Fazzolari Custom Homes & Renovations

March is the month where you lay the groundwork for the many days of yard work that lay ahead. But it’s gotta be done if you expect any guilt-free backyard family time.

• Keep working on the home repair list you made in January – if you’re not done maybe you should hire someone to finish it (such as Fazzolari Custom Homes and Renovations).
• Test your smoke alarms - If you do not have one consider a CO2 monitor. Also remember if you have kids (and even if you don’t), make an escape plan in case of an emergency. Know how to exit the home safely and quickly, where to meet, and be sure to practice! Our local fire department has plenty of information to assist you with this.
• Spruce up beds and edging - and pull any weeds you see starting immediately. I walk through the yard each weekend and just pull them as I see ‘em. If you don’t they’ll be sprouting offspring soon and then you’ll get behind!
• Fertilize the yard - Here in the Pacific Northwest March means a return to growing grass. Fertilizing now can help your yard recover from the terrors of winter and green it up before your neighbors know what hit ‘em! If you want to keep it simple, which I prefer, consider using a fertilizer that is labeled 16-16-16, or as we call it “triple sixteen”. You can use it for the lawn and the plants…and DON’T FORGET THE PLANTS!
• Fill up and start the mower if you haven’t already - Before you stowed the mower in the garage for the winter you drained the gas tank, cleaned it, and sharpened the blade, right? Now all you have to do is fill it up, give it a few extra seconds to start and off you go! If it does not start, check the plug – it might need to be gapped or replaced.
• Check your house foundation - Make sure that you do not have soil or other materials up against the siding on the house, unless you LIKE water damage. We suggest keeping the soil at least 6 inches below the siding with the soil sloping away from the home. This is especially critical in new homes as the soil around the foundation of the home will often settle after a season and slope toward the foundation.
• Test your water pressure - In our area they no longer provide pressure reducing valves (PRV’s) at the water meter, so as new supply and new homes come on line the water pressure on your home may change…and often it increases. The ideal range is between 60 and 75 PSI, and we always install a PRV on anything over 85PSI. Not doing so could result in plumbing failures that are not good for the home…but have provided me plenty of work this winter.
• Clean your air conditioner or heat pump - To make sure it is working at peak performance be sure to clean the A/C unit of all leaves and debris that may have accumulated over the winter.
• Inspect trees for broken branches - If the limb is high up, hire a licensed arborist. If you can reach it from the ground, take it down using the three-cut technique, which prevents bark from tearing and creating an open wound on the trunk:

1. 1. Make the first cut 1 to 2 feet from the branch collar, sawing a quarter way through the bottom of the branch.
   2. Make the second cut 3 inches farther out from the first, sawing all the way through the branch.
   3. Make the final cut just beyond the branch collar, sawing from the top down.

January Monthly Household Checklist
February Monthly Household Checklist

As the granite countertop trend continues to slowly ebb in high-end homes, other alternatives are starting to pick up in popularity. The National Kitchen & Bath Association recently conducted its 2010 survey of designers and found that although granite was still the number one choice for new countertops, quartz was closing the gap.

While granite and quartz are the overwhelming choice for most homeowners, we just completed a kitchen remodel in Vancouver, WA where we installed soapstone countertops in the kitchen. The homeowners, Jim and Liz Luce, loved the understated look of the material in contrast to the flashier polished granite and quartz. We thought we’d take our recent experience and compare soapstone with the other two familiar products:

Granite
Granite has been popular for many years because of the wide variety of styles that can be found and because it has depth and when polished has a lot of sparkle from crystals embedded in the stone. Although these “inclusions” are the bane of good diamonds, they give polished granite depth, interest, and a randomness that can be hard to replicate in man-made materials. But these inclusions also give granite it’s main weakness: it’s porous, which means it needs to be maintained regularly and can harbor bacteria. I have it in my home and do not maintain it according to the “recommended rules”. I don’t seal it, I use Windex to clean it (which is a no-no), and I don’t worry about it. I have a family with kids, so I’m not going to lose sleep over maintaining my granite countertops!

Quartz
In the meantime, quartz countertops are engineered from natural quartz crystals that are joined using a resin and then formed into slabs by the manufacturers. This means that unlike granite, quartz is not porous. But it also means it can’t take the same heat as granite, so you will need to keep the hottest pots and pans on trivets. The engineering process also means that quartz can be chosen in specific colors, giving designers more control over the finished look. This is a material that can withstand neglect.

Soapstone
Soapstone is coming back into popularity. It was used as an old-world building material and often found in older American homes. It features a matte finish and is really only available in dark grey. It’s very durable, not particularly absorbent and stains stay on the surface of the stone and can be scrubbed off. In fact, according to this site, it can be completely refinished to look new, even after 100 years of use. Another option is to oil the soapstone. This will provide a darker look, but will require a little work at least in the early years of your counter. Owners also tend to love it or hate it after living with it for a few years because it gets darker and develops a patina after a lot of use.

Here are some things to consider:

* Remember, this is just my opinion.

Which to choose
Each of these materials costs about the same per square foot and have similar installation costs. Each brings something different to the countertop party. If you like the randomness and variety of natural stone and don’t mind occasional maintenance, granite is a great option. If you want a low-maintenance countertop that has consistent coloration and can be chosen quite precisely to match other colors in your design, choose quartz. If you want something old-world yet unique in modern construction, like the color, and don’t mind its maintenance or tendency to change in shade over time, then soapstone will be a great option.

In order to help our friends at the Christian Youth Theatre, Fazzolari Custom Homes & Renovations is offering one FREE Portland Home & Garden Show ticket for every two tickets purchased by you to the production of “Alice The Looking Glass Girl.”

That means if you buy FOUR tickets to the play you get TWO FREE tickets to the Home & Garden Show this weekend. Ticket prices for “Alice” for adults are $12, children from the ages of 3-15 are $9, and Saturday is family day where all tickets are $8. Regular admission to the Home Show is $10.

The play, which has show times February 26-28 and March 5-7, is a modern “rock” musical based on the beloved “Alice in Wonderland.” We’re supporting this group because our daughter, Lauren, has a part and also because we really believe in the power of the arts to transform children from simply consumers of mass media to creative and engaged individuals.

You can buy tickets and find more information at the CVT website.

When you purchase tickets, please include the name “Lauren Fazzolari” in the space for “student,” then email me at john@fazzhomes.com or join our Facebook page and leave message for us. Give us your name, how many tickets you purchased and what day you would like to attend the Home & Garden Show, which is Feb. 24-28 at the Portland Expo Center. We will then arrange for the tickets to be left for you at Will Call. For more information on the Home & Garden Show check out this page.

Remember, you have to act fast to take advantage of this offer since the Home & Garden Show ends this weekend. We think you and the family will love the show and hope you look for Lauren in the cast!

- John

Over the years Liz and Jim Luce have been updating their home in the Dubois Park neighborhood of Vancouver, Wa, room by room. They’ve been trying to remove the “mod”, transforming the 1960’s ranch-style house into a stylish home with “understated elegance.”

So when it was the kitchen’s turn, Liz Luce knew she wanted to scrap the “1980’s Pacific Northwest style” in favor of a more “plain English look.”

“I wanted something that wouldn’t ever go out of style,” said Luce.

Vancouver Heights Kitchen Remodel Photo Gallery

1980s Kitchen Before

Classic English Kitchen After

Close-up of Sink and Cabinets

Refrigerator Sticking Out Before

Refrigerator Flush With Cabinets, Pantry Next to It

Sink and French Doors

Faucet Detail

Pantry Slide-out Detail

Kitchen Storage Detail

French Doors Detail

Paneling Detail

Hardware Detail

Dubois Park Neighborhood Home in Vancouver, WA

She wanted to replace the Formica countertops and dated oak-trimmed white Formica cabinets, purchase new appliances, make room for a larger refrigerator and gain storage. And she wanted to make these changes without altering the layout of the space, moving walls, or disturbing the hardwood floors and adjoining rooms.

After a five-week remodel, which included demolition, plumbing changes, installation of French doors, installation of custom-made cabinets and paneling, installation of new appliances, and painting, the kitchen was reborn.

The transformation leaves the space with a simple and elegant look. Luce chose classic English-style cabinet doors with single panels. That classic look was echoed throughout the kitchen remodel with paneling on the remaining exposed walls and one covering the refrigerator.

For the new countertop, Luce preferred a dark grey soapstone with a matte finish, which adds drama to the look without being flashy. “I don’t like the sparkly stuff in granite,” she said.

But the biggest surprise for Luce was that, behind their simple paneled exteriors, the cabinets offered so many modern storage features:

• Large lazy susan turntables in corner cabinets take the chore out of storing items in the dark recesses of the cabinets.
• Under the sink, the plumbing was moved to the side of the cabinet, freeing much needed square footage.
• Other cabinets received multi-level slide-outs, again to make retrieving items easier.
• Finally, the pantry cabinet received a large slide-out, increasing the depth of storage and making it much easier to find hidden spices.

“By keeping the footprint exactly the same, I got all this incredible storage I didn’t have before,” said Luce.

Luce also was impressed with the level of craftsmanship and professionalism from the members of the Fazzolari Custom Homes and Renovations team.

“Everybody who came into this house got along with one another and they all looked out for each other to make sure everything was finished the way we wanted it,” she said.

In fact, the most difficult part of the project was simply getting started. “It’s like when you go to the hospital when you’re pregnant to see the birthing facilities,” Luce said. “You know you need to do it but you don’t really want to, because it’s too scary. But when you’re done, you’re ecstatic.”

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