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cathy725

What did you introduce to your GC that impressed them?

cathy725
11 years ago

I think this may be along the lines of favorite things in your kitchen.

What had your GC never seen/installed before (and maybe tried to talk you out of) that after they saw it installed and in action did they love.

Did they then encourage others to use the same item(s)?

I'm tired of making decisions on pendants, DW's and faucets so thought this would be a great thread diversion. (And of course might give me new ideas too!)

Comments (61)

  • williamsem
    11 years ago

    So far, just the double rod curved shower rod. I warned him reviews note it s tricky to install. He said it was a lot harder than he expected but still loved it and was considering one for himself.

    With the kitchen, I already know cork is new for him. Not sure how much else, but he has learned to just roll with whatever I come out with. Some things don't work out and get scrapped, others haven't been too different from what he's familiar with. Will know in about 12 weeks...

  • springroz
    11 years ago

    I swear I had to DRAW mine a picture of EVERYTHING.....but what really blew him away was DH's idea of two toilets in the master bath!!

    Nancy

  • taggie
    11 years ago

    I swear I had to DRAW mine a picture of EVERYTHING.....but what really blew him away was DH's idea of two toilets in the master bath!!

    For the couple that does EVERYTHING together, lol. :-) :-)

  • beekeeperswife
    11 years ago

    A real vent hood.

  • debrak_2008
    11 years ago

    No GC and the only outside people were the granite installers. The installers had never heard of heating granite but thought it was a great idea.

    Bee, really? a real vented hood, that's scary.

  • friedajune
    11 years ago

    A batch feed disposal. My GC had only seen and installed continuous feed disposals. I explained to him that there would be no switch needed to turn on and off a batch feed disposal, and he liked that. Then I explained that it was safer, since it could not be operated without its cover. He LOVED that. He had built quite a number of kitchens for people who opted not to get a disposal at all cause they were worried their kids could put their hand down there, and they or someone would flip the switch. Now he would have an alternative to offer them. His face was like the clouds parting when I discussed it with him. After he installed the disposal, he played with it a while.

  • williamsem
    11 years ago

    Springroz, I HAVE to ask, why two toilets? I'm always looking for new ideas for the distant future house we want to build.

  • ginny20
    11 years ago

    Re: two toilets. Does anyone remember the '80s series The Jewel in the Crown" based on the Raj Quartet novels of Paul Scott? He wrote a sequel called Staying On, and the English couple who stayed on after Independence and Partition had two toilets put in, just in case they ever were "caught short." "Gyppie tummy" and all that. The book mentions that they did once get sick together and ended up sitting next to each other on their "thrones." I always wondered why they didn't have some kind of partition or screen put between them.

  • CEFreeman
    11 years ago

    Mine was not in the kitchen, but off the dining room. My closet with two pocket doors.

    They pocket into a center pocket. One slides to the left, the other to the right. Only one can be open at a time, but as I explained to my fellow, I believe that I can only BE in one side at a time. I had to draw this for four different people and finally had this one help me build it myself.

    Another "can't be done" because he'd never seen it, was building pocket doors without a kit. Using studs turned sideways in 6" walls to create a space between them where the doors would slide. Johnson Hardware makes an entire line of interesting door hardware!

    Oh - and my drawer under my farm sink rather than doors. No one had evidently thought of that before me. Ever.

    And my motion sensor faucet (actually in my MB) for my cat.

  • mydreamhome
    11 years ago

    Here are but a few from our new home build a little over a year ago...
    -Flush glazed fiberglass 1/2 lite & full lite patio doors
    -Full counter-height pull out double hampers in the laundry
    -Door-less & glass-less shower in the master bath
    -Zero entry from garage to house (no steps--house & garage floor are same height)
    -Pantry under U-shaped staircase that goes all the way back under the upper rise and then makes a 90 degree turn under the lower rise to gain as much storage space as possible
    -Glass vessel sink
    -The concept of 2 dishwashers

  • beekeeperswife
    11 years ago

    2 toilets in the mba are a dream of mine. We actually had this house drawn with a his/hers mba, sharing the shower. However, I didn't like the layout. Then we moved the physical location of the mba and we ended up not doing it. To this day, I wish there were 2 toilet closets in there. I have the room and we could have done it. I think I dropped it because a certain someone promised he would just use the one across the hall.....well, that doesn't happen.

    And yes, when I say a real vent hood, I mean my 1200cfm 42", 27" deep hood....took 2 full days for them to install that---the best they could.

  • cathy725
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for all the comments.

    Christine--when you posted about your two door closet with the pocket doors, somehow I missed that they would both slide into the same center space--I missed that the first time.

    I'm taking notes. We'll see what I can include in my renovation.

  • willtv
    11 years ago

    taggie,
    The cabinet is a regular upper corner cabinet with a bi-fold door.
    Only we asked our cabinet maker to extend the left side and add a door.
    The result is an L-shaped cabinet with one regular door and one bi-fold door.
    The advantage is that there is one continuous L-shaped shelf instead of having a corner cabinet and then a narrow 12" cabinet next to it.
    Here's a shot of the cabinet open.


    And here's a shot of it closed.

  • springroz
    11 years ago

    DH designed this.... GC said he had built homes with bidets, and urinals, but not two toilets. DH, who has NO filter between brain and mouth, said the ONE of us who does not spend hours on the toilet is NOT going to use a urinal!!

    We converted a large family room area with a half bath into a master suite, since MIL needed the other one. We turned the existing toilet 90 degrees, and put the other toilet where the sink was. Our cabinet maker built a divider that holds towels, TP, magazines, etc.

    I despise WC, with my claustrophobia, so I sacrificed a bit of privacy, but honestly, after 30 years, what privacy???

    Nancy

    This post was edited by springroz on Tue, Feb 19, 13 at 10:02

  • CEFreeman
    11 years ago

    Cathy725, here's a pic of my closet. I have only a cell phone, so I can't make it brighter. I have also yet to install any trim in the house at all, so it's rough. I did, however, just finish beating the crap out of the doors and antiquing them with brown wax. They are soft and gorgeous and I absolutely love them!

    In another post I talked about what I had to go through to get a stud run vertically in that space between the doors so I could hang something there if I chose. But that is my plan. :) Probably a mirror. I have windows everywhere but can't get enough light. After living in a cave for 4 years, it's like an epiphany! So a mirror will probably land there.

  • gwlolo
    11 years ago

    Soapstone - he had never seen it in person. He is skeptical of my plans for Tapmaster and NeverMT :)

  • sara_the_brit_z6_ct
    11 years ago

    Ikea cabinets. He was a bit doubtful, but accepted it when I told him it was a deal-breaker. Once he saw the research I'd done, and that I really understood how the system worked, he got enthusiastic and did a great job: we adopted one or two Ikeahacks and he was very happy with them - once he saw the online photo tutorials I'd printed out for him.

  • decolisa
    11 years ago

    I asked for three things that the GC had never seen:

    1.) Pull outs for wine glasses over the refrigerator (thanks GardenWeb!)

    2) Pantry that matched the look of my integrated Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer (drawers on the bottom)

    3) L-shaped island

  • iroll_gw
    11 years ago

    We were the GC for kitchen, but we hired the company that had previously GC'd our extension to demo the kitchen, do electrical, insulate and sheetrock.

    They shied away from installing the 1200 cfm vent hood, and the IKEA installers bailed on doing it after contracting for it, so DH, I and DD did it ourselves.

    The GC guy came for an inspection, and kept turning the hood on and off, and petting it. The kids found this hilarious.

    Marmoleum. "What is that?" "I thought linoleum was shiny."

  • dilly_ny
    11 years ago

    Chaulk paint to disguise the ugly fire door required for my garage access. I had him trim it in wood and he was surprised how good it looks. And my DDs idea that we needed a sliding bookcase for a secret passage.

  • ljwrar
    11 years ago

    I kept the original 1920's cabinets, tile and sink, so I had to come up with creative ways to get what I really wanted - mostly more counter space. These included an undercounter freezer, pullout counter over an ADA height dishwasher and custom made wall cabinet for a water filter and glass filler faucet.

  • bellsmom
    11 years ago

    The pop up plug in on the island. He kept pointing it out to everyone--electrician, plumber, painter. . . .


    Thank you, GW!

  • Lori Ryan
    11 years ago

    My Contractor loved the charging strip in one of the drawers. He wanted to do it in his home. Also, he wanted to use halogen under cabinet lighting and I talked him into LED lights. I did not like the heat of the halogens and wanted a light that was cooler. He had me talk to the electrician to make sure he knew what I was talking about. Everything was fine. I went and purchased the lights and he fitted installed them and all was right with the world.

  • Lori Ryan
    11 years ago

    My Contractor loved the charging strip in one of the drawers. He wanted to do it in his home. Also, he wanted to use halogen under cabinet lighting and I talked him into LED lights. I did not like the heat of the halogens and wanted a light that was cooler. He had me talk to the electrician to make sure he knew what I was talking about. Everything was fine. I went and purchased the lights and he fitted installed them and all was right with the world.

  • taggie
    11 years ago

    willtv, thanks for the pics and info re. your corner cabinet. Such a small but yet perfect detail. One of the cleverest ideas I've seen, very cool!

  • williamsem
    11 years ago

    Dilly_ny, any pics of that secret passage? I've already told DH we need a hidden staircase and secret room when we build. He thinks I'm nuts.

    Some good ideas here!

  • lee676
    11 years ago

    Cree's 4" and 6" LED disk lamps that look to all the world like standard recessed lighting, but are so thin and cool-running they don't need to be installed in a recessed housing can, just a slim electrical junction box, like the one holding up your surface-mounted ceiling light. Allows recessed lights to be installed in places they couldn't fit before because ductwork or other obstructions got in the way.

    Sold at HD under their "Commercial Electric" brand.


  • sanjuangirl
    11 years ago

    Lry511 (or anyone else that has it) could you post a picture of your charging drawer? I would love to do that in our remodel.

  • annkathryn
    11 years ago

    My GC and most of our subs were agog at the waterfall edge of our island (marble on top and on one side).

    One thing my GC had never installed before was the Moen toilet paper/grab bar. He said it was the best design he'd ever seen.

  • Nancy in Mich
    11 years ago

    Dog paw washing station: I described and drew out what I wanted, a 2 ft wide, 4 ft long tiled area with raised sides and a drain in the center and a pull-out kitchen faucet. I suggested that the plumbing go through built-in benches that would go under the windows, and Jim, my builder, did all the rest!

    In my second kitchen I asked Jim to make a raised dishwasher. My plan placed it in what had been a double oven corner cabinet in the house the cabinets came from. I re-used a set of Quakermaid cabinets in this kitchen. Jim really liked this idea, as it raised the dishwasher a good foot off the floor.

    Turning 2 wall cabs upside down and putting them on a toe kick to act like a narrow base cab. was another one of my ideas I used in the second kitchen. I also had Jim turn all my outlets sideways so that they would better work with the backsplash tiles. He had not seen this before.

    My husband wanted built-in bookcases for our living room/music room/office. Jim quoted us a price of maybe $10K for stain-grade wood with all the nice molding. I had the idea of using five 36" x 84" used pre-owned bookcases from Craigslist and a lot of molding between and above them to achieve the look of built-in bookcases without the price of wooden built-in bookcases. I also picked up three very sturdy, but modern, used office base cabinets to put beneath the three center bookcases, giving us that real den look. Jim used dimensional lumber to attach the bookcases to each other and give him something solid to nail trim to. I also asked him to add molding to the cabinet doors to give them a more traditional look. The crown molding was installed with a lower lip to hide a strip of LED lighting. Instead of having the top be stained wood and the bases painted (bases were a modern red-ish finish), I decided to paint the bookcases to match the walls, a creamy vanilla color. In the end, Jim said it was a good way to get the wall of bookcases we wanted, and it cost us only about $3000.

    So I would say that my last two projects introduced the idea of using well-made, sturdy used cabinets and bookshelves as the starting point for a project that he can still make look great, while using his excellent carpentry skills to make the project work (making custom cabs, re-veneering the worn cab boxes where needed, and even recreating an intricate bead board door and drawer design that has rounded edges and routed-out finger-pull areas for a modern design without handles and knobs).

    Here is the library, before the paint was dry enough to install shelves and before the countertop was covered with glossy stone-looking laminate. Click below to see the paw washing station.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Paw-washing station

  • chicgeek
    11 years ago

    Delta Touch2o Faucets, Sharp Microwave Drawer, Suntouch Warm wire under tiles (3 zones), charging/message center for phones.God bless this guy-he was up to any challenge we posed. He told me that he's installing floor heat in the bathroom at the next job after ours...he's a pro now after doing 650 sq ft in our house!

  • sapphire6917
    11 years ago

    Great ideas here! And very unique! Mydreamhome, do you have any pics of your pantry?

  • realism
    11 years ago

    Is it me or do a lot of your GCs seem pretty uninformed? Maybe GW'ers are just overinformed. Perhaps we can run a class for GCs.

  • grlwprls
    11 years ago

    lee676, I think I LOVE you!

    Oh, happy day! We have two bays in our boxed beam ceiling that cannot have regular ceiling cans installed because of the pipes/drain of the shower directly above. But I desperately need light there. Super desperately.

    I am literally getting in my car right now to pick up these lights from HD after sending an email to my electrician.

    Did I mention that I love you?

  • raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
    11 years ago

    nancy in mich, I am intrigued by the upside-down wall cabs but can't quite visualize what you did (or why, how narrow did you need?) Could you post a drawing or a picture please?

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    11 years ago

    Raee, since you're planning Ikea (I think that's right), just buy the wall cabs. Ikea sells them as shallow base cabinets, too, and they're in the planner that way. No need for upside down (don't really understand that part, actually).

  • ljwrar
    11 years ago

    If the upper cabinets come with handles or knobs installed, you need to turn them upside down to use them as base cabinets. Otherwise, the handles would be at floor level.

  • raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
    11 years ago

    Writersblock,I am 95% sure that I am going with Ikea, since overtime opportunities have dried up so that I don't think that I can swing the extra $$ for Barker. But I am still dithering a bit over a few small details -- like how to create an 18" pantry with the pullouts. Topic for another thread!

    I was just curious about what Nancy did, though.

  • TxMarti
    11 years ago

    kris_ma, do you have a picture of your piano-hinged trim piece above the refrigerator? I'd like to do that if it's possible to take out the attached piece that is there now. I used to put my bread dough on top of the fridge to rise, and now I don't have a warm spot anywhere in my kitchen. Probably a silly reason for wanting to do that much work to an already finished area when there are so so many unfinished areas that need work.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    11 years ago

    Thanks, ljwrar. I didn't know any cabs came with hardware pre-installed.

    Raee, if you mean a tall pantry, if you read around over at ikeafans, you will find that the folks there mostly hate pullout pantries and much prefer a door and internal drawers that slide out individually. Most people don't care for having the whole thing in their face every time they need one can or box of something. Ask tbb in your other thread here.

    This post was edited by writersblock on Wed, Feb 20, 13 at 12:16

  • stacylh
    11 years ago

    My guys were impressed by 2littlefishies under cabinet plugs. Once I showed them pics, they were impressed at how simple that would be :)

  • amck2
    11 years ago

    They've probably become more commonplace, but 5 yrs. ago my GC had never installed a bank of windows that came right down to the countertop behind the kitchen sink.

    I'm short & we have such a beautiful view from those windows that I didn't want to have to look over a backsplash and sill to enjoy it.

    He scratched his head when I tried to describe what I wanted. Finally, I pulled up a kitchen from here, where I first got the idea. Thanks, GW!

  • breezygirl
    11 years ago

    Hmmm......I can't really play this game as I GC's the whole house reno myself. Maybe I can think of something I introduced to one of my trades....

  • beekeeperswife
    11 years ago

    "They've probably become more commonplace, but 5 yrs. ago my GC had never installed a bank of windows that came right down to the countertop behind the kitchen sink."

    My GC nearly dropped dead when I suggested this is what I really wanted....he said there was no way it could be done without leaking and how could they warranty that.....

    That was pretty early on during the build. Had I known how I was going to be as we got further into it, I"m pretty sure I would have flipped out at that point and gotten my window the way I wanted it. At least I did learn to push back. That was the same day he measured my husband's width and told him he didn't understand why the door to the mudroom (main entry from the garage) couldn't be the 24" one that they installed by accident...he tried to convince my dh that it would work... "do you have trouble fitting through a restroom door?" My dh told him he isn't usually carrying bags of groceries into the bathroom.....they ripped it out and started again. I mean, really people.

  • karin_mt
    11 years ago

    Our GC announced today that he is doing a full kitchen refacing in his own house after he saw how much that changed our kitchen, for a lot less hassle than was expected. He was skeptical at first but clearly this convinced him!

  • mydreamhome
    11 years ago

    Sapphire69--Here's the pic of the pantry under the stairs. It branches off to the left and then recesses back under the lower stairs about 12" behind where you see the wall end. I keep my swiffer vac, dustpan, etc in that recessed portion so they're out of the way and out of sight (you can see the plug for my swiffer vac at the end of the left wall).The shelves go all the way down the right wall, across the back wall and then make the turn back up along the left side wall allowing for storage all along the perimeter of the landing above (total shelves form a backwards 'J' shape). The ceiling clearance is 6' at the lowest and 9' at the highest.

    Hope this helps!

  • Nancy in Mich
    11 years ago

    Raee,
    I suppose it would have helped if I had not erased the part about my doors having carved hand-holes that are router-ed out so that you can get your fingers behind the door to open it. It is a modern-ish design. Ljwrar had the right idea. With my cabs, the hand-holes are on the top edge for drawers and base cabs and on the bottom edge for wall cabs. You either have to remove the doors and turn them upside down and re-install, or just turn the whole cab upside down to switch a cab from a wall cab to a floor cab. My wall cabs are 14" deep, so I have a 5 ft run (2 30" cabs) of a 15" deep counter along one wall in the kitchen. Originally, I was going to put the two remaining wall cabs above this counter, but Jim, my builder, and DH decided that it would feel too closed in. These extra cabs have been sitting around for almost three years. In the past few days I have decided to use them in the craft and exercise room I am setting up.

  • sapphire6917
    11 years ago

    That was more than helpful, Mydreamhome, it was just plain GENIUS! I have got to find a way to use the space under my stairs like this!

  • cathy725
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Dilly--Love the sliding bookcase!

    Mydreamhome--cool use of under stair area!

    These are such great ideas everyone!