spending a bit more to get it.

The third type is by far the most prevalent and the category with which we are concerning ourselves here. These run the gamut from one man operations to reasonably sophisticated facilities producing thousands of kitchen and bathroom cabinets each year.

At this point I should mention that my experience is primarily in Southern California, and consequently my perspective will reflect that and may not accurately describe conditions in other parts of the country. However, I believe there are sufficient similarities nationwide to make this material relevant and useful for consumers wherever they may live.

So now we know that making any quality assumptions regarding “custom cabinetry” is not a good idea. So what should one do?

The quality of each potential cabinet purchase should be evaluated on its own merit with little, if any, weight given to terms such as “custom”, “semi-custom”, “manufactured” or “modular”.

So what are the important questions to ask when selecting kitchen, bathroom or other cabinets?

They can be broken down into the following categories:

General box construction:

What are the materials and their dimensions used to construct the cabinet and drawer boxes. Cabinet boxes should be constructed of plywood anywhere where fasteners are installed since it has a much greater holding strength than furniture or particle board. The drawer boxes should be solid birch or maple with dove-tailed glued joints.

Door and drawer fronts and face frame:

What is the wood species (i.e. maple, cherry, alder, etc.) and is it solid or a thin veneer over plywood or a lesser quality wood. These should be ¾ to 1 inch in thickness and properly jointed. Veneers can be used if price is the primary consideration but the client should ask about their limitations as well as their cost.

Hardware:

What type of hinges and drawer and rollout slides are used. Who makes them and what is the warranty. This is important because the moving parts are what tend to wear out first and the cheaper imitations fail sooner and frequently have little if any warranty.

Finish:

How are all the visible portions of the cabinetry finished. How are they sanded, how are they stained and most importantly, which method is used to topcoat or finish-coat the cabinets to protect them from sunlight, moisture and oil from people’s hands. What is the warranty for the finish. The very best topcoat is what is call pre-catalyzed oil based varnish and is dried under lights to provide a durable finish that is warranted to last many years.

While these criteria are by no means exhaustive, they will provide more useful guidelines for the average consumer than relying upon mistaken assumptions regarding the various types of cabinetry.

Wm David Allen

Saving water and energy means you are reducing your carbon footprint and taking steps to going green. Help yourself and help our planet at the same time.

Probably most people don’t think about plumbing when they think about home improvement projects. After all, the plumbing layout has been already implemented and so changing the plumbing system into a green system by improving the plumbing layout is an unlikely project.

However, fast hot water is easy to obtain by using a hot water demand system.

Few would argue that it’s no fun standing there waiting for the hot water to arrive at the fixture. You stand there and watch the water run down the drain. But you don’t have to; you can install a hot water demand system in a single afternoon. Demand hot water system pumps can be obtained for less than $200, making it a fast and inexpensive home improvement idea or do-it-yourself project.

A demand hot water system delivers the hot water from your existing water heater at a higher flow rate than your faucet can deliver. That way the hot water gets to the fixture more quickly reducing your wait time.

More importantly, you don’t run water down the drain while you wait. When you turn on the fixture you get instant hot water. The demand pump connects between your hot and cold water lines under the furthest sink from your water heater. When you want hot water you “demand” it by pressing a button.

The pump starts up and send hot water to the fixture in seconds, returning the cooled off hot water that was in the hot water pipes back to the water heater through the existing cold water lines. When hot water reaches the pump, it shuts off. Now when your turn the spigot you get instant hot water.

Some models of demand hot water systems connect up to your plumbing with faucet supply hoses just like the ones already under your sink.

Hot water demand systems can also operate with tankless water heaters unlike traditional hot water recirculation systems. Just make sure the demand hot water system you purchase is powerful enough to turn on your tankless water heater. Some models like the Metlund S-50T and S-70T don’t have much power, and won’t turn on many models of tankless water heaters.
These quick hot water systems, at least the demand systems, use very little electricity since they run for such a short time, and only when you demand it. Typically they consume less than $2.00 per year in electricity costs.

With all the benefits of saved time, saved water, saved energy and reduced carbon foot print and the small initial investment, a hot water demand system should be in nearly every home. Don’t wait any longer, install a hot water demand system today and get instant hot water when you turn on your fixture – a great home improvement idea!

Turn your plumbing green, save water, reduce your carbon footprint! Green Home Improvement Project

Save Water with a demand hot water system! Saving Water

Water heater repair and maintenance info: Water Heater Repair

There are kitchen fitters who can plan and design entire kitchens from the appliances to the cupboards all to a budget you set which is perfect for getting what you want at a price that isn’t too extravagant. Of course if you do have more money to spend on a new kitchen then there are plenty of innovative and useful additions you can make to your plans.

A professional kitchen fitter would be able to show you prior designs or work they have completed before and help you either replicate or create a new unique design for your home. By selecting the style, the material and the look your kitchen will have then you’ll be able to get exactly what you want from your new kitchen.

There are many modern features such as cooker hoods and built in appliances such as rubbish disposals, wine coolers and breakfast bars that have all proven popular with new kitchen owners in recent years. These features often make cooking and preparing food in the kitchen easier and can help make your kitchen as a whole look more attractive.

Little flourishes such as having all your appliances from your fridge to your dishwasher all built into the cupboards to create a uniform look without a white appliance standing out. Some homes even have Televisions and DVD players in their kitchens, often folding down from a cooker hood or under a cupboard. This could be good if you were watching a cookery show whilst following along in your own kitchen.

Home improvements are very popular these days with people getting double glazing or even a conservatory but with any of these improvements like getting a new kitchen fitted make sure you get a reputable local fitter. Any planner you are considering should be able to show examples of past work and you could even ask if you could contact a previous customer to get recommendations.

To get your new kitchen plans underway get a new kitchen quote online today as well as other new home features such as double glazing.

Sometimes this can be the best option although considering that there is a whole big mess of different types of walls to contend with such as load bearing walls that are structurally vital to the building staying upright you may not be able to increase your home’s space this way.

This doesn’t mean it is the end of the road for your house expansion dreams; there are still ways in which you could spread your house out a bit. Getting extensions or conservatories can be a great way to add one or more rooms to your property. A lot of extension work requires planning permission which again could limit what you are able to achieve.

There is actually a certain percentage of your property’s size that could be built without the need for planning permission. This percentage can only be done once and so if any previous work for porches or other extensions has been completed then you may have used up your allocated percentage.

There are rules regarding planning permission which define where your extension can be built, in most cases you will not be able to build extensions that make your property closer to any roads. Most extensions are done either to the side of the home or to the rear. Side extensions tend to include building extra rooms upstairs over the garage, this can mean an extra bedroom, bathroom or study can be added easily.

Extensions to the rear of houses tend to be extensions to the dining or kitchen areas, especially kitchens as many people want to get larger designer kitchens that have lots of room for many appliances. Conservatories can be used as dining areas or more commonly as a sitting room. Conservatory quotes tend to be cheaper than other extensions as they are made from the popular uPVC material that is cheap, durable and attractive and used in double glazing windows and doors too.

Have a set of plans and a building permit in hand for bath remodeling Boise Idaho. Kitchen and bathroom remodeling requires finding a qualified contractor knowledgeable in kitchen design, remodeling and other areas of renovations. Someone you can trust with great ideas ready to fulfill your wants and needs to ensure success and with a good reputation in Boise.

Check with the Idaho State business website where you can look up a contractor by name or license number. The site will show all that you need in selecting a contractor who fits the mold with a good record of renovations and bath remodeling Boise Idaho. The Better Business Bureau is another great source in checking 2011 complaints against contractors in Boise.

There is a need to Read more:

They all refer to the practice of circulating hot water through your plumbing so that you have quick hot water and don waste water running it down the drain while you are waiting. As with most good things there are trade offs with hot water recirculation systems.

First, let’s examine a basic recirculation system and get familiar with how it works. The system consists of the water heater, a pump, and a loop of pipe coming from the outlet of the water heater, going from sink to sink in a looped fashion, and returning from the last sink back to the pump which has its outlet connected to either the inlet to the water heater or to the drain valve.

Recirc pumps
Often called recirc pumps, as well as recirculation pumps etc. the hot water circulating pumps are designed to slowly circulate the hot water through the piping at a low velocity. There is no need for high flow since a nice low flow still keeps the water piping hot through the entire system. High flow rates run continuously can also lead to pipe erosion and eventually require replacement of the pipes.

Instant Hot Water

As you can see, such a system will provide you with nearly instant hot water. This can save tremendous amounts of water that would have been run down the drain while you waited for the hot water to arrive at the fixture. The penalty you pay is in the cost of the energy consumed keeping your giant radiator system hot.

The water heater has to fire up more often and for longer to keep the temperature from falling as the heat energy is let loose on the environment.

You can minimize your energy costs by putting the pump on a timer so that it only runs when there are people around that may want to use hot water. Leave it off late at night and during the day if no one is home during the day. It still wastes a lot of energy but you can easily cut your losses in half in most cases.

The downside is of course, if you want hot water when the pump is not running you will have a lengthy wait. If you don’t have a length wait you probably didn’t need a hot water recirculation system to begin with.

Another way to control the traditional hot water recirculation systems is with temperature control. Have the pump turn on when the temperature drops to some pre-set value, like 100 degrees, and when the temperature reaches 120 degrees turn the pump off. The temperature sensor is called an aquastat, and usually clamps onto the hot water pipe near the pump.

Since you still have piping full of hot water for long periods of time you are still wasting a lot of energy.

If you do have a hot water recirculation system you should insulate all of the hot water piping to minimize the heat loss.

Tankless Water Heaters

Tankless water heaters generally don’t work with hot water circulating systems since for one thing most hot water pumps don’t produce enough flow to turn on tankless water heaters. They usually require at least ½ gallon per minute to operate.

Hot water recirc systems also cause the water heater to cycle on and off frequently since there is no tank for storage. With many brands of tankless water heaters a hot water circ system will void the warranty.

Tankless water heaters take longer to deliver hot water than tank type water heaters and so it’s too bad hot water recirculation systems don’t work with them.

Well that’s about it for hot water recirculation systems, a water heater, a pump, some hot water piping and a few faucets. Don’t forget the pipe insulation.

Fix your own water heater. Trouble shooting guide for water heaters Hot Water Heater

Save Water with a demand system! Water Heater Pump

All about hot water recirculation: Hot Water Recirculation

Color selection combined with Setting

Colour is exactly what defines the atmosphere on the living room space. You may want to evaluate what you desire to convey. Usually, many people remember design that show their unique way of life. If you wish to stay customary, you could examine earthly shades or simply warm colors. For people who want to sustain a modern and trendy feel to the lounge room environment, they might engage in hip colors or simply hues of white. The trendy trend setters may possibly also try out some avant-garde layouts of white or black to express their particular living area atmosphere.

Color selection talks about the main feeling you wish to present. If you desire your living room to be welcoming with regard to guests, an individual should accustom colours that you just view fit-don’t ignore to successfully be aware of that colors collide. Poor colour mixtures can actually kill the mood you want to establish. Dystopia would be a really good idea, but yet you need to have the right blends to create out the right “wrongness” in the entire atmosphere.

Household furniture

This happens to be necessary that your particular living room really needs household furniture which fits your concept of the living space. Make sure you purposefully place the furniture in places that don’t clutter. Be certain that all of your room or space for activity happens to be wide enough for the people to simply examine around. First thing they are doing just before being seated may be to view the actual room’s setting. If you decide you support plenty of room or space, after that you can lure a whole lot more attention towards the element of your room.

Lighting fixtures

Illumination grows into an important aspect of a room’s mood. Colorings breathe everyday living for your space when pieces of furniture brings tangibility towards your living room. Illumination, however, improves in addition to satisfies any living room’s environment. Superior lighting style can make a big difference associated with a beautifully-designed family room from one currently being monotonic. Lighting provides you which luminance every time you wish to exhibit the dynamism in the area.

A number of living spaces include a key chandelier that will hover on the living room. This really is excellent with regards to fancy themes. Some furthermore broaden the particular lighting effects with numerous light sources surrounding the living room. Whatever type you choose, living room pattern is best suited for with the wonderful lighting products.

The actual living area is definitely an home planning process that requires special consideration. Many people determine their particular initial opinion about this room in your home. Once you understand all the mechanics associated with color selection along with surroundings, pieces of furniture, as well as lights, you are able to sincerely have a living room area which can be enlivened having structure and also natural beauty.