Silvertree Remodeling

Start collecting samples…tile, counter material ideas, ads for appliances of interest etc., and haunt kitchen resource stores. Talk to the staff designers. See what’s out there in person.

Now that you are armed with measurements, you’ll be able to estimate approximately how much tile or countertop material you might need, or how much “play” you have with the size of the refrigerator.

This will help you get a good sense of the cost of appliances, and materials so you’ll more easily be able edit and prioritize your selections intelligently.

While the need for a pot-filler is negotiable, if you are buying new appliances, look for the Energy Star label. ENERGY STAR is a government-backed program that lets consumers know that certain products have met EPA and Department of Energy standards for superior energy efficiency. Certain brands such as Bosch, LG, Asko and Kenmore have consistently high rankings.

Floored…By Choice

You have vinyl, linoleum, cork, tile, stone, wood with finished stains or painted wood to choose from. There is also a lot to be said from a design standpoint for having the same flooring material, for the sake of visual continuity, carried throughout your home and into the kitchen too. If you love to cook, good wood floors are not only beautiful but have a little give to them. They are much better to stand on than stone or tile.

New is a relative term these days. If you are considering new wood floors, you are probably already clued into investigating reclaimed timber. In the case of “New equals Faux”, Trex is a flooring material made of a mixture of recycled plastic and sawdust from reclaimed hardwoods. Though the 20 ft. long planks look just like the real thing when installed, unlike the real thing, the planks won’t rot or splinter. Very well priced at around $5.50/square foot, it’s worth a look. Visit www.Trex.com for stores.

Counter Intelligence

Stone and granite counters need sealers that should be re-applied yearly. Even then, wine or oil spills should be wiped up immediately. Would you be happier with Silestone or Ceasar Stone? These materials have the look and feel of stone, but are man-made from crushed quartz. They are less expensive than other synthetics like Corian, are very dense and uniform in pattern and color, and are the most stain resistant of potential counter surfaces.

It would be remiss not to mention the new “green” countertops. Here are a few of the new.

• Richlite – This is composed of layers of paper (derived for renewable of recycled resources) mixed with resin to form a highly stain-resistant material.

• Durat – This is a polyester based product that uses 30% recycled material and is itself 100% recyclable. It has a smooth silky look and feel, is extremely durable and can be renewed with slight sanding.

• Icestone – Strong and heat-resistant, the composition is 100% recycled glass in a cement matrix that can comes with a high polish but can also be honed or sand blasted.

These are just a few of the wonderful new and green materials that are available. Happy Hunting!

Cindy Lee Bergersen is a home design consultant (Allied Member, ASID) and writer for www.DecodingDecor.com. Please visit for more info and articles on home design.

Paul Lesieur Kitchen

Corn cake happy meal from Minnesota corn.

Ruby Construction LLC on Facebook

By Owen Sechrist

One of my original menu entreés consisted of Cajun blackened catfish with a black bean salsa, sweet and sour purple cabbage and a corn cake.

Corn cake from Minnesota corn.

The corn cake was popular of it’s own accord but even more appreciated when it was cut up into chunks and deep fried, then served as “corn croutons” on a southwestern themed salad. The following recipe is for making the corn cakes.  They can be prepared ahead of time and re-heated in the oven or cut up and fried.

Corn Cakes

Portion Size:  N/A

Ingredient:                                                       Amount:

Frozen Corn                                3#                    10#                  20#

Eggs                                          3                      10                     20

Flour                                          2oz                   8oz                   16oz

Butter                                       4 oz                  160z                  32 oz

S & P                                         to taste             to taste             to taste

Method:  Thaw the corn on sheet trays.  Make a roux from flour and butter.  Lightly process the corn in food processor w/ chopping blade.  Mix all ingredients thoroughly.  Portion onto sheet trays with scooper that has white bottom.  Bake until golden brown, aprox. 8 min.

Please note that “thaw the corn on sheet trays” is not completely accurate: the corn needs to not only be thawed out but dried out slightly, otherwise there will be too much moisture in the corn batter mixture.  We used a convection oven on high heat which dried the corn out quickly due to the fan.  The corn should feel waxy but not crunchy.

A “scooper that has a white bottom” is a number six food service scooper, like an ice cream scooper, that has a volume of 5.33oz.  You can just as easily hand form the cakes.  Depending on how much moisture you leave in the corn they do tend to spread out as they bake.

The 8 minute cooktime is based on a convection oven at 500 degrees.

Paul Lesieur General Remodel

By Sean Lintrow Sr. of SLS-Construction

Lead part per billions

As the property owner you have a question you should seriously consider, due to the increased costs of the EPA’s RRP rules, should I get my house or areas that are being worked on tested for lead, or should everyone just assume lead is present and proceed accordingly? In order to start answering that question, let’s first start off looking at the testing procedure.

What are the chances my house contains lead?

Per the EPA 35% of all houses, contain lead. The EPA has calculated that 86% of the houses built before 1940 still contain lead, which drops down to 66% for those built between 1940 to 1959, and drops down even further to 25% for those built between 1960 to 1978. Now, even if your house was built after 1978, be forewarned – there is still a chance that it contains lead. While the sales of lead paint and paid installation of lead paint was outlawed, there was nothing to prevent homeowners from using previously purchased paint or stain.

How much does testing cost?

This answer depends on which type of testing you want performed, what needs to be tested and who does it. You can have samples sent to an approved laboratory, you can hire a specialized Licensed Evaluator, or you may have it done by the Certified Lead Renovation Firm (CLRF) you are planning on using. For the first two options or if you are using another CLRF besides us, you would actually have to call and find out, as the prices vary based on numerous items. At this moment, besides our normal charge, you would be looking at an average price of $5 for each test section / swab done.

What is this lead test and what is a test section?

The lead test we use is actually quite simple. The first step is to expose the different layers of paint on a section of a window, trim, wainscoting, etc… This is as simple as a making a v-notched groove about ¼ inch to an inch long exposing all the paint layers down to the bare wood. We would then use an EPA approved test swab to test this section. If the swab or area turns pink to red, lead is present and the EPA’s RRP procedures must be followed. If the section or swab does not turn pink or red, we must then verify that the swab is valid and test it on a confirmation card. This test card has a chemical that mimics lead and should turn pink. If the test card does not turn pink, the test must be redone with another swab.

How many test sections have to be done?

Well this is a hard question to answer without knowing what your project entails, but let’s look at one quick example – window replacements. In this case, you would probably need to have the window itself checked along with the interior and exterior trim. If the windows and trim is representative of all the other ones in the house, the testing is done, if not you will need to test the different affected areas.

Ok, the cost is not outrageous, why wouldn’t I want to test?

There are a couple of valid reasons, you might not want to have the testing done – the first being once a test comes back positive, you have to keep those records and disclose that if and when you go to sell or rent the house. If you are asked about any known issues by your insurance company or Mortgage Company – you have to disclose it. If you babysit kids, have someone working on the house (CATV installer, carpet installer, etc…) you have to disclose it. In some cases, going from the “assume every house has lead” to positively tested for lead can lead to a perceived loss of value.

After that warning, why would I want to have my house tested then?

If your child has been tested and has high lead levels in their blood, you might not have a choice but to have the house tested. You will need to find out why it has happened and how to stop the poisoning from getting worse. In some cases, it is not the actual paint, but contaminated ground outside, the water pipes in the house, or it may come from some other source. You might also be in a house that has undergone major renovations since 1978 (or never had lead paint or stain applied), do you really want to pay the additional costs associated with the RRP provisions if you do not have to? (Future FAQ on the compliance costs coming shortly –and yes, this will cost more, even for companies like mine that already use containment and use dust free practices)

I see there are pro’s and con’s – what’s best for me?

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this or many other questions related your home, without someone actually seeing it. All we can really do here on the HRC is strongly suggest you find the best contractor in your area that not only is certified, but also understands the subject.  As always, feel free to leave us a comment here or shoot us an email if you have any questions on this or any other article. If you are in our service area looking for a contractor that believes in doing things right the first time, we would love to hear from you.

• 

Paul Lesieur General Remodel

Color for Minnesota homes.

Paul Lesieur General Remodel

Mobile kitchen showroom.

Welcome to Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes. St Paul is the capital and it has the look and feel of a well established East Coast city, but with the Mississippi running through, the city of St Paul has its own special feel. Its a great place to live and work.

I live and work in the Twin Cities and 0ne of the jobs I enjoy most is doing kitchen cabinet refacing.

What’s not to enjoy, a well done cabinet reface will make your kitchen look great, like a new kitchen in fact. We can add new rollouts, nifty accessories, lighting, flooring, tile backsplash. The possibilities are endless. All in less time for less money than new cabinets, plus its an earth friendly makeover that keeps waste from the landfills.

Refacing is simply removing old doors and drawer fronts and covering everything in a new factory finished wood. Veneers, solid wood doors and drawers and your choices of over 12 wood species.

Call us and find out if refacing is for you.

We are licensed General Contractors and are experienced in all major and minor home improvements.

Paul/ Silvertree Construction

Paul Lesieur Kitchen

By Kelly Morisseau

Countertop

Your kitchen is old. You’re looking for some way – any way– to update it without blowing the bank account. After much thought, you decide to replace the countertop.

I hate to break it to you, but you may be wasting your money.

With very few exceptions, countertops are not transferable from one set of cabinets to the next. Most people have no idea until it’s too late.

I see it all the time, more during each recession. I’m the bearer of bad news, watching the dawning realization on the faces of the people who visit me in the showroom as I explain that their old cabinets were shallower than they are today, that the heavier counters can’t be transferred (and in most cases, may break because they were fastened well), that the old cabinet layout doesn’t match anything the new stock cabinets can supply, or that the new appliances require a different installation method than your old appliances.

If your kitchen is within the last decade, the cabinets are fairly decent, and you like the layout, but you can’t stand the counters? You win – go for it. You don’t need to replace the cabinets down the road.

And, of course, if your countertop is falling apart, you may not have a choice. At least, you’ll know the options going in.

For the rest of you, here’s a checklist of things to watch before you decide on your new countertops:

Kitchen checklist

* The age and functionality of your cabinets. In many cases, if your countertop is ready to be replaced, so are your cabinets. Check the drawer glides – are they falling apart (do they even have glides?) Check the hinges – are the doors falling off? Handle holes are stripped so the handles no longer stay in place? Is the cabinet finish wearing off?

If you can answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, hold off on the countertop replacement until you can replace the cabinets.

Yes, sometimes you can hire a cabinet maker or handyman to fix the cabinets. I’ve always found when the cabinets are in poor shape, they usually require some major labor. Also, in this neck of the woods, the quality of materials was horribly poor – it’s the equivalent of bandaging rot. If you’re planning to stay in the home until the kids are grown or the your contract runs out, you will be throwing the countertop money away because eventually you’re going to have to do something about the cabinets.

This doesn’t apply to heritage homes where the quality was high – I’ve blogged the story of how my father talked a client out of gutting their 1920s rosewood kitchen. Your mileage may vary, but I’m a strong advocate of not replacing cabinets where woods/craftsmanship can no longer be duplicated. Unless, of course, they’re all rotted, water damaged beyond belief, or have some other issue which prevents a good solution.

* Cabinet style. Cabinets in homes up to the 1980s were built in the home, not in a factory. There were no standards. Some of them were simply frames to hold the doors in place. There are no backs to them (you see the wall when you open the doors), and the shelves run the entire length of all the cabinets.

In this case, the old countertops were part of the cabinet construction. Remove the countertop, and the cabinets may fall apart. If your cabinets fit this description, reconsider the countertop idea.

* The layout. If your kitchen is a U-shape? This is the worst case scenario. Counter seams don’t come apart easily (if installed properly) and it’s difficult to support all points of a U-shape counter when removing it off the existing cabinets, especially if it’s 1/2 ton of granite! Also, any rigid counter is prone to weakness at a cooktop cutout or sink area. Any dip or twist in the moving could cause the counter to snap.

* New appliances. Many people considering new countertops may replace any or all of their appliances. If this is you, you should know that new appliances are not standard. Their widths, and heights may have changed. Many cooktops and ranges have specific cutout requirements and notches, which means that even if you get your new granite counter transferred, you could have some potential challenges if you don’t take study the appliance specifications before you buy.

4030_02 (Credit: Caesarstone)

Where it works (or might work)

As I mentioned, if your kitchen is relatively new, but you can’t stand the counter, you may have this option. I say ‘may’ because of the factors up above — it’s still virtually impossible to lift and replace a granite u-shape counter and hope it doesn’t break AND fits perfectly. (No pressure there.)

For the rest of you, here are some rare exceptions where the counter might be able to be transferred:

* Simple layouts, small kitchens, and some island tops: Galley shapes or single pieces countertops, such as island tops can sometimes be transferred. Easier if it’s laminate. Also easier with a newer style (1980s or later) cabinet, so at least you know the depths will match should you decide to replace the cabinets later.

* Solid surfaces, such as Corian, are easier to work with. If it does break, that piece can be cut away and a new piece installed. Once it’s seamed together, you wouldn’t be able to tell.

There are plenty of ways to fix up your kitchen – lighting, paint, molding, retrofitting rollouts, updating appliances – which will give you far more bang for your buck in the short term.

And that’s my 2 cents for the day.

Kelly Morisseau

Paul Lesieur Kitchen