Tuesday, February 23, 2010

A TV Lift That's Pretty Slick!


Lots of people have flat screen TVs now; some hang them on a wall, some have an entertainment until that the TV sits on, but a lot of people like to have their TV hidden in a cabinet. Wood Technologies makes the Whisper Ride TV lift that's very affordable and fits almost every flat screen on the market. This TV lift will accommodate a TV that is 200 pounds or less and up to 50 inches. I've personally never installed one of these, but having seen it in action a number of times, it doesn't look like such a difficult task.

The TV lift comes with what is essentially a track that runs vertically on the back of the cabinet. It has a cross bar that's shaped like an "H" that mounts to the back of the television. It comes with a power supply that gets plugged in, and when you press the button on either your remote or the rocker switch it moves up and down. Mounted to the mechanism is what the manufacturer calls a "lid lifter" so that when the TV comes up the lifter hits the wood and lifts it, rather than the TV hitting the wood directly. Below is a line drawing of the lift.

Wood Technologies TV Lift

The great thing about these is that you can use an existing cabinet as long as your TV will fit inside, or you can have a cabinet custom made to fit this. I've even had a couple of people mount them upside down to drop a TV down from the ceiling. These really are pretty slick!



Visit the Hardware Hut today!
Erica
“Leave the Details to Us”

Friday, February 5, 2010

Hey February! What's New?


Apparently, February is the month for silver. This month we've added polished nickel hinges, stainless steel bath hardware, stainless flush pulls, and silver waste containers, practically everything has been silver!


Emtek Orion Entry Emtek has been really focused on the modern look with their hardware, I've talked about some of their leather items and they've got an entire line of levers and knobs that are geared toward modern interiors. They've come out with a modern entry called the Orion that I love! It goes great with their line of interior door hardware. Even though the picture is shown in Satin Nickel, it also comes in Flat Black (which has become popular), Oil Rubbed Bronze, and Polished Chrome.

Another new collection to our site is the Modern line of bath hardware by Emtek. These come in three styles to match the door hardware, all three styles are offered in stainless steel. You can chose from the Beveled rosette, the Disk rosette, or my personal favorite-the Square rosette.




Emtek Stainless Bath Hardware


We've carried storm door latches on our website and in our store for years, but Deltana makes a version that seems to be a little better quality than the previous brand that we've carried. We are in the process of switching over brands so right now we've only got three finishes offered online. We are able to order all of the major popular finishes though. Below is a picture of the Satin Nickel version, just look at the finish on this...it's a perfect example of what Satin Nickel should be.
Deltana Storm Door Latch


Deltana also makes a line of cabinet hinges, I could post an entire blog about how amazing these hinges are. They are literally the nicest cabinet hinges I've ever seen. By far. I can get into the technicalities of why they're so great, such as the smooth opening and closing action. The finish is perfect, there are no pits or spots, nothing. Perhaps, I will save this for another post. I mention these hinges because, Deltana has just introduced a Polished Nickel finish in this line. The cabinet hinges come in various sizes ranging from 1-1/2" by 1-1/2" up to a 3" by 3".
Deltana Cabinet Hinges


The last item I'll talk about is the Hager ADA compliant flush pull. These aren't actually a new item, but we recently put them on our website. We do have a limited quantity on hand and once we sell out of those they'll be gone. Why even talk about it? Information folks! I get lots of inquiries about ADA compliant hardware because most of the time it's hard to find. A flush pull that is ADA is even harder to find. It's unique because in order for a piece of hardware to be compliant with ADA regulations it has to be easy to use for people with physical limitations. Imagine if you will, you don't have full function of your fingers. You're going to need a lever or flush pull or whatever to be easy to use without actually having to grip the item. Hardware like knobs just don't work, but a lever that has enough projection for you to fit your hand behind it and use more of your hand and/or wrist would work just fine. On a flush pull, the problem is that you can only have so much depth because most doors are 1-3/8" or 1-3/4", so how do you fit a hand in something that is shallower than that. The Hager flush pull is wide, really wide....five inches wide. You can fit your hand in and under part of the flush pull to slide the door open and closed.
Hager ADA Flush Pull

That's it for February....until next time.



Visit the Hardware Hut today!
Erica
“Leave the Details to Us”