The final stage of the project is underway - the one that literally lives. We came home today to find that the landscaper had started the initial demolition and layout of the new gardens and hardscape. Exciting. We decided that we're going to eliminate the second patio in the rear in favor of more open play space (lawn) for the kids. They really enjoy soccer, baseball and general roughhousing - something lawn is excellent for. If they become really interested in basketball, we'll put a hoop up over the garage or something.
The front gardens are all drought resistant, mediterranean plants. Of course, we'll be growing a new bouganvilla in the spot constructed for it. I hope it's happy there. IT was before! We had our shed installed in the dark part of the yard to store our bicycles and outdoor play gear (as well as Neal's incredible collection of gently used power tools). I just bought the hanging overhead heater that should keep us all warm outside regardless of the weather. And Neal's new telescope provides considerable amazement and entertainment.
Stay tuned - when there is something to photograph, we will!
Monday, December 03, 2007
Monday, October 01, 2007
Spring, Summer and Time for Planting
We've been living in the house for almost 10 months now and we do love it. My parents were in town from mid-August to mid-September and the September portion was started by the healthy birth of my sister's daughter Emma - so my Mom was with my sister's family and my Dad was living with ours. The fact that he was comfortable and we were comfortable and everyone had enough personal space to enjoy being together was a testament to our semi-private guest suite. Love it.
We were lucky that my former company was acquired and Neal's Grandparents wanted to contribute to our home - the combination enabled us to get serious about landscaping. Yes, it's been a dirt sand lot for the last 10 months. Many thanks for our patient neighbors. It's incredible what can grow without regular water. Mostly weeds, but the cherry tomatoes that sprouted in the front lawn were surprisingly good.
We retained Rick Fath (rickfath@yahoo.com) to design the front and back yards. We decided that we'd be ecologically sensitive and go with a drought-resistant, lawn-free front yard and limit the amount of lawn in the backyard so that it's fun to play, but not an eco-disaster. So - the backyard has a deck that leads to the patio with a pergola with integrated heat and lighting (so we can dine outside 9 months a year). Surrounding the patio are gardens and stepping stones. The back third of the property kept the paved area (for biking, scootering, basketball) and added open lawn. I think we need nets over the new fences to catch the balls the boys are hitting easily "out of the park". Ideas? Something that can come down most of the time so that it's not an eyesore.
Stay tuned for photos.
We were lucky that my former company was acquired and Neal's Grandparents wanted to contribute to our home - the combination enabled us to get serious about landscaping. Yes, it's been a dirt sand lot for the last 10 months. Many thanks for our patient neighbors. It's incredible what can grow without regular water. Mostly weeds, but the cherry tomatoes that sprouted in the front lawn were surprisingly good.
We retained Rick Fath (rickfath@yahoo.com) to design the front and back yards. We decided that we'd be ecologically sensitive and go with a drought-resistant, lawn-free front yard and limit the amount of lawn in the backyard so that it's fun to play, but not an eco-disaster. So - the backyard has a deck that leads to the patio with a pergola with integrated heat and lighting (so we can dine outside 9 months a year). Surrounding the patio are gardens and stepping stones. The back third of the property kept the paved area (for biking, scootering, basketball) and added open lawn. I think we need nets over the new fences to catch the balls the boys are hitting easily "out of the park". Ideas? Something that can come down most of the time so that it's not an eyesore.
Stay tuned for photos.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Progress with Thermador
Thank you for all your good humor as we navigate the process of getting a working fridge. Funny how challenging that can be. In any case, Thermador did approve replacement including the protection and reuse of our existing cabinet and panels. But then, the unit was back-ordered. This is keystone cops world. The installation people called to schedule installation for today...and learned today that the unit wouldn't be available until Feb. 6. Thankfully there is someone at Thermador who knows how to get things done (the receptionist who is the only person who actually understands the situation, took action and called with updates)...she is amazing. She confirmed the back-order status and then worked with their A/R people to find a unit available (in Tempe, AZ) and had it shipped to Northern California. She, and no one else at Thermador, embodies the sort of support and out-of-the-box problem solving I expect from a premium manufacturer. I'm not saying her name in case she bent some rules...but if she reads this - Thank You! So - hopefully, next week.
In other news, we are on the cusp of our final inspection. Every few days there is a flurry of work and today's theme was IRON. So now we have the proper iron on the upstairs french doors and the deck. I'm in Miami, but the report from Neal is that it's beautiful. Tomorrow morning, more IRON - decorative hardware installed (third try) on the garage door. And hopefully, more IRON with the shutter hardware getting installed. Two of the three fireplaces work and are finished - one more should be done today. Don't you wish I could find the digital camera? I do. But Neal and I may give ourselves an early anniversary/housewarming gift of a new one...soon. Suggestions?
The kids like the house. Yesterday the downstairs furnace was off (they shut off gas to fix the upper fireplace and forgot to relight the fuse on that furnace) so the boys camped out in sleeping bags on the floor of our bedroom - which was cozy with heat and Daddy time.
We also have the home theater installed and I have to say - WOW. Aaron Rosenbaum at Ambleside put together an awesome system. The sound and visual (at night - we need the blackout curtains for high quality daytime viewing - it's viewable during the day, but at night, it's amazing) simply say - never go to a movie theater again. At the house, we can have wine (two months to go...), food, a comfy couch, fireplace heat and an amazing theatrical experience. You are all invited - let us know when and what movie. Kids welcome to join or go to sleep somewhere while the adults enjoy the entertainment.
And Neal and I returned to our first home improvement task - gardening. For final inspection, we needed to have 4-6 shrubs installed to complement our tree in the front yard. We went over to Golden Nursery on 2nd and talked about the house, the coming Bouganvilla and our needs. George at Golden Nursery recommended some very interesting plants that complement the bouganvilla and the house. Neal planted them with the boys on Sunday and they look terrific. Another need for the camera...
SO - that's all for now.
Stay warm in the Bay Area (unusual cold/frost). And everywhere else you may be!
In other news, we are on the cusp of our final inspection. Every few days there is a flurry of work and today's theme was IRON. So now we have the proper iron on the upstairs french doors and the deck. I'm in Miami, but the report from Neal is that it's beautiful. Tomorrow morning, more IRON - decorative hardware installed (third try) on the garage door. And hopefully, more IRON with the shutter hardware getting installed. Two of the three fireplaces work and are finished - one more should be done today. Don't you wish I could find the digital camera? I do. But Neal and I may give ourselves an early anniversary/housewarming gift of a new one...soon. Suggestions?
The kids like the house. Yesterday the downstairs furnace was off (they shut off gas to fix the upper fireplace and forgot to relight the fuse on that furnace) so the boys camped out in sleeping bags on the floor of our bedroom - which was cozy with heat and Daddy time.
We also have the home theater installed and I have to say - WOW. Aaron Rosenbaum at Ambleside put together an awesome system. The sound and visual (at night - we need the blackout curtains for high quality daytime viewing - it's viewable during the day, but at night, it's amazing) simply say - never go to a movie theater again. At the house, we can have wine (two months to go...), food, a comfy couch, fireplace heat and an amazing theatrical experience. You are all invited - let us know when and what movie. Kids welcome to join or go to sleep somewhere while the adults enjoy the entertainment.
And Neal and I returned to our first home improvement task - gardening. For final inspection, we needed to have 4-6 shrubs installed to complement our tree in the front yard. We went over to Golden Nursery on 2nd and talked about the house, the coming Bouganvilla and our needs. George at Golden Nursery recommended some very interesting plants that complement the bouganvilla and the house. Neal planted them with the boys on Sunday and they look terrific. Another need for the camera...
SO - that's all for now.
Stay warm in the Bay Area (unusual cold/frost). And everywhere else you may be!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Definitely ThermadON'T
To continue the saga of the Thermador...last week, a pleasant customer service representative at Thermador told me that they would be replacing my useless fridge with one that worked and that they would be responsible for the custom panels and custom cabinet removal and re-installation - with a target date of January 11. While this date was another week off, at least we had resolution...I thought.
It's January 10 and I haven't heard from Thermador about delivery and installation. Seeing as I don't generally sit around the hosue waiting for deliveries every day, I thought it might be good to call. Upon reaching someone (10 minutes on hold this time), I was told that the replacement was approved (how nice) but that the unit was back-ordered and they had no idea when it would be delivered.
For a timeline reminder - we moved in on Dec.23. This was supposed to be our primary refridgeration for the house. It's currently a balmy 70 degrees in there (warmer by 20 degrees than the Bay Area). I asked Thermador what they were planning to do to stop inconveniencing my family - and suggested that they deliver a 48" fridge for us to use until the proper fridge (custom panels, external ice maker) was available. This seems reasonable. Alternatively, they can refund the full cost of the fridge and the panels and we can purchase one from a vendor more interested in supporting their products and customers.
So - be warned...don't buy a fridge from Thermador. Their customer service people are very nice, but are not allowed to provide compelling service for their high margin products.
It's January 10 and I haven't heard from Thermador about delivery and installation. Seeing as I don't generally sit around the hosue waiting for deliveries every day, I thought it might be good to call. Upon reaching someone (10 minutes on hold this time), I was told that the replacement was approved (how nice) but that the unit was back-ordered and they had no idea when it would be delivered.
For a timeline reminder - we moved in on Dec.23. This was supposed to be our primary refridgeration for the house. It's currently a balmy 70 degrees in there (warmer by 20 degrees than the Bay Area). I asked Thermador what they were planning to do to stop inconveniencing my family - and suggested that they deliver a 48" fridge for us to use until the proper fridge (custom panels, external ice maker) was available. This seems reasonable. Alternatively, they can refund the full cost of the fridge and the panels and we can purchase one from a vendor more interested in supporting their products and customers.
So - be warned...don't buy a fridge from Thermador. Their customer service people are very nice, but are not allowed to provide compelling service for their high margin products.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
A rant - may future Thermador Buyers beware
Hi everyone - this is not my usual update. On that - we are in the house, the story is funny and we love it. I will post more, but right now, I solicit your help letting a vendor know that bad customer service never pays.
In the re-model, we decided to upgrade to a 48" built in fridge and researched extensively. According to online and in store experts, the Thermador 48" with custom panels is a high quality, well serviced appliance - one of the best. So, we coughed up $6K to purchase one and additional money to have the panels made. There was some error in the order so that it came with trim that doesn't work with custom panels - but that's somewhat easily fixed (she says after spending a month trying to get it fixed with no response).
I should have known this fridge was a problem when no one could figure out when it would ship. It finally ships and Fedex Ground has no idea how to deliver it to a residential address (it's a residential fridge)...but hey, those are typical hiccups.
Of course, a fridge that cannot reach a temp below 70 degrees in the fridge and 68 degrees in the freezer is nothing more than a very overpriced pantry. And since we moved on 12/23, the problem could not be seen by a service tech until 12/28 (12/23-12/26 everyone was on vacation and same day scheduling is impossible). That service tech took one look at the problem we described on the phone and said - I cannot fix this - its a sealed system problem and Thermador needs to fix it. Thermador calls very politely by the end of the day (12/28) to let me know that they will be replacing my fridge. And that they will do nothing about the paneling on it, around it (it is sold to be installed as a built in) or the small cabinet that must be removed and re-installed in order to dislodge it from my kitchen. Apparently all of those costs are mine for a BRAND NEW BROKEN REFRIGERATOR. Let me be clear - I have never used the fridge - it never worked. And you need to have it run for 24 hours to find out if it works...
So - DON'T BUY THERMADOR. And if you are in the retail or distribution end...this brand is not meeting it's price:quality expectations and the support makes you look bad too...and if you work for Jade, Viking, Sub-Zero...give me a call, I'd be a great testimonial to you. In any case - please join me in sharing this story with everyone in the appliance retail business as well as future home re-modelers. It's unfortunate that Thermador is not meeting our expectations for quality.
Contrast this story to Costco. We bought two copper sinks (around $200 each) from Costco and our contractor misplaced one of the drain sets that came with it. I sent a note to Costco explaining that it was our mistake and asking them where/how we could buy another drain set so that we could use the sink. Costco didn't ask any questions...didn't tell me anything either. But they did ship us two drain sets (copper), no questions asked. This from a volume warehouse seller - and I recommend people buy from Costco whenever possible - reliable, expeditious and WOW customer service.
So - what do you think the margins are on sinks and drains from Costco versus a 48" custom panel, Thermador built in side-by-side fridge (costing over $6K)...let's just say that I expect Thermador to have been embarassed by their manufacturing quality and to trip over themselves to not further inconvenience my family and replace the fridge with no costs to us. It was an opportunity for Thermador to create a loyal customer - instead, they have a ticked off one.
25 minutes on hold to get disconnected on 1/2/06 (from 4:45 - 5:09). Lovely.
Please join me in letting Thermador know that every customer matters and that we expect our products to work and, when they don't, we expect the manufacturer to handle it with ease.
They are so committed to customer service that they have no email address for service complaints or questions, no online knowledgebase and the only thing their phone number let's you expedite is finding a retailer. Someone needs to tell these people that supporting the product counts as much as selling it.
Stay tuned - I'll let you know how the story ends...
Best,
J
In the re-model, we decided to upgrade to a 48" built in fridge and researched extensively. According to online and in store experts, the Thermador 48" with custom panels is a high quality, well serviced appliance - one of the best. So, we coughed up $6K to purchase one and additional money to have the panels made. There was some error in the order so that it came with trim that doesn't work with custom panels - but that's somewhat easily fixed (she says after spending a month trying to get it fixed with no response).
I should have known this fridge was a problem when no one could figure out when it would ship. It finally ships and Fedex Ground has no idea how to deliver it to a residential address (it's a residential fridge)...but hey, those are typical hiccups.
Of course, a fridge that cannot reach a temp below 70 degrees in the fridge and 68 degrees in the freezer is nothing more than a very overpriced pantry. And since we moved on 12/23, the problem could not be seen by a service tech until 12/28 (12/23-12/26 everyone was on vacation and same day scheduling is impossible). That service tech took one look at the problem we described on the phone and said - I cannot fix this - its a sealed system problem and Thermador needs to fix it. Thermador calls very politely by the end of the day (12/28) to let me know that they will be replacing my fridge. And that they will do nothing about the paneling on it, around it (it is sold to be installed as a built in) or the small cabinet that must be removed and re-installed in order to dislodge it from my kitchen. Apparently all of those costs are mine for a BRAND NEW BROKEN REFRIGERATOR. Let me be clear - I have never used the fridge - it never worked. And you need to have it run for 24 hours to find out if it works...
So - DON'T BUY THERMADOR. And if you are in the retail or distribution end...this brand is not meeting it's price:quality expectations and the support makes you look bad too...and if you work for Jade, Viking, Sub-Zero...give me a call, I'd be a great testimonial to you. In any case - please join me in sharing this story with everyone in the appliance retail business as well as future home re-modelers. It's unfortunate that Thermador is not meeting our expectations for quality.
Contrast this story to Costco. We bought two copper sinks (around $200 each) from Costco and our contractor misplaced one of the drain sets that came with it. I sent a note to Costco explaining that it was our mistake and asking them where/how we could buy another drain set so that we could use the sink. Costco didn't ask any questions...didn't tell me anything either. But they did ship us two drain sets (copper), no questions asked. This from a volume warehouse seller - and I recommend people buy from Costco whenever possible - reliable, expeditious and WOW customer service.
So - what do you think the margins are on sinks and drains from Costco versus a 48" custom panel, Thermador built in side-by-side fridge (costing over $6K)...let's just say that I expect Thermador to have been embarassed by their manufacturing quality and to trip over themselves to not further inconvenience my family and replace the fridge with no costs to us. It was an opportunity for Thermador to create a loyal customer - instead, they have a ticked off one.
25 minutes on hold to get disconnected on 1/2/06 (from 4:45 - 5:09). Lovely.
Please join me in letting Thermador know that every customer matters and that we expect our products to work and, when they don't, we expect the manufacturer to handle it with ease.
They are so committed to customer service that they have no email address for service complaints or questions, no online knowledgebase and the only thing their phone number let's you expedite is finding a retailer. Someone needs to tell these people that supporting the product counts as much as selling it.
Stay tuned - I'll let you know how the story ends...
Best,
J
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