Dream Home

As mentioned in our last post one of the reasons we love Moen products is their advanced use of technology. One of Moen’s featured products that we are SO excited to have in our home is the iO digital system. The iO system is an easy to use control panel that saves your preferences and settings so with a touch of a button you can start your bath and shower just how you like it. I am so excited to have a hot and steamy shower ready for me on the cold Northwest mornings this winter!

One other product we selected for our home is having a slide bar on all of our showers (including the outdoor shower). This makes it easy to adjust the shower head according to the height of the person and it makes cleaning the shower much easier.

Ceiling mounted shower head, body sprays and an iO digital controller with remote – Master Shower
Comes in Chrome, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Nickel and Spot Brushed Nickel. We loved the victorian style and the barely there gold finish!

 

 

Here are our other Moen products we chose for our home:

Faucet for our upstairs bath 90 # S6700 in chrome. Chose this for the modern style also the easy to use single handle for children.

Kingsley Antique Bronze Two-Handle Low Arc Wall Mount Bathroom Faucet –  Guest Bath (T6107)
Comes in Chrome, Polished Brass, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Brushed Nickel and Antique Bronze. We chose a classic traditional faucet in a gold finish.

Kingsley Brushed Nickel Two-Handle Low Arc Bathroom Faucet –  Lake Bath (T6105)
Comes in Chrome, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Brushed Nickel and Wrought Iron. We loved the look of the wrought iron – the black metal finish is goregous!

Voss Chrome One-Handel High Arc Bathroom Faucet –  Downstairs Bath (Voss #6903)
Comes in Chrome, Oil Rubbed Bronze and Brushed Nickel. Chose for the easy use single handle and timeless style.

Weymouth Nickel Two-Handle High Arc Bathroom Faucet – Master Bath (TS42108)
Comes in Chrome, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Nickel and Spot Brushed Nickel. We loved the victorian style and the barely there gold finish!

Until you complete a remodeling project you may have not paid attention to the faucet that you use, who makes it or how it works. You use it everyday all day and as long as water comes out you may not think twice.

What you may not know it that in the business of manufacturing bathroom and kitchen fixtures there is a far and away leader in Moen. With approximately 72% of the market share and 75 years of experience some of the industries advanced innovations have come from Moen (like single handle and MotionSense faucets). And if all that wasn’t enough, we chose Moen for the Renewal Dream Home because they will replace parts for your hardware for the lifetime of the product. It really says something when a company stands behind what they make and will support you as the consumer – love it.

We met with our wonderful Moen rep Teresa at Sound Design Center to hear about the latest Moen products and selected our hardware for the showers and sinks in our house.

Chrome One-handle High Arc Pulldown Kitchen Faucet – Main Floor (Sto #S72308)
Comes in Spot Resist Stainless, Chrome & Matte Black. Chose this for the modern sleek design with a concealed hand spray.

Arbor Crome One-handle High Arc Pulldown Kitchen Faucet – Basement Kitchen (Arbor #7594)
Comes in Chrome, Matte Black, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Classic Stainless and Spot Resistant Stainless. Comes with motion sensor – perfect for the grandkids!

(We will share our bath selections in part 2 of this post.)

Have you ever felt the air blowing through your windows or felt air coming out of your electric plugs?  How about the dark, dirty line on your carpet around the base of the walls?  That is what we call air infiltration. Air from the outside blowing into the inside of your home. Air is moving in and out of your home. When that happens you are having to reheat the new air coming in. That is what we call “air changes”. Your home could have 10 air changes an hour!  This year the code changed to maximize the number of air changes to 4 air changes an hour.  On our home we are wrapping the outside with a product that helps reduce air infiltration but keeps the water out and allowing it to breath. We are also using a gasket type caulking around the walls, attic areas and outlets.

 

Homeowners don’t realize the air leakage threw can lights, caulking helps minimize it.  Spray foam insulation is used in narrow areas to reach maximum insulation value and reduce air leakage. Stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer have your home checked.

A design trend that is very popular right now is furniture style vanities. Rather than full cabinets or a pedestal sink I decided to use vanities in both my lake bathroom and power room. Due to their popularity you can find them in a variety of styles and looks. Here are my selections:

Lake Bath: Rustic chic weathered oak. Decorative “rivets” on cabinet and mirror provide a chic, cutting edge industrial look.

 

Powder Room: Rustic driftwood grey finish framed in charcoal metal. The earth-bound, organic look derives its appeal from clean lines and tactile Weathered Oak veneers, accented with subtle brass finished knobs.

There are many vanity styles, wood colors and you can choose to add your own custom counter top. Thank you Sound Design Center we love it!

-Sharon

Contrary to popular belief even if you live in the Pacific Northwest you can avoid standing water and drainage issues when building a home. NO, you should NOT have standing water in your dream home! So frequently do homeowners in rainy climates deal with basement and foundation drainage problems that it’s common to think that they can’t be avoided. But with proper planning of your basement drainage system you can.

A cell phone video of our basement drainage

So, what did we do in the Renewal Dream Home to avoid drainage issues?

1. Once the foundation was poured we sealed the concrete with a tar like material to minimize water infiltration through the concrete.  There can be so much pressure against the foundation wall that water will pass right through it. The “tar” like material will help but not stop the water.
2. Mira drain is a product that goes over the foundation wall after painting it with the tar substance.  It keeps the water pressure from building up against the foundation and allows it to run down into the drainage system that goes around the footings.
3. The same drainage system is on the inside of the footings to capture any water that leaks under the footing.
4. We also put a vent drain at the slab to wall area to allow it to dry out.
5. Don’t forget to tie in your downspouts to your drainage systems.

Although these 5 steps take a lot of planning and labor, a little sweat now will save a lot of headache and money later. Just ask anyone who has had added a drain or dealt with a sump pump.

In the planning process of deciding the style and design of our home we made many changes. We actually started with a Cape Cod style with plans ready to go. While on vacation in Hawaii we loved the tropical homes which then inspired our current design.

 The plantation style homes in Hawaii that inspired the Renewal Dream Home.

Photos courtesy of Oz Architects Inc.

 

I decided to have our architect create a 3D video of our exterior elevations to give Sharon a better feel of how our home is going to look. Like many people, the paper sketches weren’t giving her a good feel for the home. Seeing it in 3D helped her visualize and get a feel for the actual structure. This is our dream home and mistakes are costly. We are so glad we spent a little more on the front end to help clarify our vision.

 

Standard architectural plans.

The 3D Animation we had made. So much easier to comprehend.

From experience, the two things I would advise when planning your building or remodeling project are:

1) Use inspiration from what you like. If you see a building or design that you love – use it.

2) Take the time to get the plans right. Changes during the building process are costly. It’s better to get it right on paper and go into the construction process confident than make changes as you go.

-George