A notice to all of you Central Floridians
Look for my column "Function First", in the Orlando Sentinel. It will be appearing monthly in the Saturday Home Fix-Up section.
Christmas Nifty Gifties
Here are a couple gift ideas for your friends with small laundry rooms:
 1 - No room to hang clothes?
This folding laundry hanger opens to provide 14" of hanging space.
Place your orders soon. We're running low on these.
 2 - Four loads of laundry
can be sorted in 24" of wall space with this wall-mounted system. It comes with a selection of 12 labels to customize sorting
preferences and to indicate contents of each bag.
"Don't Forget the Linen Closets, Tips for Building and Organized Home" is a great gift idea for friends and family
that are planning to build or remodel. It's a little book packed full of the small details that make a big difference.
Click
here to see products!
Pulling Steam and Grease Out of The Kitchen
Today’s technology allows us to build tighter and tighter houses, which both reduces the cost of utilities and
improves our level of comfort. When we build to keep drafts and moisture out, however, we need to make sure we’re not trapping the moisture created inside.
That’s why it is becoming increasingly more important to choose exhaust fans powerful enough to manage interior humidity. Last month we covered what you
need to know when selecting such fans for the bath. This month we’ll cover ventilation systems for the kitchen.
-
Ventilation:
The exhaust fan pictured to the right is incorporated into the bottom of the microwave unit, a solution that has two strikes against it.
First, this unit employs a recirculating exhaust, which means it doesn’t carry the steam out of the house. Instead, it pulls steam
through a filter and then blows it back into the room: moisture, grease, and all. It won’t be long before this homeower begins to
notice a sticky deposit on cabinets and the A/C return vent. Second, notice that the exhaust is only deep enough to service the back
two burners.
Note: Some microwaves are vented to the outside. Even so, the depth of these units is still too shallow to service
the full cooktop, plus they usually lack sufficient power to do the job.
 The photo to the
right shows a functional exhaust hood vented to the outside. It’s deep enough to cover all burners and powerful enough to pull the steam up and out of the house.
-
Noise Level:
When shopping for a kitchen ventilating system, have the representative turn on the exhaust hood so you can listen to the
noise level at all speeds. (You’re much more likely to use a quiet exhaust than a loud one.) Some hoods offer an in-line blower
in the duct system between the hood and the exterior vent cap. This option decreases the noise level of the fan, but it can also
provide challenges for maintenance if it’s difficult to get to the portion of the duct containing the blower.
-
Lighting:
Good lighting over the cooking surface is another must-have. Most hoods include lights.
Turn them on to see if you’re pleased with the illumination of the cooking area.
-
Capacity:
The type of cooking surface (gas or electric), the distance from the cooking surface
to the hood, the distance steam will need to travel before being released to the outside, and the number of angles in the duct
work will deterŽmine the power requirements for your unit (measured in CFM or cubic feet per minute).
A properly sized and installed unit should be able to operate at its lower speeds most of the time. (You’ll know you’re using
the proper speed when you can see the steam being pulled up into the hood.) Discuss the venting and the proper sizing of this
appliance with your builder.
Is there a subject you’d like me to cover? Let me know by sending an email to tracy@tracystips.net.
All past issues of this ezine are in the Ezine Archives on our web site. Click here for Ezine Archives !
Copyright © 2007 Tracy DeCarlo - All Right Reserved
WANT A CHECK LIST OF HUNDREDS OF TIPS
AND IDEAS FOR DESIGNING A FUNCTIONAL HOME?
If you liked today’s tips you’ll love the book “Don’t Forget the Linen Closets!” It’s packed with over 240 ideas and reminders to help you incorporate function, organization, and efficiency into your home without breaking the bank.
|
To us, it [“Don’t Forget the Linen Closets”] is the most thorough guide to building a house, regardless of size, in the industry. Most importantly, it is geared toward the folks who will actually live in the house.
By following your guidelines, we are confident that we will have a far more functional home than if we had been on our own. Also, we know that we and the builder have saved thousands of dollars by avoiding rework and non-functional design flaws. In fact we have dubbed the book, “The Home Buyers’ Essential Handbook for Design and Construction in Less Than 50 Pages.”
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences in such a concise and useful way.
Bill and Yvonne Dunbar
Homeowners building a custom home
Orlando, FL – February 2006
|
If you’d like more personalized help, Tracy’s plan-review service will walk you through the process in detail. In either case, planning the details in the beginning can save thousands in the end! To see more testimonials and/or to place your order, visit
Detailed Solutions WEB site now.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include the following blurb in its entirety:
Tracy DeCarlo, author of “Don’t Forget the Linen Closets!” publishes the idea-packed, monthly e-zine “Tips for Designing a Functional Home.” If you’re ready to learn how to incorporate organization, function, and efficiency into your new home or remodeling project without breaking the bank, get your FR*EE tips now at www.BuildingTips.net.
|
