Guild Quality

Luckily, we have Bret working in our office to update our website on a regular basis.  If you have not recently visited adrbuilders.com it is a great place to check on ADR’s current projects, recent newsletters, and latest blogs.  We have also added direct access to our Guild Quality profile from the home page of our website.  Guild Quality facilitates customer reviews of all our remodeling projects post completion and compiles the data in a series of charts and testimonial quotes to give potential clients a good overview of the level of service we provide.  They have recently added a new feature mapping all the completed ADR projects they have reviewed.  The map provides an interesting overview of the Baltimore areas where ADR most frequently works.  If you have not yet had a chance to visit Guild Quality these new features are a great reason to see what they have to offer.

ADR Expands

This past month ADR Builders has joined forces with Wheatley Associates, a remodeling company located in Monkton, Maryland.  Wheatley Associates is a 25-year-old remodeling company focusing on northern Baltimore County and Harford County.  We have hired 3 former Wheatley Associates field staff to expand our work force.  ADR will be contracting all work for new and former Wheatley clients.  This will expand the work area ADR covers as well as give us additional staff to handle more projects at a more rapid pace.  We are all very excited about this new partnership and look forwards to serving a wider range of clients.

Orchestrating Remodeling

 After the sale of a project, I am often asked what my role is in the remodeling project.  Since I typically do none of the physical labor, where do I fit in?  I compare my role to the conductor of an orchestra.  Like an orchestra has a complex arrangement of various instruments that combine to produce beautiful music, the home has a complex set of components that must work together as a whole.  After 30 years of remodeling I realize my limits in knowledge of all the various aspects of construction.  What I do have is an overall vision and a team of ADR designers, project managers, carpenters and associated professional suppliers and subcontractors to fill in the gaps of my knowledge.  Like an orchestra, when we all work together, something beautiful is the result.

Free Bath Seminar, Saturday January 14th

The next free ADR seminar is scheduled for Saturday, January 14 from 12:30-2:00.  The informative seminar will take place at the Somerville Showroom in Owings Mills.  The Somerville showroom specializes in bath and kitchen plumbing fixtures.  They also have vanities, countertops, lighting and other assorted products for bath and kitchen remodeling.  I will review a construction timeline and a general discussion of bath remodeling costs.  Jane will review bath design and many of the decisions in designing a bath remodeling.  Linda Kates from Somerville will review bath products.  There will be time after the presentation to explore the Somerville Showroom and for one-on-one discussions with our team of industry professionals.

Bath Counters

 

There are several choices when choosing a bath counter.  While cost may vary considerably, the typical bath counter does not have a lot of square footage so the cost of something unique may be affordable.  Of course one choice is to not have a counter at all – that is using a pedestal sink.  Pedestals work especially well in small baths and powder rooms, taking up less space, making the room seem larger by being more open, and usually costing less than the vanity/counter/sink combined costs.  Below is a review of some bath counter options.

§         Solid Surface:  Solid surface products such as Corian are a popular choice for bath remodeling.  The surface is durable, easy to clean and maintain, comes in a variety of colors and patterns, and can be shaped easily.  Plus they are often combined with an integral bowl of the same pattern creating a seamless finish without difficult to clean edges. 

§         Stone:  Granite is the most popular stone surface for bath counters.  Easy to clean, durable, a natural product, and readily available in a wide variety of colors and natural stone or vein patterns.  More porous stones such as marble or limestone while initially attractive stain easily, require regularly sealing, and scratch more easily than granite.

§         Tile:  Ceramic tile is typically inexpensive, available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, finishes, and colors, and is a durable surface.  The largest drawback is the grout joints between the tiles that may be difficult to maintain and keep clean.

§         Man-made Synthetics:  Today there are a wide variety of manufactured stone products imitating the look of granite or marble.  A more traditional, and very inexpensive, product is cultured marble.  Including an integral bowl cultured marble is probably the least expensive option.  It is available in a variety and colors, is very durable, easy to clean, and is readily and quickly available for standard size vanities.

§         Other:  Laminate is another very inexpensive choice that is easy to clean and available in a variety of colors and designs.  Wood counters are also sometimes used in a bath, especially for a more decorative function like a powder room that will not receive heavy day-to-day use.  For both of these products water exposure may cause long-term issues.

Remodeling the Kids’ Bath

Many homes today have a master bath and a hall bath or a shared bath for the other bedrooms.  The second bath often functions as the children’s bath.  Remodeling a kids’ bath or second bath involves some different design and product decisions than for the master bath.  Following are some ideas to consider.

§         Size:  The typical 2^nd bath is smaller than the master bath and the number of fixtures are more limited.  There is often room for only one sink although in some situations two are possible.  Typically there is a tub/shower and a toilet.  Especially for small children a tub is important, showers are difficult to use when bathing infants.  And if resale is a consideration, having a tub/shower combo in the 2^nd bath is a good choice.

§         Design:  One popular option, if space permits, is a two-room bath.  The front room has the vanity or vanities and storage; the second room has the toilet and tub/shower.  This often allows more than one child to use the bath at a time.  Another design consideration is storage space.  If multiple kids are using the room, adequate storage for towels, toiletries, hair dryers, medicine, etc should be taken into consideration.

§         Product Selection:  Some bath products work better for small children than for teenagers.  Keep in mind if you have small children that they will grow.  A standard height vanity with stools for small children may be a better long-term solution.  Shower curtains are much easier to work with for bathing small children and can be easily and inexpensively changed in the future.  Decorative selections for small children are better used in towels, shower curtains, and accessories than for permanent items such as tile and plumbing fixtures that will be expensive and difficult to change.

§         Safety:  Many of the same safety rules apply for any bath.  Non-slip floor tiles, pressure balanced and scald guard faucets, and GFI protected electrical outlets are all especially important for small children and good ideas for any bath.

Bath Flooring Options

A bath remodel involves many product selections and decisions. There are pros and cons to different bath flooring options.  Plus, those product selections have a great influence on the remodeling price. 

Tile:  Tile is the most typical choice for a bath floor.  Tile is durable, water resistant, and comes in an amazing variety of colors, shapes and sizes.  Pricing can vary significantly from inexpensive to very expensive depending on the exact tile selected and the complexity of the pattern to be installed.  A good tile installation should include a tile backer board substrate to give rigidity and in the long term keep the tile from cracking.  To avoid slipping in a wet area bath floor tile typically has a textured or slightly textured surface.  In general tile is a mid-range cost selection but upgrades in the tile selection plus the optional addition of heating to the floor can increase costs significantly.

Stone:  Stone is similar to tile in many aspects but generally more expensive, and often the most expensive option for a bath floor.

Vinyl:  Vinyl is available as a sheet or in 12” tiles and in a variety of colors and designs.  Vinyl tiles are easy to install and especially a good choice for do-it-yourself remodels.  Vinyl is typically one of the least expensive bath floor options.

Laminate Flooring:  Laminate flooring is made of layers of paper and wood with a top layer picturing whatever surface you want the floor to look like.  It is typically inexpensive and easy to install.  While the top surface is water resistant, if water does penetrate, especially to the pad below, there is no choice but to remove and replace the flooring.  In general this may work for a powder room but is probably not a good choice for a full bath.

Wood Flooring:  Wood floors including hardwood such as oak or engineered wood floors, basically a layer of wood over plywood, are another choice for a bath.  Installation costs are mid-range.  If wood is used in a bath care should be taken to keep in dry and remove excess moisture from the surface.