NCC Weblog

Bath lighting

2008-05-08T08:50:00.001-07:00

We installed mirrors and lights in bathrooms on one of our current projects. The first bathroom incorporated light fixtures in the large polished plate glass mirror. The mirror extends to the ceiling. This is a great way to provide good lighting in a room. When the lights are on full power they give off a lot of light. When toned down with the dimmer they create a soft glow.

The second bathroom incorporated a framed mirror the client had. We mounted wall sconces on each side of the mirror. This is a guest powder room so it doesn't require significantly high light levels. The vanity was made to look more like furniture than a sink base, with furniture style legs. The sink itself is a bowl sink set into a hole in the stone countertop. This creates a very pleasing appearance and is an easy to clean detail.

'Water' flowing in stone

2008-05-02T12:04:00.001-07:00

We set granite countertops on a kitchen job today. The stone the client selected is beautiful! It has such an organic feel to it with the wonderful crystalline formations contained in the stone.

This kitchen has an island. The owners decided to use a shaped end on the stone, overhanging the cabinets to create an area for stools. The island has a spectacular feature that to me looks like flowing water. I believe this granite selection is from Brazil.

Tiles and Lighting

2008-05-01T09:47:00.001-07:00

On the kitchen remodeling project we are working on we created a fun little functional design feature. Part of our work included creating a new buffet cabinet in the dining area. The buffet has a lovely oak countertop. The owner asked if we could insert some ceramic tiles into the countertop, creating a flush area to set hot or wet things. We figured out a way to rout an area into the countertop and set the tiles. The owner selected some very pretty tiles for this feature.

Another thing we did in this kitchen is use LED undercounter lighting. LED stands for light emitting diode. LED's last years and years and operate using far less energy and stay cool to the touch. The light assemblies we used in this kitchen draw just 7 watts of power per unit. We used 8 units, so when all undercounter lights are on they will draw a total of 56 watts..less than a single 60 watt incandescent bulb! These lights are mounted below the glass front buffet cabinets, creating a great spot for serving food to guests. The recessed lights in the kitchen are also LED fixtures so the total electrical use for lighting is very low.

Cubbies

2008-04-28T08:55:00.001-07:00

On our whole house remodeling project we are wrapping up with the cabinet work. One of the nice features we incorporated into this home is an area for 'cubbies'. Located adjacent to the door from the garage, the cubbies are a place for the children to hang coats and boots. The base of the cubby is a bit deeper than the cubby itself which provides a spot for the child to sit and remove boots or shoes.

Each child has a cubby with shelf that can hold school projects, lunches or materials that should be taken along the next day. Having an area like this really helps with keeping a home clean and organized.

Installing cabinets

2008-04-21T08:42:00.001-07:00

With the oak floor installed and the walls and ceiling painted, our next task on this kitchen remodeling project is to install the cabinets. We attended to cabinet installation late last week.

The owner elected to use oak materials for the cabinets, which match the floor and trim work. The upper cabinets are 42" high units that extend to the ceiling. The previous cabinets were 30" high units and butted up against a soffit. We removed the soffit and finished the ceiling. The added 12" of cabinet height provides quite a bit of additional storage.

Our work includes creating an island in the kitchen, as well as a buffet at the dining room area. These will be welcome additions to the new kitchen and will be put to good use for entertaining.

2nd Weekend for Home Tour

2008-04-18T13:13:00.001-07:00

I'm reminding you that this is the second weekend of the Northfield Builder's Home Tour. Five area builders have 12 homes for viewing and sale. We have our Circle Lake Prairie style home on the tour.

If you are in the market for a quality home overlooking a 30 acre wetland with access to Circle Lake, this may be your home. Stop out and visit us between noon and 5:00PM this Saturday and Sunday. And remember, at each home you can register for a 32" LCD high definition television!

Iron railings

2008-04-17T06:28:00.001-07:00

On the whole house remodeling we are working on we've come to the point where stair and guard railings are being installed. Most homes use some type of finish wood railings and in fact this home had oak railings initially. The owners wanted something that was not as heavy as a wood rail. We settled on iron railings with a cherry hardwood cap rail.

The iron railings are made out of ?" square tube steel. As you can see in the photo, they are custom made to fit the openings around the stairs in this home. We used a concealed fastening system at the base at the base of the railing to create a 'clean' appearance. Stay tuned for more photos when all the railings at the loft are installed.

Three Links Remodeling

2008-04-16T04:24:00.001-07:00

We are wrapping up a few final things on the Three Links Care Center reception area remodeling project. This work created a very nice entry area. The entry is very busy at times with family and friends stopping by and residents waiting for people. The rearranged spaces appear to work well for the facility.

I really like the circular lighted ceiling area the architect created. It is painted sky blue and has a very warm feeling to it. Right near by is the main reception desk. We used some low voltage pendant lighting, combined with traditional recessed lights, in this area. Yesterday I met with the architect who wants to modify the pendant lights slightly. We'll get things set just right for everyone.

Our work included creating a new reception desk. This new work station was set up to handle the specific needs of this busy work area and it is meeting those needs very well. The curve in the desk mirrors the curve used in the ceiling.

Joining oak floors

2008-04-14T04:53:00.001-07:00

Last week we finished up the demolition and electrical work in the kitchen remodeling job we are working on. We've started to patch and repair the walls and ceilings. On this project we were able to retain much of the wall and ceiling surfaces, opening up only for new electrical work. We installed several recessed ceiling lights. We are able to get at this area from the attic, which allows us to seal up the light openings well.

This project involves installing a new red oak floor in the kitchen. The new floor joins the existing oak floor in the dining area. This is always a tricky situation. It is very difficult to simply 'add on' to the ends of the existing flooring with new hardwood flooring. You can do that in a small patch, such as a door opening, but matching strip flooring across 12 or 15 feet never works properly. New strip flooring is invariably milled slightly smaller than older flooring. Older flooring also often has shrinkage gaps between the boards. Between these two issues the new flooring 'creeps' tighter when installed and within 6 or 7 boards you are already off pattern and fighting to keep things looking good. To avoid this issue we sometimes remove the existing flooring and relay the entire area with new wood. However, that carries some cost and with a nice existing floor is a waste of resources.

I've found a better approach is to trim the ends of the existing boards straight and cut a groove in the ends of the boards to receive the tongue from a strip of wood flooring. We then lay the new flooring tight to this single perpendicular wood strip, locking all the flooring ends properly together. This creates a floor with a joining strip of flooring marking the point where the new and existing floors have been joined.

In this kitchen project we are placing island and wall cabinets over much of the transition strip. Once the flooring is sanded and finished the two floors blend well together and the new and old are hard to differentiate from each other.

Appliances

2008-04-09T10:43:00.001-07:00

This week we installed appliances in the residential remodeling we are wrapping up. This homeowner selected some very nice appliance units. Appliances are always a bit tricky to install but these all seemed to fit well in the prepared spaces. We started out by installing a double oven in an existing niche in the fireplace. We had to modify the stonework slightly to fit the new oven units, but it was a great way to use the space.

The dishwasher has a custom wood panel front that matches the cabinet work. It is hard to tell it is a dishwasher when the front is closed.

We installed a coffee unit.something that I've not done previously. This one is a Miele appliance that holds coffee beans and grinds them as needed. It dumps the used coffee grounds in a container and draws water from its own dedicated water line. It is a handy, quick way to get a perfect cup of coffee. The stone counter projects in a slight radius...just enough area to park a coffee cup.

The cooktop is a gas unit that with excellent BTU production on the burners. The exhaust fan for the cooktop is contained behind the unit, and motors up at the touch of a button. The multi-speed fan draws at pan height to pull steam and odors out of the house. We included a small make-up air unit with this unit as when it is on high we needed to provide air to replace the air being removed from the house.

Kitchen remodeling

2008-04-08T07:50:00.001-07:00

Last week we started another residential kitchen remodeling project. This one does not involve an expansion of the home at all. We are confining our work to the existing spaces, but rearranging the cabinet layout to make things work a bit better.

The existing 1950's cabinets were site built units. Those often end up being destroyed during the demolition process. But this time, through some careful work by the carpenters, the cabinets were salvaged for reuse as storage units in the basement.

Once the kitchen was cleared out the layouts were determined and we are now having new electrical work installed. Work is progressing well.important when you are dealing with a kitchen!

Northfield Home and Garden Show

2008-04-08T04:59:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday I participated in the Northfield Home and Garden Show. This was another great show. The weather was bright and sunny, but since soils were cold and wet people were not outside working in their yards and gardens. Instead, many of them elected to attend the show, visit with their friends and neighbors, and see what home and garden products are available.

I thought Bridgewater Elementary school worked rather well for the show. When you enter the school the bright rotunda area provided a very nice spot for central seating and snacks. It was also a great spot for the Northfield police department to have a booth outlining their community service work. Jeff Johnson with KYMN radio was there doing live broadcasts with participants.

Longtime Northfield Construction Company employee Phil Olson and I worked the show together most of the day. We had new photographs of some of our most recent new home projects as well as the First National Bank-South. Across the aisle from our booth was Kes Equipment, showing their new water treatment systems.

It was a busy Saturday full of visits with many past customers as well as meeting many new people.

Northfield Home and Garden show tomorrow

2008-04-04T13:12:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is the annual Northfield Home and Garden show. This year it is being held at Bridgewater Elementary school. The school is located at the corner of Jefferson Parkway and State Highway #246. We will be there in booth number 9, along with lots of other exhibitors. Northfield Construction Company will be holding a drawing for a free $25 Chamber Dollars gift certificate. Many other merchants are also holding drawings for gifts or giving away various prizes at their booths.

The weather sounds good so I hope we will have a good crowd. Please stop by if you are out and about in Northfield. Here are a few photos from last year's event..

More on stone countertops

2008-04-03T12:10:00.001-07:00

A reader sent me an email and wondered what I meant by the statement that the granite 'looks like a map of Minnesota' with all the little lakes. Granite comes in all sorts of patterns and colors. This particular granite has crystalline formations of a lighter blue color and irregular shapes..that look like lakes. The background granite is a brownish color. Between the color shading and shapes it looks like an aerial view of Minnesota! (The white ovals are reflections of the recessed lights)

It is quite a job setting granite counters like this. The sizes of the granite range from fairly small pieces used in the coffee nook where a coffee machine will be located, to the large island which is 11' from end to end. It is heavy material to haul into a home and set in place, but the counters are beautiful and will last for decades.

Stone countertops

2008-04-01T05:38:00.001-07:00

We started setting the stone countertops on the residential remodeling project we are working on. The client selected granite as their choice for the kitchen and dining areas. The stone has soft brown to bluish-green tones with the typical formations found in granite. The job Superintendent commented "the stone looks like a map of Minnesota from the air, with lots of little lakes." This granite is polished, but you can also get a matte finish.

Stone makes an excellent countertop material and one that we are seeing more and more on our projects. Granite comes in lots of colors. Some granite is mined right here in Minnesota, as from Cold Spring Granite near St. Cloud. Other granite is shipped in from around the world. Granite used in kitchen areas needs to be sealed with a clear sealer from time to time to protect the surface from oils and grease. This kitchen incorporated a polished granite in a lighter brown hue.

Another nice stone for countertops is limestone. Limestone isn't the best choice for kitchens, but it works well in bathrooms. We used Mexican limestone in this bathroom vanity. It carries interesting formations and with its less shiny matte surface has a bit more warmth to it.

The majority of the sinks set in granite are mounted from underneath the stone. That creates a smooth surface which is very easy to clean.

Area New Home Show

2008-03-27T06:27:00.001-07:00

Five builders in the area are collaborating on a Spring New Home Show (PDF flyer). The event will be held on two weekends in April. The first weekend will be April 12 and 13th from noon until 5:00PM. The second weekend will be April 19th and 20th from noon until 5:00PM.

This will be an excellent time to see the new homes that area builders have for sale. We also are hosting a series of mini-seminars at the homes. People will be presenting information on green building, mortgages and financing, bath design and other issues. I will be giving presentations on home lighting at our model home on Circle Lake. This beautiful Prairie style home features three bedrooms and an office, three bathrooms, a see-through gas fireplace, granite countertops throughout the home, and an expansive family room overlooking Circle lake and a 28 acre wetland full of wildlife.

Visitors to each of the homes will be able to register for a 32" LCD high definition television. The more homes you visit and register the more chances you have to win the TV. Plan to see the excellent homes this area has to offer.

Folding ironing board

2008-03-19T12:34:00.001-07:00

There are all sorts of cabinet hardware and fittings available for use today to make life a bit easier. Kitchen devices that lift mixers have been in use for a long time. We are working on a remodeling job now that includes a fold away ironing board. The ironing board is not a huge one, but it is available, compact and gets the job done. It fits into a normal cabinet drawer and the front flips down as you pull the ironing board out.

The laundry room also includes base cabinets that are slightly higher than typical. This accommodates a larger size set of washer and dryer and allows the countertop to flow over the units. This creates a good deal of counter area for folding clothes, etc.

Proud old building

2008-03-17T04:19:00.001-07:00

This weekend I spent some time in Northern Minnesota. While out and about I came across this old farm building near Kerrick..

I'm sure this building would have a great tale to tell if it could talk. I am always amazed at the resiliency of the wood framed structures that farmers built decades ago. They are exposed to wind loads, animals and feed loads but seem to take it all in stride for years and years. When they finally reach the end of their useful like it often seems to take years and years for them to actually topple over and give up. No two of these site built structures were hardly the same, reflecting the needs of the owner and the materials at hand. As the winter winds blow the driven snow each year there are a few less of these proud old buildings watching over the land.

Water Quality Forum

2008-03-13T07:33:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I participated in a forum on Low Impact Development (LID). The forum was held in Faribault and was sponsored by the Cannon River Watershed Partnership (CRWP). CRWP is an area environmental organization that, as its name implies, is focused in water quality issues in the Cannon River watershed district. The forum took place at the American Legion and was well attended by folks from all across the watershed, including several people associated with city, township and county government organizations.

The forum opened with a speaker from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency presenting information on how LID can help communities and areas deal with meeting pollutant measurements as part of the total maximum daily load (TMDL) in waters. We also heard from city staff of Lake City, MN who talked about the work they did planning for 'The Jewel' development nearby.

We had an excellent presentation from representatives of the city of Hanover, MN. They talked to us about the process they used in planning a new residential subdivision using LID. LID allowed the developer to create more lots, all backing up to woods, trails and natural features. The amount of roads in the development ended up being slightly more using LID, but the ability to preserve remnants of Minnesota's 'Big Woods' forest, wetlands and meadows made the LID design stand out.

At 11:00AM I gave a presentation about site design from a builder and developers point of view. Kim Chapman from Applied Ecological Services, Inc. joined me in the discussion about developer's views of LID. So much of what LID promotes is centered on education..educating developers, engineers, government zoning officials, etc. The public endorses and appreciates the role of LID in projects and typically rewards the developers with a higher lot selling price.

Thanks to the Cannon River Watershed Partnership for organizing this informative forum. When we all understand water quality issues and what we can do to minimize pollutants everyone benefits.

Kitchen and bath remodeling finished

2008-03-11T09:26:00.001-07:00

We just finished up a remodeling project for a rural Northfield client. This work involved remodeling their kitchen and bathroom. The home is an older farmhouse which often presents challenges for workers.

As part of our work we installed new fir trim to match the trim used elsewhere in the home. The kitchen cabinets are clear finished maple. They blend in very nicely with the existing maple floor and the new red birch floor that we installed.

We installed new Marvin Tilt-Pac windows on all second floor windows of the home. This is a nice way to upgrade windows where the interior and exterior casings and jambs are in good condition, but the existing window sashes could be improved. Taking careful measurements, the Marvin sashes fit exactly into the existing openings. The new sashes have highly insulated glazing and tight weatherstripping. During our work we found two closet windows that had been covered over by earlier remodeling work!

The bathroom included a pedestal sink and a nice oval mirror. New lighting was included as part of the project, along with a new tub and ceramic tile.

With the added insulation and new window work the owners should experience significant energy savings. This project moved along very quickly and should serve the family well for years to come.

Historic Buildings

2008-03-07T13:22:00.001-08:00

Tracy Davis recently posted some comments about historic buildings on the Northfield website 'Locally Grown'. Locally Grown is a community driven site that deals with all sorts of local issues. I appreciate Tracy's comments on our historic buildings and how they can be 'greened up'.

Northfield is fortunate to have some wonderful older buildings as part of its vibrant downtown core. Northfield Construction Company has done a fair amount of work on many of these buildings over the years, including significant renovation work for Northfield Arts Guild, Northfield Historical Society and the First National Bank buildings. I know first hand what a chore it can be to renovate or refurbish these great older buildings so I appreciate the care that the owners take in doing projects.

Generally, when a community takes care of its core buildings..downtown commercial spaces, churches, schools, etc. that caring attitude spreads all across the community. For example, a few years ago we did a total renovation of River of Life Church in Hastings, MN. The church most likely could have sold their property and relocated to another new location for less money than they spent on the renovation.but they felt a sense of responsibility to keep the older building going and in use. We ended up installing all new windows and adding significant amounts of insulation in this project which ended up reducing the overall energy use in the facility.

In a similar fashion, we recently completed work on an historic home in Faribault. In this case the homeowners really needed better garage space. Due to the topography and lot dimensions a detached garage was out of the question. So they worked with an architect and the city staff to arrive at a plan that was in harmony with the home. The stone work and other details involved in the garage addition were certainly more expensive than plain concrete block work.but it was warranted in an effort to match the home details.

The public appreciates it when building owners take the time and effort to restore, renovate and thoughtfully expand historic buildings. Everyone shares the exterior appearance of our buildings. It is wonderful when they can be preserved well for all to enjoy. There are many cities across America, including some right here in Minnesota, that have lost their 'heart and soul' because the city went through urban redevelopment schemes during the 1960's and 70's. That is unfortunate. I hope we all will be proud of the fine older buildings that we have. Next time you are downtown Northfield take a few moments to look at some of the buildings. Sit on Bridge Square and look over at the details of the Central Block and the First National Bank building. Think about all the work that went into constructing these fine old buildings during the 1880's. And there they are...still going strong 125 years later.

Remodeling continues

2008-03-07T04:57:00.001-08:00

The wood floors on the large residential remodeling project we are working on were finished last week. The floors are cumuru and the clear finish applied to the floor really brings out the strong, warm colors in the wood. When we use wood floors on our projects we typically sand and apply two coats of finish before the trim work, cabinets and painting is finished. Then at the very end of the project we have the floor finishes return and lightly screen sand the floor and apply the final application of finish. We find that process works well to get good floor installations against cabinet and wood trims. We do have to keep some protection materials in place to keep the wood floors from getting damaged during construction traffic.

This week we are working on setting the newel posts at the stairway and loft areas. We are using cherry for the trim material so the newels were also made out of cherry. The newels are a simple design with a nice cap. This project has challenges in that the stairway guardrailing and the loft railing share the same newel post. The newel posts and balusters sit on a cherry nosing. The nosing provides a termination for the wood flooring as well as the carpet. The balusters for the railings will be custom fabricated steel railings. We have taken site measurements between the newel posts and are coordinating the iron work for delivery in a couple of weeks.

The ceramic tile work is being wrapped up as well. The master bath has some detail inserts in the shower and tub front that have to be carefully laid out. We did not make any layout changes in the bathroom, but the new wood trim, vanity and ceramic tile totally changes the look and feel of the room.

Home Lighting

2008-03-04T05:29:00.001-08:00

The March issue of the Northfield Real Estate Guide, published by By All Means Graphics, has an article on home lighting that I wrote. Lighting is such an important part of any home building or remodeling project with so many options available today to consumers. Careful attention to lighting placement and types is advised on all projects. The magazine is available free in many locations in the Northfield area. Here is what I had to say.

There are hundreds of decisions that need to be made when remodeling or building a new home. One of the most important decisions concerns lighting for your home. Unfortunately, it is a decision that is often overlooked or not given the proper discussion needed to create a quality, inviting and useful lighting plan in a home. Lighting plans for homes should address three basic concerns: task lighting, general lighting and spot or feature lighting. When properly combined into an overall lighting plan a user should feel comfortable at all times in a home.
Task lighting, as it name implies, puts light directly where it is needed so that an individual can accomplish the task at hand. Some people call this work lighting. An area needing task lighting in every home is the kitchen. Lights placed under the upper cabinets cast light directly on the countertop where food preparation takes place. Recessed lights placed in cabinets or ceilings over sinks, cooktops, salad sinks, or serving areas allow those areas to be covered with light when work is underway.
General lighting is used to provide the needed overall lighting in a room or space. General lighting will typically combine several different light sources, such as overhead ceiling, wall sconces, and floor or table lamps. General exterior lighting is also an important feature. Lighting can have a huge impact on how your home looks and feels when approached from the street. I also urge clients to consider light maintenance.changing bulbs.when placing general light fixtures. A wall sconce with a down and up light on separate switches is often a better choice than a recessed ceiling light placed in a 20' high ceiling.
Spot, or feature lighting is used to accent a particular element of a home. You may have a painting or other work of art that should be illuminated with a feature light. Some architectural features of a home also call for spot lighting. A custom glass front china cabinet, or a fireplace with fine wood mantel would both do well with spot lighting. Spot lighting is always separately controlled.
I feel the best way to create your lighting plan is to sit down with your builder, architect and electrician and discuss lighting. Have a copy of your floor plans and room elevations on the table and walk through each room of the home. Imagine yourself using the spaces on a cloudy day, a snowy day, in bright sun and in the dark of night. How will the spaces feel to you? What task or spot lighting will you need for food preparation, grooming, cleaning, and entertaining? This discussion should take place several weeks or months before the wiring work will be started. Keep thinking about lighting each time you visit your home under construction. Ask yourself 'Do I need face level lighting in the bathroom?' or 'Does the entry way feel too dark?' Now is the time to address those concerns.
Lighting is making huge advances every year. The traditional incandescent bulb, with its inefficient energy use, is being replaced by a variety of new options. Compact fluorescent bulbs reduce light energy consumption by two thirds while providing excellent light levels. Industry has created a full range of compact fluorescent light products to fit virtually any fixture. But the most exciting advancement in lighting is coming from a very tiny element---light emitting diodes, or LED's. LED's have provided the light for alarm clocks and electronics for many years. However, they now have now crossed over into regular consumer lighting applications. LED light fixtures are fairly expensive at this time, but through research and development LED's will soon be leading the way for many lighting applications. LED bulbs will most likely burn for 100,000 hours or more. Compare that to the typical incandescent light bulb life of 1,000 hours!
As part of the lighting review for your construction project it is wise to evaluate the placement of all electrical devices. Universal design standards call for receptacles and switches to be placed at certain heights, making it easier for all people to use the device. Sometimes adjusting a device by 2 or 3 inches can make the difference between easy access or no access for an individual.
And while lighting itself is important, lighting controls are also making huge advances. It is now possible to have a 'smart house' that uses wireless lighting controls. You can preset lighting levels so that all you do is activate one switch and a certain lighting scheme comes on. With the use of motion detectors, computer controls, and security system interconnects you can instantly create safe, bright, lighting in your home whether you are there or not.
In my 36 years on the building business I have never had a client say 'we put in too many lights'. However, there have been times when clients have said 'I wish I would have put a light here'. Through careful thought and discussion you can create a lighting plan that is tailored to your needs and will serve you and every user of your home well.

Refinishing existing windows

2008-03-03T05:42:00.001-08:00

Our work on a large residential remodeling project continues to move forward. We are attending to various finishing tasks. One of them involves re-finishing the existing windows and doors. This home is about 25 years old with wood windows. Over the years there occasionally has been moisture accumulation on the window sashes that caused staining. In addition, the wood on the large south facing windows have had some finish deterioration from the sun. Since our work involves installing new window casings we are refinishing the existing windows themselves. This involves sanding rough wood, carefully re-staining and blending finishes, and finally, applying a couple of coats of new clear finish. The clear finishes available today are tougher and more durable than the finish originally applied to the wood trim in this home. Our work should stand for many, many years looking good and protecting the wood surfaces.

The ceramic tile setters have been busy as well. The shower stall includes a tile pattern on the walls. The pattern tile is a smaller size tile and looks very nice. The laundry and powder room tile floors have also been installed. This material is gauged slate. The natural look of slate is hard to beat. It is not an easy material to work with and grouting the joints is time consuming, but the finished floors look great.

This week we plan to finish the wood floors in the home. That always creates some challenges as all the wood floor areas are 'off limits' for other work during the finishing.

Carpet tiles

2008-02-26T09:50:00.001-08:00

We have pretty much wrapped up our interior work at Robinwood Apartments in Faribault. Earlier we installed new siding on the apartment buildings. Our interior work was mainly confined to the common spaces and involved patching and painting walls, making repairs to handrails and other trims, and remodeling the finishes in the bathrooms. The bathrooms also received new fixtures with automatic water valves.

We also installed new carpeting in many of the common areas. The carpet is an 18" x 18" carpet tile. It gave the ability to create a pattern on the floors and also is very easy to remove and replace as needed for maintenance. Carpet tiles work very well in these high traffic commercial applications.