ProCraft's Remodeling Blog

I was driving around the other night in a nice neighborhood. Big houses, small lots, gated community. Looked like a very nice place to live. But here’s what was very weird. No one had curtains. Or blinds. Or stained glass. Or even sheets in the windows. They were simply guppies in lighted fish bowls. I saw them eating, walking around, playing the piano, watching TV, rocking to Guitar Hero.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I had somewhere to go.  I wasn’t some creepy peeping tom just cruising the neighborhood. Really. It just struck me odd that no one in the neighborhood seemed too concerned. What if you wanted to walk around in your underwear? What if you wanted to scratch yourself in places you scratch yourself when you’re home alone and don’t think twice? In a fish bowl, that could be very inappropriate.

Case in point. We used to live a block from a school. You could see it out the back of our house. Every time I stepped into our family room wearing bloomers, my wife would scream that I could be arrested for indecent exposure. She’d implore me to think of the children. Damn, and I was just trying to get some coffee, not stigmatize youngsters. And this was during the day when you couldn’t see a thing inside the house. Imagine if I lived in one of the fishbowls. I’d be doing time by now.

So what’s the deal with these gaping holes to privacy? Maybe the homeowners like to show off. The ones I saw had nice stuff, spiffy decorating, impeccable fashion. Maybe they were too lazy to partake in the privacy ritual of closing the window treatments all over the house? Perhaps they spent all their dough on the nice stuff, spiffy decorating, and impeccable fashion and just can’t afford a simple pull down shade. Or, is it possible that most people just don’t look, making it a non-issue and making me pretty darn strange?

Here’s some rules of thumbs regarding window treatments I came up with:

• If you live in the north woods, don’t waste the money
• If you can’t see your neighbors house or the street, they are optional
• If you can watch your neighbor’s TV from your kitchen, you need them
• If you can see a school looking out any of your windows, don’t think twice
• If you think your boxers are the bomb, why bother

Mark Lewis

ProCraft Contracting, Inc.

We see a whole bunch of bathrooms and kitchens in our line of work. Many are pretty nasty, over-the-hill, deferred maintenance nightmares that should have been bulldozed a decade ago. But that’s OK. We’re nightmare removal specialists that carry a big hammer. So if you fall into that category, don’t worry. I’m certain any embarrassment you might feel about your kitchen or bath has been thoroughly numbed from years of ridicule by family, friends, neighbors and the UPS guy.

But once in a while we come across a kitchen or bath that is so hideously outdated it has rounded the curve and is coming back into fashion. Often, they are in pretty darn good condition, built like a brick $&!?-house. The poor sap owner has lived with the pink tile and blue accents since the hoola hoop was invented. And they maintained it beautifully. Now, those same saps are looking like cutting edge design-istas (not sure if that is a word), bringing retro front and center. They have managed to pimp out their bathroom or kitchen with nothing more than a stiff scrub brush, the patience of Job, and the frugality of Warren Buffet on food stamps.

So, the next time you visit grandma’s house, don’t roll your eyes at the yellow 1/2″ thick tile and the white sink basin on metal legs. She may be more hip than you think.

Mark Lewis

ProCraft Contracting, Inc.

How many times have you seen this – you visit your neighbors or your in-laws or your bosses house, and they proudly show off their new granite counter tops. You think, OK, at first glance they look good. But then you notice the vintage 1987, builder grade, cardboard and oak cabinets they stuck the new counters on. Then you notice that the kitchen design still sucks. Then you notice the silverware drawer still doesn’t close properly and the corner base cabinet requires full spelunking gear to reach the back recesses.

Starting to see the issue? Those really cool, visually stunning counter tops plopped onto really lame, visually repulsive cabinets just isn’t a good idea. In fact, it can make you look down right stupid. No one wants to look stupid, not me, not you. So, what does one do to avoid the dunce cap and still deal with the gold and blue swirl laminate counters with the metal edge? After all, granite is so in, man!

The logical answer is to simply gut the kitchen, add 10 feet to the back of the house, install everything new, and invite the entire neighborhood over to gloat once it is completed (spoken with all the self interest of a true remodeler!). But, we all know that sometimes a full kitchen remodel isn’t always the best option. Maybe you just don’t have the budget to swing it (a second job at a fast food establishment would cure this problem). Maybe you are planning on moving in a year and won’t benefit from a new kitchen all that much. In that is the case, replacement of just the counters can be a great a great idea. But, and it’s a big but… if your kitchen suffers from an idiotic layout or from cheap, builder grade, crap cabinets, don’t do granite. It isn’t worth the investment of your hard earned dollars or your reputation as the sharpest knife in the drawer.  

Here’s the problem with granite (or any higher end counter top material) – if you later get the job at BK and decide to fully remodel the kitchen, your investment in the existing granite is probably wasted (maybe parts can be re-used, but maybe not). Or, you decide to sell the house. Shiny new granite counters doesn’t equal a remodeled kitchen. If the design is bad or the cabinets are cheap, your kitchen will still need to be remodeled, new tops or not. But now, the remodeling contractor will have to carry heavy granite tops to the dumpster, and that will cost even more. Buyers therefore offer even less. 

So, if granite isn’t such a good idea in this instance, what is? Blue swirl has to go. How about new laminate. It is considerably cheaper than granite or the other upscale options, it comes in a ton of colors, and can actually look pretty darn good. It can really change the look without a huge investment. Now, if you decide to later remodel, you aren’t out a bunch of dough and you can even cut up the laminate counters and use them in the garage as a work bench. Or, you decide to sell and can now ask fair market value for your home and attract buyers who won’t have the false expectation of a dream kitchen.

You can even dress up the laminate counter tops with a nice tile backsplash. This adds visual interest to the kitchen, allows for many decorating options, and makes spaghetti sauce clean-up a breeze. One note here – if you’re thinking about a tile backsplash, forget the 4” laminate backsplash – have the counter run straight into the wall. Bring the tile right down to the counter top. Trust me, it will look great.

Even though granite is great, laminate counters have their place and sometimes make more sense than the upscale options. And they can increase your IQ – at least in the eyes of your in-laws.

Mark Lewis

ProCraft Contracting, Inc.

Are formal dining rooms becoming the dinosaurs of design? In this new age of really, really small carbon footprints, gaga for green, and thrifty badges of honor, do the dust collecting monuments to fine dining make sense anymore? Let’s face it, the formal dining room in most “normal” highly dysfunctional, activity driven, modern homes is used about as often as the garage attic space. Sure, the occasional holiday might bring a rare family sit down (assuming no football games are playing), or maybe the darn thing gets used for the 5000 piece Niagara Falls puzzle that also collects dust in relative obscurity. For the most part, it sits empty between visits from the vacuum and feather duster.

Here’s a thought that may go against tradition, may taint some fond family memories of the good old days. Just get rid of it. We’ll say it again. Make the dining room go away. How? “Mr. Grubby-chef, tear down this wall” to quote a famous president. Tear down the wall between the kitchen and the dining room (OK, let’s just assume they are connected, otherwise, put the hammers away, we’ll need to talk further).

By taking this seemingly extreme action, you could create an amazing eat-in kitchen. A kitchen big enough for the holidays, big enough for the family to hang out, big enough to entertain and actually talk with your friends while the meal is being prepared. Loosing the “formal” space and creating everyday family space is actually very appealing to many homeowners and also to many home buyers (i.e. – it could provide a decent return on investment).

Good kitchen designers can do wonders with the extra space and good therapists can get you over the loss of the perceived necessity of formality. The combination of the two spaces may eliminate the need for a room addition to enlarge the kitchen, and may eliminate the need for the wasteful excess of stuffy, formal dining room furniture. Both of which help make your footprints like baby steps and your green-ness much greener.

So, when you are considering a kitchen remodel, make sure you take a look at the dining room. Ask yourself the hard question “who am I impressing with this?” If you are the only one who answers, I guess you have your answer. Get out the hammer and make it happen (of course, under professional guidance).

Mark Lewis

ProCraft Contracting, Inc.