First the table. Salads to die for and healthy too! Who would believe it! http://livinggreenmag.com/2012/05/01/food-health/8-summer-salads-so-good-youll-forget-they-are-healthy/

And summer wine doesn’t get any better than this Tefft Cellars off-dry Huckleberry White @ http://www.tefftcellars.com/winery/off-dry

Top the table delight off with 4 big R’s. RENEWAL, REENERGIZE, RESTORATION, REMODEL.

Check this out for some incredible outdoor living ideas http://www.westhillinc.com/GALLERY/special_projects.htm

Enjoy, don’t forget the sunscreen.  And oops I almost forgot, May is above all for having fun.

You will find me at the BBQ.  I’ll be the one with a glass in my hand.

Where will I find you??

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Trust, the buzzword for clients in the reality this new economic age we are in.

Great leaders tell the truth. And they don’t just talk about the “good stuff.”

To enhance trust, they tell the truth about the status of the business,your home improvement project and the results, even if the truth is painful. After all there is no need to hide what most of your clients, associates and employees already know.

Openly discuss failed efforts and leverage these events to develop raving fans(clients for life) and as future learning opportunities. Candor is critical to creating a healthy work environment. It builds and sustains your credibility, while giving others opportunities to learn, to change,to succeed and to just love working with you in general.

We hear that trust is key from respected business and personal consultants all the time so why do you think some leaders avoid telling the truth?

Build the trust! Be 100% open and transparent!

And that’s THE TRUTH!

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It may come as a surprise that there are many methods for calculating the square footage for a home addition or remodeling project. Discrepancies occur when including (or omitting) porches and screened-in decks, basements, attic spaces and garages. Was the square footage occupied by a staircase counted once or twice?

Then there’s the question of where the measurement is taken from. Some home improvement contractors may only include the space inside the walls. Other times, the calculation is based on taking measurements from outside of the wall framing (which adds the square footage represented in the wall thickness.) As commonly done with appraisals, some additions are measured from outside of exterior finish materials. If the home has brick siding, for example, measuring to the outside of the brick may add 20 to 50 or more square feet to the home’s overall footprint. This is one reason homes should not be compared solely on the basis of cost-per-square-foot. Different contractors calculate square footage differently.

Also to consider, the quality of materials used differs by remodeler, as does the costs charged by the remodeler’s sub-contractors such as electricians, plumbers and painters.

Finally, what’s included in one remodeler’s estimate will vary from what’s included in another remodeler’s estimate. It’s virtually impossible to get an “apples for apples” comparison between two buildering contractors, and even if you could control most of the variables by having the design finalized and all products selected, there are still the differences in quality and customer service to be considered.

So beware of comparing two home improvement estimates solely on the basis of cost per square foot! They are not created equal!

Thank you to Greg Dodge @www.DesignBasics.com for his ideas for this post.

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Chapter 1 “In the Beginning

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – By Theodore Roosevelt

The New Mansion

Early in the year of 2011, after a very long search for the perfect home, we finally found our dream house.

It is located in the highly desired Wallingford community of Seattle.

The neighborhood is a mixture of “Yuppies”, “Dinks” and devout followers of Congressman Jim McDermott.  It also has a sprinkling of regular everyday people.

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Something important to consider when planning a kitchen remodel, bath remodel or new custom home is water management. I’m not talking about rainfall here but the water we design to bring into our homes.

Insurance companies report paying out far more for internal water leaks than for fire damage in the homes they insure. I can certainly confirm that, as our home improvement company does far more water damage repair than any other type of home repair work.

Toilets/sinks/bathtubs that overflow, washing machine hoses burst, water heater tanks rupture, dishwashers leak—all potentially disasters for your home.

The quickest way to stop a leak is to turn off your home’s water. Of course it’s not a permanent fix, but turning off the water in the moment can save very costly damage to your home’s finishes and furnishings.

PAUSE:::: Just now, while sitting in Westhill’s quiet office on a Saturday morning to write this post I received an emergency phone call. HELP! A water leak at a dishwasher. Hardwood floors are already swelling! The crew is on the way.  Ironic? Coincidence?

An increasingly popular solution is a water leak detector. When leak detectors sense a water leak, they’ll shut the water off—either at the point of the leak detected or to the whole house—depending on the model of leak detector. Leak detection systems can be either active or passive.

Active Leak Detection Systems

These systems usually generate some type of alarm, but they also perform a function that will stop the water flow. They feature some form of shutoff valve and a means to determine that a leak is occurring. Most devices use moisture sensors to detect a leak. Other systems utilize a flow sensor and a timer to determine that something is leaking and the water needs to be turned off. An active leak detection system can either operate for an individual fixture or it can control a whole property.

Passive Leak Detection Systems

These systems, also called “water alarms,” are intended to alert you to a possible water leak. They generally sound an audible alarm tone; some may also feature a flashing light.  Passive systems are frequently battery-operated, stand-alone units. They are inexpensive and easy to install. Some simply sit on the floor while others may be wall mounted. A moisture sensor is located on the bottom of the unit and activates the alarm when it becomes wet. Battery-operated devices need to be tested regularly, and the batteries should be replaced on a periodic basis.

Individual Appliance Systems

These systems are installed on a specific appliance and will automatically shut off the water supply in case of a leak. Depending on the type of device, you may be able to install this system without any special tools. However, in some cases, a qualified plumber may be needed.

Whole-House Systems

These systems feature a shutoff valve installed on the main water supply pipe. When the system detects a leak, it will automatically shut off the entire water supply. If you travel often, this type of system could help you rest assured while you’re away from home. Whole-house systems typically take between four and six hours to install, and a qualified plumber is normally required. View a list of manufacturers.

The bottom line? With a water leak detector you’ve got a small puddle to clean up, not a flood!

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Tell Outdoor Living Contractors a species or grade of wood and, more likely than not, they can envision exactly what you’re talking about. But then try asking them to explain what makes one brand’s wood-plastic composite (WPC) decking or trim different from another. Most of them will be stumped.

No other product in the lumberyard matters so much to deck shoppers and yet is so little understood as is WPC’s. Composite decking products are gangly mix of impressive achievements and dumb errors.

Manufacturers’ past claims (hyped by the press and public) that WPC is maintenance-free certainly helped confuse things, and intense competition has led producers to be intentionally vague about what’s in their products.

Should you demand to know what’s in this stuff? Well, since 2004, seven wood-plastic composite manufacturers and suppliers have faced lawsuits related to a host of problems, including fading and color changes, slippery surfaces, shrinkage, swelling, and mold.

It takes some work, but you can learn to spot the differences between products and, hopefully, avoid future callbacks. Here’s a start.

As Much Art as Science

Creating composites often is compared to cooking, but lots of chefs would be sorely tested if they tried to whip up a deck board or piece of trim. That’s because, unlike in a kitchen, you can’t count on the ingredients to be consistent from one day to another.

Wood and plastic typically make up roughly 85% to 95% of the ingredients’ total weight. Most of the wood consists of cast-offs from flooring factories. And most of the plastic had a previous life as well. WPC manufacturers work constantly to get reliable streams of raw product, but if the wood is a different mix of species or the recycled plastic shipment was from a different  previous product, the manufacturer will need to adjust its formulas. “It’s not a highly repeatable process,” says Tom Gramlich, chief operating officer of TimberTech, who makes composite decks, porches, railing, and trim. “Every night, our operator is fighting a different set of circumstances than the night before.”

How To Shop

“Saying all deck boards are the same is like saying all cars are the same,” says Gramlich of TimberTech. “A Chevette isn’t a Mercedes.”

Though virtually all industry experts agree that composite decking and trim is far better than it was just a few years ago, they stress that variations between products still run rampant. So how do you tell which product is a peach and which is a lemon?

Ask about warranty claims and lawsuits. The volume of claims as a percent of total sales can help indicate the product’s performance.

Reading manufacturers’ warranties can give you a sense of what these firms believe their products can do–in contrast to the advertising claims they make. Pick up a typical WPF brochure and you’ll see on the cover a boast that it “Resists everything but stares.” But then go to its 25-year fade and stain warranty, and you might see language that makes clear its resistance is limited pretty much solely to permanent staining from food and beverage spills.

The trend among manufacturers is to give warranties stretching 25 years and longer on products that only just came out since the Obama administration. “They make a product and throw it up on the wall and if it sticks, they market it,” he says. “Look at some of these decking products that failed. Why did they fail? There’s no long-term test data.”

How long a company has been in the business also should be taken into account when considering a deck project.

Bottom line. There is some good, quality manufactured WPF Decking but it is a moving target. The only real way to be sure of a products quality is to consult a contractor who has installed a lot of decking, in a lot of different places, for a long time. Unexpected problems are a part of the package that comes when you try to buy an ever-evolving product.

So Many Choices!

Sources – Article by Craig Webb @prosalesmagazine.com

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There seems to be the assumption that a small house is cramped, but just the opposite is true. By eliminating the little-used rooms, more of the house is available for everyday use, so that in a well-designed small house, “you are actually living in more square footage than in some larger, newer homes.” states Susanka. If you are considering remodeling your home, or purchasing a home, there are three options Susanka sites for remodeling your home in a Not So Big way.

• Work within the existing footprint
  • Don’t assume you have to add on.
  • Generally by removing or opening up a wall, adding built in’s, or redesigning the way you move thru a room, you don’t have to change the original footprint.
• Bump Out
  • Consider a bump out, or two, if your needs can not be made within the existing footprint.
  • Cutting thru the exterior of the home adds a bigger investment, but adding just a couple feet can make a big difference to the use and aesthetics of the space.
• Add on just a little
  • Consider adding a little square footage rather than a big addition.
  • This solution adds more investment dollars, but even a small addition can be cost effective when compared to a substantial renovation, moving, or new building needs.

When you’ve remodeled and made your home fit you to a tee, after you’ve moved on there will be others who’ll recognize the love and attention that has gone into its making and who in turn will want to take care of it with the same diligence you have.  Each new owner will make a few changes of their own, and the home will continue to live on, gaining in character with each set of homeowners.  This is how it has happened over the centuries in Europe and other parts of the world where they know how to build for centuries rather than decades, and this is how it can happen here.  We don’t have to keep tearing down and starting over.

That’s the potential of all our homes.  There’s so much that’s possible in home design, so much that can make every dwelling place a better fit and a more expressive reflector of its owners’ lifestyles and passions, but to realize the potential, we have to think more creatively, more durably, and more three-dimensionally.  No matter what your house challenges are, and no matter what your budget, there are things you can do to make it a better place to live, both for you today and centuries to come.

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• Red Shirt Friday is a symbol of unity of support for our soldiers who have given their lives and their freedoms so we might enjoy ours.

• Red Shirt Friday is not just to give thanks to the thousands that have died for us. It is also for the millions that have served our country, are serving our country now, and to the millions that have supported our brave military.

• Red Shirt Friday is for the loved ones that have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for our benefit and freedom; mothers, wives, brothers, sisters, children and relatives.

• Red Shirt Friday is for the friends, neighbors, communities, organizations, states and our nation that suffer for our loss.

• Red Shirt Friday is for all the ones that are serving now and have served.

• Red Shirt Friday is for our P.O.W.s and M.I.A.s that have made the ultimate sacrifice.

We support http://www.operationhomefront.net/ a great nonprofit organization. They help American military personnel and/or their families who are struggling due to financial hardship, death, injury, or physical or mental challenges as a result of service in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nationally, $.95 out of every $1.00 donated to Operation Homefront goes directly to programs.

Got some red in your closet? Or green in your wallet for Operation Homefront?

Each week as Friday rolls around, think Red Friday!

You will be glad you did.

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Families expand and children grow older as time goes on; suddenly, that home isn’t quite so perfect.  Perhaps you still love your home, but you really want that new gourmet kitchen or a larger master suite.  Consider the following questions when deciding if home remodeling is your best choice.

Questions to answer about remodeling:

What projects do you want to have done and how much will they cost?

• A Design/Build Home Improvement Contractor with an in-house architect will be able to assist you with these figures.

How much will the improvements add to the value of your home, also known as the “payback”?

Some reasons to remodel instead of move:

• You’re happy with your location.  It’s convenient, you love your neighbors and the schools are either excellent or are not a factor.
• You like your home but you need an update to better suite your current style of living or just a little more space to be really comfortable.

Only you know what is truly important to love your home.  You may want to consider attending remodeling home tours, open houses or visiting new housing developments to see what is available and how your home compares.  Arrange with your remodeling contractor to meet some past clients that have completed home improvement projects similar to what you are considering.

So what’s next?  Just get started.

Referrals, referrals, referrals!  I know of no better way to start than asking neighbors, friends and family for referrals of a home improvement contractor they have used and trust!

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If a kitchen or laundry room remodel is in your future you’re in for a variety of mind boggling choices. You’re selection of appliances sure aren’t the same ones your mom and grandma used to make. Even the poor home remodeling contractor these days, needs to have some kind of technology degree to figure out how these futuristic appliances work.

This may age me a bit, but I can remember my mother using a clothes washer that needed a wringer with what looked like two rolling pins, attached to it. The wringer was used to get the excess water from the clothes (and to pinch little fingers!) before hanging on the line. The line meaning an outdoor clothesline! And even harder to believe, I have seen my grandmother use a scrub board to wash clothes. Now, if you know what a scrub board is then you are most likely a tad bit on the older side like me. If you have actually used a scrub board you are ancient!

Whether you’re in the market for a refrigerator, washer, dryer, dishwasher, or oven, they have all gone high-tech. They’re turning into smart computers. Some, sport touch screens and run custom functions. Others offer technicians, remote diagnostic capabilities. Some devices under development will be able to connect wirelessly to the Web.

Even if you’re not planning a kitchen or laundry room remodel soon, check out this article in Business Week to see some cool innovations in home appliances that are happening right now.

For more info, visit “Household Appliances Go High-Tech – BusinessWeek”   www.images.businessweek.com

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