Modern home materials & technologies discussion thread

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skyking

Lifer
Nov 21, 2001
21,961
4,685
146
tell us what you really think. ;)
I build a ladder system to level the boxes on site. That way I can fix any level problems without shimming. I level the ladder and toekick assembly and drop the boxes onto that.
 
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Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
20,284
5,057
136
tell us what you really think. ;)
I build a ladder system to level the boxes on site. That way I can fix any level problems without shimming. I level the ladder and toekick assembly and drop the boxes onto that.

That's how I've done it with Ikea cabinets, worked perfectly.
 

MongGrel

Lifer
Dec 3, 2013
38,751
3,068
121
I was just skimming through this thread. I'd think that tile over vinyl is a very poor idea. I cannot see how the vinyl is sturdy enough to prevent flexing when the tile was walked on. When I did an internship as a ceramic engineer, we had an entire mall full of our tiles failing - and that was simply from an adhesive that wasn't absolutely rock solid - it allowed a tiny bit of flexing, and with traffic, over time, a lot of tiles were cracking.

Was just reskimming myself, I'd never bind a tile floor to Linoleum personally.

That would always get ripped up.

If there was still an undamaged tile floor underneath I might, have a few bathrooms need redone and the tile is still solid and bonded to a concrete slab, I'll clean those up and feel safe bonding to those.

The concrete slab here is a bit different from many farther north I imagine.
 
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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
Was just reskimming myself, I'd never bind a tile floor to Linoleum personally.

I've actually since solved the problem...I had water damage that got into the kitchen & ruined about a third of the floor (made the linoleum bubble up pretty badly). Insurance will be covering it, so I get brand-new sub-flooring & flooring with zero effort or hacks :D :thumbsup:
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,989
10
81
Throw in Roxul ComfortBoard IS. Insect- and moisture-resistant rigid insulation, recommended for exterior use. See PERSIST and REMOTE home construction.
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,989
10
81
EZ-Level cabinet leveling system:

http://www.ez-level.com/

The idea is to "laser level your entire kitchen in minutes" using this built-in tool instead of shims or plinth feet (convenience item, albeit pricey at $15 a pop). It's a permanent leveling system that can be adjusted at any time & is granite-friendly (protects it from cracking). It comes in a set with a front & rear leveler & a short & long adjusting rod to adjust each respectively. Some more background by the owner here:

http://festoolownersgroup.com/other...evel-before-for-cabinets/msg210414/#msg210414

I like the concept because years down the road, you can easily adjust your cabinets to be level as things warp or have thermal expansion or water damage or whatever. Having that issue right now in my kitchen actually, and we're prepping to do a renovation due to water damage from ice dams (damaged both cabinets & flooring), so I may pick these up if the insurance budget allows me to go for some nice cabinets from Cliq Studios:

http://www.cliqstudios.com/

Cliq cabinets + EZ-Level feet seems like a super easy way to go the DIY route for kitchen cabinet installation.
I wonder if there is such a system for ranges. I don't like having my eggs slide down the pan. I know that the two front feet are easily adjusted to eliminate rocking, but the rear feet cannot be adjusted perfectly in one shot. Getting to perfect level can't always be done with just the front two feet.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
20,284
5,057
136
Adjustable door hinge:

http://www.adjustabledoorhinge.com/

Having some door-sticking problems due to thermal expansion. Going to try this on one really bad door to see how it fares.

That's an interesting product. Marvin doors have had them for years, but I've never seen an after market version. I have a pair of French doors on a completed project that I've had to go back and adjust three times already. The house is sinking a bit because of the extremely dry ground and the doors are racking. It's a pain in the ass.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
I wonder if there is such a system for ranges. I don't like having my eggs slide down the pan. I know that the two front feet are easily adjusted to eliminate rocking, but the rear feet cannot be adjusted perfectly in one shot. Getting to perfect level can't always be done with just the front two feet.

I wonder if the EZ-Level system could be adapted to a range:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=37318174&postcount=46

It has a short stick for the front feet & a long stick for the rear feet, so you can adjust at any time pretty easily. I'm actually having the same problem...fortunately my stove pulls out, but it's still a pain in the rear to actually do it :p
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,989
10
81
I wonder if the EZ-Level system could be adapted to a range:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=37318174&postcount=46

It has a short stick for the front feet & a long stick for the rear feet, so you can adjust at any time pretty easily. I'm actually having the same problem...fortunately my stove pulls out, but it's still a pain in the rear to actually do it :p
Or just build a low-profile system with threaded rod and sliding wedges. Or 90 degree gearboxes. Or just slide in some spare scissor jacks from a junkyard. :p

6012kp1l.png
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
Really liking Formica's comeback. Their 2016 180fx stuff looks great:

http://www.formica.com/en/us/landing-pages/2016-residential-launch/residential-videos

http://www.houzz.com/photos/query/formica-group

This with some Cliq cabinets would make a killer kitchen setup, as well as bathrooms, closets, etc. They also do laminate for walls & various tables. Really liking a lot of their dinner table designs:

http://www.formica.com/us/~/media/n...ite_travertine_1.jpg?h=420&la=en-US&w=752&s=2

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/c6/f0/09/c6f009c56ed24f107f1c811622b32e9f.jpg

Also seeing their stuff in interesting applications, like sliding barn doors for kitchens & bedrooms:

http://www.formica.com/us/~/media/n...1-oxidized-maple.jpg?h=420&la=en-US&w=752&s=2
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
I sent this to a friend who is designing his landscape for low-maintenance:

Parts list:
Setup:
  • Install the fence around the land perimeter
  • Install a flower bed or rock garden (12” to 24” wide) around the fence & house (around the house can be a raised skirt flower bed)
  • Install fixed irrigation in flower beds (to avoid pop-up sprinkler heads), along with the smart controller & fertigation systems (verify spray patterns offer full coverage)
  • Install “mower’s edge” shaped concrete curbing around flower beds, shrubbery, and driveway
  • Epoxy & stamp the driveway
  • Hydro-seed lawn
  • Setup the robot mower
Lawn care maintenance:
  • Edge the curbing as needed
  • Pick up sticks/rocks/pinecones/debris to clear the path for the lawnmower as needed
  • Refill the liquid fertilizer container as needed
  • Hose off the driveway as needed
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
AZEK: PVC trim etc. Neat stuff to work with. Billed as a synthetic wood alternative.

So AZEK has a lot of interesting new products:

https://azek.com/

They now do:
  1. Decking
  2. Railing
  3. Trim
  4. Moulding
  5. Porch
  6. Pavers
  7. Lighting
  8. Finishing
  9. Pergolas
I have had good experiences working with their material...easy to work with & looks great!
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
SharkBite has a new system called EvoPEX:

http://www.sharkbite.com/evopex/

Pretty neat, it's a push-to-fit system that turns green when it locks in:

Product%20Image%201_SharkBite%20EvoPEX%20Plumbing%20System.jpg


Keeping To Schedule

The first push-to-connect rough-in plumbing solution for new construction. No special tools, soldering, glue or crimping to plumb an entire home, optimizing install time and efficiency.

Mitigating Risk

The system’s ease of installation reduces the risk of install errors and potential leaks. Just push-to-connect and check the green visual indicator to ensure a proper, leak-free connection.

A Total System, From Meter To Fixture

One system from one manufacturer, meter to fixture when installed with SharkBite PEX pipe and valves. Designed for getting the job done!
 
Jun 18, 2000
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688
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Thanks for posting updates to this thread. I'll probably never use any of the products but I find some them interesting to read about.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
Thanks for posting updates to this thread. I'll probably never use any of the products but I find some them interesting to read about.

Yeah, I like to keep up on home technologies too...it's always interesting to see what new solutions are presented for age-old problems. Like, my buddy is looking at a home with a septic system that is close by the house, so we were digging through solutions for how to mitigate possible smell issues & found the SludgeHammer:

http://innovativesepticsolutions.com/the-sludgehammer-system/

As Buzz Jenks, Sludgehammer’s CEO in Petoskey explains, the system is very simple. It’s basically an air pump that pumps air through a cylinder that is inserted into a septic tank along with a stick that has small bags of bacteria attached to it. The bacteria consume septic waste and convert it to nitrogen. The bacteria reproduce, a portion of the bacteria cling to the surface of the cylinder and the remainder drifting into the septic tank and out into the drain field. The bacteria in the drain field continue consuming waste.

http://www.sludgehammer.net/services/residential/

They also have other neat things like the PondBot. which is a solar-powered unit that removes smells & turns the water into irrigation water by removing nitrates without chemicals or chlorine (uses bacteria to out-fight the algae):

http://www.sludgehammer.net/pondbot/
 

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
8,385
1,011
126
the cliq cabinets are pretty good. I installed a set of them for a friend, they have a few small quality issues but did to right by their customers. I wish they would send the end caps separate instead of gluing them to the base at the factory. The doors and boxes are of good quality. Its not that hard to level a cabinet, I have installed a few kitchens now and i am not sure that system would even save that much time over just using the laser, shims, a 2 foot and a 6 foot level.
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,736
447
126
Glad this came up again, haven't read it before. I'll have to go through the thread and see what all has been mentioned.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
How about adding Zip board, sheathing systems: http://www.huberwood.com/zipsystem/home-zip-system Basically OSB with a coating, so it eliminates the need for Tyvek. In my research it is a bit cheaper than OSB + Tyvek.
Advantech Decking: http://www.huberwood.com/advantech/home-advantech Makes for great subfloors, supposedly stiffer than standard OSB or Plywood.

Both Zip and Advantech have become defacto standards around here.

Also Hardie siding: http://www.jameshardie.com/
And any form of SolarBoard OSB for roof decking (radiative barrier glued to inside of of the sheet), there are a few different brands. When I've had it quoted, Solarboard runs about $0.10 more per sheet, in quantity.

So Zip board has actually become super-huge in Connecticut. Nearly every new house being built I've seen has the green on the outside, and there was even one multi-story building in Hartford that was using it for the exterior.

There was one on the way to a customer's location that I watched being built over a few months that turned out to be a log cabin house...with the Zip board for the exterior, then they put logs (fake or real, I dunno) instead of siding on the outside. Pretty slick!
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
Glad this came up again, haven't read it before. I'll have to go through the thread and see what all has been mentioned.

Yeah, there's a lot of neat stuff out there. Unfortunately a lot of vendors don't heavily advertise, so a lot of it is just stuff I've stumbled across by chance when I've been looking for a specific solution to something.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,394
5,257
136
An update on the CleanCUT:

http://www.smartproductinnovations.com/cleancut-paper-towel-dispenser

1. My family ended up hating it
2. We took it off & don't use it anymore
3. Ended up getting a racheting stand-up paper towel dispenser with a weighted base instead

A lot of paper towels now have half-sheet perforations instead of full-sheet, and the CleanCUT really just kind of did half-sheet slices with extra feeding for longer cuts. It was a little bit of a hassle to use (a tad slow) & refills were a tad bit awkward. Originally we had an upright dispenser with a rubber stopper kind of thing, which worked okay, but the racheting one with the heavy base works waaaaaay better, plus you can relocate it to where you're working in the kitchen, or where the mess you need to clean up is, so that's convenient.