Recommendations

This section was updated on June 2013, five years after the completion of the project.

Sturdy large mailbox: We have the Mail Boss mailbox. We love it. It will protect your mail and it cannot be opened easily by a person with a screwdriver or a hammer. It can contain a few days worth of junk mail. Just attach it to an outside wall of your house.

Faucets: We have a total of 6 Hansgrohe Metro single hole lavatory faucets which are in constant use. Only one of these facets began leaking after 5 years of use. I replaced the cartridge and it works like new.

Shower/bath valves: We have 3 Hansgrohe Thermo II shower and bath valves. They keep a constant output temperature by mixing incoming hot and cold water using a mechanical device. Still works like new after 5 years of constant use.

Kitchen sink: We have a Rohl 6307 single bowl undermount fireclay sink with a 10" deep bowl. We protect it with a matching sink grid. We love the sink. The sink is so heavy that it could not be held just by clips. The cabinet maker added extra support for the sink.

We have two Rohl LS750L soap dispensers on both sides of the kitchen sink. One for dish detergent and the other for hand soap. We have a single hand soap dispenser mounted in all other sinks.

Toilets: We have Toto toilets with elongated bowl (model CST744SL). They have a wide 3" flush valve, which prevents clogs. We used to have clogged toilets once a week before we changed our toilets. Note that the flapper has a limited lifetime (about 2 years). You need to replace it with a genuine Toto flapper (color blue).

Grab bars: we installed grab bars in all showers and the bathtub. Note that you will need to install plywood behind the drywall in order to mount the grab bars securely.

LED lights: we have a total 40 Cree LLF LR6 light bulbs at our home. They are installed in recessed fixtures in the ceilings of many rooms. None of the LED bulbs burnt after 5 years of use. Their expected lifetime is about 20 years of daily use. Many (cheaper) LED light bulbs are not designed to be installed in recessed fixtures without ventilation. You need specific dimmers to work with LED lights.

Molded sinks: We have 3 molded Corian sinks (sink attached to the top surface without a seam). They still look like new after 5 years of constant use in the girls bathroom (a double sink) and in the powder room.

Kitchen counter: We considered IceStone (a surface made from recycled glass and concrete), but we picked granite at the end.

Smoke detectors: we have wired smoke/carbon monoxide alarms with battery backup.

Walk-in closet: we used ventilated Elfa shelves in the walk-in closet. It was about the same price as a traditional closet system. We also used Elfa components in the office, laundry room and the library. We used the Elfa installation service to assemble it.

Contact me for negative recommendations.