newsletter-new-02

A subscriber asked this week, "Where do you get your ideas for a weekly newsletter?" When I decided to develop "Plesset's Principles for Today's Home," I started a binder and developed lists of topics, which evolved into hundreds of potential articles. The plan for this newsletter is flexible, relying on current events as well as the topics list. This past week, two loosely-related discussions with prospective clients inspired me to write about another aspect of kitchen safety.

What is the most potentially dangerous kitchen appliance? What space-saving appliance is sold to homeowners and builders by the thousands every year? It's the microwave-hood.

A preliminary word of advice: All venting devices should exhaust the air to the outside. Don't waste your money on any recirculating fans, whether they're for the bathroom or the kitchen. They're useless junk. Many of the least expensive microwave-hoods are recirculating only, which rely on charcoal filters to remove the steam, grease, and odor you generate every time you use your cooktop or rangetop. Recirculating hoods are more dangerous with gas ranges and cooktops, because the combustion byproducts must be vented out of your home. A gas cooking surface should never be used without sufficient venting.

Why are microwave-hoods dangerous? Here is a plausible example:

It's a special occasion, and you're using every appliance to prepare the meal. A roast is baking in the oven, and all of the burners are covered with pots and pans, and you're reheating the family's favorite casserole in the microwave. You've got the hood turned to high, but there's a film of steam and grease on the sides of the wall cabinets and the backsplash. The kitchen and adjacent rooms smell good now, but the odor is being absorbed into the fabric and carpets.

You're in the last-minute flurry to get everything to the table while it's hot. The countertops are full of serving dishes. You've just taken the lid off of the boiled potatoes, and the gravy is almost ready when the microwave dings. Without thinking, you open the door and reach into the microwave. You know it's hot, but you can't see that the casserole is bubbling vigorously, and you don't know how hot the container is. You're in a hurry, and you pull the glass casserole container out with your bare hands. Your hands are getting burned, and there's nowhere close to set the casserole down, so you decide to use the casserole dish to push the serving dishes out of the way, not realizing that your sleeve has gotten tangled on the pot of boiling gravy. It's a disaster that could have been prevented.

Did you know that all microwave-hood units are manufactured to be recirculating? Most can be converted to vent to the outside, but very few are -- especially in "spec" homes. The easiest way to verify if a microwave-hood is vented out is to open the cabinet above the unit, or look at the exterior wall where your hood is located. If you don't see a duct, or what looks like a dryer vent cap, then you've probably got a recirculating hood. Unfortunately, it will cost hundreds of dollars to convert, and unless your kitchen is less than five years old, it's not worth your investment. Remember to change the filters regularly, and keep the unit as clean as possible.

Following are design standards I always use for my clients:

The bottom of the hood should be 24"-30" above the cooking surface. I usually recommend 30", because it allows easy use of tall stock pots or canning pots.
The ergonomic controls should be on the front of the hood.
The hood should be a total of 6" wider than the range or cooktop, 3" on each side, i.e., 36" hood for a 30" cooking surface, 42" hood for a 36" cooking surface, etc. If there is a downdraft cooktop, I always allow a minimum of 3" from the edge of the cooktop to adjacent wall cabinets.
- Why? If you have wall cabinets adjacent to the cooking surface, the 3" additional space will protect the cabinets from damage by steam and grease.
- Note: In my research, there was only one 36" wide microwave-hood, and it did not vent to the outside.
For electric cooking surfaces (including most magnetic induction units), the hood should be a minimum of 400 cubic feet per minute (cfm). Most microwave-hoods are 300 cfm.
For gas cooking surfaces, especially with burners exceeding 12,000 btu's, or open-kitchen designs where the cooking surface is in an island or peninsula, the hood should be a minimum of 600 cfm. Some residential exhaust motors are available in 900, 1100, and 1400 cfm.
- Why? I like to use this analogy: If you're driving a 4-cylinder car, merging onto a freeway is dangerous, because you don't have enough power to get up to speed quickly. You don't need 600 cfm most of the time, but when you're cooking fish, or brussel sprouts, or an Oriental stir-fry, you want the power to exhaust the odor and grease out immediately.

Another important safety suggestion: Whether you have a microwave-hood unit or a "standard" microwave, please keep oven mitts and a heat-resistant landing surface close to your microwave at all times, and use them.
Now I've stated my case against microwave-hood units. I am asking for your help, to get the word out about these dangerous appliances. There are appliance dealers, builders, designers, and real estate agents all over the country who need to know what I've shared with you today. Please help me by forwarding this newsletter to everyone you know.

CLARIFICATION

Last week, I talked about designers not marking up custom manufactured products or others' labor, unless they are a general contractor. A great designer in the San Francisco-Bay Area, Wendy Hoechstetter, sent an e-mail to ask if a mark-up on custom furniture would cause a problem. The answer is no, as long as the item being sold is not attached to the home permanently. Custom window treatments may be considered a permanent feature. I would suggest conservative caution for designers, i.e., mark up the fabric only, and let the homeowners pay for the labor to manufacture and install the window treatments. For a few hundred dollars, it's not worth putting one's career on the line.

If you live in the Bay Area, and you're looking for a professional designer to help you, Wendy may be exactly who you're looking for! Wendy's e-mail address is wendy@hoechstetterinteriors.com, and her website/blog are: http://www.hoechstetterinteriors.wordpress.com

--o0o--

"Plesset's Principles for Today is Home" is YOUR personal information service, to help you make informed decisions about every aspect of your building or remodeling project. Send an e-mail today with your questions to: Q@dp-design.com

IN THIS ISSUE: The Safety Soapbox Clarification			Dear [dear] Saturday, while building a Lego model of Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater," my mind was filled with analogies about life and Lego. This set had 808 blocks in different shapes and colors, and the instructions were 100 pages. The artist who designed the "Fallingwater" set, Adam Reed Tucker, is a master at three-dimensional visualization and the technical artists are masters at interpretation of instructions. The feelings of accomplishment and relief when the last module slid into its place to complete the model were dwarfed by reverence for Mr. Wright's genius, to have seen the relationship of intricate planes as he created Fallingwater. Mr. Wright played with wooden Froebel blocks that his mother discovered when he was very young. The blocks taught him about spatial perception, shapes, and structural relationship that became the basis for his successful career as an architect. It is possible that he used the Froebel blocks to design one of his most recognizable masterpieces. The blocks Mr. Wright had were tangible, and he used them to achieve positive results for all of his clients. By the time we reach adulthood, we have acquired all of the building blocks to shape the rest of our lives, but there are no written instructions (other than religious guidelines). It would be great if we knew exactly how to place and stack our personal blocks, and what the end result would be. We have free choice and will, to build ourselves according to our needs and desires. All of us may start out with the similar blocks, but the results will never be the same. Our blocks are intangible. We have unlimited possibilities to build a beautiful life and positively influence others' lives. With Inspired Ideas for Your Home,
QUICK LINKS:
dp-design.com
Diane's MySpace
Diane's FaceBook
Diane on Twitter
Diane on Linkedin
orders@dp-design.com
Send to a Friend
Q@dp-design.com

		Plesset's Principles for Today's Home® THE SAFETY SOAPBOX A subscriber asked this week, "Where do you get your ideas for a weekly newsletter?" When I decided to develop "Plesset's Principles for Today's Home," I started a binder and developed lists of topics, which evolved into hundreds of potential articles. The plan for this newsletter is flexible, relying on current events as well as the topics list. This past week, two loosely-related discussions with prospective clients inspired me to write about another aspect of kitchen safety. What is the most potentially dangerous kitchen appliance? What space-saving appliance is sold to homeowners and builders by the thousands every year? It's the microwave-hood. A preliminary word of advice: All venting devices should exhaust the air to the outside. Don't waste your money on any recirculating fans, whether they're for the bathroom or the kitchen. They're useless junk. Many of the least expensive microwave-hoods are recirculating only, which rely on charcoal filters to remove the steam, grease, and odor you generate every time you use your cooktop or rangetop. Recirculating hoods are more dangerous with gas ranges and cooktops, because the combustion byproducts must be vented out of your home. A gas cooking surface should never be used without sufficient venting. Why are microwave-hoods dangerous? Here is a plausible example: It's a special occasion, and you're using every appliance to prepare the meal. A roast is baking in the oven, and all of the burners are covered with pots and pans, and you're reheating the family's favorite casserole in the microwave. You've got the hood turned to high, but there's a film of steam and grease on the sides of the wall cabinets and the backsplash. The kitchen and adjacent rooms smell good now, but the odor is being absorbed into the fabric and carpets. You're in the last-minute flurry to get everything to the table while it's hot. The countertops are full of serving dishes. You've just taken the lid off of the boiled potatoes, and the gravy is almost ready when the microwave dings. Without thinking, you open the door and reach into the microwave. You know it's hot, but you can't see that the casserole is bubbling vigorously, and you don't know how hot the container is. You're in a hurry, and you pull the glass casserole container out with your bare hands. Your hands are getting burned, and there's nowhere close to set the casserole down, so you decide to use the casserole dish to push the serving dishes out of the way, not realizing that your sleeve has gotten tangled on the pot of boiling gravy. It's a disaster that could have been prevented. Did you know that all microwave-hood units are manufactured to be recirculating? Most can be converted to vent to the outside, but very few are -- especially in "spec" homes. The easiest way to verify if a microwave-hood is vented out is to open the cabinet above the unit, or look at the exterior wall where your hood is located. If you don't see a duct, or what looks like a dryer vent cap, then you've probably got a recirculating hood. Unfortunately, it will cost hundreds of dollars to convert, and unless your kitchen is less than five years old, it's not worth your investment. Remember to change the filters regularly, and keep the unit as clean as possible. Following are design standards I always use for my clients: The bottom of the hood should be 24"-30" above the cooking surface. I usually recommend 30", because it allows easy use of tall stock pots or canning pots. The ergonomic controls should be on the front of the hood. The hood should be a total of 6" wider than the range or cooktop, 3" on each side, i.e., 36" hood for a 30" cooking surface, 42" hood for a 36" cooking surface, etc. If there is a downdraft cooktop, I always allow a minimum of 3" from the edge of the cooktop to adjacent wall cabinets. Why? If you have wall cabinets adjacent to the cooking surface, the 3" additional space will protect the cabinets from damage by steam and grease. Note: In my research, there was only one 36" wide microwave-hood, and it did not vent to the outside. For electric cooking surfaces (including most magnetic induction units), the hood should be a minimum of 400 cubic feet per minute (cfm). Most microwave-hoods are 300 cfm. For gas cooking surfaces, especially with burners exceeding 12,000 btu's, or open-kitchen designs where the cooking surface is in an island or peninsula, the hood should be a minimum of 600 cfm. Some residential exhaust motors are available in 900, 1100, and 1400 cfm. Why? I like to use this analogy: If you're driving a 4-cylinder car, merging onto a freeway is dangerous, because you don't have enough power to get up to speed quickly. You don't need 600 cfm most of the time, but when you're cooking fish, or brussel sprouts, or an Oriental stir-fry, you want the power to exhaust the odor and grease out immediately. Another important safety suggestion: Whether you have a microwave-hood unit or a "standard" microwave, please keep oven mitts and a heat-resistant landing surface close to your microwave at all times, and use them. Now I've stated my case against microwave-hood units. I am asking for your help, to get the word out about these dangerous appliances. There are appliance dealers, builders, designers, and real estate agents all over the country who need to know what I've shared with you today. Please help me by forwarding this newsletter to everyone you know. CLARIFICATION Last week, I talked about designers not marking up custom manufactured products or others' labor, unless they are a general contractor. A great designer in the San Francisco-Bay Area, Wendy Hoechstetter, sent an e-mail to ask if a mark-up on custom furniture would cause a problem. The answer is no, as long as the item being sold is not attached to the home permanently. Custom window treatments may be considered a permanent feature. I would suggest conservative caution for designers, i.e., mark up the fabric only, and let the homeowners pay for the labor to manufacture and install the window treatments. For a few hundred dollars, it's not worth putting one's career on the line. If you live in the Bay Area, and you're looking for a professional designer to help you, Wendy may be exactly who you're looking for! Wendy's e-mail address is wendy@hoechstetterinteriors.com, and her website/blog are: http://www.hoechstetterinteriors.wordpress.com --o0o-- "Plesset's Principles for Today is Home" is YOUR personal information service, to help you make informed decisions about every aspect of your building or remodeling project. Send an e-mail today with your questions to: Q@dp-design.com
		a
		ABOUT DIANE Diane established D. P. Design in April of 1984, to help homeowners, like you, achieve the best building and remodeling experience with her personalized consulting, design services, seminars, articles, and books. She is a homeowner advocate, an award-winning designer and author, and former co-host of a weekly radio program. "Plesset's Principles for Today's Home®" is another avenue for Diane to express her passion for helping people, using her God-given talents, education, and experience to provide "Inspired Ideas for Your Home®". She is one of about 150 designers in the United States with multiple certifications as a Master Kitchen-Bath Designer, Interior Designer, and Aging-in-Place Specialist. Diane can help you achieve your building or remodeling goals, using state-of-the-art computer aided drafting software ("Archicad"). To request more information, visit Diane's website, or send an e-mail to Diane: Q@dp-design.com. You are welcome to share this newsletter. We request that you copy and paste it in its entirety, including Diane's bio.
		a
		DIANE PLESSET, CMKBD, NCIDQ #13029, C.A.P.S. D. P. DESIGN P.O. Box 1132 Oregon City, OR. 97045 IF YOU WISH TO STOP RECEIVING THESE E-MAILS, REPLY WITH "UNSUBSCRIBE" IN THE SUBJECT LINE © 2009 D. P. Design - All Rights Reserved
		a