The use of salvaged stone and salvaged building materials is becoming a great way to be green and save money on your renovation and landscape projects while adding tons of character. Our office is known with the local quarries and stone yards for scouring the back of their lots for salvaged, special order materials that have been returned, or what they would consider left over scraps and incorporating these one of kind materials in our design process early on. [Read more →]

After taking out the chimney and old furnace room we found the floor, bashed up a bit, with holes as well as not-so-flat. The original furnace must have been put in before the concrete floor, as there was a pad that had clearly been wet when the furnace was dropped in and the floor sloped away from this in all directions. [Read more →]

This is a question that comes up quite often with our clients at Stafford Home Service electrical. Many people are concerned about safety or are interested in upgrading the mechanicals in their home. Here’s a quick list to help you make your decision. As always, we at Stafford Home Service are available to answer your questions and support your needs. Give us a call today and allow us to help you. [Read more →]

Once again Phillip, the architect from Architron, saves the day. I needed to figure out what I want to do in a few months time with some windows. In a few short minutes he was able to advise me on my options and give me renewed insight into the lay of the land and how I want to use the space. A good architect is Cyrano Debergarac whispering in your ear. Well, maybe not that, but I guess my point is that a great architect helps you find the solutions that are already in yourself, that reflect your vision, likes and lifestyle needs. They do this through working with you, working with your ideas and helping you visualize your options. It’s hard to explain, but it is something that is pretty amazing. Something that I could never do without the right help. Thanks, Phillip!

I had a great meeting today with Jesse Korsban from Stafford Home Services’ low voltage and audio/video department. We discussed the location of TV screens (can we even call them that anymore? I guess I should have said, Flat Panels), the speakers and the consolidation of the hardware. Stafford will be consolidating all of my equipment (receiver, Cable box, Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii, OPPO DVD player, DVD recorder, iPod station, and Mac Mini) to a single location under the basement stair. [Read more →]

The Stafford team descended on Desonyer this week like an parachute brigade. A particularly effective and talented brigade at that. The week started with George from Stafford HVAC laying out the ducts and discussing placement of ducts as well as the placement of the new furnace and AC unit. He was very patient and helpful, offering many options and their benefits. These guys don’t just know how to do things one way, they are full of ideas and are flexible as heck. That’s a good thing in my book. [Read more →]

I decided to add a bathroom to the basement to better utilize the space. Stinson Builders of Minneapolis came in today and put in the framing. It looks fantastic. [Read more →]

In going through this process, I am amazed at the difficulty of making decisions on floorplans and architectural details based on lines on paper. I think the thing that really gets me is the finality of those decisions. Give me the digital world and I can make decisions in a heartbeat, and stick to them. Give me a choice on a placement of a physical wall and I go blank. [Read more →]

We dug up a 49′ x 2′ trench along two walls last weekend for the plumber. This weekend we patched it. It was way more work then I thought it would be. Here’s what I learned: [Read more →]

As we did our original walkthrough, Kris, from Stafford Home Services, said that recessed lighting would make a dramatic difference in the space, especially in the bedrooms. Boy was he right. Today the Stafford Home Services Electrical guys installed the lighting in the bedrooms and hallways. What an amazing difference. The ceilings are not short but they certainly seemed lower with the old ceiling units in there. [Read more →]