Kitchen Island Size – They Don’t Have To Be Big

Posted on by Tim Carter
Kitchen Island Size

Kitchen Island Size | This is an interesting small, but mighty, kitchen island. I've got lots of other kitchen island tips for you. Copyright 2020 Tim Carter

Kitchen Island Size - A Small One Can Work Well

QUESTION: Tim, I’m about to embark on a kitchen remodeling adventure and don’t want to get shipwrecked on the island of kitchen mistakes. I’ve never had an island in my kitchen and I believe I can make one work. I don’t have lots of space for an island and can you help me decide if one will work? What, in your opinion, is the smallest island you can have in a kitchen? What about appliances and electricity in the island? What happens if you get a stone top and want to change it later? How would you get the stone top off? Mary Chris F., Cincinnati, OH

Tens of thousands, heck maybe it’s hundreds of thousands, of homeowners like Mary Chris might be flummoxed each year here in the USA when it comes to kitchen remodeling challenges and kitchen design guidelines. While I’ve never traveled to Europe, I’ve come to respect their adroit skills at making the most with the least when it comes to space in kitchens, bathrooms, and living spaces. If you need inspiration about how to work with small spaces, by gosh look east across the Atlantic Ocean!

CLICK or TAP HERE to get FREE BIDS from local kitchen designers. WOOT! FREE FLIPPIN' quotes!

How much counter space does a kitchen need?

I didn’t build the current house I live in. My goal is to build one more house for myself and believe me it will have as near a perfect kitchen layout as possible. My current house had a horrible kitchen layout when I bought the home. I don’t know what the architect or homeowner was thinking, but it had virtually no countertop space. All of the tops were short sections with the longest one about 30 inches.

The overall size of my kitchen is only 14 feet 7 inches by 13 feet 3 inches. Believe it or not with some ingenious planning and relocating the entry into the kitchen, we doubled the square footage of the countertop space and included two new islands to boot! I employed some secret kitchen island design tips of my own to create two great islands.

kitchen island with stools

These are the two islands in my kitchen. You can see the backside of the island cabinet that has the microwave.

How much clearance is needed around the island?

The primary island cabinet in my own kitchen at this time measures 25 by 48 inches. It’s got a stone top that overhangs 1 inch around all sides. It’s important to realize you need to have space around the island so two people can pass one another with ease while one person is working at the island. I can tell you from past jobs that 40 inches is a generous amount of space and you really don’t need more than this.

Most professional kitchen designers will tell you that 36 inches is the minimum distance you need to make this happen. I agree. I violated this standard by just one inch when you measure the distance between the island countertop edge and the front of the giant range. In ten years, this has not been an issue.

What can be included in a kitchen island?

I have a wonderful microwave oven in my island. It’s a drawer-type and has worked well for over ten years. All of my plates, bowls, saucers are in slide-out drawers in a cabinet next to the microwave. The silverware is in a standard drawer next to the oven. Below the oven is a medium-sized drawer that lots of platters, large cooking pans, etc. fit into with ease. In other words, lots of stuff is stored in this tiny island!

Is it Easy to Install Electric in an Island?

Electric is easy to incorporate into a kitchen island. There are any number of ways to do it. The easiest way is to have standard duplex outlets in the sides or rear of the island. The National Electrical Code permits this so long as the electrician installs the cables within the cabinet so they can’t get damaged. Remember, you can often do better than the code and I prefer to have these cables run in metal conduit so there’s no chance a cable can be damaged by moving anything around in the island cabinet.

Can You Install Outlets Inside a Drawer?

You can also install hidden outlets in an island where the actual receptacle is inside a drawer of all places. My daughter did this in her new home and I’m not yet sold on this method for a host of reasons. It’s a safe installation, but I just don’t know if I want a drawer partially open while I use an appliance up on top of the island.

How do you fasten the countertop to the island?

Mary Chris was smart to think about how to remove a stone top from a cabinet without damaging the actual cabinet. I’ve installed countless granite and marble tops and can tell you they weigh hundreds of pounds. Gravity alone can keep a stone top on a cabinet, but you do need something to help keep a stone top from sliding.

I’ve found that just a few dollops of clear silicone caulk at the four corners of an island cabinet are plenty to keep the top secure. The dollops only need to be the size of a dime.

How Do You Remove a Granite or Marble Top?

If you discover you need to replace the top, you can easily cut through the silicone using a 4-foot-long piece of very thin braided picture-hanging wire that’s tied to two pieces of broomstick handle. Two people use this wire saw much like lumberjacks use a two-man bucksaw on a log. It only takes seconds to cut through the caulk.

wire saw stone top removal

This is the wire saw I used to remove a large marble top. It's just normal braided picture-hanging wire that's about 1/32nd of an inch thick. You need to have at least one foot of wire extra at each end so you can saw back and forth with your partner.

wire saw for stone top removal

The red arrow points to the thin braided wire that will cut through the caulk.

Column 1384

December 13, 2020 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on by Tim Carter

You! I knew it. I knew you were a new subscriber! Welcome! Have you ever been the new person at a club or business meeting? I’m sure you remember how the leader of the event immediately introduces you to all the regulars. Smile! The spotlight is on you. (Plentiful applause)

That said, you might have received so many of these newsletters that you distinctly remember when I raved about the MUST HAVE Coast G10 flashlight.
Coast G10 LED Flashlight in hand

I know people who have this exact flashlight on their nightstand. It comes in handy when trying to locate a mouth-watering dark-chocolate pecande or missing things in the dark.

This little beauty makes the PERFECT Christmas Stocking Stuffer. HURRY and order a few of them now. CLICK or TAP HERE.

December NH Loch Eye Candy

I love getting up early. I feel that morning is the best part of the day. My wife is the opposite. She's a night owl like her dad.

This means I have to enjoy sunrises like the one from two days ago by myself. It's amazing to have a clear view to the east.

When I woke up the morning of December 11th, I could tell it was going to be an epic sunrise. All I had to do was look at the stars, the brightening sky to the east, and the wispy clouds. I wasn't disappointed with Mother Nature's light show. Magenta is such a good look, wouldn't you agree?

You're looking to the southeast across Lake Winnisquam here in central New Hampshire. Those double humps to the left are Gunstock and Belknap Mountains respectively.
sunrise loch winnisquam
CLICK or TAP HERE to see a high-resolution copy of the above photo.

CLICK or TAP HERE to watch a video of this sunrise I shot a few minutes after letting that eye candy soak in. You'll enjoy the quiet, trust me.

Janelle’s Wisdom

A week ago, Janelle hired me to do a phone autopsy of her new deck project. We talked for an hour because there were quite a few problems.

She was on par to get a deck somewhat similar to this one.

trex-transcend-deck

It turns out the workers who were building her new deck were not great, not terrible.

They reminded me of that short scene in the TV series Chernobyl. CLICK or TAP HERE to grasp my assessment of their skills.

Janelle was wise, in my opinion, for a number of reasons:

  • She hired me the moment she saw a problem.
  • She asked some great questions.
  • She held back 50% of the money owed the contractor, giving her plenty of leverage to get the mistakes fixed.
  • She used the information I emailed her to get the corrections made, causing no conflict with the deck company.

After the call, I put together a list of photos, columns, products, etc. that showed how the mistakes could be repaired with a minimum of time and expense.

Janelle got off LUCKY. Why?

I’ve had to tell other homeowners that their new decks must come down and they have to start over. Fortunately, Janelle’s situation just required one man and a helper working for about six hours to correct the mistakes.

CLICK or TAP HERE NOW to schedule a call with me BEFORE you start your next big project to make sure all goes well.

Monica’s Greasy Kitchen Rainstorm

Look at this:
kitchen stove vent hood

Tell me something.

Do you think you know EXACTLY how to operate a simple kitchen exhaust fan? Monica thought she did.

I'm willing to bet that you could be in the 68.94% of homeowners that don't know how to operate a range hood the right way.

CLICK or TAP HERE to see if you are indeed a master of all things ventilation or if you're one of the 68.94!

If you discover something new in this column, please let me know.

Dead Tree Gift Idea

I know this sounds crazy, but here’s a gift you might need to give yourself this Christmas. This is a book made from dead trees.

Yes, marvel at that - a real book made from paper, not electrons. Well, if you’re a chemistry major and not philosophy, you’ll know there are electrons in the paper and ink, but let’s not split hairs.
cover of dictionary

Why go old school and buy a book? Here’s the issue. It seems that it doesn’t take much effort to change the DEFINITION of words in online dictionaries! It's happening and it's not a good thing!

Once you have a hard-copy dictionary, you’ll know the true meaning of words, not the meanings that fit the current narrative on any topic.

Protect yourself - get a hard copy. Buy a book. CLICK or TAP HERE now to get this one.

Northern and Southern Lights

I’m a ham radio operator and when the sun gets agitated, I get happy. The solar storms are very helpful for radio-wave propagation. You can make contact with other operators all across the earth ball when the sun is burping out gas.
aurora borealis forecast image

These storms also create the aurora borealis and the aurora australis.

Here’s a handy website you might bookmark so you can get fast alerts should the eye candy be visible overhead in your neck of the woods.

It’s on my bucket list to see this magic in person. There are mystical resorts in Scandinavia where you can lie on your back in glass-roofed yurts or cabins to see the light show in the sky above.

Cleaning Tile Floors - READ THIS

Tom wanted to do a little loving on Stain Solver. Read his short story. After reading, you really need to order some.

Stain Solver black background yellow scoop

“Tim,

I wanted to thank you for your quick response on using Stain Solver on a linoleum floor. My brother and sister-in-law recently moved into a new home which has a linoleum floor in one room that is in great shape but just doesn't look clean. He had planned to get a steamer to try and clean the floor. I asked him to wait until I checked with you to see if Stain Solver would be good for his linoleum floor. I think his floor will look great once cleaned with Stain Solver.

My wife and I have been using Stain Solver on our tile floors for over a year. Our floors are 30 years old and thanks to Stain Solver they look almost as good as when we installed them. The best comment we received on the floors came last month from a tile guy who was working on our bathroom shower tiles. He kept looking down at our floor tiles and finally asked when we’d had the new floor installed.

When I told him the bathroom floor, along with the other tile floors in our home, was 30 years old, he couldn't believe it. He went around to each room and said that he very rarely sees tile floors and grout lines in such good shape and coloring even after 10 years. We told him prior to using Stain Solver they didn't look that good. Thanks for making such a good product available to all of us.”

You’re welcome, Tom! My pleasure! Soon we’ll have 1 to 2-day delivery of Stain Solver available to 85% of our customer base!

That’s enough for a Sunday, right?

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
CLEAN TILE - www.StainSolver.com
BURP AWAY Mr. Sun! www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over - Silly!

P.S. Do you know how to play hide and seek with plumbing pipes? It’s not hard! CLICK or TAP HERE to discover how I do it.

Grease Dripping From Range Hood

Posted on by Tim Carter
Grease Dripping From Range Hood

Grease Dripping From Range Hood | This is a powerful kitchen stove range hood that exhausts air outdoors. Many problems can happen if you don’t operate one correctly. The column below was so good I shared it with 31,000 subscribers in my FREE December 13, 2020 newsletter. Copyright 2020 Tim Carter

"It’s important for this water vapor to be piped out of your house as rapidly as possible before it changes back to liquid water."

QUESTION: Tim, my husband and I really need your help. Our ten-year-old multi-speed kitchen exhaust fan drips greasy water back down onto the stove. Three of the highest fan speeds no longer work. The lights in the hood have also stopped working. It’s in a custom wood surround with a custom internal stainless steel frame so buying a different model will become an installation nightmare. I’m worried the fan is a lemon and don’t want a new one to fail like this one. I can tell you that years ago the highest speeds of the fan were so loud that you couldn’t hear in the kitchen, so I almost always used the lowest speed. What’s going on and how would you solve this problem? Did I inadvertently cause the problem? Monica B., Lexington, KY

Why Are Kitchen Exhaust Fans Loud?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a very similar kitchen stove exhaust fan like Monica’s. In fact, I had one at my last home that I thought was so powerful it would suck an infant up into the air. It sounded like a jet engine. The interesting thing is after years of use, I never had one drop of greasy water drip from my hood like Monica.

I solved Monica’s problem over the phone in less than fifteen minutes. I’ve offered this one-on-one problem-solving service for years because some problems are so complex you just can’t do it with back-and-forth emails. After hanging up with Monica, I felt it was important for you to know what went wrong. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you forcing you to buy a $1,000 exhaust fan when it could have been avoided.

Should I Have Paid Attention In High School?

When you cook on a stove, your high school chemistry and physics teachers are grinning up in Heaven. Remember when you sat in class all those years ago mumbling under your breath, “How am I EVER going to use this useless information?” I have to admit, I’d sometimes say it out loud and I got to ponder the answer that afternoon sitting in detention class for 45 minutes copying my high school rule book on lined notebook paper.

Does Cooking Create Water Vapor?

The cooking process creates vast amounts of water vapor as you heat food and boil water. When you heat up or fry meat, you also melt grease and some of this also gets converted to vapor, or tiny droplets of the grease hitch a ride on some of the water vapor as it floats up from your stove.

It’s important for this water vapor to be piped out of your house as rapidly as possible before it changes back to liquid water. This is why exhaust fan manufacturers have very explicit requirements as to both the minimum diameter and maximum length of the exhaust pipe that connects your fan to the outdoors.

kitchen hood over pot filler

What Fan Speed Should I Use?

You should match your kitchen exhaust fan speed to the amount of food on the stove that's cooking. More food and boiling water means higher fan speeds.

You should now understand why most of these high-quality exhaust fans have high-speed fans. The fan is trying to blast the water vapor outdoors in just a few seconds as opposed to allowing it to saunter through the exhaust pipe on its journey to the great outdoors.

The dripping greasy water problem is exacerbated by cool or cold weather. Monica absolutely can experience this in central Kentucky. I lived for fifty-five years just 90 miles north in Cincinnati, OH, and I know how bitter cold the Midwest can get in the winter months. This is why it’s a good idea to insulate both kitchen and bathroom exhaust pipes so they stay as warm as possible.

What is Condensation?

Remember in your physics class when your teacher discussed condensation? If you live in a humid climate, you undoubtedly experience this in the summer. Think about that cold can of beer or soda you take from the refrigerator and place on your patio table. It’s dry when you take it from the refrigerator but on a humid day within a minute a fog on the cold metal. Minutes later, a small puddle of water has developed at the base of the can!

Now imagine the enormous surface area of your kitchen fan’s exhaust pipe. It could be fifty or one hundred times the surface area of a single can of soda. It should start to make sense to you now why greasy water is raining down from Monica’s vent hood.

How Often Should Vent Hood Filters Be Cleaned?

Vent hood filters should be cleaned frequently.

Monica also asked me on the phone about how often to clean the filters in the vent hood. I asked her how often she cooks and she said every night. Fortunately, her filters are a mesh stainless steel and can be put in the dishwasher. I suggested she clean them every two weeks at a minimum.

I then discussed with Monica why there are often four speeds to kitchen exhaust fans. It’s important for you to match the fan speed to the amount of food being cooked on the stove. If you’ve got all the burners going, pots of water boiling, skillets frying, etc., you better have the fan on high speed. If you’ve got just one small pot simmering, then the low speed is usually just fine. Match the fan speed to the amount of water vapor being created.

How Long Should the Fan Run After the Stove is Off?

Monica also admitted making another mistake when I asked her how long she allows the fan to run after the burners are turned off. “Oh, I turn off the fan immediately.” That’s a mistake. Some high-quality exhaust fans come with a built-in timer that keeps the fan running for five, ten, or even fifteen minutes after you’re finished cooking.

This is done so any light condensation on the inside of the exhaust pipe can evaporate and be blown outside before it has a chance to drip back down to the kitchen. Monica’s going to get the same replacement vent hood, but this time it’s probably going to last twenty-five years!

Column 1383

December 9, 2020 AsktheBuilder Revised Columns

Posted on by Tim Carter

Here's your mid-week dose of recently revised columns.

There are some jaw-dropping videos in several.

Once again, I URGE you to, at the VERY LEAST, click and just scan the columns.

This way, when you eventually do have the problem your tiny gray cells will remind you that I have life preservers to throw at you from AsktheBuilder.com!

I can also throw you chocolate-covered doughnuts! Yummy!!!

Remember, are you doing Christmas Shopping at Amazon?

CLICK or TAP HERE to use my affiliate link. It's so easy and it costs you zilch.

"Tim, WHY do you want me to use your affiliate link? What's in it for ME?"

You using the affiliate link helps keep the lights on here at AsktheBuilder.com. It helps pay the server fees. It allows you to get FREE CONTENT.

Those are just a few of the reasons.

Here's another reminder for you.

I have a LINK TO AMAZON in EVERY ISSUE of this newsletter. See it to the right? (Editor: It's to the right in the emailed Newsletter. It is shown below here.) It's this ad:
Help Grow Shop At Amazon
So SAVE a few issues of this newsletter in your email program and just before going to Amazon, open up an issue, locate the ad, and CLICK the ad for goodness sake.

Top Tips for Long-Lasting Concrete

Change Orders - Death on a Stick!

Why Your Roof Leaks

Preventing Mold in New Homes

Have you ever thought about why magenta is such an attractive color?

I'll be back on Sunday with lots of goodies for you.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
BEST Darned Organic Cleaner - www.StainSolver.com
Scary 60 Meters - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

December 6, 2020 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on by Tim Carter

I’m quite certain you’re a new subscriber who joined us this week. Welcome! Each day I’m able to see all new subscribers and it warms my heart that you trust me to share useful home improvement information. This issue has quite a few fun prizes. Be sure to pay close attention to the Tony Hseih story below.

You, on the other hand, might remember the column I wrote about insulation installation. I’m talking about the one where a contractor admitted to installing it WRONG each day of his entire career. OUCH!

CLICK or TAP HERE to read this fascinating story.

SUPER STOCKING STUFFER - SPY GEAR!

spy camera USB charger

This is a SPY CAMERA for your house or office. It's masquerading as a common USB charger that actually works!!!!

This is a dandy thing to have to catch all sorts of nefarious activity inside your home or office without the evildoers knowing you're recording.

CLICK or TAP HERE to discover how to start your CIA training.

Prevent My Newsletter From Disappearing

Each week I get at least three emails from subscribers asking me if I'm still alive or sick. Here's a typical one. It came from John overnight:

"I don’t receive newsletters from you anymore. Don’t know if I was dropped from your list or if there’s a different problem. Sincerely hope all is well with you."

I've been publishing this newsletter each week, sometimes twice a week, for years now.

Do you want to make sure it shows up each time in your INBOX? Then do these three simple things:

1. OPEN each issue. Don't look at it in the preview screen of your software.

2. CLICK at LEAST TWO LINKS in each newsletter - Seriously, this is IMPORTANT.

3. CLICK HERE and READ this great article from my friend Leo who's an email EXPERT. He shares all the cool tips about what you need to do to keep getting important email.

While you're reading Leo's article, I URGE YOU TO SIGN UP for his helpful newsletter. He can solve just about ANY tech issue you may have with your computer. You'll discover one of Leo's pet peeves is backing up data.

Leo's a tech jeanyus! 🙂

Christmas Shopping Reminder

When you’re shopping for Christmas gifts at Amazon.com, you can help make sure this newsletter CONTINUES to arrive in your Inbox. How, you might ask?

Amazon Logo
Please use my affiliate link to do your shopping. I get a tiny piece of each sale for brokering the deal. It doesn’t cost you anything. Jeff Bezos just ends up with less money to buy fuel for his huge private jet.

Water Hammer Fix

Consider this. A cubic foot of water weighs 62.4 pounds. Visualize water pouring out the end of your garden hose as if it’s a small clear freight train chugging down a track.

What happens when you shut off a valve FAST, like your dishwasher or washing machine fill valve? That freight train of water crashes against the valve. BOOM! CRASH!

How do you STOP the resulting water hammer?

pex water lines copper manifold
It’s not hard. CLICK or TAP HERE to see what I’d do if I came over to your home with my tools. You did invite me, right?

Tony Hseih and You

Did you see the news story about the tragic death of Tony Hseih the week before Thanksgiving? You may not be familiar with Tony, but there’s a great chance you bought something from him. He was the founder of Zappos.

As we all know, you can’t trust what you read or see in the news today - I say this and I’m a member of the working media! I don’t have the exact details or autopsy report of what caused his death and even if they were in a news report, I’d want to read the coroner's autopsy report myself.

But I can speculate because my anesthesiologist father-in-law helped treat many of the survivors of the historic 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire.

Here are just a few of the victims in the temporary morgue that was set up in the Ft. Thomas, KY Armory that fateful night.
Beverly Hills Fire Victims

The 165 souls who perished in that horrific fire died of smoke inhalation. But it wasn’t just any smoke.

It was highly toxic smoke generated by burning plastic and synthetic materials.

You have countless things in your home that will create this same poisonous deadly smoke as soon as they start to burn.

My father-in-law worked 36 hours straight in the ICU treating people whose lungs were permanently damaged from this fire. He shared that the people who perished took one, maybe two, breaths of the thick black smoke saturated with toxic chemicals and died instantly.

My guess is Tony died from the exact same thing.

Why should this be important to you? I maintain that Tony is screaming at you from up in Heaven right now that you need to be hyper-aware of fire safety in your home.

You need to make sure you have great smoke detectors that are NOT worn out and have lost their early-detection capability. Yes, smoke detectors SHOULD BE switched out every few years. CLICK or TAP HERE to see ones that I prefer.

You need to have an ESCAPE plan that gets you out a window, and not running through a smoke-filled house to get to a door. Remember, one or two breaths and you could be in a body bag.

When traveling, you need to know how to quickly get out of the place you’re staying. Once again, not necessarily crawling down a long hallway.

CLICK or TAP HERE and check out the vast number of helpful FIRE SAFETY tip sheets produced by the NFPA.

Sewer Gas In Your Home, Apt, or Condo?

Have you had a sewer gas issue that drove you crazy?

I need your help to create an authoritative guide about sewer gas.

Can you answer just two questions for me?

  1. What is the MOST IMPORTANT question you have about sewer gas?
  2. If you’ve had a sewer gas issue, I’d like to know what was the SOURCE of the sewer gas?

If you’ll take the time to answer those two questions, I’ll make sure you get a FREE COPY of the guide once it’s complete.

Please CLICK or TAP HERE and just answer those two simple questions to qualify for your FREE COPY. Thanks in advance!

Arecibo Radio Telescope Collapse

Did you hear about the other tragedy in the past week? The one in Puerto Rico?
Arecibo Radio Telescope Collapse

I just came across this terrifying video of 900 tons of steel falling about 500 feet to the ground. The first half of the video is from the ground. The second half is from a drone hovering over the steel cables as they stretch and fail. WATCH the entire short video. Pause the second half of the video every second to see the cables EXPLODE as they fail.

CLICK or TAP HERE to WATCH THE VIDEO and think about this the next time you cross a suspension bridge. You better hope your state DOT is doing their job making sure the cables are in great shape!

My First Company Ad

I’m in the process of scanning hundreds of old family photos to share with my relatives. I'm then uploading them to cloud storage so they're safe. Future generations will be able to look back at these digital images to see their ancestors.

CLICK or TAP HERE to see the bakery my grandfather and grandmother operated in Cincinnati, OH.

I’d guess this photo was shot in the early 1920s. My grandmother is the woman on the left in the white dress standing next to her oldest child, my Aunt Clara.

Scanning the photos is a fun project. You might consider scanning your old photos especially if you’re housebound this winter.

Mixed in with the photos, I’ve found some other treasures. My mother in her infinite wisdom, SAVED a copy of an ad that I’d put in everyone’s mailbox in my neighborhood. This would have been the summers of 1972 and 1973 when my good friend John Pendery and I painted houses. It was my first foray into entrepreneurship.

What’s FUNNY about this ad, looking at it now, is how much could I possibly have known about installing concrete, finishing drywall, and hanging wallpaper at that age? I was 20 or 21 for goodness sake!

It’s laughable! Keep that in mind when you hire an industrious but wet-behind-the-ears contractor!

Thanks, Mom for being a packrat!

first advertisement for Tim Carter Biz
Do you want to get FREE BIDS from LOCAL contractors that have FAR MORE experience than I did when I walked around my neighborhood all those years ago?

CLICK or TAP HERE NOW to get FREE BIDS.

That’s quite enough for a lazy Sunday.

I’ll have lots of great revised columns for you on Wednesday.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Clean Organically - www.StainSolver.com
Morse Muff Time - www.W3ATB.com

P.S. What's 100X STRONGER than concrete? I’ll bet you don’t know the answer!!!!! CLICK or TAP HERE to see if you guessed wisely.

December 2, 2020 AsktheBuilder Revised Columns

Posted on by Tim Carter

I hope your Thanksgiving was splendid. Mine was magical. The face time with family and the food were good for the soul. While it was cool and rainy on Mt. Desert Island Thanksgiving Day, the dry tongue of the weather system dragged its way across the island the following morning before we headed back to New Hampshire. I went for a quick hike along Ocean Path in Acadia National Park and this is some of the eye candy I got to enjoy.

Sand Beach, Acadia National Park
You're looking across the water to the epic Sand Beach. There's a reason mariners call it the Deep Blue Sea. When ocean water is clear and free of silt, it mirrors the sky.

CLICK or TAP HERE to see a few of my favorite photos of the short hike. On warmer days, it's surreal to lay on the bare rock and feel the waves crash onto the shore.

Yes, it can be so powerful, it does shake the stone. They don't call Thunder Hole because it squeaks like a mouse. Check out the action below. The best wave is at 0:42.

Revised Columns

There are some amazing videos in several of these revised columns. Believe me when I say you're making a mistake by not watching them.

SECRET to Lower New Home Costs - WOW - GREAT VIDEOS

What About Building Lot Sizes? Is Bigger Better?

Solid Brick Homes - CHECK THIS OUT! But Why?

Mystical Interior Door Tips

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

Do It Right, Not Over

P.S. Sunday's newsletter is going to be a doozy. I've assembled LOTS of great information in it, including a scary factoid I'm sure you've never thought about. There's a KILLING DANGER surrounding you inside your home that you don't give a second thought to.

P.P.S. Are you shopping for Christmas gifts at Amazon? If so, you can HELP SUPPORT this newsletter by using my affiliate link when you start to shop. It costs you not a penny more to shop using my link. CLICK or TAP HERE to get started. Thank you for helping the newsletter thrive.

Hide Plumbing Pipes

Posted on by Tim Carter
Hide Plumbing Pipes

Hide Plumbing Pipes | This is a pipe chase. If you took off the plaster or drywall you’d see a 3 or 4-inch plumbing drain pipe and the hot and cold water lines going up to a second-floor bathroom. Copyright 2020 Tim Carter

Hide Plumbing Pipes in a Chase or Closet - HVAC Ducts Too!

QUESTION: Oh, Tim do I have a conundrum for you! A major remodel is about to happen here at my home and already we’ve got a problem. A new master bathroom is being created in a second-floor room but I can’t figure out how to get the drainpipe down to where it will connect to the rest of the plumbing drain pipes. How have you done this in the past on your jobs? But wait, there’s more! We need to get larger ductwork up to the second floor as well! Help me Tim Kenobi, you’re my only hope. Dawn J., Scranton, PA

You may have had similar challenges to Dawn’s. What’s interesting is these tough situations also present themselves in new homes too. I’ve been a master plumber since age 29 and each week I draw plumbing isometric and riser diagram plans for homeowners so they can get a plumbing permit. When I study their floor plans, I’m stunned to see many architects don’t think through how pipes need to get from one level to the next with as few bends as possible.

Should Architecture Students Do Co-op Work in Construction?

This is one reason I feel that architecture students should be required to have construction, not drawing, co-op jobs for half of the time they’re obtaining their degrees. I feel they need to work on actual job sites side-by-side with both carpenters, plumbers, and HVAC tradespeople. When these young fertile minds actually have to figure out how to make things work in the real world instead of on a computer monitor, their plans will be so much better in the future.

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How can you hide plumbing pipes?

The architects of old often solved these issues with strategically placed walls, pantries, and closets on the level below where the bathroom would be. A wall on the lower level might be 6 inches thick for piping although 8 inches is far better.

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An architect might make one, or more, of the walls of a closet thick enough to accommodate the pipe or ducts. A false cavity can be created in the back of a closet by adding a second wall to the back of a closet. This cavity works well to get a large duct trunkline from one level to the next.

What is a corner pipe chase?

Corner pipe chases are also great ways to disguise pipes or ducts that have to go from one level to the next. To balance out the look in a room, you can always add a faux one in another corner. In the past, I’ve even built a long shelving unit that extends down from the ceiling about 16 inches that spans between the needed pipe chase and the faux one. All sorts of decorative items can be put up on the shelves and this takes your eye away from the pipe chases. The average person thinks the chases are needed to support the giant horizontal shelf.

It’s important for you to realize that you have some flexibility with the plumbing drain line. A typical residential bathroom with a toilet, shower, bathtub, and even two vanity sinks can be connected to one 3-inch pipe.

Can Plumbing Drainpipes Run Horizontally?

This pipe can run horizontally a significant distance, even up to 25 feet or more, before having to turn down to get to the next level. You can even have several 45-degree fittings in this horizontal run. Just be aware this pipe needs to slope 3/16ths inch for each foot of horizontal run so the liquids in the pipe don’t outrun the solids.

Knowing this, you may be able to extend the drainpipe to another room on the lower level away from the master bathroom above. The pipe chase might end up in the corner of some other room or even be inside a closet. It’s all a matter of how lucky you are with respect to the run of the floor joists below the new master bathroom.

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How Big Can Holes and Notches Be in Floor Joists?

Be aware there are very strict building code requirements and structural best practices when it comes to creating holes in floor joists for pipes. Notching floor joists is never to be done as it weakens them. Holes drilled through floor joists need to be certain sizes and in very specific locations. The building code addresses these and there are quite a few helpful online guides you can reference.

Should PVC and ABS Pipes Be Insulated?

If you’re using PVC or ABS plastic piping for the bathroom, be sure to install sound-deadening insulation around the pipes in both the ceiling and the vertical pipe chase once everything has been leak tested. The water flowing through and down the plastic pipes vibrates them with ease. This is why it sounds like a waterfall is in your walls if no insulation is present. You can eliminate this noise using no-hub cast iron drain pipes.

Your ductwork challenges are the same as for the plumbing drainpipe, only bigger. Ductwork is much larger than a plumbing stack and needs far more space. You may need to construct soffits in a room and disguise these creating a trayed ceiling in a room or two so the soffit doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb.

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