Something I wish my kitchen had.

[Rain Man]

Imagine that every cabinet was a dishwasher. You would just put your dishes in the cabinet, and then when the cabinet was full, you start using those dishes and putting them in the cabinet to the left of where you got them. That new cabinet then repeats the cycle. No more emptying the dishwasher.

[SPchief]

Where would you put your dry food?

[Phobia]

As if cabinets weren't expensive enough. Heh.

[007]

As if cabinets weren't expensive enough. Heh.
Hey Phil, how are the concrete cabinets working out?

[Phobia]

Hey Phil, how are the concrete cabinets working out?

Counters?

I just poured one last week. It looks pretty good. Probably get it installed this weekend. It's gonna be quite a chore carrying that bad boy downstairs though. I'll bet it's 300 lbs.

[007]

Counters?

I just poured one last week. It looks pretty good. Probably get it installed this weekend. It's gonna be quite a chore carrying that bad boy downstairs though. I'll bet it's 300 lbs.
Got any pics?

[Phobia]

No, but I will. Probably next week sometime. I'm actually really excited about doing concrete countertops. I think it's something I could make into a specialty.

[ClevelandBronco]

No, thanks, to dishwashing cabinets. Too many repair, damage, maintenance, etc. implications. Also, I don't want to clean that many cabinets that often. Cleaning the collected gunk out of the corners of my single dishwasher is bad enough.

I'm looking forward to seeing your concrete countertop results. I've wanted to try that for years.

[KCChiefsMan]

how about make your dining room table one big oven, hardly any range of motion, plus it would help heat ya up in the winter!

[booger]

where is the darn paper plate option?

[Phobia]

how about make your dining room table one big oven, hardly any range of motion, plus it would help heat ya up in the winter!You better get a patent on that idea immediately, Albert.

[listopencil]

I have four dishwashers in my house already.

[booger]

I have four dishwashers in my house already.
do they also shuvel snow?

[listopencil]

do they also shovel snow?

I wish they did, but we live in Northern California. No snow here.

[booger]

:)

[tmax63]

What do you do with the 19 yr old girl in stilettos and the maid outfit if you get one of these fancy dishwasher cabinets?????

[bkkcoh]

do they also shuvel snow?


Not if you have teenagers, you don't have 4. Unless they are a lot different then tha average teenager.... :)

[TinyEvel]

In our old house we redid the kitchen and put in the Fisher and Paykal "dish drawer" dishwasher. It has two drawers, each it's own complete separate unit. It was billed as "use one for dirty dishes and the other you can take dishes out of to use.
I wouldn't recommend it. Yes, it was very energy efficient, but it never dried the dishes well enough, we had to towel them off when emptying. And it needed to be serviced within a year for some valve problem. Plus the capacity wasn't that great. $1350 for a novelty.

[cdcox]

In our old house we redid the kitchen and put in the Fisher and Paykal "dish drawer" dishwasher. It has two drawers, each it's own complete separate unit. It was billed as "use one for dirty dishes and the other you can take dishes out of to use.
I wouldn't recommend it. Yes, it was very energy efficient, but it never dried the dishes well enough, we had to towel them off when emptying. And it needed to be serviced within a year for some valve problem. Plus the capacity wasn't that great. $1350 for a novelty.

I saw those at the store and though it was a great idea. The thing that I liked was that you could clean up heavilty used kitchen items much faster, sicne you wouldn't have to wait for the dishwasher to become full. I don't remember the brand name of the unit I saw. If your DW dried well and was more reliable, would you change your evaluation, or do you prefer having only one big dishwasher?

[morphius]

While it could work for a few of the cabinets, generally speaking there is too many things that are stacked on top of each other that would never get clean. So I would have to give the whole idea a big thumbs down.

[DaneMcCloud]

Counters?

I just poured one last week. It looks pretty good. Probably get it installed this weekend. It's gonna be quite a chore carrying that bad boy downstairs though. I'll bet it's 300 lbs.

Good luck with the concrete. That's been a specialty item out here in the higher priced homes in L.A. for a few years and concrete fireplaces are all the rage as well. The option to tint and polish the concrete can really bring a unique look to a kitchen or family room. Concrete Bars are also popular.

It's going for about $100 a square foot out here. Is it about the same back there?

I hope it works out well for you!

[Baby Lee]

Counters?

I just poured one last week. It looks pretty good. Probably get it installed this weekend. It's gonna be quite a chore carrying that bad boy downstairs though. I'll bet it's 300 lbs.
You pour, then move? Wow, I'd only seen 'em done on site.

[Phobia]

You pour, then move? Wow, I'd only seen 'em done on site.

Two different techniques. You're talking about the in place pour. That's pretty tough by my estimation. You have to be really good with the concrete to get it right.

I build a form and pour it upside down. Then carry it. It won't be all that bad.

[Phobia]

Good luck with the concrete. That's been a specialty item out here in the higher priced homes in L.A. for a few years and concrete fireplaces are all the rage as well. The option to tint and polish the concrete can really bring a unique look to a kitchen or family room. Concrete Bars are also popular.

It's going for about $100 a square foot out here. Is it about the same back there?

I hope it works out well for you!

Yeah, they're very trendy around the country. I haven't seen them used much outside of commercial (bars) here though. That's kinda why I'd kinda like to get into them. I really enjoyed building mine. In fact I think I'm gonna go work on it a bit more this morning.

[Baby Lee]

Two different techniques. You're talking about the in place pour. That's pretty tough by my estimation. You have to be really good with the concrete to get it right.

I build a form and pour it upside down. Then carry it. It won't be all that bad.
So, you're not going for the marble smooth finish, or can you achieve that in an upside down form with the right mix, or do you grind down the surface once cured, or what?

[elvomito]

So, you're not going for the marble smooth finish, or can you achieve that in an upside down form with the right mix, or do you grind down the surface once cured, or what?i think they vibrate/tap the form to remove the bubbles while its wet.
doesn't that concrete take a few weeks to cure?

-rainman, what i would like is the kind of dishwasher that restaurants use. those things are done in about 4 minutes, better than any residential one

[htismaqe]

I wish my kitchen had a Mexican dishwasher.























About 5'5", 115 lbs.

[Phobia]

So, you're not going for the marble smooth finish, or can you achieve that in an upside down form with the right mix, or do you grind down the surface once cured, or what?

I'm going for a very smooth finish, yes. But I'm also doing inlays and custom edges. I'll be doing a little bit of grinding - not too much though. I can't wait to do my undermount sink though. That's gonna be a challenge.

[DaneMcCloud]

I'm going for a very smooth finish, yes. But I'm also doing inlays and custom edges. I'll be doing a little bit of grinding - not too much though. I can't wait to do my undermount sink though. That's gonna be a challenge.

I had a quote to do one of my fireplaces in concrete and they told me that grinding would take at least one day. And since the concrete would be so heavy and they needed to get it just right, they'd have to grind inside my home. That was a deal breaker for me because even though they'd put up plastic and so forth, I just know there'd be dust everywhere.

Have you found that to be the case or was that just with this contractor?

[Phobia]

I think it was just that contractor though I'm certainly no expert on the subject - yet. There are lifts and tools to move these slabs around. If they're making $100 a sq ft, I think they could afford adequate tools for moving the contrete around a home. You can't expect to grind inside people's homes unless it's new construction.

[DaneMcCloud]

I think it was just that contractor though I'm certainly no expert on the subject - yet. There are lifts and tools to move these slabs around. If they're making $100 a sq ft, I think they could afford adequate tools for moving the contrete around a home. You can't expect to grind inside people's homes unless it's new construction.

Interesting. The told me that they'd have to create the mold on my back patio (which is three flights up from the ground - 30 stairs), then haul it in, mount it and grind. I can't remember the reason for doing it inside (this was from like February).

Thanks for the info, Phil. I may get a few more quotes from other contractors because I liked the look of the concrete but didn't want to go through that process.

Greatly appreciated! :thumb:

[Phobia]

Well, that makes a lot of sense. To their credit, dust containment systems do a fine job these days. If they tent their work area and have a dust handler, they can probably contain any debris. They may also do a wet grind for which fluid containment becomes a problem.

I don't know why they'd have to grind it in place - maybe to tweak the fit?

Honestly, I'm new to the decorative concrete so I'm probably not the absolute authority on the issues, just applying a little common sense.

[ClevelandBronco]

Interesting. The told me that they'd have to create the mold on my back patio (which is three flights up from the ground - 30 stairs), then haul it in, mount it and grind. I can't remember the reason for doing it inside (this was from like February).

Thanks for the info, Phil. I may get a few more quotes from other contractors because I liked the look of the concrete but didn't want to go through that process.

Greatly appreciated! :thumb:

Certainly you should get a few more quotes, Dane. But may I make one suggestion? Don't hire a company that uses an illegal alien workforce. (I know it's difficult to ascertain whether this worker or that one is illegally in the States.)

It's important these days that we protect guys such as Phobia who are operating above the board.

Just saying...

[alanm]

I'd rather have someone in the kitchen that would cook for me. I don't mind doing the dishes. :)

[Phobia]

Certainly you should get a few more quotes, Dane. But may I make one suggestion? Don't hire a company that uses an illegal alien workforce. (I know it's difficult to ascertain whether this worker or that one is illegally in the States.)

It's important these days that we protect guys such as Phobia who are operating above the board.

Just saying...

Heh. I've used illegals in the past and I would again. I know I wouldn't in a perfect world but it's impossible to be competitive and pay the mortgage on certain projects if you don't use them. For instance, I can't side or roof a house without using illegals because the companies I'm bidding against use them. If I have any hope of winning a bid on those types of jobs you reduce your costs. Since materials costs is pretty well fixed, you reduce the labor costs. The only way to do that is a little distasteful for most Americans but they'd rather have illegals on their roof than pay 3x the amount for a roof job.

[ClevelandBronco]

Heh. I've used illegals in the past and I would again. I know I wouldn't in a perfect world but it's impossible to be competitive and pay the mortgage on certain projects if you don't use them. For instance, I can't side or roof a house without using illegals because the companies I'm bidding against use them. If I have any hope of winning a bid on those types of jobs you reduce your costs. Since materials costs is pretty well fixed, you reduce the labor costs. The only way to do that is a little distasteful for most Americans but they'd rather have illegals on their roof than pay 3x the amount for a roof job.

I understand your position, but when I'm finally declared King, my ruling says that employers who use illegals do time. No fines. They do time inside.

That'll help mitigate the problem in short order.

[Phobia]

I understand your position, but when I'm finally declared King, my ruling says that employers who use illegals do time. No fines. They do time inside.

That'll help mitigate the problem in short order.

When somebody finally starts enforcing that and construction prices come in line, I'll be thrilled.

I used illegals on Brian's deck and I've used them two or three times on a roof. I don't want anybody to get the idea that I run a bunch of illegal aliens around town. I don't but I certainly understand why people do.

[ClevelandBronco]

When somebody finally starts enforcing that and construction prices come in line, I'll be thrilled.

I used illegals on Brian's deck and I've used them two or three times on a roof. I don't want anybody to get the idea that I run a bunch of illegal aliens around town. I don't but I certainly understand why people do.

I understand, man. The market always dictates what you have to do, and there is a flock of capable guys here who are willing to work for a wage that makes you more competitive. I can't (and won't) blame you at all for the way things are.

The problem for you could be what happens when enough capable illegals move up to contractor level and accept work for less than you can.

It's just got to stop somewhere. In a market driven economy, perhaps we consumers have to take matters into our own hands and refuse to use contractors who employ illegals. Maybe that means we have to pay more for the work, but maybe it's worth that.

I know it's worth it to me, but everyone else gets to make his own decision.

Until I'm King, that is. Then you're all in big trouble.

[Phobia]

I understand, man. The market always dictates what you have to do, and there is a flock of capable guys here who are willing to work for a wage that makes you more competitive. I can't (and won't) blame you at all for the way things are.

The problem for you could be what happens when enough capable illegals move up to contractor level and accept work for less than you can.

It's just got to stop somewhere. In a market driven economy, perhaps we consumers have to take matters into our own hands and refuse to use contractors who employ illegals. Maybe that means we have to pay more for the work, but maybe it's worth that.

I know it's worth it to me, but everyone else gets to make his own decision.

Until I'm King, that is. Then you're all in big trouble.

It's really not much different than sending jobs overseas. We all want to pay $20 a month for a phone but don't want to talk to Indians when we need support. It's a catch-22.

[DaneMcCloud]

Certainly you should get a few more quotes, Dane. But may I make one suggestion? Don't hire a company that uses an illegal alien workforce. (I know it's difficult to ascertain whether this worker or that one is illegally in the States.)

It's important these days that we protect guys such as Phobia who are operating above the board.

Just saying...

I've done over $300k in improvements to my home since purchasing in 2003 and I've always used California State Licensed Contractors for everything. It costs more but the work is *generally* better.

The company that made this bid is one that I've primarily used in the past and they've done excellent work. I used another company for a few other projects and the work had to be re-done (at their expense of course) because it didn't pass inspection (roofing problems and fireplace flashing). They've always been competitive and I find their work to be top notch.

I'll definitely be getting more quotes because I need to do two fireplaces. Both needs stone mantels and hearths. Then my home is done!

[ClevelandBronco]

Then my home is done!

Your home is done only when you die. Until then...

[DaneMcCloud]

Your home is done only when you die. Until then...

Oh, no, it's DONE. I've torn out walls, remodeled the kitchen, all 5 bathrooms, the patio, the floors, the doors, the windows, the front yard - you name it. Everything's been replaced except for the fireplace mantles and hearths (there are none at this time). Once they're finished, I'm finished.

PBJ