KITCHEN/BATH CABINETS BUSINESS 6 - LIGHTING AND VENTILATION

Sometimes you have little to say about this but it pays to bring it to your customers' attention.
They may have not given it much thought, concerning themselves mostly with the layout of the new kitchen and the desired cabinet style and colour.
Remodelling time, however, is the time to consider changing or adding windows and/or adding lighting and electrical outlets.
Many older homes do not have adequate ventilation to exhaust cooking odours as well as excess moisture. Now would be the time to consider fixing that situation.
Natural lighting is preferred by many people. This could mean more and/or bigger windows. Also general lighting, usually a ceiling fixture, is common. Then each work centre and appliance, as appropriate, should have its own direct light.
Nobody ever complains about his or her kitchen having too much light, but a lot of kitchens are grossly underlit.
If a home has an adequately sized electrical entrance there is usually room to add several electrical circuits. If the kitchen needs them it is usually affordable to simply add a circuit or two. If the home needs a new entrance (fuse or circuit breaker box) it's a sizable, but usually worthwhile investment.
Lack of proper ventilation can have the short term effect of undesired cooking odours floating all through the house. And the long term effect of creating serious moisture problems that will cost a lot of money in a few years.
The most common location for an exhaust fan is over the range. Some kitchens have a wall mounted fan that draws general air out of the kitchen.
The most effective ventilation exhausts the stale air and moisture to the outside. A compromise is the filtered vents that return the air to the room. These are not a good choice because they do nothing about the moisture problem. But they may help the odour problem.
 
Do your best to help the customer see the value of “doing things right”. It may cost them a little more but they will reap the benefits for years and years and they’ll be happier. This is the same concept that Paul Cabinet Sourcing hold to help our customers establish and manage their cabinet line from China.