The Bulldog Kitchen & Bath Blog
Ideas, tips, and guides for your next kitchen or bathroom project.
BathYour 20-year-old shower: what fails first, and when to stop fixing it
Gray grout, a pink caulk line, a dull tile, a soft floor, slow hot water. The order an older shower fails in, how to check each one, and where fixing stops paying.
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BathBathroom remodel financing: a new shower for about the cost of a cable bill
The "$150 a month" line explained in plain words, including the one word in a no-interest offer to read twice and what a lender may and may not hold against a retirement income.
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KitchenA new-looking kitchen in days, not months: what to keep and what to replace
An older kitchen doesn't always need to be torn out. Keep the cabinet boxes if they're sound, then change the doors, the counters, the sink, the backsplash and what's inside the cabinets, in that order.
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BathHow to clean your new grout-free shower (and what to keep off it)
The crew left yesterday and the care sheet is on the vanity. The ten-minute routine, the Cincinnati hard-water trick, and the two cleaners that can dull the walls.
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KitchenHow to care for quartz countertops (and what to keep off them)
A damp cloth and a little mild soap do most of the work. What to do with dried-on spills and grease, and the heat, chemicals and scrub pads quartz makers say to keep away.
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Bath"Grab bars are for old people," and four other things we hear
Five lines our installers hear about grab bars and walk-in showers, what is true inside each one, and what the height of your tub wall has to do with it.
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BathOne-day shower replacement in Cincinnati: what it covers, what it doesn't, and how to judge a bid
What a one-day shower replacement covers in a Cincinnati house, what takes longer, what sets the price, what install day looks like and how to judge any bid you get.
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BathSoft floor next to your bathtub: what it is and what waiting costs
The floor by the tub gives a little under the bath mat. What that spot is made of, where the water got in, and why a patch there means the tub comes out.
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BathTile vs. acrylic shower walls: what each one asks of you over 20 years
A tile contractor's quote on one side, a one-day solid-surface shower on the other. What each one asks of you, from a company that stopped selling tile.
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BathThree questions to ask a bathroom contractor before a deposit
Three quotes on the kitchen table and a deposit check to write. The three questions whose answers separate the contractors, and what Bulldog says to each.
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Kitchen & BathKitchen and bathroom remodel at the same time: what goes first
Doing the kitchen and a bathroom with one company means our own crews in both rooms and finishes chosen together. What to schedule first, how to live in the house while both are going, and what to ask before you book.
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BathOne-day bathroom remodel cost in Cincinnati: what sets the price
A number over the phone is a guess, and there is a reason. The five things that move a one-day shower quote up or down, and how to read the quotes on your table.
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BathBathroom remodel financing for retirees: paying for a shower without touching retirement savings
Promotional financing, cash from savings, a home equity line or the discount for homeowners 65 and older. What each one costs a retired household besides the shower.
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BathOne-day bathroom remodel: what to expect, hour by hour
The truck is in the driveway at 7:45. Our crew's day in your shower area from then until dinner, the noises you'll hear, and the one thing you have to do.
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KitchenEight questions to ask a kitchen remodeler before a deposit
Three kitchen quotes on the table and a deposit to write. Eight questions that sort them out, from whose crew sets the cabinets to how the payments are spaced, and what Bulldog says to each.
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BathWhat's behind the shower tile in a 1960s Cincinnati bathroom
Tap the tile by the tub and the sound goes dull. Layer by layer, what sits behind the tile in a house built around 1965, and what each layer is doing now.
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BathHow to get your house ready for a one-day shower install
The install date is on the calendar. What to clear out, who to plan around and where everyone showers that night, in the days before our crew guts your shower area and rebuilds it.
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BathWhy your shower grout turns gray again a year after you clean it
You regrouted in the spring and the bottom row is gray again by fall. What's going on inside the grout, what the sealer labels say, and when the fix stops being worth it.
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KitchenWhat happens at a kitchen design consultation, and what to have ready
A Bulldog design consultant comes to your kitchen, measures it, brings samples and gives you a written quote. What happens at the table, a ten-minute tape-measure check, and five things to have ready before the doorbell rings.
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BathFranchise one-day bath companies vs. a local remodeler: five things to compare in any bid
A national one-day bath brand or a local remodeler. Either can put in a good shower. The five questions that tell the two bids apart, and what to get in writing.
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KitchenShould you update the kitchen before selling? Where the money goes in a house you'll leave in two or three years
You're selling in two or three years and the kitchen looks its age. Fix what an inspector will write up, update what a buyer sees first, and leave the cabinet boxes where they are.
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BathHow to read a bathroom remodel quote, line by line
Three quotes on the table and three different totals. Read each one top to bottom, line by line, and write down the question every line should raise before you look at the price.
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KitchenTwo-tone kitchen cabinets: which splits last, and which date your kitchen
Two-tone isn't the part that goes out of style. The color is. Which splits hold up for 20 years, which ones tie a kitchen to the year it was done, and how each reads in a 1960s ranch and a 1990s open kitchen.
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BathWet-area gut renovation explained: what comes out, what stays
A wet-area gut takes the tub or shower area to the studs and rebuilds it in a day, while the floor, vanity and toilet stay put. What comes out, what goes in, and what to ask before you sign.
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Kitchen7 kitchen cabinet organizers for the next 15 years
Pull-out shelves so you stop kneeling, drawer inserts, a trash pull-out by the sink, a pull-out pantry, soft-close hardware and a plan for the upper cabinets you can reach. Seven organizers that keep an older kitchen easy to use.
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BathGrout-free shower walls: an honest guide for people who assumed they wanted tile
You grew up thinking a real bathroom means tile. What grout-free solid-surface walls are, what they ask of you, how they look and hold up, and who should still hire a tile contractor.
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KitchenChoosing a kitchen faucet you won't fight with: six choices that matter
One lever or two handles, pull-down or pull-out, how tall the spout stands, how many holes you have to work with, the finish and the flow. What to pick if your hands ache or your sink is deep.
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BathStaying in your house: a bathroom plan for the next 15 years
The order to do things in for an older bathroom you plan to keep using into your eighties: the small fixes this month, the tub decision, the seat, the threshold, the lighting and the floor.
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KitchenUndermount or drop-in sink: the small kitchen change people notice
The rim you wipe around, the crumbs you sweep off the counter, and what happens when the sink needs replacing years from now. How a drop-in and an undermount sink compare in a kitchen you cook in every day.
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BathCan you replace only the shower and keep the vanity and floor?
The vanity went in a few years ago, the floor is fine, and the shower is the problem. When replacing only the tub or shower area works, when it doesn't, and what to ask about the floor edge.
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KitchenA new backsplash without new countertops: what has to be true first
Your counters are fine and the wall behind them isn't. What to check at the back edge of the counter, at the outlets and at the joint before a new backsplash goes up over the old tops.
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BathChoosing a shower wall color and pattern you'll still like in 2040
Eight ways to pick a shower wall color and pattern for the next twenty years, starting with the floor and vanity you're keeping and ending with samples in your own bathroom light.
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KitchenNew countertops on your old cabinets: when it works and when it doesn't
A quartz, granite or solid-surface top can go on the cabinets you have if the bases are flat, the sink base is sound and the openings are supported. What to check, and when refacing the doors on the same job makes sense.
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BathDo grout-free shower walls hold up? Scratches, stains, cracks and the warranty
After "will it look like a plastic insert" comes "will it hold up." Scratches, stains, fading and cracks, the cleaners that hurt the surface, and what the lifetime warranty covers.
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KitchenDoes a granite countertop need sealing?
Some dark granite takes little or no sealer, and some light slabs need several coats. A hot-water test on your own counter tells you which kind you have and when it's due.
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BathWon't shower wall panels look like a plastic insert?
The glossy white kit at the lake house and the liner glued over old tile are what give panel showers their reputation. What a made-to-fit, marble-look wall does differently, and how to judge one before you buy.
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KitchenPainted or stained cabinets in a kitchen that cooks every day
New doors are coming, and you have to pick a finish. How factory paint and stain each handle chips, hairline cracks, grease by the range and years of light, and when two-tone makes sense.
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BathWalk-in tub vs. walk-in shower, and the shower with a seat
A walk-in tub keeps the bath, a low-threshold shower takes away the step, and a shower with a built-in seat sits between them. The way each one works on an ordinary morning, and the person each one suits.
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KitchenQuartz, granite or solid surface: a countertop you'll live with for 20 years
Granite takes heat and knives best, quartz never needs sealing, and solid surface is the one you can sand when it scratches. How each holds up to 20 years of daily cooking.
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BathCast-iron and clawfoot tubs in older homes: keep, refinish or remove?
A clawfoot upstairs in a 1920s house, or a cast-iron alcove tub in a ranch. What keeping it, refinishing it and taking it out for a shower each change, starting with the height of the rim.
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KitchenLaminate countertops in an older kitchen: what replacing them involves
A burn ring by the stove and a seam by the sink that has puffed up. What's under an old laminate top, what you can still fix, and what happens when the top comes off for quartz, granite or solid surface.
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BathYour parent's bathroom: what to look at on your next visit
A 15-minute walk-through of your mom's or dad's bathroom (the tub wall, what they grab, the bath mat, the night path and the toilet) and how to bring it up without making it about age.
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KitchenReface, refinish or paint: what each does to a 1990s oak kitchen
Honey oak from a 1990s refresh, sound boxes, tired color. What refacing, refinishing and painting each do to oak's open grain, how each one wears, and which ones you can do yourself.
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BathWhy your bathroom fan rattles and what that means for your walls
The original fan over the tub clatters, buzzes and leaves the mirror fogged. Why it's loud, where its air goes, what cfm and sones mean, and how long to run it after a shower.
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KitchenShaker, flat or raised-panel doors: what suits an older house
Three door styles, three kinds of house. How shaker, flat and raised-panel doors look in a 1960s ranch, a 1920s Tudor and a 1990s two-story, which ones hold grease, and how each takes paint and stain.
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BathAlmond, pink and mint tile: built to last, and why that's the problem now
The glazed tile in a 1960s bathroom often looks as good as the day it went up. The case for keeping it, and the point where the wall behind it decides for you.
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KitchenCan my cabinets be refaced? A five-minute check of the boxes
Refacing puts new doors, drawer fronts and veneer on the cabinets you have, so it works when the boxes behind them are sound. A flashlight, a yardstick and five minutes tell you whether yours are.
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BathRegrouting vs. resealing vs. replacing: which one your shower needs
Gray grout can mean a bottle of sealer, a weekend with a grout saw, or a new shower. What each fix does, how long it lasts, and the two checks that tell you which one you need.
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KitchenThe soft floor under your kitchen sink: what a slow leak does to a cabinet
The bottom of the sink cabinet gives under the dish soap and the front edge has puffed up. Where the slow leak comes from, how to find it on a Saturday, and when the cabinet needs replacing.
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BathShower mildew that keeps coming back: where it lives
You scrub the black spots off on Saturday and they're back by the next month. Mildew that returns is living somewhere your sponge can't reach. Here are the four places to check, and what fixes each one.
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