Getting Dirty

Before you can enjoy your dream kitchen, master suite, or comfy den, we have to roll up our sleeves and make some dust.  As a professional remodeler; this part can be fun, but it's just a rough road toward a desirable end.   In order to have those attractive updated cabinets, paints and flooring materials, you need to be ready for the rough stages of construction.

When it comes to demolition there are tools of the trade.  You will see more than a hammer and broom to do a demolition job.

Here is a list of tools and supplies that you will see as your home is being remodeled.

* Nail puller
* Claw hammer
* 1-lb. sledgehammer
* Crowbar
* Steel chisel
* Utility Knife
* Reciprocating saw with metal and wood blades
* Screwdriver or screw gun
* Dustpan and brush
* Heavy-duty vacuum

The smaller tools are used to remove trim that will be reused.  A steel chisel, utility knife, and drywall saw to take out sections of drywall.  The crowbar, sledgehammer, and reciprocating saw will make quick work of clearing away framing.  A powerful shop vacuum will soon make itself apparent.

Many cities have a recycling center for construction and demolition debris.  Remodeling can generate a lot of it:  A typical kitchen or bathroom remodel can create as much debris as a household puts out for curbside recycling in four years.  Sharp Remodeling Specialties will take care of the removal of all unused construction materials and demolition debris.

Remodeling Jargon - GUTTING, means removing the wall finish to expose the framing.  This step makes it easier to run new wires and pipes.  The removal of wall coverings will only be done where it is necessary.

When you hire Sharp Remodeling Specialties, you will find the standard is set high because we are  detailed professional remodelers.   As your home is being remodeled, the demolition will be done for you and clean up is a daily activity so your family can move freely and safely around your home each evening and weekend.

Cocobolo: Wikipedia Information: Types of Rare Wood

Cocobolo is a tropical hardwood of the ree Dalbergia retusa from Central America. Only the heartwood is used: this is typically orange or reddish-brown in color, often with a figuring of darker irregular traces weaving through the wood. The sapwood (not often used) is a creamy yellow, with a sharp boundary with the heartwood. The heartwood is known to change color after being cut, lending to its appeal.

Cocobolo is oily in look and feel. This oil lends a strong, unmistakable floral odor even to well seasoned wood and occasionally stains the hands with prolonged exposure. Standing up well to repeated handling and exposure to water, a common use is in gun grips and knife handles. It is very hard, fine textured and dense, but is easily machined, although due to the abundance of natural oils, the wood tends to clog abrasives and fine-toothed saw blades, like other very hard, very dense tropical woods. Due to its density and hardness, even a large block of the cut wood will produce a clear musical tone if struck. Cocobolo can be polished to a lustrous, glassy finish. The high natural oil content of the wood makes it difficult to achieve a strong glue joint, and can inhibit the curing of some varnishes, particularly oil based finishes.  

[edit]Provenance

Cocobolo is yielded by two to four closely related species of the genus Dalbergia, of which the best known is Dalbergia retusa, a fair-sized tree, reported to reach 20–25 m in height: this is probably the species contributing most of the wood in the trade. Because of the wood's beauty and high value, the trees yielding this wood have been heavily exploited: they are rare outside of national parks, reserves and plantations. Only relatively small amounts of this prized wood reach the world market and it is expensive. Woods with an oily content, such as cocobolo,can achieve better gluing strength by wiping the surface of both pieces being glued with acetone first. After the acetone has dried, the piece is glued as normal.

[edit]Uses

Besides its use in gun grips and knife handles, Cocobolo is favored for fine inlay work for custom high-end cue sticks, brush backs, and musical instruments, especially guitars, drums and basses. Alembic Inc considers cocobolo to be its house wood, and many famous players such as Stanley Clarke use such basses. Jerry Garcia's Tiger (guitar) has a cocobolo top and back. Some woodwind instruments, such as clarinets, oboes, and bagpipes, have been successfully made using cocobolo instead of the normal grenadilla (African blackwood). More uses include decorative and figured veneers, bowls, jewelry boxes, luxury pens and other expensive specialty items. Some cocobolo has a specific gravity of over 1.0, and will sink in water.

[edit]Working it

Care must be used when cutting Cocobolo, as the wood's oils can induce allergic reactions if inhaled or exposed to unprotected skin and eyes. A dust collection system, coupled with the use of personal protective equipment such as respirators, is highly recommended when machining this wood.

To the New Home Owners

Congratulations on the purchase of your home!

You are in for a challenging, interesting, educational, frustrating, and ultimately rewarding experience as you paint, decorate, remodel and personalize your home.  If you have been through it before, you know what we mean; if you have not, you will soon find out.

This blog will help you chronicle the acquisition and transformation of your new home.  Sharp Remodeling's Blog Spot will offer you a place to record all the unique details and comical mishaps of the process: favorite memories from the first to the last coat of paint, guests thoughts and well-wishes at the housewarming party, photos of the rooms and more.  This blog will help you record the emotional history and growth of your new home, just as you might record a baby's growth in a baby journal.  There will be pages to print to help you plan, journal, attach pictures, sketch and dream.  When you decide to team up with Sharp Remodeling these printable pages will be useful to personally talk through your design ideas with Glenn Sharp, owner of Sharp Remodeling.

Every house is unique; you will find some blog post or suggestions to be loosely constructed so you can dream and decide whether you plan to remodel the den, paint the foyer, or build a loft you will learn from Glenn, who is very skilled and an expert in this field.  When you run across a blog entry that does not relate to your particular dwelling, and you have questions on how you can adapt it or change it to better fit your home.  Please feel free to make a comment or get in touch with us.  We can post some pictures that might help you gain better insight or help you design something custom and better than you had dreamed. 

More important than anything else, have fun with your new home.  Take lots of photos and write down all the memorable events that happen while you work on the house and celebrate at the housewarming. The reasons why we created this blog is to feature past and present customers, and for you to find a place to record the unique story of your home.

Arch Barrels Over Custom Built Bathtub