Episode 1983
The Ultimate Kitchen & Bath Design Playbook with Eric G
Eric G is about to drop some serious wisdom on kitchen and bath design that you won’t want to miss! With 35 years of experience under his tool belt and his prestigious certification from the National Kitchen and Bath Association, he’s got the goods to elevate your home game. This hour, we’re diving deep into his top tips and tricks for creating stunning, functional spaces that will make your friends green with envy. From the essential kitchen triangle to the must-have bathroom features, Eric’s insights are not just practical; they’ll save you time, money, and a whole lot of headache during your remodel. So grab your notepad and let’s get ready to turn your home into the oasis you’ve always dreamed of!
Kitchen and bath design might not sound like the most thrilling topic, but trust me, when Eric G dives into it, it’s like watching a master chef at work—if that chef were also a wizard with a measuring tape! Eric, with his 35 years of experience and a badge of honor as a Certified Kitchen Designer, shares his trade secrets in this episode that’ll make you rethink the way you look at your kitchen and bathroom. Ever thought about the kitchen triangle? Well, Eric says it’s outdated! Instead, he’s all about zones—imagine a prep zone, cleanup zone, and cooking zone, all working in harmony like a well-rehearsed band. And don’t even get him started on ventilation—if you think you can skip a proper range hood, you’re in for a rude awakening. He’ll have you believing that proper air circulation is the key to a happy kitchen. Plus, he’s got the scoop on hiring certified designers; spoiler alert: it’s a must if you don’t want to end up with a cabinet catastrophe. Trust me, by the end of this show, you’ll be itching to grab a pencil, a notepad, and maybe even a sledgehammer to get started on your own remodel!
Takeaways:
- Eric G emphasizes the importance of hiring a certified kitchen designer to avoid costly mistakes during renovations.
- He suggests that kitchen design should focus on creating functional zones rather than just the classic triangle layout.
- Proper ventilation and the right exhaust systems are crucial for modern kitchen designs to comply with building codes.
- Bathroom upgrades should include adequate electrical outlets, especially for future-proofing with features like bidet seats.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Monument Grills
- Sherwin Williams
- American Standard
- Kohler
- Toto
- Panasonic
- Broan Nutone
To get your questions answered by Eric G give us a call in the studio at 833-239-4144 24/7 and Eric G will get back to you and answer your question and you might end up in a future episode of Around the House.
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Information given on the Around the House Show should not be considered construction or design advice for your specific project, nor is it intended to replace consulting at your home or jobsite by a building professional. The views and opinions expressed by those interviewed on the podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Around the House Show.
Mentioned in this episode:
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Monument Grill Omni-Pro Eminence Series 405
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Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:The House with Eric G.
Speaker B:Your go to source for everything home improvement.
Speaker B:Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or just looking to make your space shine, Eric G.
Speaker B:Is here to guide you through the latest tips, tricks and trends coming up in this week's second hour of the show.
Speaker C:Now I am a group expert over on Facebook on a group called Ask a Cabinet Maker.
Speaker C:If I go through and take a look at the issues that I see with cabinetry, when people come on and go, I've got a huge problem.
Speaker C:95% of the time it is not from a big box retailer.
Speaker C:It is not from a large cabinet maker.
Speaker C:It is from Air Quotes, a small custom shop in their neighborhood.
Speaker B:So grab your toolbox, put on your thinking cap and let's get to work right here on around the House with.
Speaker C:Eric G.
Speaker C:Welcome to the round the House show, the next generation of home improvement improvement.
Speaker C:I'm Eric G.
Speaker C:Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker C:If you want to find out more about us, head over to our website.
Speaker C:You can find everything from our YouTube channels to social media links to everything else at aroundthehouse online.com and of course, this hour is brought to you by my friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker C:You have to check out their new MNS and series advanced stainless steel grills.
Speaker C:These things are amazing.
Speaker C:They are tough and they are smart.
Speaker C:This is not your throwaway grill that lasts two years that you buy at the home improvement store.
Speaker C:You can get these@monumentgrills.com or many of your favorite grill retailers, like even some of the big box stores.
Speaker C:And a little secret, sometimes you can get them to put it together for you though.
Speaker C:It's an easy assembly.
Speaker C:Well, today I wanted to put my design hat back on for you and we're going to talk my secrets of designing kitchens and baths today in this hour now, there's a lot of people, they're like, man, that bathroom has got to go.
Speaker C:Maybe you got a little water damage.
Speaker C:Maybe it's just time to give it that upgrade or that kitchen that you are just tired of looking at.
Speaker C:And you said last Thanksgiving season that you weren't going to cook on it again and you're going to dive into it this year.
Speaker C:Here are my tricks, tips, secrets to designing.
Speaker C:You know, here, here's a little background about me.
Speaker C:I am a certified kitchen designer.
Speaker C: hat certification way back in: Speaker C:And so that is a certification through the National Kitchen and Bath Association.
Speaker C:And I have designed thousands of kitchens across the west coast internationally.
Speaker C:They have been all around everywhere stuff on the east Coast.
Speaker C:I have traveled around and done a lot of projects like that.
Speaker C:Well, today I thought, you know, let's dive in first here.
Speaker C:Well, let's go into some kitchen design tips here, because that is probably one of the more expensive remodels you will do in your house, is diving into that kitchen.
Speaker C:And one of the things that you need to be careful with before is making sure you pull the right permits and stuff on this project.
Speaker C:Because there's a lot of gotchas in most areas.
Speaker C:If you don't have a range hood that exhaust to the outside, you will be forced to put one in.
Speaker C:That is current building code out there in most areas.
Speaker C:Now, there are some people out there, Tom, that live in areas that are kind of the wild west of building codes.
Speaker C:But in most areas that ventilation is required.
Speaker C:And if it's not, you should be putting it in anyway.
Speaker C:That vent hood needs to vent all the way outside, be a proper sized.
Speaker C:And if it's too big, do you make sure you're putting in bank up air to replace that air coming in?
Speaker C:So if you've got a 500 cubic, you know, feet per minute CFM hood that's going out, so you have 500 basketballs of air when it's turned on leaving the building, you need to replace that air with a makeup air unit to make sure that that's coming back in so you don't suck any carbon monoxide or any, you know, bad dirt out of a crawl space, anything like that.
Speaker C:So you want to make sure you're replacing that air.
Speaker C:But that's really not a big deal for an H Vac professional to install inside your house in most cases.
Speaker C:Now, in my kitchen design tips, one thing.
Speaker C:Back when I started kitchen design, they had what they called the kitchen triangle.
Speaker C:And that was the space between the cooktop, the sink, and the refrigerator as a triangle.
Speaker C:Now, that to me, is a kind of an outdated way of designing, and they've kind of started to go away from that a little bit, because many houses have, when you get into big kitchens, two sinks, two refrigerators, and that starts to get complex to me.
Speaker C:I have always liked to design in zones.
Speaker C:You have a prep zone, which is between the sink and the cooktop.
Speaker C:You've got a cleanup zone that's on the other side of that.
Speaker C:And then you've got that cooking serving where you're putting all those things around the cooktop there to make sure that you've got a place to put things like your spices Sauces, whatever else you're working on.
Speaker C:And there's also landing zones near the oven.
Speaker C:So let's talk about that a little bit.
Speaker C:Imagine standing there looking at your kitchen window.
Speaker C:So imagine this, and your range is on the right hand side.
Speaker C:So now, as you're looking at the window, that right hand side is going to be your prep zone.
Speaker C:Well, where do you want to put your dishwasher?
Speaker C:On the opposite side on the left.
Speaker C:Because above that countertop, right where that countertop is, that's your cleanup zone.
Speaker C:So when you're over there prepping and you're wanting to get stuff out of the way that you're going to clean, after you're done doing the task you're doing, you put your stuff over there on top of that.
Speaker C:You don't want the dishwasher to be right in that zone between the cooktop and the sink, because now your cleanup zone is right there in the way, and then the other side of that.
Speaker C:So if you're sitting there looking at your sink, you now have the dishwasher on the left, the range over there a little farther down on the right.
Speaker C:Now, I want to put a double trash can bin underneath the cabinet to the right of the sink.
Speaker C:So that way, when you're prepping in that area, you can be prepping, you've got maybe some packaging, you've got some stuff that you're not gonna put down to the garbage disposal, you wanna throw it away.
Speaker C:Now, that's underneath you right there in the lower cabinet.
Speaker C:And if you're sitting in front of the sink and you're cleaning off dishes to put them in the dishwasher, you're scraping that off into the trash on the right, and you're putting them on the dishes on the left.
Speaker C:Now that's kind of some of the things you wanna think about, of how you want to do that.
Speaker C:And that's a great way to make sure that you're laying that kitchen out correctly.
Speaker C:And the same thing is if you've got that, you know that double ovens, or oven, microwave, or any one of the iterations of that, from speed ovens to air fryers or whatever that's built in, I want to have a landing space right next to that.
Speaker C:So if you take that turkey out, where are you setting it, your baking cookies, where you put them, is that on the island?
Speaker C:Is it?
Speaker C:Piece of countertop next to it, what is it?
Speaker C:So these are all things that you want to think about in that zone area.
Speaker C:Now, one of the first things that it's funny.
Speaker C:One of the first rules that I've always done, and it doesn't always work out this way, but many people start out designing a kitchen.
Speaker C:What do they do?
Speaker C:They take the sink cabinet, center it on the window and then start building around that.
Speaker C:Now, yeah, many people want that.
Speaker C:There is some unwritten rule that says that sink has to be over there in front of the window.
Speaker C:Well, that could also be a prep area with a tiny sink if you've got a bigger one.
Speaker C:And the sink could go in the island.
Speaker C:So it's really depending on what you're trying to do and how you're going to design the space.
Speaker C:Because really it's kind of up to the designer and you.
Speaker C:And yes, that is one of my rules that I have on here.
Speaker C:Hire a kitchen designer.
Speaker C:Hire a certified kitchen and bath designer.
Speaker C:Now I'm old school.
Speaker C:We had certified kitchen designers, we had certified bathroom designers.
Speaker C:Now they have combined this together in the latest iteration.
Speaker C:It's a certified kitchen and bath designer.
Speaker C:Yes, I am grandfathered.
Speaker C:I could go in there and take another couple little tests and be a certified master kitchen and bath designer.
Speaker C:I'm not going to do that.
Speaker C:I don't need that for my career.
Speaker C:I don't have to worry about spend the time to prep for another test.
Speaker C:These tests are massive.
Speaker C:When I took it back in the day, that was a huge test.
Speaker C:It was an eight hour day test, hand drafting, you know, probably three and a half hours of multiple choice questions.
Speaker C:And they did it once a year.
Speaker C:If you failed, you tried it the next year.
Speaker C:I made it the first time through, but it was a tough battle to get through it.
Speaker C:So really thinking about how all these things go.
Speaker C:And sometimes, guys, when you're designing in a kitchen, taking it, making that or adding in that island can be a bad idea, especially in smaller kitchens.
Speaker C:I want to see a minimum without seating of 42 inches of walkway space around that island.
Speaker C:Many kitchens can't do that.
Speaker C:And anything less than 42 to me is a mistake.
Speaker C:You want people to be able to pass each other.
Speaker C:You want people to be able to walk around and to be able to do their stuff like that.
Speaker C:So make sure you've got the space to do this.
Speaker C:If you've got seating there and it's not a major walkway, your minimum is more like 60 inches from countertop to whatever.
Speaker C:And I like to have a little bit more if you have people walking past it.
Speaker C:So those are some of the basic rules.
Speaker C:We'll be right back after these important messages.
Speaker C:Don't change that dial.
Speaker B:To find out more information, head to aroundthehouse online.com.
Speaker B:don't change that dial.
Speaker B:Around the house.
Speaker B:We'll be right back after these important messages.
Speaker A:These days will never understand.
Speaker C:What it's.
Speaker A:Like to play an instrument.
Speaker B:What's up?
Speaker C:This is Sticks Itenia and Satchel from Steel Panther.
Speaker C:And you are looking listening to around the House with Eric G.
Speaker C:Yeah, we love Eric G.
Speaker C:And you should too.
Speaker C:Welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker C:I'm Eric G.
Speaker C:Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker C:If you want to find out more about this show here, head over to our brand new website, aroundthehouse online.com and of course, this hour is brought to you by our friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker C: s, certified since: Speaker C:This is my bread and butter of what I specialized my career in doing a lot of this remodeling, building new homes.
Speaker C:But the kitchens and bathrooms are always my forte.
Speaker C:Now this next segment here I wanted to talk about, since we were talking kitchens, some of my tricks here.
Speaker C:And hiring a certified kitchen and bath designer is one of the most important ones.
Speaker C:And here's why you now have an expert in your field.
Speaker C:I would hire designers now.
Speaker C:I had this company that I started up in Seattle.
Speaker C:I have nothing to do with it anymore.
Speaker C:I had business partners in there that you learn lessons in business when you figure out that you got the wrong business partners in and they are running that business now in Seattle.
Speaker C:And as I say politely, good riddance.
Speaker C:But here's the thing.
Speaker C:When you hire a certified designer, you get somebody that has passed the test and knows what they're doing.
Speaker C:Now when I would hire designers right out of college, they've got their degree, they have passed.
Speaker C:I still have another year of time invested in them to get them up to speed to the real world.
Speaker C:Now you as a homeowner or even your contractor, designing out the kitchen or just somebody in a cabinet shop is an issue.
Speaker C:They need to have a year under their belt after college to be proficient to do this.
Speaker C:Otherwise you are now their bell curve, the learning curve.
Speaker C:The mistakes that are going to happen could happen on your job.
Speaker C:And that's where I don't like working with a new designer now maybe they've got systems where they've, they're teaming up with people or they've got people doing double checks.
Speaker C:But what I would do as a business owner is I would have my designers work, especially if they were new, work with a contractor for a week, install crown molding, put in kitchen cabinets so they understood what's going on.
Speaker C:You have a homeowner going in there and copying your previous design.
Speaker C:And walking into the home center and getting cabinets or having them quickly laid out could be your most expensive mistake because you're missing so many things.
Speaker C:Think about what went into a kitchen 30 years ago.
Speaker C:If you have a 30 or 40 year old kitchen.
Speaker C:Yeah, the average lifespan of a kitchen is about 15 years.
Speaker C:But if you've got that 30 or 40 year old kitchen, think about that.
Speaker C:We didn't have everybody going down to Target and Sur La Table and Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, wherever getting all those accessories.
Speaker C:It was pretty basic.
Speaker C:Forty years ago we were trying to figure out where to put the microwave cart.
Speaker C:Now we've got all these other things to store in there.
Speaker C:So it's a completely different utility area for storage.
Speaker C:So that's why you never want to copy that whole plan.
Speaker C:You want to update that as you go through.
Speaker C:And that's why having somebody that is smart, that is experienced, that can do that with you.
Speaker C:And most of the time, it doesn't cost you anymore.
Speaker C:If it does, it's tiny and it will save you money in the long run.
Speaker C:The mistakes you make as a designer, if you're a homeowner trying to play designer on this, the mistakes you make will definitely cost you more than what the designer was that could have done it for you and had a better project.
Speaker C:So take the ego, slide it away, you're not saving money and go hire that designer to come work with you.
Speaker C:Now, many times that certified designer is already just going to be your designer.
Speaker C:You're getting their expertise for free as part of the process.
Speaker C:Now one other thing here too that's really important now, I am a, a group expert over on Facebook on a group called Ask a Cabinet Maker.
Speaker C:Now this is Corbin Clay's group over there.
Speaker C:He comes on my show from time to time.
Speaker C:We have a lot of fun with that and he's really good with that page.
Speaker C:Now here's the thing I see over there in the Ask a Cabinet maker.
Speaker C:Now, there's 34,000 people in this group.
Speaker C:If I go through and take a look at the issues that I see with Catry, when people come on and Go.
Speaker C:I've got a huge problem.
Speaker C:What is that problem?
Speaker C:95% of the time it is not from a big box retailer.
Speaker C:It is not from a large cabinet maker.
Speaker C:It is from Air Quotes, a small custom shop in their neighborhood.
Speaker C:Now you've heard me say this before, if you're a regular listener, but custom, that word in cabinetry means nothing other than they're building it for your project.
Speaker C:Most craft made and most things that you order at the home center that are big name brands, they're making it for your project too.
Speaker C:So custom has no meaning when it comes to quality.
Speaker C:You could have an 8 year old in a wood shop class building you a kitchen cabinet and that's custom.
Speaker C:Could look horrible.
Speaker C:And many times the custom cabinet makers don't have a finish that is going to hold up.
Speaker C:And that is one of the biggest weaknesses or the Achilles heel of any kitchen is that finish.
Speaker C:And my rule is if you can walk into a paint store like your home center or even a Sherwin Williams and buy that cabinet finish off the shelf, you probably have the wrong cabinet finish.
Speaker C:And if they're finishing on site, you're gonna have problems.
Speaker C:Now there are places in the country where painted white cabinetry is sent out raw and they install it and they paint it there.
Speaker C:It is going to be a lower quality finish than what most cabinet places will do.
Speaker C:So think about that because you want that baked on conversion varnish or two part urethane finish.
Speaker C:Water based finishes are so much better.
Speaker C:Now you want that finished in a very clean room.
Speaker C:And here's the difference.
Speaker C:It's do you buy your Mercedes off the lot from the dealer and bring it home and have somebody paint it in your garage?
Speaker C:You know what that's going to look like?
Speaker C:It'll look horrible.
Speaker C:Same thing comes with your cabinetry.
Speaker C:I want a factory finish where they put it through on a flatline finishing system.
Speaker C:It's been sprayed, it's been sanded, it's been sprayed again.
Speaker C:There's a clear coat on top.
Speaker C:Whatever they do is their finish process in a very clean area.
Speaker C:Now here's the problem.
Speaker C:Sometimes you can spend half a million dollars or a million dollars on that finish system and that's okay.
Speaker C:But you want that technology in your cabinets because I tell you what, someone who's ever had a flipped house where they went through and painted the cabinets with latex paint, way too soft.
Speaker C:When they take the wall paint, put it on the cabinets, it's gummy, looks nasty, not a good thing.
Speaker C:So make sure that they're using a good finish.
Speaker C:And when we come back, I want to talk about some of the things that you're going to run into with a design that I want to make sure with kitchen and bath cabinetry what you need to be looking for in that contract from that manufacturer.
Speaker C:And if they're not doing it this way, you're probably better to find someone who does because these are the things that'll keep you from having a disaster that will protect you as a homeowner.
Speaker C:And of course, it will protect them as well.
Speaker C:So everybody's on the same page.
Speaker C:We'll do that just as soon as around the House returns.
Speaker C:We're talking kitchen and bath design secrets from me, Eric G.
Speaker C:On around the House here.
Speaker C:To find out more information, just head over to our website aroundthehouseonline.com we'll be right back after these important messages.
Speaker C:Don't change that dial.
Speaker C:Hey, this is Ron Keel, the metal cowboy from Kiel, the Ron Keel Band and Steeler.
Speaker C:We are rocking around the House with Eric G.
Speaker C:Raise your welcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker C:I'm Eric G.
Speaker C:Thanks for joining me.
Speaker C:Today.
Speaker C:We've been talking kitchen and bathroom design secrets.
Speaker C:If you want to find out more about us, head over to the website aroundthehouse online.com and of course this hour is brought to you by our friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker C:Check them out@monument grills.com and of course that Omni Pro M and S and Series grill.
Speaker C:That is the new way to grill.
Speaker C:You got to check it out over there@monument grills.com we've been talking about my kitchen of bath design secrets and here in this third part of the show, I wanted to really dive into more details of what you should be watching for.
Speaker C:We were just talking about how custom might be your worst option when it comes to cabinetry.
Speaker C:Now, no shade thrown.
Speaker C:There are some amazing small custom cabin shops out there across the U.S.
Speaker C:but there's also a lot that are absolutely horrible that are contractors building their own cabins in the garage that have poor finishes.
Speaker C:It's really where kind of the Achilles heel is.
Speaker C:And just don't use the word custom like that, thinking it's quality.
Speaker C:Custom has no word association with quality when it comes to cabinetry.
Speaker C:So be careful.
Speaker C:Now here's the thing.
Speaker C:There are some processes that I want to make sure you follow through this land of kitchen or bath design when ordering cabinetry.
Speaker C:First off, you want to see very detailed drawings of what to expect you need to have with those drawings on those Drawings need to have the door style, the wood species, the cabinet construction, the finish.
Speaker C:And never ever let a cabinet maker talk you into finishing it later on site.
Speaker C:Never do that.
Speaker C:That stain should be put on in the factory.
Speaker C:That should all be done there.
Speaker C:Never let them bring a stain out and do that at the job site.
Speaker C:Horrible idea.
Speaker C:That would be an instant fail in my book.
Speaker C:I would not hire a cabinet company that does that.
Speaker C:Those cabinets should be made, they should be sealed up.
Speaker C:They should be finished before they box them up to head to your house.
Speaker C:There are way too many issues that can come out where trying to stain and put a good quality finish on that in the field.
Speaker C:That's an auto fail for me, in my opinion.
Speaker C:So I want to see everything written down on your elevations and your contract.
Speaker C:What's the hinges, what's the glides?
Speaker C:Soft close, not soft close.
Speaker C:All those specs need to be on the drawings.
Speaker C:They need to be right there.
Speaker C:Now, I want to make sure that you have a door style that is the right door style.
Speaker C:It's a sample.
Speaker C:I want to see that with the right finish and the right wood species that you initial to approve it.
Speaker C:So you know what that is.
Speaker C:And yes, you might have to pay to order that.
Speaker C:Order it before your cabinets might take a month to get.
Speaker C:It might take five or six weeks to get.
Speaker C:It doesn't matter.
Speaker C:You want that so you know what that looks like.
Speaker C:That way you don't have finish problems are the.
Speaker C:Just the.
Speaker C:The cabinet destroyer and the budget destroyer and the schedule destroyer.
Speaker C:If a cabinet shows up the wrong finish, even if you were right as the homeowner and they made a mistake, that is going to put that project sideways for a month, two months, two and a half months.
Speaker C:And you are going to be without a kitchen for a long time.
Speaker C:So you want to prevent that.
Speaker C:So I want to see that sample color.
Speaker C:I want to see the door style.
Speaker C:I want to see those initialed by you, handed to the designer so the designer can make sure that gets to the cabinet maker.
Speaker C:That's how that should work.
Speaker C:And always order that door style to make sure you've got it.
Speaker C:Sometimes you'll see it and go, wow.
Speaker C:I don't like the way the panel fits here between the panel or the veneer in the panel looks different than the frame where your styles and rails are on the other side, like on a shaker door.
Speaker C:That happens.
Speaker C:Or if you've got detail in the frame, sometimes their spray finisher doesn't do a good job of getting it in there.
Speaker C:Getting that and it'll be a little cloudy or to look a little mottled in those corners where it's tight.
Speaker C:You want to see that before it shows up in your kitchen.
Speaker C:And yes, here's the other thing, and you need to know this.
Speaker C:When it comes to wood species that change color, like walnuts, like American cherry, you'll be surprised at how much that changes in a short amount of time.
Speaker C:If you have ultraviolet light coming into your kitchen.
Speaker C:So if you've got a pool out back and you get a nice reflection in the morning or the evening of the light coming into that window, make sure that window has low E and all the good reflective UV coatings on it, because you can absolutely cook a cabinet with the wrong light.
Speaker C:I was in an old showroom here in the Portland metro area.
Speaker C:Won't use their name.
Speaker C:They had a display that was so old in their showroom that American cherry had gone to a bleached called a beech wood.
Speaker C:Looks like something that washed up on the beach.
Speaker C:It was this white gray.
Speaker C:Open the door, and it was a dark cherry.
Speaker C:That happens with uv with woods.
Speaker C:It will look like it just came off the beach.
Speaker C:So you want to make sure you control your uv.
Speaker C:And I've had many a customer with plenty of UV going into their kitchen.
Speaker C:Painter comes through there after the project.
Speaker C:They've taped up plastic to protect those beautiful cabinets.
Speaker C:As they touch up that paint or maybe put a final coat on.
Speaker C:If the plastics on there for two or three days, they will see little shadow marks where the tape was.
Speaker C:Now, that UV will have to come in and just catch things up.
Speaker C:It's not that big a deal, but those are things to be careful with.
Speaker C:Now, there's a wood that used to be out there.
Speaker C:Some woods will do this as well.
Speaker C:There is a eucalyptus hybrid out there that Georgia Pacific used to make, and it was called Liptus.
Speaker C:Now, the problem with that wood, it was good.
Speaker C:It was a green wood species to use, because when you've harvested and cut the tree down, a new tree grow, grew up like a weed out of that trunk and just kept going.
Speaker C:So the regrowth was fast.
Speaker C:Being a hybrid.
Speaker C:Now, it looked like a kind of a mahogany eucalyptus, which was beautiful.
Speaker C:But when you did a medium stain on that, the rails, which are the ones are like a train rail, the styles and rails on that were different colors because they refracted light.
Speaker C:So if I held that door up to you and you went, put a blue piece of tape on the darker pieces, and I flipped that door on its side, the darker Pieces would change to the bottom.
Speaker C:It was like a magic trick, just the way light hit it.
Speaker C:So these are things that having that door sample will keep you from finding those things out.
Speaker C:Because there was a lot of people that are upset with that.
Speaker C:And it was something that the wood did in full light.
Speaker C:Their sales center.
Speaker C:On this condo project I was doing, you didn't see it there because there wasn't a lot of natural light.
Speaker C:Go up into a condo where there's full glass on the walls to ceiling in there.
Speaker C:Different story, way different light.
Speaker C:So there were some battles there of that looking a little bit darker.
Speaker C:And there was nothing you could do.
Speaker C:I could have built a hundred doors and that same wood species did it that way.
Speaker C:So something you have to be really careful with on that.
Speaker C:So getting those samples, understanding what that process is, and then of course, making sure that you got the cabinets ordered and coming.
Speaker C:Strange things sometimes happen.
Speaker C:And the farther you are away from that cabinet manufacturer, the more chance you have of damage.
Speaker C:Like, I was buying cabinets from back in the day from Wellborn here in Portland when I was living in Seattle, good company, but their trucks came out of, you know, Alabama.
Speaker C:So those cabinets got beat up on the freeway all the way out here.
Speaker C:And I had a much more likely damage just due to hours on the road compared to a local company that was large.
Speaker C:It was coming out of Seattle.
Speaker C:So that's why you see a lot of these manufacturers changing to having the bigger ones.
Speaker C:Hey, we're putting in a new factory down in Las Vegas because they're trying to reduce that number and make it so that your cabinets show up on time.
Speaker C:I've had cabinets get lost.
Speaker C:I've had cabinets get damaged when there was a truck flip over on its side and the cabinets got destroyed.
Speaker C:I've had that happen a couple times.
Speaker C:Things like that happen.
Speaker C:And so that's why you never want to start that remodel project until the cabinetry is on site.
Speaker C:That's a big one.
Speaker C:That is a really big rule.
Speaker C:So don't get in a hurry.
Speaker C:And especially these days with tariffs and all the other stuff, make sure that you've got all the materials on hand before you start that kitchen and bath project.
Speaker C:Now, when we come back here, I'm going to talk about some specific bathroom design tips.
Speaker C:My must haves for the bathroom that are things that no matter if you're just doing a powder room, you're doing a huge master bathroom.
Speaker C:Yes, I use the word master bathroom.
Speaker C:It's not what you think it is.
Speaker C:We'll talk about that in the next segment.
Speaker C:So don't change that dial around the house.
Speaker C:We write back after these important messages.
Speaker B:To find out more information, head to aroundthehouse online.com don't change that dial around the house.
Speaker B:We'll be right back after these important messages.
Speaker C:All right.
Speaker A:Baby's drunk.
Speaker A:It's the end of the show.
Speaker A:Now drinking down, people.
Speaker A:It's time to go.
Speaker A:It's that time again.
Speaker A:It's last call.
Speaker A:Last call.
Speaker C:Welcome back to the around the House show.
Speaker C:I'm Eric G.
Speaker C:Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker C:This hour is brought to you by our friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker C:Check them out@monumentgrills.com they've got that Omni Pro MN Essence series.
Speaker C:It's a killer barbecue.
Speaker C:Some of the series even have a scale on there that tells you how much propane you have left in the tank.
Speaker C:And you can just look at the digital display that you could see in the day night.
Speaker C:It works really well.
Speaker C:Check them out@moneymcarells.com we've been talking my kitchen, kitchen and bathroom design secrets.
Speaker C:And this last segment I wanted to make sure and focus on bathroom design tips, on mistakes, on the pluses, the minuses, things to think about when you're doing this.
Speaker C:And this is an important one when it comes to bathrooms.
Speaker C:You want to make sure early on when you're planning on this project that you've got enough power in that bathroom.
Speaker C:Older homes really had an issue where they had everything on one circuit, the light, the outlets, the fan.
Speaker C:You want to split that out.
Speaker C:I really want to have a 20amp circuit for the outlets in there.
Speaker C:Especially if you've got people with a larger bathroom, maybe two sinks, curling irons, hair dryers, kids, whatever, you're going to need that one circuit.
Speaker C:You probably want to put another circuit in so you can put in a, I always put in a plug behind the toilet.
Speaker C:So that way if you ever want to add that bidet toilet seat, if you ever get into a situation where you get injured and have to have surgery, maybe it's a shoulder surgery, maybe you've got something going on.
Speaker C:Having that option to plug in a bidet toilet seat, there can be a life changer for you.
Speaker C:All you got to do is run down to Costco and get a toto right there and you're good to go.
Speaker C:But think about that.
Speaker C:Add that GFCI outlet or whatever is required for local code in your area.
Speaker C:Right behind that is a must have for each and every bathroom.
Speaker C:And it's an added value too to have that to be ready for that for the next people that buy the house.
Speaker C:So make sure you're doing that.
Speaker C:I would also think about if it's a bathroom that uses a lot of showers, like a master bathroom.
Speaker C:Heated towel rack is a great way to save on doing laundry because that really helps.
Speaker C:And I always put the ambo ones in my home, and they're just a great way to go with that.
Speaker C:So think a little bit about that.
Speaker C:That is a killer way to do this when it comes to really dialing in that bathroom.
Speaker C:Now, I want to talk about my little pet peeve here before we get too far into this.
Speaker C:I don't call it the primary.
Speaker C:Now, if you're watching my TV show Around the House Northwest, there are some realtors that have rules that they can't call it a master bathroom for their dumb rules.
Speaker C:Master bathroom was first coined in the 20s by Sears Roebuck.
Speaker C:This is not a slavery reference.
Speaker C:That's super dumb for people to say that.
Speaker C:Really, a master bathroom is something you're going to get offended about.
Speaker C:Let's get rid of master degrees then, because, oh, my gosh, can't have that.
Speaker C:Master plumber.
Speaker C:Ooh, we got to change your name.
Speaker C:Master electrician, Master lock.
Speaker C:Oh, my gosh, they got to change their name.
Speaker C:I have to make that.
Speaker C:It's a.
Speaker C:Like, it's a thing of syrup.
Speaker C:Give me a break.
Speaker C:It's ridiculous.
Speaker C:It's a master bathroom.
Speaker C:It's what we've called it since the 20s.
Speaker C:I'm not changing it just because somebody's clutching their pearls trying to make a word something that it's not.
Speaker C:End of rant.
Speaker C:Thanks, guys.
Speaker C:So really, when it comes down to it, when you're designing that bathroom, when you're designing that space, put in a good toilet.
Speaker C:Don't go buy the house brand one from your home center.
Speaker C:And really, it's hard to buy a really good toilet or home center.
Speaker C:Many of those are there because of price points, not because they work well.
Speaker C:Now, I will say American Standard and Kohler has come a long way over the last five years to start to catch up to where Toto is.
Speaker C:But they're not there yet.
Speaker C:So take a look at Toto toilets.
Speaker C:Put one in there.
Speaker C:That's the best way to go.
Speaker C:That is a toilet that will be easier to clean.
Speaker C:Lot less chance of plugging up.
Speaker C:It's going to be more comfortable and better designed.
Speaker C:End of story.
Speaker C:And if you don't know who Toto is, they make more toilets worldwide than American Standard and Kohler combined.
Speaker C:And take a look.
Speaker C:Get something.
Speaker C:If you're over the age of 30, look at comfort height.
Speaker C:Little taller.
Speaker C:Now if you want to leave one that's a regular height for the kids in the hall bathroom, awesome.
Speaker C:Comfort height is way better for your legs, way better for your knees.
Speaker C:And take a look at that bidet toilet seat.
Speaker C:Who doesn't like a heated toilet seat?
Speaker C:And a lot of the new ones now have charcoal filtration.
Speaker C:So if your significant other or your guests come over like that crazy uncle and destroys that bathroom over the holidays, you can make a dent out of that with a charcoal filtration system that's built into the toilet seat as well as a really good vent fan.
Speaker C:That bathroom must have a really good vent fan.
Speaker C:Now one thing, when you're looking at ven fans, I like the Panasonics.
Speaker C:They are better in my opinion than the Bro Newtones.
Speaker C:I have a Bro Newtone in my house.
Speaker C:I swapped them out.
Speaker C:I would rather put the Panasonic back in.
Speaker C:It's a better fan.
Speaker C:It really is.
Speaker C:It works so much better.
Speaker C:It's quieter.
Speaker C:My Bro Newtone one that I put in looks good, it's got some good features.
Speaker C:But the problem is that after a while it starts to rattle and make noise.
Speaker C:Now Panasonics just don't do that.
Speaker C:They're super quiet.
Speaker C:They're whisper quiet.
Speaker C:And you want that.
Speaker C:So you're saving some energy by getting that humidity, chemicals and everything else out of that room.
Speaker C:So that's a big one.
Speaker C:Now flooring is an interesting one.
Speaker C:I like heated tile floors.
Speaker C:I think it's a good waterproof solution.
Speaker C:I'm not a fan of the bathroom of click together floating floors.
Speaker C:I think you're asking for problems getting water underneath it and trapping it.
Speaker C:Yeah, the water.
Speaker C:The floor is waterproof.
Speaker C:You might not hurt it because it's all plastic, but the water damage underneath it can be a serious issue.
Speaker C:So to me, bathrooms and tile floors make it a lot easier.
Speaker C:And with grout these days, easy peasy.
Speaker C:Use like Ardex to install use their products, their grouts resealed, don't have to go back and seal them, which means they're easy to take care of.
Speaker C:They clean up super easy.
Speaker C:So something to think about when you're looking at that.
Speaker C:Don't go buy the grout off the home center shelf.
Speaker C:Go to your flooring and tile store, get the stuff there.
Speaker C:Makes life so much easier when it comes to that.
Speaker C:And think about if you're doing a bathroom gut, put some blocks in the wall where would you put towel racks?
Speaker C:Where would you put.
Speaker C:If you had to have knee surgery, where would you put some handles if you're going to age in that place gracefully, where grandma's got to come over.
Speaker C:If you're going to put some decorative grab bars in, are you blocking out for that?
Speaker C:Takes you a half hour.
Speaker C:Put some blocks between the studs before you drywall and then take some pictures.
Speaker C:Figure out where those blocks are.
Speaker C:Take a picture with the tape measure to show it.
Speaker C:It'll get saved in your.
Speaker C:It'll get saved in your phone.
Speaker C:It's not a big deal.
Speaker C:It'll work well.
Speaker C:That's the secret to doing that.
Speaker C:Take pictures, keep it in the cloud, put in a folder, bathroom or measurements, whatever.
Speaker C:That way you know it's behind the wall.
Speaker C:I did that on my bathroom.
Speaker C:I took pictures of the walls on the floor when I had the floor up, doing some floor repair.
Speaker C:My kitchen, when I did, had the drywall out of the ceiling, did the same thing.
Speaker C:So I know where things are hiding.
Speaker C:That's a good key right there to make sure you know what's going on and where it is.
Speaker C:It's a big deal.
Speaker C:Makes it a heck of a lot easier.
Speaker C:Makes it a heck of a lot easier.
Speaker C:So those are some of my tricks.
Speaker C:And keep in mind, too, if you buy those off the shelf.
Speaker C:Vanity combo kits, cabinet, countertop, sink, faucet, those are designed in almost all cases to be freestanding, not to go up against the wall.
Speaker C:So you're going to have to either come up with a filler or modify that to go up against the wall.
Speaker C:So just make sure you understand what that does for you and how it goes in.
Speaker C:Those are best used freestanding.
Speaker C:Have it a couple inches off the wall.
Speaker C:That's what they're planned for.
Speaker C:So think about that when you're doing this.
Speaker C:That's a big deal because you'll buy it, go to slam it up against the wall.
Speaker C:And anytime a cabinet goes up against the wall, you need to have a filler there that scribes to that.
Speaker C:Many of those freestanding vanities don't do that.
Speaker C:So you're gonna have to come up with maybe your own cabinet, your own vanity, your own sink, your own faucets, and go that route.
Speaker C:So that's a key to doing that correctly.
Speaker C:So be careful of just running down to your home improvement store and buying the vanity in one kit.
Speaker C:Unless it's standing there on the wall by itself like a pedestal sink, you might run into problems with that.
Speaker C:So if you have any more questions.
Speaker C:Hit me up over to roundthehouse online.com and I can help you over there.
Speaker C:Send me a message.
Speaker C:If you have some tricks and tips that you like, send it over to me.
Speaker C:You can visit me@aroundthehouse online.com all right everybody, that's the end of the show.
Speaker C:Thanks for tuning in this week.
Speaker C:If you're listening on the radio, check out our podcast where you can catch the midweek special.
Speaker C:We'll see you next week.
Speaker C:Thanks for tuning in to around the House.
Speaker B:Thank you for tuning into the around the House show.
Speaker B:If you are on the radio, make sure you check out the podcast for additional content during the week on your favorite podcast player or at aroundthehouseonline.com we will see you next time.
Speaker A:Unseen and undiscovered anywhere out beyond the me life is a love song let's be lovers we're all over the radio Take mine I know where to go all over the radio with you.
