We are looking at installing an unfinished wood floor and doing it with tung oil. We know a man who does that and we loved the idea. Problem is that the 3/4" planks over 3/4" plywood installation he does creates too many problems for us. We found the same wood (mesquite) in 1/2 unfinished that we are told can be glued down on a concrete slab unlike most of the wood floors around here. But those folks say most or all of the folks who have tried a tung oil finish have sanded and redone the floors with something else. They suggest Waterlox, which I've read a lot about here with counters -- and floors, perhaps?

The reason they say most people don't like the tung oil finish is that is shows dirt too much. That makes me think they left too much oil on the surface -- perhaps expecting a sheen?

Has anyone here been unhappy with a tung oil finish on their floors or counter? If so, why? And if you have one you love, I'd be happy to hear about that too. Thanks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hafele foot pedal

So, I built and beat up my own. I bought 3/4" stain grade plywood, some decorative trim molding, some wood for the "apron" and some legs at the big box store. I was able to build, stain, and put three coats of poly on this in less than a week. I didn't want it perfect; I wanted it to look old. I never wanted to worry about having to use coasters or a table cloth. I used a finish nailer and didn't even bother to fill the holes. In fact we added more holes on purpose. I only sanded it before the first coat of stain.

It is big enough so that when all the food is on the table, you still have breathing room in front of you and enough elbow room on your sides. Because the trim molding I liked only came in 8 feet, I did have to have the plywood trimmed down to a little less than 4x8 to allow for the mitered corners.

First thing we did was buy this from HD. I did NOT spend $279 as is now advertised. This ensemble was on sale for less than $200 when I got it. We already had a miter saw.

FYI, nailer is empty here!!

I really wanted a tressle table, but that started to get too involved and was going to raise the cost substantially. I spent under $200 for this table. If you are up for the challenge, and don't necessarily care about perfection, it is very rewarding. I am very pleased with the way this table functions. As you can see, so are the kids!

As far as I can tell the advantages are to reduce the amount of stuff that goes into the outside compost bin, reduce the trips to the outside compost bin, make more readily available finished product (worm casing) for use in houseplants and garden. What else? Downside?

Has anyone tried this with success? Please do tell and please include pics. Design? Materials?

The first TKO person I ever knew, a business friend, redid her kitchen 20 years ago. It was completely dyi (including her dh making the cabinets from various species of wood found on their property) and she thought of every detail. They were avid organic gardeners and composting was huge for them. They put in a counter top system. When I visited a year later, I noticed they had abandoned it (so it was just a plugged up hole in their counter.) I never asked why and I lost touch many years ago.

btw, there is no real weight on the door. The can is actually mounted to the inside of the cabinet and a bracket attaches to the door to pivot the can out with the door. The lid automatically comes off when the door is swung open with the can. I haven't noticed any odor problems even though we don't empty the can every day and there is no charcoal filter.

We tried the cheaper all plastic one at first, but the mounting hardware wasn't as strong as the white one and the can started sagging.

The white one is heavier duty. Both versions are made by Rev-a-Shelf and both have inner pails that come out (with handle) to make emptying easy. It also comes in stainless steel.

We are willing to cut that hole. Before we do so, however, I'd love to learn whether anyone (other than dannie in the 2010 thread above) has successfully been using a countertop mounted system of some sort.

For example, now that the Blanco System is available in the US, are folks using it? It's pricey and, frankly, the pail doesn't seem like it would hold much (at 8'' x 8''). But, the pail is stainless steel.

From Kitchen Reno

Rev-a-Shelf has a larger version, but the pail looks like it's plastic.

From Kitchen Reno

For years we've just used a large (8 qt. or so) cheap stainless mixing bowl. But I'd really like to get that off the countertop (or cooktop, or whereever it is sitting at the time). Especially with our planned minor kitchen remodel, I'd like to find a more permanent solution. (We've determined that a pull-out trash type of option won't work for us.)

So, before cutting holes in the new granite, I'm seeking the wisdom of those who have been using such an approach (of a counter mounted compost keeper).

Thanks in advance.

Here are some pics and a few details:
Island:

Overview:

Refrigerator and pantry:

Message center:

Breakfast nook:

Our KD wanted an extremely large window area to bring in light, but made it fit into the old house by breaking it up and using leaded glass:

Sink w/glass filler, runnels, & built-in compost bin:

Built-in compost bin close-up:

Mug shelf:

Charging drawer. This entire cabinet is deeper than it appears because it is built into the interior wall behind it, gaining an extra 4" or so of storage space without creeping into the walkway in front of it:

Island cabinets:

Miele ovens installed as flush inset (I searched and never did find pictures of this, so hopefully these will help somebody else):

Cleaning closet in "invented space" from interior wall:

Extra depth for the vacuum was made by reducing the depth of the drawers under the pantry:

The placement of the outlet underneath the music player shelf allows the nasty cordness to be hidden from eye-level:

Toe-kick heater vent. The toe-kick face under the message center & island is covered with stained oak flooring. From eye-level, the toe-kick absorbs the correct amount of light and gives the appearance of freestanding cabinets.

The freestanding appearance is clearer here:

Drawers under nook seating area:

There is a powder room off the kitchen. This wasn't our first choice, but ended up being our only choice in this old house, and has been okay, especially considering its placement is directly next to the hallway and away from the primary cooking area:

Adjacent mudroom, which became part of the kitchen remodel. The door is to a laundry chute which we use mostly for kitchen towels & napkins.

Here is a link that might be useful: More pictures

Here is a link that might be useful: more then you may care to know

At this point in time to the best of my recollection you have asked me for nothing at all that is specific, so it is fine if in this post I give you nothing of any significance in terms of content here.

b.t.w.
From the tapmaster site:
"What powers the Tapmaster? The water pressure that exists in the hot and cold water lines powers the Tapmaster. The Tapmaster is a set of valves, which uses the water pressure existing in your water lines to operate (hydraulically), and therefore requires absolutely no electricity. When the Tapmaster is installed the system pressurizes automatically and is ready to turn the water on and off.

b.t.w.
i'll bet your architect will love being given the mandate to draw a spout. There may have already been a billion spouts made since the days of the Roman Empire and the Qin/Xian dynasty, and nobody ever needed a drawing back in those days. Now, we've become a litigious society, and we always want to keep re-doing things until they're perfect, so everybody asks for drawings. I would say to the welder, hey, anything that you can make, with a minor bend in it.

For a visual inspiration to see a tube bent into a spout, he could look at the 135 degree angle of this spout: K-952-CP STILLNESS . You may want more bend than that. If it's welded, you don't need the round thingie at the base (escutcheon) but unless you say this to the architect, he / she might not think to eliminate it in the drawing. The shape you want is a thin thin thin tube or pipe. If you weld two tubes together, you could have a stronger spout and a spare spout too. Or three tubes. One day, your filtered water could go into an instant hot tank and that could feed the second spout. Hint hint. If you weld two together, the two tubes could be side by side or one on top of the other. The idea of welding parallel thin tubes is that you get your mechanical support from the multi-walled-ness of the 2 or 3 tubes being put into a unit all together as one. The welder might say that a single thin thin tube will one day get bumped and then broken or bent. The place where the tube connects to the backsplash is a weak spot where he will want to "spread" the base so that the backsplash stays flat and doesn't warp there.

Check into the filter you bought. Some of them give high flow outputs. Good to know now.

Hth

KJoger @ mchsi . com remove spaces

I had been wary of choosing marble because of the possibility of etching. Now, we were confronted with marble that had been unevenly and severely etched all over, and we had to decide how to proceed.

We did recover some funds from the fabricator.

And then DH rehoned the marble himself. He used 5 inch diameter 320 grit Abranet pads on an orbital sander. He followed by going over the surface with pumice. It took about an hour for the first pass and then we went over some of the areas again. The marble became silky smooth and even, while retaining the matte honed appearance. We finished with two coats of sealer.

I'm posting because I was one of many who feared getting marble in the first place because of the etching. There is no doubt that it will etch in future, but I wanted to share that it can be resurfaced.

I love the Danby marble. I feel much less worried going forward seeing how it can be brought back to a perfect smooth honed surface. Just wanted to share this with others who want marble but are concerned about etching.