Bathroom Vents

Bathroom vents are important for a lot of reasons but mostly to remove moistue when bathing.  They should be quiet, efficient for the room size, and strategically placed.  They should be vented to code and sealed off with no leaks from the unit to the exterior vent.  

I'm sure you know where this is going.  So my builder thought it would be a great idea to buy a bunch of - might I add, the WORST vent on the market - a 50 cfm (cubic feet per minute) with a noise level of 4.0 and place them in all the bathrooms regardless of the  room size or the ceiling height.  Couple that with the fact that the installer thought it would be good idea to shove a box in my ceiling and tape it in place and not even bother to fully hook up the exhaust duct work to the unit and if he did, it was never taped in place and leaked which basically sent the steam between my ceiling rafters.  I'm not sure if a 3" duct to the roof met code a few years ago but if it didn't, it's what he used anyway.

So I bought wonderful super quiet 50/80/100 cfm with a noise level of .9 when using the 100 cfm setting.  You have to listen to know that it's on in one application because it has a 4" duct from my unit to the roof jack.  The day we replaced our master bathroom vent I immediately knew I was buying 5 more.  I would've loved to have a heater/vents in all baths with tubs because I feel that when bathing on a cool morning when later in the day temperatures are going to warm up, it prevents the heat from becoming necessary.  At the VERY LEAST that should be a building standard for a mster bathroom, but nope, this builder only installed the cheapest vent on the market and located it on the vault furthest away from the shower.  I couldn't have installed a vent heater if I wanted and I did want to because there was no access.  So imagine a vaulted huge master bathroom with one tiny 50 com vent that did absolutely nothing.  It should've have failed inspection based on location alone.

Now that all the vents were replaced and properly taped for a good seal to the actual duct work using a 4" to 3" interface, the smaller rooms are noisier than my master bath probably on account of not having 4" duct work.  But in all they are quieter and do the job.  Any location where I have a shower, I used to 100 cfm setting but may back to down to 80 instead for a quieter experience.  

In researching duct diameter, use 4" since 3" is a waste of time and material and means you have a cheap vent.  Also, if you ever want to update anything, the new models are not 3" and you may have to replace all the duct work to the roof when you enter into renovation projects requiring permits - a very costly requirement.  Not to mention, my first arguement that is you want steam removed from you bathroom so get a decent model and use the 4" hose right off the bat.

Front Hall Closet

Pictured is the front hall closet we received.  When we moved in and discovered it, we realized we had never opened the door during our walk through.  I imagine this is what the builder left for the previous homeowner.  He wasn't even smart enough to cut holes in the shelf and add a grommet or 2.  Instead he decided that anyone living here doesn't need a front hall coat closet.  

These are 10' ceilings and he basically added 1 shelf.  The builder should've placed the security alarm box and the wiring rack as high up as possible on the wall the security system sits.  Neither of these should ever be accessible to children.  There is serious stuff connected to that wiring rack.  And furthere more, why he decided to use a front coat closet for a wiring closet to begin with is beyong stupid.  This is a large house.  He should've built an actually wiring cabinet or closet with ventilation and a lock.   

So after $1200 this is what I have now.  The right way to at least try to remedy the cluster of a mess that has no way of correcting itself.  But at least I can hang coats now. 

Insulation

I had to insulate the attic ceiling above my son's 2 room suite with a Jack and Jill center bathroom because his rooms don't cool in the summer and in the winter, don't heat properly. 

This whole experience began because our 2nd floor AC runs all night long and never cools the rooms.  His rooms are particularly hot because the registers are too far from the unit and his room is western facing.  

We began with simply wanting to add insulation to the entire attic shell (walls and roof line) because we are going to build out the attic to an all purpose room.  Once the new walls were up, we wanted to also insulate the new walls for sound.  Turns out in order to insulate the exterior walls and roof line, you have to fur down all roof rafters to 13" in depth to install the now code R38 insulation (up from R30 when this house was built).  They used 2" x 10" rafters.  That option is very cost prohibited.  

We defaulted to plan B which is to add insulation on top of the existing insulation over the ceilings of his rooms because it wasn't installed correctlly and in every place the sheet rock was penetrated, nothing was sealed.  They used short 4' batting and every seam was lined up creating hot spot lines on the under side aka, his ceiling.  The reasoning for addressing his rooms is that when we build the attic room, his ceilings are not included in the footprint.  

Today was install day of a blown-in material to bring his room up to what I thought was a poorly installed R30 to R38.  The attic floor is almost entirely covered in a 3/4" plywood and I got into a conversation with the insulation installer where the floor decking ends and I I measured 2" x 10" floor joists.  But the installed pointed out a paper ruler he uses for installing the blown in product shows my son's ceilings were built using 2" x 8".  So what this means is, when R30 was code, this builder took the time to save a few dollars and install 2" x 10" boards under the attic floor decking but over my son's rooms there is a 2" drop down.  So he put this product in and then there were electrical wires cris-crossed all over the insulation crushing it to a depth of 8" (which is really 7") which means the builder only installed R19!  No wonder it's so hot!!  It's as if he made it appear the be one thing but it clearly isnt'  To make matters worse, I was going to use some of the un-dencked floor above my son's bedroom for a closet and now I can't because it has a 2" drop down.

I am just mystified as to why inspectors would pass work that doesn't meet code.  I would like to continue the ceiling that was started with the same joists he used and add R38 but when I deck an area for the AC unit, I would have to build a platform running a new ceiling in the opposite direction in order that the R38 can be installed.   

I am less than impressed that inspectors pass work knowing it's not right because they are the homeowner's front line of defense.   When I have called the builder about any issue he dismisses it all and blames me for claiming he's not a good builder.  He blames everything on his subs.

This room was sold as roughed in and it clearly isn't.  The copper for the AC isn't there and when I asked the builder about it, he told me, "Yeah, sometimes they put it in and sometimes they don't."  Meanwhile, I'm thinking, "they?", it's his house - he built it.  They didn't even put the plumbing and the drain on what would be the same wall.  They didn't account for the fact that someone building out a 450SF all purpose space would have an ice maker and at least an undermount refrigerator and sink, none of that was roughed in. 

Toilets and Baths, Oh My!

In my past house renovation, we had just replaced all of our toilets from American Standard to Kohler after 16 years.  We were having problems with them almost overflowing, one at a time, because the parts were getting filled with sediment.  The reason for Kohler, was that when we renovated, we planned to use Kohler Sinks and Tubs and wanted the whites to match.

We moved in here and found we had these toilets called Pro-flo.  They were not white but a cheap gray-white glaze.  They didn't go with anything.  They were not comfort height and for the life of me - except saving a few dollars - why they would install anything but comfort height is beyond me, again this is a custom builder.  The sinks are no name and the tubs, Bootz, to be the bottom tier in terms of  size and you can get them at Home Depot for under $200 each retail.  They do not have non-slip surface on the floor of the tub and they are actually dangerous in that way.  Of course, they didn't caulk any of the tubs.  

To make matters worse, in my downstairs guest bathroom, the toilet plumbing was not 12" on center but rather 10".   This is a normal size bathroom with no space contraints but if you are a custom builder, wouldn't you ask your plumber to move the plumbing?  I know I would.  Nope this guy shoves a tiny, Pro-flo 10" on center toilet, against a wall with the tiniest tank I have ever seen.  It barely fit a small square box of tissues. 

So I get on Build.com and find a replacement toilet.  The Kohler Highline actually comes in a 10" on center, comfort height, in a normal size everything and once installed has a normal sized tank and lid and doesn't even hit the wall!  Wow, what a concept.  

So I get the toilets in (and pay extra for quiet close seats) and prior to installation, I tried to sell the Pro-flo toilets for $20 each cause maybe someone needs 5 toilets.  Couldn't get rid of them.  I quickly changed the price to free just so I wouldn't have to pay $20 each to have them carried off.  No one wanted them at free either.  I paid $20 each to have them carried off.  Do you see a trend here?  Put in some cheap stuff, that no one wants, in order to say, it has a toilet, it has lights, etc.  If someone want to make the house nice, everything goes in the landfill unless someone at the Habitat Restore happens to want it.     

Though I can't change all of this, the builder should've installed 32" tubs cause that's what was framed out.  My 2 guest room tubs will remain as is but we are upgrading venting, lighting, counter, faucet and possibly cabinet.  To save some money, the builder opted to install undersized tubs, 30" wide and 16" tall and then proceeded to spend the money on tiling to the floor where the tub would've been had it been 32".  

Picking Paint colors and Finishes and a little more

When we first moved in we knew immediately, that we had to repaint this home.  It actually was similar in color to what we left but much of our furniture was damaged and we knew were going with a different color scheme and style.  When our decorator arrived the first time, we began talking about the trim color and I asked her what was wrong with it.  She immediately pointed out that the builder used white, which really had a dingy appearance and a mattte finish (that honestly appeared and felt more like Primer) which comes in direct contact with the creamy white kitchen cabinets.  First thing the next morning, off to the paint store we go to get a series of "white" samples to color match the cabinets. After looking at colors in all lighting and at all times of the day, SW Natural Choice was it.

With that, around that same time, I had recently read an article titled, Painting Like the French and like the concept so we talked about it.  She thought the idea would work well here.  It's where you pick one color and paint the ceiling, trim and walls using it but in the appropriate finishes.  Satin walls, flat ceiling and semi gloss on trim.  The builder had opted to paint the entire house in flat paint.  It was awful and like I said, I really don't think he ever painted the trim at all.

Going back to my last house, I had experience with using different shades of the same color.  My bedroom had a sleeping area and a sitting room with a large bay window and vaulted ceiling.  The way the rooms intersected, the bedroom shared the width into the sitting area so the room felt very large.  When I painted those 2 rooms, I painted a lighter color in the bedroom knowing when I used the next shade darker with the vault and the bay window, that the colors would look different from each other.  The result after all that work was they looked exactly the same.  I realized at that moment, never to do that again that light and reflections will make the paint look different on their own. 

I really wanted, in addition to the calm creamy white, a nice pleasant blue.  She choose SW Samovar Silver to compliment and it's beautiful!  I used that color in the diningroom, the office across the hall, the powder room and the downstairs guest room.  At some point, when I correct the disaster of a laundry room layout, I plan to paint those walls the same pleasant blue color or possibly repaint the cabinets in a steel blue gray and use the Natural Choice for the walls, ceilings, trim.  That's on our list to discuss.  

So as we rid the house of the flat gold walls and ceilings and the brown walls in the bonus room, the house reflected a lot more light.  The trim going from matte to semi-gloss further made the space more pleasant.  I painted my dining room and when I got to the coffers it's because of that that I say it was never painted, only primed, because I was painting over caulk.  Normally you caulk and then paint.  In any event, it took a week but the room is gorgeous now!  

The upstairs 3 bedrooms and 2 baths had a light beige ceiling with pink for the girls rooms and a royal blue for the boy room.  Having one cohesive color made the space very pleasant and calm.  So that was step one on making this house ours.  That was just under 2 years ago.  

After that was done the carpet had to go.  It was the cheapest carpet I ever walked on.  The fibers were too spread apart and you could feel the backing under foot.  The builder, and his only excuse of "it's not required", didn't bother to insulate between floors nor did he insulate bathrooms.  I DO NOT recommend doing the bare minimum in order to save a few hundred dollars, especially soming from someone calling himself a "custom" builder.  He is NOT a custom builder but merely making the claim.  If your builder wants to charge you an unreasonable amount for simple upgrades that should be SOP, do not hire him or her. 

Anyway, about $10,000 later we threw away his cheap, lowest quality on the planet, 4lb padding and went with an 8lb pad.  We got rid of his $1 a SF carpet and went with $5SF with a soft pile in order to reduce the gaps under every bedroom entrance door to add privacy.  

Another benefit of me doing this, is as the rooms were gutted, it was clear that the floor, and in particular, the space under the baseboard behind the nail strips was NEVER cleaned before the carpet went down.  They just laid it down over the sawdust and sheet rock dust.  It's a crying shame that "clean up" isn't required".  I worked like a dog to stay ahead of the carpet guys.  As they gutted, I wouldn't let them install carpeting until the foor was completely vaccumed.  It took all day and at one point they caught up to me and I had to tell them to take a break.  I would't let them lay carpet while 4 year old construction debris remained.  

So between the paint and the flooring, we were on to a new looking home.

Bedroom Changes

We are using the Jack and Jill bedrooms for our child.  He's very tall and needed a King bed.  The rooms in the house are tiny so we opted to put the king bed in the smaller of the 2 rooms and turned the larger room into the sitting area.  

This summer we will gut the bathroom and rid it of all of the mismatched materials and dumb things the builder did.  I'll have a field day with that one and in the end that bathroom will be transformed to a spa-like retreat, thoughfully planned out and very functional.

In the meantime, we corrected several nuisances to make life functional.  First, the cable was placed in the only location that absolutely wouldn't work, so it was rerun.  The jack was located behind the right hand closet door on 2' of wall space.  That wall runs perpendicular to the front wall with windows that provided 1' of space.  No one would EVER put a tv there!  In order to reach a likely tv location, the cable wire ran across the closet entrance and was taped to the floor in front of the bedroom entrance.   Now it's runs from a wall location that can reach the tv and is hidden behind a dresser.  Problem solved, you are welcome Mr. "Builder".

The closets themselves have double doors and previously when opened them, it was like staring at caves on the right and lefthand sides.  In the pitch black you couldn't see a thing.  Our "Fix It" guy was able to add canned lights in the ceilings on both sides of the closet so everything in the closet can be seen.  He used a contact sensor so when you open the doors, the light comes on automatically.  Next, he patched all the mess the tearing out of the old made and I painted the closets, SW Pussywillow is the color - a sort of Gray with a little Taupe thrown in.  It's really a pleasant shade for the backdrop.

Once that was complete we were ready for the install. We used a professional closet company and redesigned the width of the shelves as well as the depth.  The previous fixed-shelves were 11" deep and of equal distance, the long hang was way too high and the bar was not only too close to the shelf but the clothes hung too far off the wall.  The brackets were just plain stupidity and you couldn't slide anything along the length of the bar.  All of those issues have been corrected with 14" deep shelves on the right and left, 26" wide and 16" deep center unit with six movable shelves.  Pictured is the wider of the two closets so we added the 6" deep drawers for a nice touch.  The closets look like a boutique now!  It cost around a bit but wow, the storage and the organization, not to mention how you feel when getting ready, is like day and night!

Office Light Renovation

Here is the old versus the new light in my office. The old light didn't light the room properly.  It was way too small, for the large space in which is was hung.  It was hung too close to the ceiling and with shades, it barely illuminated the room at night.  No one wanted it for $15, so on the Habitat Restore it went.

This light fixture broadcasts light throughout the entire room.  Of course, being on a dimmer switch, I can set the level to my liking.  The scale matches the room size and the spread of the bulbs illuminates the entire room.  I used this same fixture in my living room in my last renovation and since we moved so quickly, I hardly had the chance to enjoy it.  I'm glad I was able to use it again here.