Your Neighborhood Remodeler

The very engineering used to perfect tody s stone-fired pizzs ppered in the cooking repustom Contrcting, Inc. your neighborhood remodeler Your Neighborhood Remodeler Estblished in 1990 Everything but the Kitchen Sink: Milestones in Kitchen History From dily mels with the fmily to dinner prty guests gthering round the grnitetopped islnd, the kitchen holds unique plce t the center of the home. Tht wsn t lwys the cse, however. Merrim-Webster trces the words kitchen nd cook bck to the Ltin coquere, mening to cook. And it s tht connection of the spce itself with the people using it tht mkes wellppointed kitchen such plesure: The cook cn ctively prepre mel while enjoying the compny of fmily members nd guests. Once the lte 19th century pved the wy with the introduction of indoor plumbing nd electricity nd pplinces becme ffordble, Custom Contrcting, Inc. Serving you since 1990 Kitchen & Bths Additions Attics & Bsements Grges & Sunrooms Dormers & Mudrooms Architecturl Windows & Ptio Doors Porches & Decks 1267A Msschusetts Avenue Arlington, MA 02476 (781) 648-2835 A History of the Modern Kitchen 1740s Open-fire cooking strts to give wy to the first wood stoves sfer, more efficient wy to cook. 1927 GE is the first to mss produce refrigertors (1 million units). 1892 The electric stove is invented. (Although most homes won t hve electricity until it strts to be widely instlled beginning round 1910.) 1950s relible nd sized to fit in modest homes the kitchen ws destined to become the hert of the household. But it took host of inventions nd dvnces in engineering nd technology to mke the kitchen wht it is tody. Stoves of Stone, Brick, Gs nd Electric 1945 The microwve oven is invented. The wide rry of colors produced by Formic nd Arborite re populr in the bright, shiny, 50s-style kitchen. Applinces come in shdes of pink, vocdo green nd hrvest gold. 1980s 1960s Indoors, most kitchens now hve dishwshers nd freezers, while outdoors, the brbecue becomes more widely used. Open-concept kitchens gin in populrity, bringing together the work nd living res. ertoire of ncient civiliztions tht used outdoor wood-fired stone nd brick ovens to bke bred, ccording to Smithsonin Mgzine. By the end of the 18th century, cst iron stoves llowed cooks to do much more: Regulte temperture, het severl pots t once nd for those with homes lrge enough to fit the immense structures wrm up the living qur- Continued on pge 2

2 Mngement Memo: Turning Smll Kitchens into High-Impct Kitchens For n experienced generl contrctor like Custom, renovting lrge kitchen is simple. A smll kitchen, on the other hnd, introduces ll kinds of chllenges tht cn be difficult nd rewrding to solve. Mny of the communities in which we work President Bill Frnsworth, generl mnger Scott Blin. hve older homes. Bck in the 1950s (nd erlier), the kitchen ws commonly the room where one person toiled in prepring mels. It wsn t plce where you would hng out, do work or entertin. Tody, homeowners re doing ll of these things nd more in the kitchen. As result, we re often hired for kitchen expnsions or to mke the most of kitchen s existing spce. Those ltter projects (like the one fetured in this issue s Client Spotlight) re where we relly shine. We ve Seen It All When we check out smll kitchen for the first time, we cn see wht the chllenges re right wy. For exmple, the spce is too crowded, If it s designed well, even smll kitchen cn fit n islnd with seting. pplinces re buried in odd spces or there re too mny doorwys nd not enough cbinets. Over our 28 yers in business, we ve seen it ll. Once we get good look t the kitchen nd the underlying mechnicls nd plumbing, we explore wht the homeowners like nd don t like bout the spce nd wht gols they wnt to meet with the renovtion. Very quickly, we cn provide sense of wht s possible long with bllprk pricing. From there, it s mtter of drwing up floor pln. One importnt thing to keep in mind with smll-kitchen renovtions is clernces. Locl building codes hve requirements regrding doorwy width, pplince heights, etc. Then there re common-sense stndrds, such s hving enough spce between n islnd nd cbinetry to llow for comfortble pss-throughs. Following pprovl of the floor pln, our designer, Nikki DeFelice steps in. One of her strengths is working with smll kitchens, nd she loves coming up with cretive solutions to meet homeowner gols. Among the tricks of the trde she s picked up over the yers: Corner sinks: These re gret spce-sver nd cn open up room for pplinces. Cbinets: We re one of the very few full-service remodeling firms tht designs, supplies nd instlls our own cbinet lines s direct cbinet deler. Closets: Nikki loves squeezing in slim closets to store mops, brooms nd clening supplies. Applinces: If spce is relly tight, smller refrigertor, stove nd/or dishwsher might mke sense. Cuse for Optimism As cretive s we cn be, remodeling smll kitchen usully requires some scrifices. No, you might not be ble to fit in tht islnd or Sub-Zero refrigertor you ve been eyeing. But if you work with n expert design/ build home remodeler like Custom, it s possible to chieve more of your gols thn you might relize. Thinking bout renovting your smll kitchen? Contct us first to discover ll tht your kitchen cn be. Kitchens, Continued from pge 1 ters. In Englnd, gs ws used in cooking s fr bck s 1802, but gs stoves weren t commercilly vilble until the mid-1830s nd weren t used widely until decdes lter. Erly models of the electric stove included Cndin inventor Thoms Ahern s 1892 version, which found its wy into the history books (nd Smithsonin Mgzine) s prt of n ll-electric cooking demonstrtion t Ottw s Windsor Hotel. Refrigertion Comes on the Scene The 20th century brought series of inventions tht emphsized, nd drmticlly improved, convenience in the kitchen. A 2010 New York Times rticle on kitchen design credits the multitsking Hoosier cbinet s the predecessor to the modern kitchen. Invented in the 1910s, it held hidden enmel countertop, built-in sifters nd spice rcks, n ttched food mill nd storge spce for pots nd pns. For the first time, cooks could prepre mel in single spce. Among Plumbing & Mechnicl s list of gretest inventions re Kohler s 1926 electric sink mssive iron nd enmel pplince tht combined the conventionl kitchen sink with n erly version of the electric dishwsher. Tht sme period mrked the invention of the household refrigertor, which History Mgzine hils s one of our gretest unsung inventions, s it freed fmilies from dependency on the ice wgon s delivery. Msschusetts-bsed Rytheon Mnufcturing filed ptent for the microwve oven in 1945 nd brought it to mrket two yers lter. According to The Boston Globe, the initil product weighed 750 lbs. nd sold for $5,000 (primrily to resturnts). It took severl decdes nd significnt reductions in size nd price before consumers would fully embrce it. Mking the Most of Your Spce Tody Turning the descendnts of these remrkble dvnces into your idel kitchen is one of the most rewrding investments homeowner cn mke. Whether you re building your drem kitchen from the flooring up or just putting fresh fce on spce you lredy love, Custom Contrcting will help mke sure your kitchen reches its potentil s the hert of your home.

3 Client Spotlight: The Heinrich Home Len nd Judy Heinrich rightfully clim to be one of Custom s longest-tenured clients. We completed our first project for them mjor renovtion of their home on Hillsdle Rod in Arlington bck in the erly 1990s. Soon fter, the couple hd their first child nd moved to brnd new colonil in Stonehm. There, they hired us to build bsement plyroom nd dd box by window to their dughter s bedroom. In 1999 the fmily moved to four-bedroom colonil in Lexington. We subsequently completed few projects, including building new bthroom nd instlling French doors into the fmily room. Lst Thnksgiving, the Heinrichs hd fmily over for dinner. There ws only one problem: Their smll wll oven wsn t heting. It took while, but I finlly got it to work nd cooked the turkey, Len sys. But tht ws the lst time it ever worked. Among the highlights of the new kitchen: new cbinets, counters nd sleek white bcksplsh. Soon therefter, Len nd Judy visited n pplince store to buy new oven. The store hd kitchen design center, nd slesperson mentioned tht they worked with generl contrctor who could renovte kitchens for modest mount. Overcoming Smll Chllenge The Heinrichs kitchen is on the smller side Len estimtes it s bout 9 x 14. Previously, there ws just enough room for tble, but not enough cbinet or counter spce. So they decided to spek with the contrctor nd see wht the renovtion would cost. When we got the estimte, we decided it ws too much money to commit to guy we didn t know, Len sys. We hd Custom come over to see wht they could do. Continued on pge 4

4 Client Spotlight: The Heinrich Home Continued from pge 3 Generl mnger Scott Blin met with the Heinrichs nd pointed out some gps in the other contrctor s pln, including the lck of seting. Then our designer, Nikki DeFelice, got involved to figure out wht ws possible. Wht the Heinrichs relly wnted ws n et-in br someplce where they could hve brekfst or lunch. Nikki cme up with design tht incorported peninsul with room for two stools. It struck the perfect blnce between providing seting, yet not breking up the kitchen into two smll spces. Our dughter, who hd been our unofficil designer, thought hving n et-in br would tke up too much spce, Len sys. When she sw the finl result, she ws relly impressed. The new peninsul (bove) provides much- Nikki s pln lso included little fetures tht enhnce the kitchen s functionlity, such s pullout trys, lzy Susn nd wht Len clls n incredible pull-out spice drwer. needed seting without hurting the flow of the room. The pull-out spice cbinet nd cookbook storge spce (below) re n efficient (nd fun!) use of spce. The remodeled kitchen lso fetures ll-new pplinces, white shker cbinetry nd grnite countertops long with wider doorwy into the dining room. A Very High-Qulity Compny We wrpped up the Heinrichs project in April, so the couple hs hd some time to enjoy their remodeled kitchen s well s mny brekfsts nd lunches t their new peninsul. While they re not sure ny more renovtions re in their future, they re thnkful for Custom s service over the pst three decdes. This ws the fifth renovtion project we ve done with Custom over the course of three houses, sys Len. They continue to be very high-qulity compny. Everybody I ve delt with there is first-rte.

5 Countertops: Wht s Hot (or Not)? H omeowners buying new kitchen or bthroom countertops hve more options to choose from thn ever before. To lern bout the ltest trends, we spoke with Pierre Rncourt, president of Stone Surfces in Woburn. Nturl Stone Grnite is perhps the first stone tht comes to mind in this ctegory. Its durbility, vriety of colors nd wide rnge of price points hve long mde it populr choice for kitchens, bthrooms nd more. Pierre reports tht Stone Surfces is still doing plenty of grnite in kitchens, long with nturl qurtzite nd engineered stone. Nturl qurtzite, ccording to the Stone Surfces website, is formed from sndstone nd qurtz together under gret del of het nd pressure. The empty grins of sndstone re filled with qurtz. This process mkes qurtzite hrder thn qurtz. Qurtzite hs the ppeling look of mrble, Pierre sys, but it s hrder thn mrble closer to grnite. For tht reson, this stone is generlly more expensive thn mrble. Mrble is beloved for its elegnt, polished look, but it s lso reltively soft. Tht generlly mkes it better fit for the bthroom thn the kitchen, where counters tke more of beting. Another issue for some homeowners is tht mrble develops ptin (ged ppernce) over time. If you don t like tht, then you should definitely sty wy from mrble, Pierre dvises. Sopstone is lso soft stone nd hs hd stedy mrket over the yers, Pierre sys. It should be treted with minerl oil every few months for seling purposes. The nice thing, he notes, is tht you cn tke piece of sndpper nd buff out scrtch on your own. Engineered Stone Engineered stone comes in vriety of colors nd finishes nd contins pproximtely 90% qurtz nd 10% resins. We ve seen definite uptick in engineered stone over the pst yer or so, Pierre sys. I think it s becuse people see it lot on HGTV nd other home shows. A big prt of the ppel with engineered stone is the mintennce, or lck thereof. Nturl stone should be seled once yer. In contrst, engineered stone hs built-in seler, so no mintennce is required. Above: Rinforest Green, type of nturl qurtzite. Below: Sopstone Brroc, trditionl sopstone. Pierre gives grnite slight edge over engineered stone in terms of resistnce to het nd scrtches. Price-wise, he sys, engineered stone generlly strts in the mid-rnge of the grnites nd goes up from there. Visit Custom Online Check out custom-contrcting.com to see our blog, portfolio of our projects, n rchive of pst newsletters nd client spotlights, plus more. You cn lso find us online t: Green Products Stone Surfces sells products tht contin recycled glss nd re mnufctured using environmentlly-friendly methods. (Other green products include wood- nd pper-bsed countertops.) From Pierre s perspective, though, these hven t relly cught on. When these products first strted coming out seven or eight yers go, there ws lot of interest. Now, not so much, he sys. They were quite expensive t first, nd tht turned people off. The prices hve since come down bit, but they re still on the higher end of the price rnge. And performnce-wise, they re not s durble s grnite or engineered stone. Client Referrl Progrm Refer friend, get rewrd: Tht s how our Client Referrl Progrm works. You You qulify qulify for for this this progrm progrm when: when: someone clls clls inin nd nd sys sys you you referred referred them, them, someone referrl signs signs on on with with us us for for their their project, project, or or referrl you serve s reference to prospective client. you serve s reference to prospective client. There There re re other other wys wys to to qulify. qulify. For For more more detils, detils, plese plese cll cll us us t t 781-648-2835.

ustom Contrcting, Inc. your neighborhood remodeler 1267A Msschusetts Ave Arlington, MA 02476 (781) 648-2835 MA Reg. #101683 INSIDE THIS ISSUE First clss mil Everything but the Kitchen Sink: Milestones in Kitchen History Mngement Memo: Turning Smll Kitchens into High-Impct Kitchens Client Spotlight: The Heinrich Home Countertops: Wht s Hot (or Not)? We re Plesed to Welcome New Clients to the Custom Fmily! We re Plesed to Welcome New Clients to the Custom Fmily! Dvid & Adrienne Pskind Arlington Kitchen, Bth, & Interior Renovtion Mrth Sndler Lexington First Level Renovtions Elizbeth & Ethn Sobol Sudbury Mster Bthroom Renovtion Dougls Burdi Arlington Portico & Front Door Mry J. Nichols Concord Grge Wll Repir Jnet & Rick Fisher Wylnd Kitchen & Interior Renovtion Mur Rooney & Joshu Roth Arlington Bthroom Renovtion Ann & Dve Riley Lexington Kitchen, Bth, & Interior Renovtion Shri & Steve Spector Lexington Mster Bthroom Renovtion Sheil Kojm & Louis Stuhl Bedford Mudroom & Home Office Renovtion Inness Mnning & Krthik Rmnthn Lexington Bthroom & Interior Renovtions Jill & Rlph Rnlli Newton Rer Addition & Interior Renovtion Curt Norden Arlington Window Replcement & Exterior Repirs Mike & Lur Trello Medford Interior Renovtions Nick & Mrinne Icuzio Arlington Addition nd Interior Renovtions Looking for Inspirtion? Plese check out our website to lern bout the design/build process, meet the members of our tem nd, most importntly, be inspired by projects we ve worked on. Visit tody!