Chace Building Supply Blog

Chace is a one-stop shop for home improvement projects

Sun, 02 Jan 2022 23:26:44 GMT

MICHELLE WARREN - CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

Article from The Chronicle 10/5/21

WOODSTOCK — As people spend more time at home, some have kept busy with home improvement projects. In the past year and a half, suppliers like Chace Building Supply of Connecticut have seen an increase in business. In fact, the company has been so busy that staff are booked into next year.

“Everyone had to kind of transition all those hopes to the spring,” Chace Building Supply Kitchen and Bath Designer Heather Fuller said.

The company, which has a facility at 90 Somers Turnpike in Woodstock, is owned by Scott Chace. He purchased a 30,000-square-foot facility on 32 acres in 2002, which has a 4,000-square-foot addition for the millwork facility.

Staff at Chace Building Supply provide remodeling services for kitchens and bathrooms, as well as the installation of floors, windows and doors. The company also sells paint.

“We’ve seen an uptick of people looking for new remodel projects because people are home and star-ing at the same four walls,” Fuller said.

Chace offers a service through which people can buy their products and have installation done, what she referred to as a “one-stop shop.”

Fuller said there have been significant delays in product deliveries and contractors are very booked. She said the company’s “middle of the road” cabinet line, for example, used to take four weeks to come in, and now takes five months. Staff pride themselves on their personal touch, providing a level of service that Fuller said you don’t get at chain stores. Fuller said they aim to help the customers with “any issues that may arise” and walk them through projects “from start to finish.”

Chace Building Supply works with homeowners and professional builders. The customers are mainly from Connecticut and Massachusetts, Fuller said. “It’s kind of all over the state and some of Massachusetts,” she said. Fuller said a lot of customers come from Worcester County in Massachusetts.

The business is a family affair for the Chace family. Scott Chace’s brother, Don, owns the Foxborough, Mass., location. Chace Building Supply is open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is closed on Sundays. The business can be reached at 860-928-2747. For more information about the business, visit www.chacebuildingsupply. com or email info@chace-buildingsupply.com. Follow Michelle Warren on Twitter-@mwarrentc.

Business News

Tue, 04 May 2021 13:43:26 GMT

Door Hinging & Rough Opening Information

Tue, 29 May 2018 15:09:28 GMT

Left-hand vs Right-hand Doors

When ordering or selling doors, it is important that you help your customer purchase the proper hinging. The hinging on interior and exterior doors is determined as you pull the door toward you, whatever side the knob is on. For example, when the door opens to you and the knob is on the left, it is a LEFT HAND DOOR. When the knob is on the right, it is a RIGHT HAND DOOR.

Figuring a Rough Opening Interior

Door Size	Meas. Size	R/O Size
*1/0	12″ W	14 1/2 x 82″
*1/4	16″ W	18 1/2 x 82″
*1/6	18″ W	20 1/2 x 82″
*1/8	20″ W	22 1/2 x 82″
*2/0	24″ W	26 1/2 x 82″
*2/4	28″ W	30 1/2 x 82″
*2/6	30″ W	32 1/2 x 82″
*2/8	32″ W	34 1/2 x 82″
*3/0	36″ W	38 1/2 x 82″

* All R/Os figured as 6/8 doors(80″)

Rules of thumb:
For interior doors, add 2 1/2″ to the width and 2″ to the height of the door measurement.

For exterior doors, add 2 1/2″ to the width and 2 1/2″ to the height of the door measurement.

Our newly rebuilt website

Mon, 28 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT

For the best possible customer service, offers, and more...

We've taken the steps to revise and optimize our new site to meet the needs of today. Offering multi-screen friendly design and quality you'd expect from Chace Building Supply. Thank you both to our former and new website development partners in putting this together, CAM Marketing Group out of Bristol, CT.

Stay tuned to future posts talking more about home design, building supplies, and so much more.

Bring Back the Front Porch

Mon, 09 May 2016 11:30:00 GMT

I think it’s time we brought back the front porch. For too long, our garages have been growing, while our porches have been shrinking. We insulate ourselves and our homes to keep the outside world out and the inside world [...] Read More The post Bring Back the Front Porch appeared first on The Craftsman Blog.

Even going back as late as the 70s and 80s in my childhood, we would play outside with the neighborhood kids until the sun went down. The neighbors all knew each other except for that one house that was inhabited by the family that never seemed to participate in anything.

Those were the odd people, the exception to the rule. The hideaways who were either too busy or too disinterested in being a part of the neighborhood. They lived here, but their lives were elsewhere it seemed. Now those couples who were once the exception have now become the rule.

Porches Not Decks

I love a good deck. In fact, I just put a new one on the back of my house. You may be asking, “What’s the difference, really?” Well, a deck is traditionally on the rear of the house, or at the very least, in a more private location meant for the enjoyment of the inhabitants and their invited guests.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but as our society has changed, we have become more private in a lot of ways. Sure, we’ll Instagram pics of last night’s delicious bread pudding and share every single emotion on Facebook, but when was the last time we just sat down and talked with our neighbors? I’d venture to guess it’s not as often as our parents and grandparents did.

A deck is an oasis where we go to get some fresh air and get away from the inside world, yes, but it’s really just an exterior version of the home it’s attached to. The front porch is a wholly different place and experience.

Why The Front Porch Matters

In historic architecture, the front was an important part of the house. It served as a transition between the public space of the sidewalk and the private space of the home’s interior. It was a buffer zone where we still felt safe to sit, but passerby could speak to us or even come into without it feeling intrusive.

The front porch also provided safe place from the snowy cold in the northern states to the blazing sun in the south. It was tempered version of the outdoors that was always more comfortable and protected to sit.

The front porch was originally designed to be sat upon. Unlike the fake porch on some tract housing today, there was room for chairs and actually people instead of just being a holding place for Halloween or Thanksgiving decorations.

The front porch may seem like just another piece of architecture whose time has passed, like the formal dining room. But I think it’s more important.

In these especially divisive times where we surround ourselves with people who regurgitate our own believes back into our faces, we have become closed off to new ideas. The front porch is so much more than a place to enjoy the weather. It really is the place that shows us that our differences are so small and petty, and that those differences don’t matter as much as we think they do.

“How does it do that?” you may ask.

From your front porch, you see people as they truly are, not just a status update supporting their candidate or political ideal. On the front porch, passersby are people with feelings and worth, not just a label like conservative or liberal, gay or straight, rich or poor, Christian or atheist. They have name, and that name is neighbor. We are all people, and we all contribute to the society we have built.

I may be a Christian, but I’d be a fool to think that I wouldn’t benefit from some knowledge or assistance from my atheist neighbor and vice versa. And just because the yard sign in my yard promotes a different candidate than the one down the street, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be at the ready with a cup of sugar and a helping hand for those folks too.

The front porch makes those differences seem more trivial and less relevant to our daily lives. Charlie ‘Tremendous’ Jones once said, “You will be the same person in five years as you are today, except for the people you meet and the books you read.”

It’s up to me to keep reading those books, but meeting those new people and letting them shape who I am? That’s something that the front porch does better than anything else, and that’s why we need to bring back the front porch.

The post Bring Back the Front Porch appeared first on The Craftsman Blog .

No Joanna, That’s Not Shiplap

Mon, 25 Apr 2016 11:30:00 GMT

My wife and I, like most all old home owners, are fans of a lot of the restoration themed DIY shows these days. Rehab Addict, Barnyard Builders, American Pickers and, of course, Fixer Upper. Their designs and passion to keep [...] Read More The post No Joanna, That’s Not Shiplap appeared first on The Craftsman Blog.

Their designs and passion to keep original elements of old houses is so rare in the renovation game that I can’t help but root for them to succeed.

One of my favorite shows is definitely Fixer Upper. Partly because I’m from Texas, and partly because Joanna and Chip are such a trip to watch. They even have a new book out telling all about their story. Her designs are almost always stunning, but she does have a real addiction to what she calls “shiplap.”

The only problem is that rarely is the wood she calls shiplap actually shiplap! I’ve noticed more of my clients recently asking about shiplap, if their house has it, or can they incorporate it somehow. And I always have to ask “Do you watch Fixer Upper?”

If the answer comes back yes (which it usually does) then my next question is usually, “Do you want actual shiplap or do you just want wood paneling?” This query often brings a cock of the head and a quizzical look. “Aren’t they the same?”

No, Joanna That’s Not Shiplap

Don’t get me wrong Joanna, I love your show and really don’t think you need to change a thing. You do enough for historic preservation that all of us in the field should be grateful.

But, I do want to give you a quick lesson of what shiplap actually is, so that your love affair with the material can continue, unimpeded by any lack of understanding. Don’t think of me as a hater, just a fan who wants to help!

What is NOT Shiplap?

It’s Not Sheathing

This is usually what Joanna calls shiplap and where I start to yell at the TV.

Shiplap is not plain wooden boards nailed on a wall. Often in old houses, these boards can be found on the exterior of the framing just beneath the siding.

Today, we frame a house and then install plywood sheathing to tighten the frame and help square everything up prior to putting on the siding and interior wall coverings. In the days before plywood, we used 1×6 or 1×8 boards, sometimes installed on a diagonal or horizontally as both sheathing and subfloor.

These boards can be salvaged and reused as paneling or other creative design uses since they can add a lot of rich character, but they are not shiplap.

It’s Not Tongue & Groove

Sadly, it’s not this one either. Tongue and groove boards are used in all different places in old homes. Flooring is of course the most common, but there is a lot of siding that is tongue and groove as well.

Tongue and groove (or T&G as it is sometimes simplified) is just what it sounds. One side of the boards has a groove and the other side has a tongue. When they are installed side by side, they fit together nice and snug, which strengthens the floor or siding.

What IS Shiplap?

Shiplap, like tongue and groove, has a special rabbet or notch cut on the edges of the board. These rabbets allow the boards, when installed horizontally, to self-space themselves and keep water from getting behind them because they fit so perfectly.

Shiplap is mostly found in siding designs because of the need for consistent spacing and water tightness, but it can be found in other places. The lapped joint is one of the simplest you can use to accomplish the spacing and water stopping needs, which is why shiplap was and is so popular.

Once installed, shiplap can look just like regular wood boards because the rabbets are hidden, so yes, it can be hard to tell it apart from regular sheathing boards to the untrained eye, but it is different.

There are various profiles of siding available in shiplap too. Sometimes it’s just flat shiplap boards and other times you can find profiles like Novelty Drop , Dolly Varden , or the poorly named but still attractive #117 lap siding .

For the purist, shiplap is the original flat profile with a rabbet on top and bottom, but I guess if Mrs. Joanna Gaines keeps making us smile with her clever designs and trash talking of Chip, then we can let it slide that she calls a few more things shiplap than actually are shiplap.

As long as she doesn’t start proclaiming that they come from the shiplap tree, I’m still a fan.

If you are having trouble finding shiplap in your area, you can easily make your own shiplap with this quick tutorial. If you’re one of the lucky ones to have true shiplap in your house and you just need help repairing it, read my post The 7 Best Products to Patch Wood.

Designing With Shiplap

There are so many ways to incorporate shiplap into your home projects and almost all of them are attractive. Whether you use weathered natural wood or want a more clean painted look, a wood covered wall makes any room feel warmer.

Here are some of my favorite designs using shiplap from Houzz.com to give you a little inspiration for your home.

Pittsboro Residence Farmhouse Entry

Classy Cottage

Bastrop County Plantation House Farmhouse Bedroom

Traditional Bathroom Seattle

The post No Joanna, That’s Not Shiplap appeared first on The Craftsman Blog .

How To: Make a Small House Feel Large

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 11:19:00 GMT

Old houses are often much smaller than their counterparts today. The size of the average American home has grown enormously over the 20th century. From an average size of around 1,100 sq. ft. at the beginning of the century to [...] Read More The post How To: Make a Small House Feel Large appeared first on The Craftsman Blog.

Old houses are often much smaller than their counterparts today. The size of the average American home has grown enormously over the 20th century. From an average size of around 1,100 sq. ft. at the beginning of the century to 2,169 sq. ft. as of 2010, which is down from the all-time high of 2,248 sq. ft. in 2006.

While many of us love the character and craftsmanship of an old house, they are not without their challenges and size is definitely one of them. The bedrooms are small. The kitchen is tiny. The closets are non-existent. Life was different back then and we didn’t demand as much space as we do today. How often do you really use the formal living room anyway?

There are a few simple ways to make that small old house feel larger though. You don’t have to feel like you’re boxed in all year. Here are my top eight ways to make that small house feel large:

Try some of these or all of these and that small house may start to feel a little bit larger. Some of these tips can help you put off that addition or the need to upsize for years which can mean real savings! Just because your old house is cute and cozy doesn’t mean it has to be cramped and claustrophobic.

The post How To: Make a Small House Feel Large appeared first on The Craftsman Blog .

Preventative Maintenance Checklist

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Maintaining an old house can seem like a full time job at times. Old homes were built with materials and in a manner that requires regular maintenance. While this maintenance requires time, it is ultimately a more affordable option than [...] Read More The post Preventative Maintenance Checklist appeared first on The Craftsman Blog.

Maintaining an old house can seem like a full time job at times. Old homes were built with materials and in a manner that requires regular maintenance. While this maintenance requires time, it is ultimately a more affordable option than today’s home design of replacement rather than repair.

Regular Inspections

Regularly inspecting your old house is a must. You’ll find little issues to fix before they become big issues that require big time and money. Follow these inspection schedules and you’ll steer clear of most catastrophes that sneak up on other homeowners.

If you have an old house, the best way to keep your repair costs down is by practicing preventative maintenance measures throughout the year. And how do you know when you need to do that maintenance? That’s what we’ll talk about here.

6-Month Inspections

1-Year Inspections

This list is pretty simple and straight forward, but it has the power to save you buckets of money and hassle. Set aside one Sunday every six months and take inventory of your biggest investment. If you find any of these issues, resolve them quickly and you’ll prevent them from becoming subject to the mushroom effect .

You can also see the presentation I did for Tampa Preservation regarding Preventative Maintenance right here .

The post Preventative Maintenance Checklist appeared first on The Craftsman Blog .

Getting Square with the 3:4:5 Triangle

Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

This post may be a bit on the math nerd side, but sometimes in construction, a math nerd is the one who makes the difference between a building falling down, and one that lasts a hundred years. Old houses are [...] Read More The post Getting Square with the 3:4:5 Triangle appeared first on The Craftsman Blog.

Old houses are notoriously void of right angles. They have shifted and settled over the years, and nothing is either plumb or level. But I’m going to teach you how to remedy that.

I’ll admit that math was not my finest subject in school. I’m a much more visual person and a page full of numbers does nothing for my artistic sensibilities. But there was one math course that made a bit of sense to me. Geometry. In building and remodeling, geometry can be your best friend. (I apologize if this is starting to sound like an after-school special.)

The 3:4:5 Triangle

Do you remember the Pythagorean theorem ? Neither do I. But the 3:4:5 triangle is the layman’s substitute for the Pythagorean theorem. The 3:4:5 triangle is the best way I know to determine with absolutely certainty that an angle is 90 degrees. This rule says that if one side of a triangle measures 3 and the adjacent side measures 4, then the diagonal between those two points must measure 5 in order for it to be a right triangle. Confused yet?

It could be 3 mm, 3 inches, 3 feet or 3 miles. It doesn’t matter the unit of measurement you use as long as you stick with the 3:4:5 ratio. And you can also use multiples of 3:4:5 like 6:8:10 or 9:12:15. Use whichever you want though 3:4:5 is the easiest to remember.

Are you building a deck, framing a wall, laying tile? Almost every project in construction requires right angles at some point. And with the 3:4:5 triangle you can find your right angles without any complicated calculations.

How to Use It

Pick one leg of your project and measure out 3 feet from the corner. Put a mark on the board at the 3 feet point. Now, measure the adjacent board from the same corner to 4 feet and put a mark there. Then, measure the distance between the two marks. If it is 5 feet, then you have a perfectly square corner. Congratulations! If the measurement is less than 5 feet, the angle is too small (<90 degrees) and needs to be opened up a bit. If it is more than 5 feet, the angle is too big (>90 degrees) and needs to be closed some.

This handy trick will save you from making some big mistakes down the road. It is the most helpful piece of math and I know, other than 1+1=2, and I use it almost every week. Hopefully now you won’t have to guess if your projects are square. Using the 3:4:5 triangle you can know for certain.

What other helpful math tricks do you use in construction that we might not know about?

The post Getting Square with the 3:4:5 Triangle appeared first on The Craftsman Blog .

How To: Care For Hardwood Floors

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:00:00 GMT

We do a lot of hardwood floor refinishing at Austin Historical and I often get asked by clients how they should care for their newly refinished wood floors. There is a specific timeline of how to treat and care for [...] Read More The post How To: Care For Hardwood Floors appeared first on The Craftsman Blog.

How Long After Refinishing Will My Wood Floors Be Ready?

All of these timelines are dependent on environmental conditions, though. This is an average only! If your weather is warmer and drier than average, then you can speed up the timeline a bit (but not too much). And inversely, if it is cooler and more humid, you’ll have to wait longer for your floors to be ready.

General Care Do’s & Don’ts

After your newly refinished wood floors have fully cured and life has gone back to normal, there are a few things you can do to make sure the finish on your floors lasts. There are only so many times you can sand and finish a floor before you sand right through the floor. So, by taking care of your new finish, you can extend the life of your floors and save thousands of dollars by putting off a refinishing for an extra 10+ years.

DO’S

DON’TS

Without this basic care, you may end up needing a hardwood floor repair or board replacement and that begins to get expensive. Wood floors can last centuries if taken care of properly. So, follow these simple guidelines, and your floors will be a blessing and not a curse for as long as you hang your hat there.

The post How To: Care For Hardwood Floors appeared first on The Craftsman Blog .

How To: Open Stuck Windows in 4 Easy Steps

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 02:56:00 GMT

If your house is old enough to have needed a new paint job in its life, then you might have a couple windows that have been painted shut. If your house is as old as mine (1929), you’d be lucky [...] Read More The post How To: Open Stuck Windows in 4 Easy Steps appeared first on The Craftsman Blog.

The Tools

You’ll need a putty knife and a box cutter (razor knife), or a Window Zipper (If you’re planning to work on more than a couple windows, you’ll want to get one of these tools. They make cutting the windows open a million times easier.

Step #1 Inspect

To determine if it is paint that’s the cause of your problems, we’ll need to check a few things. First, make sure the sash cords are still in working order. Pull on them to see if they are still attached to the sash weights in their pockets. If the pulleys turn and you can feel the tension from the sash weights, then you’re probably in good shape. If the cords are missing or they are no longer attached to the weights, then you’ll need to follow a more involved process which I’ll be outlining next week right here. So stay tuned!

Step #2 Free The Interior

Most old windows have been painted shut on both the exterior and interior, so let’s start with the interior. Be very careful not to cut yourself or gouge the wood while cutting the windows open. Use the razor blade to draw a straight line between the sash and window stops on both sides. Then, push your putty knife into the space along the line to gently break the bond. If you’re using a window zipper, simply cut this line in one step.

Next, do the same at the meeting rail (where the top and bottom sash meet when in the closed position.) You’ll need to have the sash lock unlocked in order to separate the two sashes.

Step #3 Free The Exterior

Step #4 Open Your Window

Once you get it moving a bit, gently keep opening and closing the window. It will continue to slide easier and easier. If you need to, you can also add some dry lubricant (like a graphite spray) to help things move a little smoother. Now, you can enjoy a little fresh air all thanks to your own effort and at no cost!

The post How To: Open Stuck Windows in 4 Easy Steps appeared first on The Craftsman Blog .