Simple, Functional and Effective Cabinet Upgrade

There are many options to choose from when selecting cabinet door hardware.

Just by adding cabinet door pulls and handles you can immediately change the look and functionality of your kitchen and bath.

Not only does this upgrade enhance the look of your cabinets it also helps protect the finish of the doors and drawers.  By installing cabinet hardware you eliminate the need for direct contact with the wood surface each time you open and close the doors and drawers.

Popular Kitchen Cabinet Pulls

Stylish Bathroom Cabinet Pulls

Drywall Damage Repair and Protect with Heavy Duty Stopper

There are many options when choosing a door stop to prevent damage to your drywall caused by the door handle.

We recently repaired a wall that had been damaged multiple times and installed a commercial grade door stop that featured a rubber cushion to help absorb an impact from the door handle. In addition to the stop we reinforced the wall with (2) 1 x 3 wood studs to support the stopper.

The door stop can be purchased at your local Home Depot in the hardware section.

Before and After Image

These units are available in 3 different finishes.

Kitchen Back Splash Upgrade - New Style of Subway Tile

Recent upgrade to a full kitchen makeover.  We added a hex shaped 5 inch tile to the kitchen back splash along with a light rail to help shield from view the plug in strip mounted under the cabinets in the rear.

The homeowner was looking to bring a little contrast to a primarily white kitchen design.  They chose a medium grey hex tile that really tied the whole makeover together.

Starting the layout from the center in order to get even cuts in the corners. 

The hex shape adds a beautiful honeycomb pattern and a very elegant look to the kitchen.

Here is a look at the light rail we added to block the view of the plug in strip as seen in the first photo. 

The backsplash project took approximately 2 and half days.  This was a large area.

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Patio Privacy / Shade Curtain Mounted to Stucco

Installing curtains on the patio area can provide both privacy and shade during the hotter months.
However, equally important is how the curtain hardware is installed.

Below is one example of how to properly install a curtain rod on your patio on a stucco finish.

The key is making sure you have a stable surface for the curtain rod hardware to attach to.

Attaching a wood cleat will significantly increase the sturdiness of the surface for the hardware to attach to.  

In the picture below we are using 4inch lag bolts with a washer, spaced (approx. 24inches) evenly across the distance of the opening.  These are securely fastened to the studs in the patio framing. 

Once in place, it's important to adequately caulk around the edges to prevent moisture from getting in behind the wood cleat.  The caulk also provides a nice clean finish once it's painted.

Now the curtain rod hooks securely mounted to the cleat with wood screws and the cleat is painted to match the stucco.  

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Large Format Tile Tub & Shower Surround with a Niche

A recent project that entailed removing the builder grade cultured marble tub surround and bath tub and upgrading with large format porcelain tile and a new acrylic tub.

This is a simple look at the overall process for installing new tile in your tub / shower.  One of the key elements in this renovation is to take your time properly laying out the tile pattern. 

Let's Get Started!

To begin, it's important to carefully measure and prepare the framing for the location of the niche.  Centering the niche can be tricky, however it's important to take your time and make sure to account for the thicknesses of your underlayment (backer board) and the thickness of the tile you plan to use.

Next step is to install the cement board and tape / mud all the joints and screw heads.

Once the plaster has dried the backer board is ready to be waterproofed.  We applied two coats of Red Guard to seal in the entire surround.

Next, we calculated our spacing and pattern layout and prepared our ledger board for our first course of tile.  Wet set our tile to dry overnight and filled in the back wall of the niche.

When setting tile in the niche it's a good idea to set the bottom shelf tile on a slight slope to help with water run off.

Once the starting course was dry we were ready to set the rest of the tile and of course grouted the surround the next day.

Lastly, we installed the fixtures and set the new glass panel door. 

This post is not intended to be a tutorial, just simply an overview of the process for upgrading your tub shower surround to tile.

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