1960:  3-wire grounded “Romex” electrical wire came on the scene in 1950 but well into the 1960s some electricians were still not using the ground wire.  I personally live in a home built in 1968 that had many non-grounded outlets.  Today, we want to make sure that at lease the “wet” areas of the home like the kitchen, bathroom, & outdoor outlets meet the current code that requires them to be grounded and GFCI protected.  Grounded outlets help protect electronics.

1970: Dow came out with a laminated drywall system that had two layers of drywall that were glued together.  Eventually, the glue failed and the ceilings bowed.  We repair a ceiling like this at least once per year as part of a larger project.

1980: FRT – Fire-Retardant-Treated plywood thermal degradation effected nearly 750,000 multi-family housing units.  Solar radiation caused the plywood to de-laminate, bubble, and sink between roof trusses.  I define what went wrong in the 80s by Decora cabinets and laminate counter tops with oak trim on the edge.

1990: EIFS – Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems were designed to be the primary and only barrier to keeping water out of the wall system on these “synthetic stucco” homes.  Most other types of siding systems depend on multiple layers of protection to keep water out of a home.  Thousands of homes had thousands of dollars in water and mold damage.  Also, “Tyvek” and other breathable air-infiltration and water barriers started making their way on the scene and are now code-required.  From the photo at the top of this article, you can see how many builders neglected to use housewrap on the gable end of their homes b/c they didn’t care if air migrated into the attic of a home.  What they failed to appreciate is how exposed to the weather the gable end is and how much water degraded homes because of their lack of concern.  This was one of Bill’s very hot button issue.  Thank you Patty McDaniel for use of the above photo.

More personally, I define the 90s by brass hardware (that peeled off in a few years), white thermofoil cabinetry, and Corian counter tops.

2000: Poor water management from the 90s created mold litigation into the early 2000s.  It will take a little more distance for me to declare what we have done for our clients is now out dated.  I have my ideas on what some passe items will be, but for now, I plead the 5th.
If you’d like to know more about building history stay connected to the Better Building category of the blog.  Don’t be too harsh with the history, friends, because hindsight is genius and everyday is a school day.

1. Everyone forgets the carbon monoxide (CO) detectors.  They need to be heard from each sleeping area.
2. Smoke Detectors – Needed in each sleeping room, in the hall outside of each sleeping area, and in the stairway leading to the area.  If you do any remodeling, you may be required by the building inspector to upgrade all of your smoke detectors to an interconnected system.
3. Solid Fuel Chimneys – Have them inspected and/or cleaned once/year.  You can use a hande mirror to look up into the chimney.  When dampered down, creosote is more likely to build up in the chimney than burning at full flame with the damper completely open.  Use seasoned wood, not wood that was cut this past fall.
4. Electric heaters / Kerosene heaters – Only use ones that have a tip-over switch (turn off when tipped), Keep them away from curtains, blankets, and your Snuggie.  Don’t use small, cheap extension cords (if it cost less than $10, don’t use it).
5. Keep a fire extinguisher in the house.  A good place is mounted in the cabinet under the kitchen sink or in an accessible pantry.

Stay safe, West Michigan.  Thanks, Pat Thompson, and Chief Jim Duval for bringing us this information.

A small flat screen TV (20-30″)

Nintendo Wii (the family has one downstairs but stairs are incredibly difficult for Deven.  A wii will allow Deven to use the games his family already owns.)

DVD player

DVD’s (Age 5)

Griffin’s Hockey Apparel

Redwings Hockey Apparel

i-Pod

Speaker or docking station for an i-Pod

Cash Donations toward No-VOC paint

Cash Donations toward Painting Supplies

Cash Donations toward Flooring

If you see a specific donation you are drawn to join us with please email: kristin@thompsonremodeling.com to see the remaining needs.

**All donations, cash & in kind, are all tax deductible.

Please read more about the Suite Dreams Project Here.

Held in large sports arenas across the country in 2010, The Pro Expo events will feature information from and demonstrations by product manufacturers, arena tours, prizes and giveaways, keynote speakers, educational sessions, and presentations from noted consultants in the homebuilding and remodeling industry. That’s where Ben Thompson comes in.

At each Pro Expo, Remodelers Advantage will offer a dynamic presentation entitled “Top Remodelers Speak Out: Best Practices to Strengthen Your Business.” The presentations will include videotaped footage of several Remodelers Advantage members explaining the best practices that they feel are essential for running a profitable company.

Ben Thompson will be on site at the Pro Expo in Grand Rapids to facilitate the presentation, answer attendees’ questions about best management practices, and provide information about Remodelers Advantage.

“We are honored to have Ben Thompson represent us at The Pro Expo events,” says Victoria Downing, president of Remodelers Advantage. “He literally lives and breathes the business management tenets discussed in the video, and he embodies the professionalism, leadership, and other qualities our members learn about in our seminars and Roundtables. Ben Thompson is a great spokesperson for our company and the remodeling industry.”

For more information about The Pro Expo, visit www.TheProExpo.com.

Thompson Remodeling is in business to provide valuable remodeling services in a professional manner to discerning clients. Since 1980, clients of Thompson Remodeling have created for us a lasting reputation of integrity, professionalism, and innovation in our national industry and the local Greater Grand Rapids market.

Thompson Remodeling

4820 Cascade Road SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Phone: (616) 942-1866 Fax: (616) 942-8270

Ben@ThompsonRemodeling.com  www.ThompsonRemodeling.com

###

I hope this finds you all happy, healthy and enjoying 2010! I am writing this letter because I am involved in a wonderful project that I wanted to share with you. Recently, I was fortunate enough to link up with the Detroit-based organization “Suite Dreams Project.” It is dedicated to giving room makeovers to chronically and/or terminally ill children. These children spend the vast majority of their time in their bedrooms because they are too ill to be in school, let alone playing outside. Their room not only becomes their refuge, but is also a big aspect of their healing environment.

Through Suite Dreams, I was put in touch with Deven’s family. Deven is a five year old boy who suffers from chronic lung disease, leukemia, and AVN. AVN is the result of too much chemotherapy, and his case is so severe that it is being studied internationally. It causes extreme chronic pain, whole body necrosis, and his weakened bones frequently break. Currently both of his legs are broken, one has been in a cast for the last 8 months, and he spends much of his time in a wheelchair. He has also had bleeding on the brain, severe spinal pain that keeps him from sleeping, and numerous other side effects. He was diagnosed at age 3, so he has spent his entire memorable little life in pain. He isn’t always able to walk on his own or climb the stairs, thus is confined to his room for large period of his time.

After meeting with Deven’s mother I was so moved by the way their entire world has been turned upside from Deven’s illness. But through it all, one of the things I heard from her over and over again was how hard it is to be on the receiving side when they have spent their lives trying to give to others.

Ben and I have committed to not only remodel and re-furnish Deven and his twin brother’s shared room, but also do as many other improvements in their house as possible to make life easier for this family. This includes installing wood or laminate floors so that he can better use his wheelchair in the house, as well painting and some other projects in the house. I know economic times have been tough for many, but this too has been a family that has been affected hard. They were forced to go down to one income, and his father’s job has been changed to a shift so he cannot spend as much time with his family.

This is a family that has known more heartache in these last few years than hopefully none of us will ever have to deal with. Our hearts have been opened to helping this family as much as we can, and if you feel lead to give financially, we would be so grateful to have your support. Even if you feel like you can’t give much, every little bit helps. If we are fortunate enough to raise more than enough funds for this project, it will be applied to help the next Suite Dreams project we are committed to work on.

Also, if you are not able to give financially but are in the Grand Rapids area and would like to give your time, please let me know that was well. We will be hopefully completing this project during the weekend of February 19th. We could use any help with moving furniture, painting, installing carpet, wood floors, etc. Thank you so much for your thoughts over this matter, actions taken to partner with us, and please continue to keep this family in your prayers.

For more information on this organization, please check out their website: www.suitedreamsproject.org. Any contribution is tax deductible and can be made out to the below mailing address, please put my name in the Memo so that gifts can be donated specifically to this project. Or, follow the above link on their website, go to the “Giving” section, and you can donate through PayPal.

Suite Dreams Project

400 Water Street, Suite 250

Rochester, MI 48307

Warmly,

Kristin & Ben Thompson

1. Extra coat hooks for guests.  Are hooks okay or do you need hangers?

2. Ice melt away from kids – we have small children so our Ice Melt is way up high out of their reach.  I keep the refill downstairs on a storage shelf so we don’t hav a 50 lb. bag on the mudroom floor.

3. Baskets – Kristin labeled each basket with a picture.  That is so cool!

Click here for more and the view the entire Thompson Times newsletter.

John is a client of Thompson Remodeling and I am currently reading his new book, Beyond Doubt.  Our role is to make physical changes in the homes of our clients and sometimes our clients change us personally by allowing us access to their households.  John gives us the extended luxury of influencing us through his deep and change-worthy writing.  I have also read Reinvent Yourself: A Lesson In Personal Leadership and The Eight Disciplines: An Enticing Look into Your Personality Please Visit: http://johnjmurphy.net/index.html to see if John’s book is right for you and come on out for the book signing at Schuler Book (28th St).

For more information on the event, visit http://www.schulerbooks.com/event/talk-booksigning-local-author-john-murphy.

Here are a few tips to share from our small mudroom:

1. Extra coat hooks for guests.  Are hooks okay or do you need hangers?
2. Ice melt away from kids – we have small children so our Ice Melt is way up high out of their reach.  I keep the refill downstairs on a storage shelf so we don’t hav a 50 lb. bag on the mudroom floor.
3. Baskets – Kristin labeled each basket with a picture.  That is so cool!
4. Boots & Shoes are directly on resilient flooring.
5. Mailboxes – We have our at home Inboxes, and there is one for Bills.
6. Electrical outlets – there is an outlet down low for the paper shredder and there is a quad outlet in the cabinet for cellphones & the ipod docking station.  We have a no cellphone rule in the bedroom so this is where my smartphone gets parked.  Yeah, you know who tried to take his phone to bed.
7. Bead board – This is a simple architectural detail to make this very simple built-in look like a piece of furniture.

The cost on this built-in is very reasonable, it looks cool, and it functions great!  Thank you, Sara Tow, www.MomsBloom.org, for the inspiration for this column via Facebook.

I want to pause so you can know exactly where these ideas came from.  Yesterday I listened to a podcast of a sermon by Rob Bell spoken to a group of protestant church leaders where he talked about bigger churches not necessarily being better churches.  You can link to it here.  This post is how his talk applies to my life.  I give him the credit for his study and inspiration, yet I retain all the liability for what is said here.

A lot of us in these last few years have not experienced life according to our plans.  The company did not meet this or that benchmark.  Working more for less.  House project isn’t done.  Compare ourselves to our neighbor, friend, whomever and there is quite often stressful dissatisfaction.

In an honest moment I can admit that is me coveting something.  You and I both know that coveting is spoken about in the Ten Commandments.  But what I just learned about the 10 Commandments is the other 9 commandments can all be witnessed – Bowing down to another god, murder, lying, stealing, resting one day a week – but coveting, that is primarily a hidden sin.  Here’s a thought though, if we truly live out the other 9, God gives us Not Coveting as a gift.  When we love God, and love our neighbor as ourselves, we Love Who We Are.  When we love who we are, we do not want what anybody else has.   This is a teaching for us today, not when we have accomplished all that we dream possible in the future.

Here are some more questions for our stressed out lives.  When was the last time we took one day off a week for rest?  When was the last time we were truly present with our families?  When was the last time our spouses got the best of us versus our leftovers?  When was the last time we played with our kids without the distraction of a cellphone call?  These are the reasons why growing our companies and living our lives is so stressful.  May these next few days of Christmas fill us with renewed purpose – that our lives are wonderful to live when we live in the way we were designed to live.