Thoughts From Kaufman Homes

The torrential downpour in January of 2012 caused a lot of headaches for homeowners and businesses in Salem.  I am sure there could be many stories written of instances where the extreme wet weather caused varying degrees of problems.

I was personally aware of a happening where a friend of mine had a good part of their back yard slide down and into the yard of the home below.  This was a steep lot with a lot of fill dirt pushed up to the home in a steep angle. The cause of the slide was a leaky and partially broken water pipe that was out of sight out of mind and no one saw the leak.  As it sprayed out over a portion of the backyard it soaked the ground and combined with the huge rain, gravity and the extreme weight caused the ground to give away.

Julie Vonflue has become our decorator, bringing years of experience working for Tim’s carpets, Style Craft Carpets and also as a freelance decorator.

Julie has a bachelor of fine arts degree, from Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma, with an emphasis on design.

She has a great caring personality and is really good at connecting with the customer decorating for their needs and style.  We are really fortunate to have Julie working for us.

Stefanie Stonebrink has recently become our designer after years of construction experience, starting in 1994 after a degree from Oregon State University. Her first job was working as hands on worker, superintendent and designer, with her well known builder father Ken Nolan.

Since 1997she has been a successful custom and spec homebuilder designing her own homes and home designs for other builders.

Remodelers and homebuilders fall into one of three categories: Accounting driven, Marketing driven, or Construction driven. It is very important to know which kind of builder you are consulting with in order to know what to expect from them and their building processes.

Accounting Oriented Builder:

They are always fixed on their bottom line as they are constantly thinking, “How can we reduce our costs so we can maximize profit and still get the job from our competition?”Costs are always accumulated in construction by types and quality of products, quality of workmanship, amount and quality of service, how fast can the job be done and what can they not put in the bid  to later add as change orders at the end of the job?  Yes, they’re initial estimate will usually be less money but the end product will be of less quality, and change orders will bump the price up to at or more than what the experienced, reputable construction driven builder would have been.  In a remodel, living in the home while an accounting oriented builder works could be a nightmare. These types of builders are usually not worried about reputation and long term commitment as they’re intention is to make a lot of money and go to the next job.

Marketing Driven Builder:

These are the builders you notice through traditional advertising like magazines, newspapers, and billboards. They buy their way to the top of the social media network as they strive for top-of-mind awareness so you go to them first. Initially you will think that since they are advertising heavily, they must be doing a lot of remodels and new homes and produce great results. They will sell you on a home you love, but often your dreams won’t be met through implementation. That doesn’t really sound like the best builder. Always be weary of strong marketers who have no reputation or very little history.

The year 2011 saw a continuation of changes that Kaufman Homes started at the end of 2008.  At that time, because of changing economic conditions, we realized people were staying longer in their homes because it had become increasingly difficult to sell existing homes and even a greater problem of building and financing custom homes.  This new environment presented Kaufman Homes with a great opportunity to make the transition from primarily a custom home builder to a broader based company providing more remodeling and repair and maintenance work. These changes created a more stable construction environment, allowing employment growth and we are continuing to serve our community from 36 years of reputation, experience, integrity and organization.

In November of 2009 Kaufman Homes made a careful entrance into world of social media by starting an informative monthly newsletter sent to friends and past customers.  This was a way of linking into our website to share with others the story of who we are and presenting our well documented construction process and philosophy, all which has been the contributing factor to the Kaufman homes trademark of success.

In October of 2011 we further expanded our social media presence by starting weekly construction information blog posts that were each entered into a categorized resource library on our website.  These posts are linked with and through our website to our other social media sites of Facebook and LinkedIn. The blog posts come out of 36 years of construction experience, observations and give a written history of the past and knowledge for the future.  Like it or not the internet and social media have revolutionized the way people do business, research topics and shop.  Young people have grown up with computers and the internet and have to help the generation of us who used the typewriter, land line phones, pencil and paper, played in the park, read books in the library for information and talked face to face with their peers!

Indoor air pollutants have increased over the past few decades for variety of reasons. Contributing to indoor air quality issues in homes are construction of more tightly sealed buildings, reduced ventilation rates to save energy, the use of synthetic building materials and furnishings, and increased use of chemical products such as pesticides, housekeeping supplies, and personal care products. The four basic factors affecting indoor air quality (IAQ) are indoor air pollutant sources; the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system; pollutant pathways; and occupants.

Moisture and Biologicals:

Moisture problems in homes can result in the growth or amplification of biological and microbial organisms like mold, mildew, dust mites and pet dander. Exposure to these organisms can increase the risk of allergic illness, trigger asthma, cause respiratory infections, or have other health effects. Common sources of moisture include high indoor humidity, plumbing leaks, and water leaks. Poorly maintained heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems can also contribute to moisture problems. To remedy the problem, the source of excess moisture must be found and fixed, and contaminated materials must be removed and discarded if they cannot be thoroughly cleaned.

As a follow up to our article at the beginning of December 2011 on, preventing and minimizing fires in your home I thought it would be good to include a very important article on wood burning in your home.  With the increasing natural gas and fuel oil heating costs, many homeowners are turning to wood burning stoves to keep their home warm. Beware, that while you are saving money, you may increase your risk of a home fire.

In Salem, as well as most parts of Western Oregon, our weather is usually mild enough to allow certain remodeling projects and custom homes throughout the Fall and Winter without serious problems. In past years, Kaufman homes have begun many various size new homes, remodels and additions in October and November without significant problems. Ideally, if you can get the shell of the structure up and “dried-in” before mid-October, the remaining exterior work can dodge the storms, and the interior work can proceed unimpeded. If the roof must be removed, it is often easier to protect the house from snow than from Spring rains, since snow can be removed before melting.

When you start a Remodel or Custom Home is CRITICAL

Timing, however, is crucial. If a surprise storm brings a foot of wet snow or a week of sub-zero temperatures just after the basement or crawl space is excavated, you may incur costly delays or remedies in order to form and pour the foundation. On the other hand, the same storm an hour after the foundation is poured may be nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

I personally had an experience at my home a few years ago with a small fire that could have been disastrous. A candle up on a pedestal was not extinguished before going to bed and the candle in the glass container burned to just liquid and broke the glass spilling the hot candle fluid on top of the table cloth starting a big fire.  Luckily our fire alarm worked very quickly and let us know where the fire was.  I grabbed the fire extinguisher in the bedroom and ran out with the flames shooting to the ceiling.  I snuffed the fire out quickly by covering it with a nice tablecloth (cheaper than a new home) my backup was the extinguisher. The only damage we had was a little suet on the ceiling.  My dry natural Christmas tree was only a few feet away from the fire.  This was a very good lesson to put out all candles, make sure the natural Christmas tree is kept moist and last but not least we have for the most part changed to battery operated candles.

Below is a list of items that I feel are really important and hope you find this useful.

When it comes to heights for bath, kitchen, utility countertops or dining surfaces, the heights should be based on the needs of the homeowner. The main purpose for remodeling or building custom home is not just to have a new pretty kitchen, bath or utility room, but to also to make the living experience more enjoyable and comfortable.

Kitchen countertops

Kitchen counters serve as more than places to store appliances. You prepare food, wash dishes and perform other duties at the counter and its height makes a big difference in your ergonomic comfort. Standard heights have been adopted for the different countertop surfaces in the kitchen but your personal preferences and needs may make alternative measurements preferable.

Standard Countertop Height

The standard countertop height in a kitchen is 36 inches high. Cabinetry and appliances are designed to fit this height and average-sized people will find this a comfortable work height. This specific measurement is not exact; tile or stone countertops may add ½ to one inch to the height, while Formica or other materials come closer to the ideal height.