January 2010

Getting to report a good experience is a high-point of blogging about the renovation. So many times, it's the opposite… but all-in-all, we've been quite lucky: Anderson Heating, Abril Roofing, All-Pipe restoration and All-Bright Electric (lots of "A" names) have all been rock solid.

Previously, we'd purchased doorknobs and deadbolts from Home Depot — their Defiant brand (which I think is a house brand). They look good, but they don't quite "feel" solid and some recent YouTube snooping made me doubt their security.

Schlage locks have a good reputation and a nice feel… but they're generally more expensive than your average Home Depot special. I priced them out online and found LocksetsOnly.com to have a good price and a easy-to-navigate website… so I rounded up the order: 3 locking knobs, 3 deadbolts, 4 bed/bath and 2 closet knobs… I had a question about the deadbolts and keying the locks alike and Jerry answered by question via email within the hour.

The only thing that bothered me was that the locks were coming from out of state… preferring to patronize REX, our local locksmith (who's very cool), I stopped by his shop to see if he could come within 20% of the price… As he said to me: "Somehow they're selling these to you cheaper than even I can get them. As much as I'd like to help, I'd say, just go with them."… Saddened, but reassured, I went home to place the order. No sales-tax and free shipping was a bonus.

That was Monday afternoon — about 4PM.

Today, Wednesday — about 6PM — the locks showed up at my door via UPS. All locks keyed alike. Packed well. All seemingly good-to-go.

Amazing.

I'll report later how the install goes…

—

(Edit: One year later)

The install went so well, a few neighbors have also ordered form Locksetsonly and I've ordered a set of locks and knobs for a friend's house in Marin.

One thing to note: We used the Schlage B560 deadbolt which has a rock-solid design and a nice simple aesthetic. However, the standard 5in deadbolt backset will not fit this lock. Make sure to contact Jerry to get the correct part (Schlage/12-663).

One of the last things we want to do in the dining room is to install a hanging credenza. We're planing to use more IKEA cabinets — they worked so well in the kitchen and laundry room.

For a mock-up, I measured it out and taped it off — the cabinets come in quite a few configurations and we wanted to see how each size might look (we ended up with 5 options total — from 30 to 36in wide and 18 to 24in high). we taped out the depth on the floor so we wouldn't build something that ended up hating knees and thighs.

We decided on 3-up at 30in wide (90in wide, total) and 18in high (and mounted at table height) — the wide and thin profile looked the best… thoughts?

(The blue tape is the frame, the green is the doors and side panels and the black is the top)