Being resourceful
2 years ago
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Kitchen Ergonomics Resource?
Comments (5)Hi there, the_stig. Love your handle. Top Gear, by any chance? General guidelines giving the answers to your questions are quite well supplied at nkba.org. We consulted them as well in laying out our kitchen, too. But take that as a starting point and customize from there based on your particular situations. In addition to these references, do consult Don Silvers' book on designing a kitchen for cooking. Don Silvers' suggestions on just those sorts of questions are splendid because he constructs this advice for a kitchen user in mind, rather than strictly the aesthetician. Counter height, for instance: there is the norm and then there is how you'd like to tweak that for your own needs. In my house, because we remodeled our old house, after the "best" floor leveling that could have been done without throwing transitions between remodeling and non-remodeling rooms off-kilter, there is a difference of about 1.15 inches between the counter heights at one end of the kitchen vs the other - ie. over a span of about 14' (the cabinets were leveled so the toe-kicks took that shock. That 1" is ergonomically noticeable and so my husband and I both have our favorite places at the counter at which to work. Certainly, all parts are tractable, but some "fit" our persons better than others. Another good question that you didn't ask and that I'm not sure if nkba addresses is counter depth. We have approx 30" deep counters - the standard depth is ~25+". That extra depth is fantastic and deeply appreciated. Do look into it. That was a suggestion I learned of from Don Silvers. I'd heartily recommend him....See MoreUsing scarce resources more wisely
Comments (6)One good place to start is with this idea that a kitchen needs to be remodeled every five years and of course necessitating all new appliances. Ironic you should speak of refrigerators. I just replaced mine a few weeks back. Yes, it seems that it should last more than 28 years, and yes it's possible it could have been repaired but repair costs would likely have been near the cost of replacement. Sometimes, though it's better to repair than replace, but that's another topic. I did some thinking about cost comparison between the two refrigerators. Neither were bottom of the line, obviously nowhere near top of the line. In 1982 I paid about $675 (plus tax) for a refrigerator, the cheapest available about then IIRC was around $500-$550. I don't recall if I paid extra for delivery and disposal. I might have but since I don't remember I won't include it. This was 1982 dollars which according to The Inflation Calculator puts it at $1480.92 in 2009 dollars. So if I bought a comparable one, which I did, I should expect to pay $1480.92 and possibly more for delivery & disposal. I bought one for $380 (plus tax), including delivery which means I could buy nearly four for the price that I paid for my old one. Practically speaking, this means that if this lasts more than seven years, and I have no reason to believe it won't, I'll be money ahead by comparison. Plus it supposedly uses "much less" electricity about which I'm skeptical but waiting to see how the bills compare down the road. Even discounting any allowance for different dollars, it was nearly $200 cheaper than my last one. It's missing one feature I fear I might miss, but has a few other features I like and were only available on much more expensive models back then. Water heaters OTOH, are troubling to me. I don't see any reason why a water heater life should be 1/4 - 1/2 of what it was only a few decades ago. But it comes down to a simple thing. We in North America seldom buy for quality, despite what we purport. We buy for price and always try to get it cheaper, or at least the illusion of it being cheaper, that illusion for which many will pay any price....See MoreFull Replacement Questions, Resources?!? Woodwright vs. E-series?
Comments (25)Bumping this thread after two years because I don't understand those Consumer Reports ratings either (the ratings referred to above are still the current ones). Would any of the Pros care to speak to this? Marvin was not even on the list, and it was in the top tier a year or two before the current list. Pella is near top of the current list and not a favored brand here. Kolbe (another favorite) is way down the list. Consumer Reports is an independent and trustworthy source for most of us so thanks for helping us understand!...See MoreDallas & thereabouts - resources?
Comments (23)Yep,it do get warm in Texas but we have a saying that go's something like this,"if you don't like the weather in Tx,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,just wait,it will change in a few minutes". You are in luck,highs will be in the 70s tomorrow. You are going to LOOVVEE the Arboretum. If you have time to kill,circle around White Rock Lake and take side streets to see some of the old mansion estates from the 50s....See More- 2 years ago
- 2 years ago
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