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Better than Plumb
A final roundup from IBS 2009
comments (1) January 24th, 2009 in Blogs
Kevin Ireton, editor-at-large
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Yesterday I was in Las Vegas. Today I’m back home at my desk, looking out on a snowy landscape and unsure what day it is. If I never again hear the cloying ping of a slot machine, it’ll be just fine. Before I left the International Builders' Show, I snapped a few more photos of some intriguing new products.
I have to admit that once my wife and I finished renovating our kitchen a few years ago, my interest in visiting the booths of the big appliance manufacturers dwindled considerably. I know I’m supposed to be looking out for the interest of Fine Homebuilding readers, but I’m only human. And once you’ve committed to your own major appliances, any innovations only fill you with envy and lust. However, the PR representative for GE was persistent, so I promised her I’d visit their booth. I’m glad I did.
GE just introduced a very interesting hot-water heater that combines traditional technology with a built-in heat pump. According to GE, this combo produces hot-water with 50% less energy than a conventional unit. Don’t hold me to this, but I think the price was in the $1500 range, not counting a healthy federal rebate that’s available.
I also saw a new GE washer with a drawer underneath it that holds three Costco-size jugs of detergent, which gets siphoned off automatically as needed. No more tedious filling of little plastic measuring cups. And not far away from the washer was a new double oven that fits in the space of a single oven. So the unit takes up less room while still allowing you to bake two things at once (at different temperatures) and use less energy in the process. The key innovation was locating all the controls, which are electronic, in the upper door rather than in a frame above or below the ovens.
A new tool company with an old name also had some cool things. Rockwell introduced a folding sawhorse they call the Jawhorse. It’s got a foot-operated vise built in that holds anything (including a solid door) very securely. It sells for $179, and an accessory extension is available that allows the jaws to open far enough (52 in.) for a full sheet of plywood. The same folks also have a cutting tool called the SoniCrafter that works like Fein’s amazing Multimaster, but Rockwell’s version sells for $180.
For months now associate editor Justin Fink has had a new drywall cutting tool called the Blade Runner on his desk. When he showed it to me I had to pretend to know all about it (“Oh, yeah, those are great”). It’s an image thing. But I really didn’t have a clue how this chunk of aluminum the size of a baked potato could cut drywall. Well, yesterday I found out. The Blade Runner, which is made by Goldblatt, was being demonstrated in the Lowes booth.
The two halves of the tool are held together with very powerful magnets, and each half contains a rotary blade. The drywall passes between the two halves, and the blades cut the paper on both sides of the drywall simultaneously. No one claimed that the Blade Runner would replace the drywall knife, but specialty cuts (such as curves or removing 1/2 in. along an edge) are clearly easier with this thing. Cost: $80.
posted in: Blogs, saws, appliances, bases and stands
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About this blog
As the editor of Fine Homebuilding, I spend my weekdays trying to produce a magazine that will satisfy 300,000 of the most demanding builders, both professional and amateur. As the owner of a 200-year old Cape in Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills, I spend weekends working on my house.
Each activity invariably informs, and complicates, the other. In this blog, I’ll offer observations from both worlds -- publishing and building -- with the hope of providing some useful or at least entertaining insights.
Comments (1)
Posted: 6:02 am on January 30th
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