Big slop sink in basement - Should we keep it or get something new?
John
6 years ago
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6 years agolookintomyeyes83
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Poured concrete basement: temp., strength, slop lot
Comments (10)Opinions about concrete vary widely on these forums. Claims of long experience may simply mean that they have been doing it wrong for a long time. Take whatever is posted here and use as a basis for more research that you will do. Concrete is either 1. a slab placed over a supporting substrate, or 2. a component of a bridge. A bridge has reinforcement which supports both all of the components of the bridge plus the loads that the bridge must bear. Cracked floors could indicate an improper substrate. Concrete made from Portland cement shrinks as it cures. Fiber helps to minimize cracking from this cause. Control joints are used to create deliberately weaker places where such cracks can more easily occur, hopefully sparing those areas between the control joints. A poorly-prepared substrate that varies in height, i.e, not level, virtually insures that concrete placed over it will crack where the concrete is thinner. None of my interior concrete has any cracks after 10 years. The basement was solid soil with 4" of crushed stone compacted with plate compactor. Fiber is the only reinforcement there. Part of my garage is filled 8 feet deep. Filled with selected soil and compacted thoroughly with a "jumping jack compactor' every 8" of added soil EXCEPT adjacent to the basement wall which would have put too much lateral pressure against the wall. Then rebar formed a bridge over the deepest fill and wider spaced rebar is over the full garage area. Fiber was used there. I would not expect fiber to provide structural reinforcement. Fiber slightly hinders getting a slick final finish on the concrete. Keeping the concrete CONSTANTLY wet for 30 days will insure much greater strength but does not appreciably affect cracking. My lot is like yours. My yard is graded for water control. House main floor level is lower than the road. A gentle swale is created about 30' from the house and then the yard slopes up to the road from the other side of the swale. The swale slopes downward gently to one side of the lot. No water in the basement as it easily runs away before it gets to the house. The ground level adjacent to the house is about 2' higher than the bottom of the swale at it's highest point. Here is a link that might be useful: Swale...See MoreShould we put a door between kitchen and basement?
Comments (23)Putting the range where you're suggesting creates two potential problems: (1) It's more expensive and less efficient to vent it because it's nowhere near an outside wall. Where it was in the "before" picture you could at least just have the ductwork "hang a left" and exit out the back of the house. And of course, the cheapest and most efficient place to put it is actually ON an outside wall. (2) You have to carry everything across the kitchen--including pots of just-boiled pasta water to drain in the sink--which creates a risk of tripping on cats/kids/dogs or running into people. With boiling water that could be dangerous, and with stuff that's not hot it can make a big mess. Without exact measurements I can't tell how workable this suggestion is, but what if you put the range on the same wall as the sink (leaving at least 2 feet and ideally more between sink and range), possibly shrinking the pantry a bit to make room? In other words, leave the sink where you propose but put the stove either on the far left or far right of that wall (with at least 6" between it and the side wall so you have elbow room when cooking). If you shrank the pantry a bit you would get the most counterspace between sink and range. This would also let you put the fridge and microwave/toaster/coffee maker etc. on the wall where the range is shown in your current plans. It's nice to have counterspace right next to the fridge, and a setup like that would not only keep the hot stuff/cleanup area all on one side of the kitchen, it would also provide a breakfast/snack area on the other side. And there would be additional prep space to the other side of the sink, so there'd be room for two cooks to work in the kitchen simultaneously. (By the way, you would want to put the DW on the opposite side of the sink from the range for maximum efficiency). And if it pains you to shrink the pantry, you could add a tall cabinet where the fridge is shown in your current plans to get back that storage space....See Moreneed opinions-should we get a garbage disposal? can we
Comments (5)Having grown up without one, I now can't imagine not having one. We do some composting, although not as much as I would like yet...still a work in progress for us. But, find that there will still be plenty of use for the GD. In our current kitchen, we have one with our single bowl sink (we're keeping the GD but getting rid of the single bowl sink). So, to answer your question, yes, you can absolutely have one with a single bowl sink. If you do get a single bowl, particularly a smaller one like what you mentioned, I suggest trying to find one that has the drain to the back and side. Our current sink has the drain centered, which means that more of the cabinet is taken up down below AND even more annoying is if I have a pot or pan soaking, it's hard to use the GD. You don't need to get a special sink to use a GD, but you do want to do some research about which GD will work best for your needs. Our old one was LOUD! The new one is quite quiet (all things considered)....See MoreBuilding a new master suite. Any cool new features we should add?
Comments (26)We are currently remodeling our bathroom and thinking through the design of our next one (this is a temporary home, we already own land to build on but a mortgage was cheaper than rent here ;) ). Features I am installing here that I have used in other bathrooms - LIT MEDICINE CABINETS! Oh my these are wonderful. Great ring of light for makeup and smart storage of toiletries, easily accessible. BOTTOM OF LINEN CLOSET IN BATHROOM SIZED TO HOLD A LAUNDRY BASKET. Keeping it tucked away inside the storage cabinet by the sink streamlines the flow. PLUGS IN THE CABINET AND A DRAWER OR TWO. I know we aren’t the only people with electric toothbrushes, curling irons, electric razors, etc. I had my husband install a plug on the middle shelf of the aforementioned linen cabinet and a bank of plugs inside a drawer on each side of the vanity for charging these things safely and keeping the countertop uncluttered. Remember that bathroom plugs need to be arc fault protected GFCI, and that goes for the ones in furniture, too. TIMER ON THE BATHROOM FAN. I love love love having the timer option on my fans so I can set them for awhile, leave the room, and let them exhaust without running for hours on end. Simple and convenient. **** Now as you can see none of these is particularly costly. They just make the bathrooms live well, and smartly, without requiring excess space or even fancy materials. I used several of these features in the kids bath of this house already and they add so much custom home convenience without some weird premium. And since this house is small and has a ton of people (we have seven kids), every inch of space needs to work hard for us. These upgrades are ones worthwhile. Sure, at the next place we’ll also have radiant heat throughout, a bathroom that is fully accessible and easily cleaned, bigger closets, etc. But it is these little things that make the most difference between a drywall palace mass produced tract home and a true custom job. The thoughtfulness and usefulness....See MoreT. J.
6 years agoMilly Rey
6 years agoKD
6 years agoMilly Rey
6 years agoKD
6 years agohandmethathammer
6 years agoKD
6 years agoUser
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoLeila F
6 years ago
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