Wanted: POD Person* to review home design software

* POD Person: a member of the Pardon Our Dust blog community; one who fixes up a home; one who creates dust

I'm looking for a POD Person to review the new Home Designer Suite 8.0 software, a Chief Architect product sold by Better Homes & Gardens.

The box says it's for home design, remodeling, interior design, kitchens and baths, decks, landscaping and cost estimating.

First of all, you need to be a regular reader and commenter on this blog, and have these minimum system requirements — Windows XP or Vista, a 1.2 GHZ processor, 2 GB disk space, 512 MB of memory and a DVD-ROM drive.

In exchange for being sent this software to keep, the POD Person would write a review for this blog.

Interested? Send an e-mail to podblog@aol.com and tell me in 100 words or less why you are the right POD Person for the assignment. Deadline: Thursday, May 29, at 5 p.m.

NOTE: While many may apply, only one can be chosen. There will be more software-review opportunities in the future.

Dad disgusted by son's Army barrack

______________________________________________________

Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog

______________________________________________________

The father of a soldier who spent 15 months in Afghanistan and then came back to live in horrid conditions at Fort Bragg didn't much like the way his hero son was being treated. So the dad posted a YouTube video of the barrack's mold, rust, peeling lead paint and sewer problems. It worked. According to CNN, repairs are already happening. Also, new housing is in the works, but that project is running behind schedule.

I have to give a shout-out to the the Army, though, for promoting Energy Star and LEED certification for new buildings to, a memorandum on sustainable design and development declares, "reduce the total ownership cost of facilities; improve energy efficiency and water conservation; provide safe, healthy and productive built environments; promote sustainable environmental stewardship; and reduce environmental impact footprint of operations."

Stuck inside on a rainy day? Play with free online remodeling tools

______________________________________________________

Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog

______________________________________________________

• Blend your own glass tile sheets ModWalls Custom Blender

• Figure monthly payments on your remodel Bloomberg.com

• Rearrange your room Better Homes & Gardens

• Calculate how many gallons of paint you need Behr

• Estimate your kitchen remodeling budget HGTV

• Estimate your bathroom project HGTV

• Calculate concrete needed for a slab Concrete Network

• Decide on paint colors This Old House

• Plan your kitchen Download from Ikea

• Calculate your household greenhouse emisisons EPA

• Calculate home energy savings Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

(Photo: iStockphoto)

New light bulbs in plain English

______________________________________________________

Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog

______________________________________________________

Check out this YouTube video made by a Seattle company, Common Craft, that has mastered the art of explaining things on the Web.

Dust Digest: SoCal remodeling stories across the Web

______________________________________________________

Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog

______________________________________________________

• Nature springs from the concrete (pictured), for a mural artist whose canvas is concrete (L.A. Times)

• Warm metals are cool, about the use of brass, bronze and copper in today's kitchens and baths (Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

• What about residential fire sprinklers? (L.A. Fire Department Blog)

• The upside of the downturn, about how it's a good time to remodel (Wall Street Journal)

• Fire-resistant building materials (Malibu Times)

• A mood shift underfoot, on flooring options (L.A. Times)

Do you need a building permit for that remodel? Only your city knows for sure

______________________________________________________

Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog

______________________________________________________

To fully appreciate the concept of our decentralized government, consider building permits.

While there are federal and state standards, the final word on whether you need a building permit for your remodel comes from your city (or county or town if your area is unincorporated).

Each city has its own permitting process, permitting prices and (thank goodness one more time for the Internet) website. As there are some 500 cities, towns and counties in California, generalized answers to building permit questions are hard to come by. You have to research the rules in your own area.

Here are links to some SoCal building departments:

City of Agoura Hills
City of Big Bear Lake
City of Downey
City of Los Angeles
County of Los Angeles
Town of Yucca Valley

See the whole list, which is found on the newly revamped website of the California Contractors State License Board.

New home design software from Better Homes and Gardens . . . or yet another reason NOT to have a Macintosh

______________________________________________________

Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog

______________________________________________________

The just-released Picture Painter home and landscape design software from Better Homes and Gardens looks mighty fun. Too bad I have a Macintosh! This software can be used only on a PC.

If you are PC-equipped, I'm a little jealous. This software, developed by Chief Architect, allows you to use photos of your actual home to mock up changes you might want to consider. Thinking of hardwood floors? Granite countertops? A new paint scheme? A new fireplace surround?

Load up your pictures, click a few times, and there you go, a visual of your ideas.

Here's another neat thing: Among the 6,000-plus items you can select from, there are brand-name items from Corian, Formica, Armstrong, Mohawk, Jeld-Wen and so on, as well as Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore paints. So it's not just a vague product type you'll see reflected in the program, but the exact product you could buy.

Of course, the real test is in the use. How easy or difficult is this software to learn? What kind of quality do you get for the $20 sales price? Because me and my Mac are being discriminated against, I can't be the one to tell you.

The five reviews I read on Amazon seem to suggest the program could be slow and clunky for homes with a lot of architectural detail, such as Victorians.

If you have used this software, or any of the other six Better Homes and Gardens software offerings, please post your review below.

Photographing your remodel: It's for your own good

If you're planning a remodel, I'd like to encourage you to take lots and lots of photos before and during the process. I'll admit my request is a little self-serving: If I should write about your remodel for Pardon Our Dust in the L.A. Times (submit your project here), your photos will make telling the story a lot easier.

But really, it's for your own satisfaction. Too many times I've heard homeowners say they wish they had taken more photos. I think a camera should be part of your tool kit.

The photo here is from the Hollywood Hills kitchen remodel done by Renata and Lisa. Because Renata is such a computer whiz, she was able to post a whole slide show of the remodel from beginning to end. (I'm not crazy about the fisheye lens that was used, but that's my own preference.)

Here are a few advantages to taking lots of photos:

• The "before" photos can document the state of affairs before the remodel in case something gets damaged during the remodel. Say you are retaining your distinctive windows, rather than replacing them, during the remodel, as Renata and Lisa did. But if the window frames get banged into during the remodel, or otherwise damaged, who's to say they weren't always like that? Your photos will be your proof.
• The "during" photos will be a good documentation of what is inside the walls, pre-drywall. You'll know exactly where the new plumbing and electrical runs are located. This may be valuable information later on when you want to make changes without having to tear up the whole wall.
• And finally, you can post the photos on the Internet, like Renata did, and keep your family and friends up to date on the progress of the remodel.

Bonus material: Check out the time capsule found under one of this kitchen's old cabinets.