Kitchen 2 – Page 7

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

Published on November 1, 2011November 2, 2012 by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

This past Friday we, er Ben, installed the kitchen sink and adjoining cabinets. Then he called it a night. First order of business on Saturday: install the stove cabinets and range. So, Ben hauled out our old clunker and brought in the box with the shiny new stove. We carefully unwrapped the packaging to discover this:

Yep, a dent on the right side. Fortunately, this will be hidden behind the cabinet. Speaking of cabinets, here’s the new beauty sandwiched between two drawer large bays.

Isn’t she pretty?!? I love the sleek stainless, the industrial style handles, and the huge top. But installing this baby wasn’t a snap. The old gas line came out of the floor right behind the left back leg, so the range couldn’t tuck tightly against the wall. And we encountered another issue because we’re planning on two-inch thick countertops. Our counters will make the cabinets 1 inch taller than average counters. The adjustable range legs only go up to one inch.

As a temporary solution until we install the counters, Ben placed the range on wooden blocks. After the counters are installed, we’ll search out a better solution. We’re thinking of buying furniture legs for a ~~less trashy~~ custom look. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

Now let me brag a little. First, I love the front left burner. It’s three-tiered and gigantic. And the grates cover the entire top to maximize the space. Oh, and if we ever want to get fancy, we can flip the grate insert for easy wok cooking. But, the best part is something I didn’t even know about. Smarties at KitchenAid designed the range to sit just above the counters for a seamless surface.

No more junk falling down the crack. Wait, that sounded bad.

And here’s what everything looks like right now from the back door.

We’ve got cabinets, but only one drawer installed so far. But, everything is functional, so we’re a okay. Now I’m itching to get the rest of the drawers in so I can get everything out of the guest bedroom and start organizing. Nerd alert.

We’re chugging along, but we still have so much to do. How about a list to show what’s left to do:

Install the new dishwasher, which we’re hoping to get on Thursday
Sand the ceiling and walls smooth
Build the five remaining drawers we’ve waited on (we needed to see how things were in place before we could build one drawer in the dining room, the trash can pull out, and the under the sink drawer)
Fill, sand, prime and paint said drawers
Install every drawer, 16 total
Buy the wood for the counters which should be in tomorrow
Haul the wood slabs to a cabinet shop to have them sand both sides smooth
Cut the wood to fit and install the counters
Hang the upper cabinets
Add decorative face trim to all cabinets for a smooth, pretty, even front
Fill, sand, prime, and paint all cabinet faces
Build the drawer and cabinet fronts, including two glass front doors
More filling, sanding, priming, and painting of the cabinet fronts
Install the drawer fronts and hardware pulls
Prime and paint the kitchen and living room. Probably the dining room too.
Add lights: sconces, recessed light halos, and the rope lighting
Trim out the posts and door frames
Add crown molding to the top of the cabinets
Decide whether we want to add decorative trim to the vent hood or paint it to match the wall color
Install the pretty new marble tile backsplash
Put everything back in place and enjoy

Miss a step in our renovation progress? Read through these posts to get up to date.

In addition to the kitchen updates, we thought we’d share our Halloween fun. How ’bout a peek at our pumpkins first?

The eye on this guy popped out while carving, so we made it look intentional with some pumpkin guts hanging out. Kinda looks like a pig in Angry Birds, no?

He’s just happy.

And this guy’s up to no good.

While we went Trick-or-Treating, Ben was busy installing a few drawers. We’ll share as we finish more.

Everything, Including the Kitchen Sink

Published on October 31, 2011November 2, 2012 by Our Humble Abode20 Comments

Wednesday afternoon we finished installing the new 3/4 inch thick stained hickory floor. And we’re completely in love.

With the floor done, we started installing the cabinets Thursday morning. Because we’re washing dishes in the bathroom sink, getting a sink was a pressing matter. Rather than incorporating the toe kick in the cabinet, we cheat and build separate toe kicks. Two by fours are the perfect height and they’re durable, so Ben makes boxes three inches smaller than the overall cabinet size.

Using long screws, Ben attached the boxes to the floor.

That part went quickly.

For the next several hours, Ben drilled several holes in our floor and ran tons of wires.

Wires for what? Ben’s awesome idea. Under cabinet lighting. And not the halogen task lighting. Rope lighting under the toe kicks. A similar idea to the crown molding accent lighting in our master bedroom. We’ve had several people ask how to do this. I’m no electrician, so don’t quote me here, but Ben starts with a piece of rope light with a plug-in end. He cuts the plug off and strips the wires. Then it’s just a matter of connecting the proper wires to one another and capping everything off with wire nuts and electrical tape.

The posts we have on each side of the stove are mostly for support. In an effort to keep the posts as small and unobtrusive as possible, we decided to put our switches inside the cabinets on the living room side. We’ll have a bar top across the cabinets with a six-foot opening between for bar stools. Here’s one of the cabinets by the kitchen entrance.

Don’t follow? Here’s what it looks like from the kitchen side.

While Ben ran wires, Everett and I cheered him on. Every time Ben nailed or screwed something down, Ev would say, “Nice!”

Ben took the afternoon off to go hunting. Fortunately, he shot a deer, so he’s done for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, we still didn’t have a kitchen sink. Which means he had to clean his deer in our bathroom. To say I was displeased is an understatement. We needed a functioning sink, stat. Friday morning Ben started working again, setting cabinets.

A small kitchen requires maximizing every square inch. Even though we’re losing an entire wall of upper cabinets, we’re gaining a lot of usable space. In fact, the only wasted space is this three-inch gap between the peninsula and trash drawer. The only reason for this is drawer clearance.

Shortly before the sink could be installed, Ben brought it up from the basement.

A little more wiring for the dishwasher, which we ordered and should be here on Thursday, before the sink could go in.

Then some plumbing.

After five days without a kitchen sink, we were back in dish washing business.

Then we had a little leak. Everything worked, but the leak came from dishwasher hook up. Because we don’t have a dishwasher.

Duct tape over the hole works for now. And here’s the sink side in its current state. Oh, you’ll also see we have the trash under the sink. After buying a 10.1 gallon trash and putting it in the trash drawer we realized there would be a fair amount of wasted space above it. Luckily, it fits perfectly under the sink. Along with another can for recycling. Which means, we’re gaining a small drawer stack in the place of the original trash drawer.

In other news, we hoped the wood for the counters would arrive this past Thursday. Sadly, it didn’t. Now we’re shooting for Wednesday. Fingers crossed it comes in and we like it so we can get counters in. Though, we’re lucky because Ben built the cabinets with flat tops, so we have a solid work surface. Things could definitely be worse.

Many of you commented that we’re making quick progress. Even though we’re living with a torn apart kitchen, I have to agree. Everything is back to functioning order and it can only get better from here.

What do you think of the kitchen so far? Progressing faster than you anticipated? Just wait until you see tomorrow’s post. Yes, that is a teaser.

That Was Hard(wood)

Published on October 26, 2011March 26, 2013 by Our Humble Abode22 Comments

It took more muscle and time than we hoped, but we’ve successfully pulled up the tile floor, cement board, subfloor and installed the new hardwood. The rebuilding has officially started. Ben tore out the tile on Monday night, which left us with a lovely kitchenette. Simply a stove, microwave, and one cabinet.

He took the week off to work on the kitchen. Fun vacation, right? With the tile up, Ben, with a little of my help, painstakingly tore up the cement board.

Seriously, it was a pain. The screws from the tile backing held like crazy and the nails were abundant. Luckily, Handy Sammy came to help.

Removing the sub floor took a lot of muscle. Some areas received too much muscle. The boards flexed and some broke. I’m not going to lie, I freaked out a little.

As always though, Ben had a plan. True to form, things have to get worse before they can get better. So, Ben started by cutting off the damaged boards, leaving a hole between the joists.

Actually, this happened in four spots.

Did you notice the chaos and mess? And the fridge placement? Anyway, back to fixing the gaping holes in our floor. Ben screwed pieces of two by fours on each side of the hole into the joists first.

Then he covered the holes with pieces of 3/4 inch wood material.

Before we could get started on the floor install, we screwed every board to the joists, just to prevent any squeaking. That was a pain in the butt, too. I’ve never had to use a drill for that long. Makes me want to invent a cushy drill grip. After all that screwing (haha), we laid down the rosen paper.

We had to nail one row of the wood perpendicular to the existing dining room hardwood floors. It would have been way to difficult to line the new floor up with the old floor if we hadn’t done this. Unfortunately, Ben laid this with the groove against the dining room floor.

Which meant he had to start installing from the stove side. He had a few wires and the gas line to cut around. The first few rows are always the most difficult to install, because everything is based off that.

Fortunately, the 5 inch wide planks installed quickly and easily. While Ben installs the planks, I select which boards will go where. I have a method to my madness, though. First, I pick out the pieces of wood I like best. These will go front and center. This wood had tons of pieces with large knots, so I made two more piles. One of the knotty pieces (not to be confused with naughty) and another of clean wood.

We had to remove all the trim that was against the floor, too. The new floor is 3/4 of an inch lower than the old floor, so we’ll have to lower everything.

Ben borrowed an air nailer from a friend, which made the job quick and easy.

He wanted me to show you how great of a multi-tasker he is. Here, he’s using both of his hands to nail and his foot to hold the clamp down. Ooooh, ahhhh.

And here’s the floor we finished as of a few hours ago.

And now for some detailed shots. The transition between the original flooring in the dining room and the new floor.

Toward the wall, Ben had to face nail because the other nailer can’t get that close to the wall. That’s okay though, this won’t be seen as the cabinet will cover everything.

The back door landing looks great, too. We still have to add a piece along the top of the stairs.

Now you’ve seen the most recent progress. I’m hoping to get at least a sink back some time today or tomorrow.

Have you ever ripped out a beast of a floor? Put down pretty new hardwoods? Do you prefer wider planks?

After the Dust Settles

Published on October 25, 2011March 26, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

Yesterday was Ben’s birthday. His gift? No more kitchen tile. Pretty awesome of me, right? Actually, it was his idea. I was going to take him out to dinner; he insisted on removing the floor. Before the floor could come out, we had to tear out the cabinets. Yeah, our kitchen is no longer usable.

Ben unhooked the sink plumbing and faucet. Vincent helped.

Buh bye, backsplash! You and your swollen middle will not be missed.

After unscrewing the cabinets, Ben started hauling everything out. His dad wants the cabinets for his shop.

To keep the kitchen as usable as possible, we rotated the stove to the other side and put an old cabinet next to it. We’ve down graded from a full kitchen suite to a kitchenette.

Then the real demo work began. The tiles came up rather easily, but the cement board did not. And we have to tear the floor down to the subfloor.

Ben pulled up part of the plywood floor to see how difficult it would be. Turns out, one of the boards below had a small hole.

Then, Ben went back to tearing up the floor. What a mess. But it has to get worse before it can get better.

To tear out the tile, Ben used a pick axe. Pick axe plus muscle equals mega damage. In the best way possible, too.

Here’s what everything looked like after four hours. Tile anilihated. Mission accomplished.

And, things are looking up. Literally. Here’s what the ceiling looks like with three coats of mud.

Obviously I took these pictures before the demo began. Sanding still to come.

Do I get the best birthday giving award? I thought so. Now we have another long day of demo and work.

Countertop Specifications

Published on October 21, 2011October 21, 2011 by Our Humble Abode15 Comments

I think I was a little ambiguous in yesterday’s countertop discussion. Allow me to clarify for you. Here’s our list of requirements:

Must look good
Natural material
Stain resistant
Low maintenance
Economical

An added bonus, but not required:

Resale value

Originally, we thought we’d end up with the same marble as our dining table. You see, we know the horror stories of marble in an eating area. Before we bought the slab for our table, we tested it out. That’s right, we brought a small chunk home, poured red wine and grape juice on it, letting it sit overnight. When we wiped the liquid off, the marble still looked perfect. It passed our requirements with flying colors. And it was pretty and a natural stone. Because it was a mis-order, the granite company wouldn’t get any more in after selling out.

So, we moved on to granite. Mostly because marble and granite are similar. And granite has been very popular over the past 10 or 15 years. Two problems, though. The biggest one, we haven’t seen anything in stock that we would love enough to put in our kitchen. Secondly, the pricing. This really isn’t as much of a reason, but we don’t want to pay a few thousand dollars for something that we know off the bat we’re not in love with. At least the look of. And let’s face it. If we don’t love the look of it, we’re still not going to consider it, despite all practicality. Especially when we have other options.

Based strictly on looks, we quickly eliminated man-made countertops like Corian, Silestone, Cambria, etc. This means concrete is off the ~~countertop~~ table, too. Metal seems too industrial for our home. Don’t get us wrong, each of these looks great in the right setting, just not our setting. Which is why we’re going with wood.

When Ben tossed the wood counter idea out on Monday, I resisted. Then he gave me more info, like the price and size of the slabs. Now I’m listening. He said it looks similar to the Brazilian Cherry in my office, which I love.

But, I was concerned how the grey cabinet paint color would look against the wood tone. So, I went to the shop and they kindly cut me a sample to clean up and see what we think. Happily, we love the colors together.

So, let’s talk specifically about the wood we’re interested in. A local shop is getting two slabs, each three feet wide, eleven feet long, and two inches thick. That’s one big tree; 66 square feet to be exact. If you recall, we need about 34 square feet for the countertops, plus another 10 or so feet for the bar top. (Our wall is 10 feet long and we’re thinking the bar will be one foot deep). 44 square feet total, so we should have 22 square feet extra.

They’re charging $18 per board foot, but this is twice as thick as a board foot, so it’s twice the price. Or $36 per square foot. Which happens to be 44 dollars per square foot cheaper than Absolute Black granite. The 22 square feet of extra wood material also explains why the wood is only $244 cheaper than granite. But, in the granite math, I didn’t include the ten square feet of material needed for the bar top. Add another $800 and granite is nearly $1050 more than the wood. And we’d have a seam, or several, somewhere. We’ll also have enough wood left over to finish up some other projects, like adding new table tops to our living room end tables.

But back to the wood. Ben can cut one foot off each slab to make cabinet depth counters. And they’ll be in one solid piece, no seams. That’s a plus. And, Ben should be able to use the remaining pieces, i.e. the 1 foot wide by 11 foot long slab, as a single piece bar top.

All that to say, the wood should be in town on Thursday. Barring any oddities, we’re going with wood counters. And here is what the wood counters will look like when paired with the shiny marble tile back splash (that we have yet to purchase), the hardwood flooring, the cabinets, and stainless steel accents and appliances.