The BBKNet Blog

Kitchen is FINISHED

2009-09-23T10:09:00.000-05:00

It's been 3 months to the day since we started the remodel. Demolition started on Monday, 6/22/09. Yesterday, 9/22/09, the last piece was put in place - the new light kit.

This light kit uses regular bulbs instead of the CFL. The CFL were not compatible with the controls on the wall; these bulbs are. They are not as bright - there are only 3 60-watt bulbs in there. Sounds like a lot, but it's kind of dim. When it's really dark outside, the light seems brighter - so maybe we just need to get used to it.

new light kit

Old light kit

This is probably the last post to the Kitchen Blog. It's been "fun". The blog, not the project. But all the hassle and stress was well worth it. I love my new kitchen.

I have said this before...

2009-09-17T11:40:00.000-05:00

But we are SOOOOO close to being done. The window treatment went up on Monday, 9/14/09. Levelor wooden blinds with 1" slats. Got them at Penney's. We love the look.

This is how they normally look - partially open to provide privacy and block the western sun. We can see out, but no one can see in.

Fully closed

Fully open.

The ONLY thing left now is the light kit over the kitchen table. We had to order a new one, since the one we have is not compatible with the controls on the wall. Ordered the new kit on Friday, 8/27/09. Anticipated arrival - 1 week later, 9/04. I finally called Littman Brothers on Monday (9/14) to see what had happened to our light kit. Can you believe it - the light kit had Just Come In That Very Day. Yeah, right. Anyway, installation is now scheduled for next week, 9/22. It is supposed to look the same as the current one. Just work better with the controls. I'll post the results. I know you'll be sad - but that will most likely be the last post. :-(

PS - Trim for cabinet over the fridge

2009-09-04T14:09:00.002-05:00

The trim work was installed on the bottom of the cabinet over the fridge. Looks so much better. Matches the other cabinets now.

Inching onward

2009-09-04T13:40:00.004-05:00

We just keep inching forward toward COMPLETION, but in teensy weensy steps. I keep saying we're almost there, but that's what I've been saying for several updates now...

Our new fan/light fixture was installed a week ago (8/27). We were delighted with it until we tried to turn off the light. It doesn't turn off - sometimes for hours. The bulbs flash on and off, like little flashbulbs (remember them?). Pretty darn annoying. I called Littman Brothers the next day. They said to call the Emerson Fan Company. I wondered why THEY didn't call, but OK - I called.

After spending a lot of time on hold, and speaking with several people - the problem was identified. The light fixture and the remote controls are not compatible. Solution: keep the light fixture and use a pull chain to turn the fan & lights on/off. OR, get another light fixture. I call Littman Brotheres back, and told them what Emerson had told me - and said I DO NOT WANT TO USE A PULL CHAIN. They said they would order a new light fixture, one that uses regular bulbs, and would absorb all costs related to the purchase, shipping and installation. Good. I was prepared to go picket them and raise a fuss in person if there had been a problem. New light fixture should be in sometime next week. In the meantime, we have a light show every time we turn off the light.

PIX 2 = shows both of the light fixtures in the kitchen.

Our window treatment (Levolor wooden blinds) was delivered on Tuesday. One of the boxes looked like it had been run over by a truck. See PIX 3. Thank goodness I was home when FedEx delivered it. I talked to the driver about possibly refusing delivery. He said he would make a note on the record that the box was heavily damaged, and suggested I open it and see what was inside. Miracles do happen. If it was damaged, to call Levelor.

So that's what I did. I found damage to the front trimwork of the blind, but not bad considering the way the box looked. I was prepared to accept it, rather than deal with a re-order and return of the damaged blind. I called Levelor to let them know that there was obvious damage, but we couldn't know the full extent of the damage until the blind was installed. Something in the workings could be bent or sprung or something. The lady I spoke with said 'We'll ship you a new one - and you can keep the damaged blind.' In that case, yes please, send a replacement. SOOO, we're waiting yet again.

PIX 1 = our window treatment is all over the dining room table right now. Should have been pix 3 but had trouble uploading and don't want to start all over. :-)

Not done yet

2009-08-15T15:10:00.004-05:00

We are soooo close, but not done yet.
(1) new fan/light fixture has been ordered. (I think I already said that in an earlier post.) It should come in next week sometime. Then we need to schedule installation.
(2) New window treatment (wooden 1" blinds from Penney's) ordered today. Did we fall into a deal, or what. 70% off sale today, plus an extra $15 off on each item with a coupon I got in the mail. WOW. 10 days from now they should be in. Then we need to schedule installation.
(3) Change order items yet to be done. See pix 1 - bottom of the cabinet over the fridge is unfinished. It was in the plan that way, but we did not catch it. Raw wood with staples, believe it or not, is what you see. So, we had to order trim and a 'skin' to apply to the bottom. Delivered here sometime next week. Then we need to schedule installation. (do you sense a pattern here?)
(4) Change order item #2 - trim to cover the gap between the cabinet and the wall next to the bay window. Should arrive next week. TWNTSI.
(5) Handles for the cabinet over the microwave. Need to buy. TWNTSI.

Did run into a slight OOPS. The toaster oven no longer fits on the counter beside the microwave. (See pix 2) We think the error occurred when we changed from Plan 1 to Plan 2. Plan 1 called for enclosing the fridge in a cabinet. We didn't like that, so Plan 2 removed the enclosing cabinet. We did not notice that the size of the cabinet/countertop to the right of the fridge was smaller by about 3". Oh well. Toaster oven now lives in the pantry. It's really light, and easy to move, so no big deal. We seldom use it, except during 'tomato bread' season. Which is almost here by the way. We have several tomatoes on the edge of being ripe.

I resurrected my old canisters from the basement and they now live next to the microwave. Flour & Sugar used to be in large glass jars in the pantry. Hard to get at. Had to move sugar to get at flour. I think the old ones look ok in their new home. (see pix 3)

Dining room is about back to normal. Actually, it is back but something seems missing. It looks so bare in there. Perhaps we just got used to all that clutter during construction? (See pix 4)

Last, but not least, Bob found a perfect runner to go on top of the divider cabinet. (See pix 5) It's so convenient to put stuff on it, that I was worried about scratches, etc. So we've been looking for something to put there. The width is perfect. He had to trim the length a bit. The left over piece fit perfectly on the end table by the love seat. It looks better in real life than it does in the picture. BTW, when Dan comes back to do the other change order items, he's going to move the outlet and phone jack down to the wall behind the couch so they are not visible. So that's another change item yet to be done.

Next blog updates probably won't happen until some of those outstanding items get installed. I'll let you know when I am done posting. In the meantime, check back around 8/24. Perhaps something will have changed by then.

WE LOVE OUR NEW KITCHEN.

Window Treatment

2009-08-10T10:26:00.004-05:00

We decided that the old window treatment had to go. It's been up there for 10 years (believe it or not!) and we're tired of it. We thought a more simplistic look would be great - faux (Martha Stewart for 'fake') wood blinds with a decorative cornice at the top, hiding the inner workings of the blinds.

So, we went shopping yesterday (Sunday) at EddieZ's. Would Mariette Hartley steer us wrong? We thought not, so off we went. However, it seems faux wood blinds only come in 2" wide slats. And, in case you're wondering, real wood isn't any better - real wood comes in 2" or 2 1/2". Neither Bob nor I care for the look of 2" slats.

But aluminum mini-blinds do not come with a decorative cornice. So we'll keep looking.

In the meantime, we've put up some homemade simplistic window treatment, to block the western sun and offer a bit of privacy. How do you like it?

Week 7 draws to a close

2009-08-08T09:14:00.006-05:00

We're at the end of Week 7. Most of the mess in the Living Room has been cleared. The kitchen table is back where it belongs - in the kitchen. The coffee pot is out of the bathroom! YAY.

We have lots of empty boxes to dispose of. Luckily, a friend of a friend is moving and will be more than happy to take the empties off of our hands.

As we unpack, we are finding things we just don't want anymore. And, luckily another friend is having a garage sale in a couple of weeks - and she will take the white elephants. Problem solved.

Dan will need to seal the back splash grout/tile before we can move the toaster oven, microwave #2, etc. back into the kitchen. Until that happens, I can't really finish the dining room clean up. We're still using the temporary light over the kitchen table (See 8/02 pix) - but we did find and order a replacement fan and light fixture yesterday. The salesman said it takes 7-10 days for the fan to come in. Then we need to schedule the installation. I'm guessing it'll be early September before we see it. We have a Casa Blanca fan in there now, but we've had so many issues with the fan not working due to voltage that is in spec for ComEd, but out of spec for Casa Blanca - we decided to junk the darn thing and buy new. Emerson is the brand of choice. It's not supposed to have any voltage issues. I sure hope so.

We do have a new Change Order, submitted to Dan yesterday. I have not heard back on when and how much to do it. The outlet and phone jack that were installed on the wall by the Divider Cabinet are eyesores. We didn't like it when they were put there, but decided to hold off until the phone actually got moved to see what it looked like. Terrible. So we've asked Dan to move them both to the wall behind the couch near the baseboard. We'll still have wires showing, but not the two 'uglies'. I doubt that will take place Monday when Dan is here to seal the backsplash, and poly the stained wood. But I can dream, can't I?

Unpacking and moving

2009-08-06T10:52:00.005-05:00

Wow, what fun it is to unpack 21 boxes of stuff, and try to put it all back where it came from.

Yeah, right.

By end of day yesterday, most of the boxes were emptied and their contents moved to their old/new homes. We've loaded the glass-front cabinets with pretty wine glasses. You can almost see them in pix 1. I'll attempt a better pix today, after the painters leave.

Pix 2 = wine glass cabinet. We lost 3" width, and ?? height. So not all the glasses can go back where they came from. Wine glasses, yes. Water glasses, OJ glasses, etc. - no.

Pix 3 = The hutch is all back to where it was before we emptied it to make room for our everyday pans, dishes, etc. I can't recall who had that tip, but it was a really good one.

We are finding things that we just don't want to keep anymore. Luckily my friend (Donna) is having a garage sale this month, and is willing to take it off our hands. This works out for us - we get rid of it, without throwing it away. Donna makes a bit of cash, hopefully enough to pay for her trouble. And what she doesn't sell, SHE gets to throw away. Win-Win.

Pix 3 = dining room and pix 4 = living room. It's been cleaned up a lot since then. Bob has broken down most of the empty boxes - the misc. ones that we accumulated from wine purchases, Amazon, etc. - and they are on the curb for the re-cycle pickup. We still have quite a few of the boxes we bought. I hate to throw them away. Maybe the garage sale????

Anyway, yesterday was a very long & painful day (as in aching muscles - ALL OF THEM). Bob helped by schlepping boxes, and putting things on the top shelves. He also re-did the spacing on various shelves multiple times. It was hard to judge the spacing until I started putting things away. He was helpful, kind and patient throughout. What a sweetie!

We are going to order some extra shelves for what I call 'deep storage'. Things that I seldom use, but would be nice to have in the kitchen instead of the basement. Although, considering where the shelves will be, perhaps I should call it 'high storage'. :-)

hours away from completion

2009-08-02T14:41:00.003-05:00

Most of the electric is done. I've included pix of the lights in the glass-front cabinets and the task lighting below the cabinets. Since the pix were taken in the daytime, it doesn't really show up all that well. Bob took another one using the 'fireworks' setting on the camera, but it looks 'BRILLIANT'. Believe me, the lighting is much softer and more subtle than that.

Dan was here all day on Saturday (8/01). He'll be here all day on Monday, too. That should finish off the punch list. Small, misc. items, yet to be done.

We were able to do dishes in the Kitchen Sink last night. Woo Hoo. I love the new sink - which is one big sink, not two divided bowls. We are having a problem, tho. I have a dishpan (RubberMaid) that is green. It's also 11 years old. I want a new one to go with my new kitchen.
Can't find anything other than white. What the heck? People don't use dishpans anymore? I can find dish drainers in all sorts of colors, but no dishpans. Even the Rubbermaid site only shows white. I really don't want to try eBay for a dishpan!!!

Painters will be here on Thursday. After that, the only thing left will be the doors to the cabinet above the microwave. Oh, and one other thing...

There's large gap (1/3 inch?)between the cabinet and the wall (the floor cabinet between the dishwasher and the bay window). Dan tells us that these cabinets are not designed to fit flush against the wall, AND that our wall is bowed. Huh? There is a trim kit, available at extra cost, that will cover the gap. Another call to Susan so she can order said trim kit. That most likely won't be in until the cabinet doors above the microwave are also installed.

Bob and I are also looking to buy a new ceiling fan/light fixture for the kitchen. We've had so much trouble with the Casablanca fan that's in there. Casablanca works only with voltage between 20-25. Commonwealth Edison sends between 20-28 down the line. Everyone blames everyone else. Bottom line, frequently (like NOW) the fan & lights don't work. So we went looking at fans today. Another problem: Hunter fans, at least at the two big box stores we visited, do not support a 3-way switch. We need to be able to turn on the lights from either the kitchen or the family room. We ended up not buying anything, pending some online research and a call to Fancy Fans (local ceiling fan store). In the meantime, we have a lovely new light fixture in the kitchen. Check it out.

Running water is good

2009-07-31T10:09:00.002-05:00

We now have a functioning kitchen sink - faucet, water, the whole works. WOW. I forgot how convenient it is to have running water in the kitchen sink. Actually, having a kitchen sink is pretty grand, too. :-)

Still have electrical work to do to get the outlets all working. Dan's doing that as I type this. Once that is done, we can move the coffee pot back where it belongs - on the kitchen counter. There's just something wrong with having a coffee pot in the bathroom.

The lights are in over the sink (see pix). By end of today I should be able to turn them on/off. They look great, and throw a lot of light. (Dan demo'd them yesterday.)

Backsplash Beauty

2009-07-30T08:47:00.004-05:00

The back splash went up yesterday. We LOVE LOVE LOVE how it looks. The colors are darker and richer than the sample we had. To us, the sample and the real stuff is so different, that someone else might have complained about the look of the finished back splash. But we just keep walking in there, admiring it. Today, the grout goes up (on?), which will make it look even better.

Dan tells us there is a good chance we'll have a working sink & faucet by EOD. That will be a giant leap forward. However, the stove will most likely remain in the middle of the floor, since the painters are coming tomorrow. I can deal with another day of no stove. Working around the 'no stove' situation is easier than working around the 'no counter tops & no working sink' problems.

pix 1 - remember these samples way back when? See the tile sample - don't you think it looks different from the real thing?
pix 2 - the stove/sink wall
pix 3 - the area to the right of the fridge, where the 2nd microwave goes.

There Be CounterTops

2009-07-28T17:39:00.003-05:00

Progress, progress. The crown molding is in and so are the counter tops. Looking really good! The one picture makes the counter top look like it's 10 feet long, doesn't it?

The microwave has been moved up; the new doors for the cabinet above it are on order.

Tomorrow, the back splash tile goes in.

Unfortunately, the stove is back in the middle of the kitchen, alongside the old corner cabinet. But that will go back tomorrow, too.

By Friday, we may have running water in the kitchen again!!!!!

whine We want our house back

2009-07-27T10:39:00.004-05:00

Well, it's the start of week 6 without a kitchen. The end is in sight, but it's seeming like we'll never get there. (Halfway to the wall...)

I did not post on Friday, because Dan wasn't here that day - so nothing changed. We took the opportunity (of his being gone) to rip out the innards of the front closet, paint, and install Elfa shelving & closet pole. Looks so much better, and the option of adding more shelves (easily) is always there with Elfa. BTW, the 'WE' in that statement is, of course, 99% Bob. I provided company & opinions on placement of the shelves when asked.

We took some pix of our Dishwashing area in the basement. Since we have the dishwasher back, we only have to wash stuff down there every 2-3 days. Most items can go into the DW, but some - pots & pans, sharp knives, wine glasses - must be done by hand.

I did start re-loading the pantry. I'm glad I took "before" pix, because I certainly do NOT remember where stuff goes. Dan says we can start reloading the cabinets, but I don't want to do that yet. First, if I need to get at something while he's working in the kitchen, it could be difficult. Second, until the counter tops are installed (TOMORROW!!!!!), I just don't want my dishes in the cabinets.

Found a problem over the weekend. We took advantage of the cooler weather to open up the house. Well, opening the kitchen windows proved to be quite difficult. Investigation revealed that when the new casing was installed, the nails? brads? staples? went through the wood, and are sticking out into the window track. Brute force got the window open, and then closed again that night. We don't want to do that again until Dan checks things out. That won't happen until tomorrow (hopefully), because Dan is out sick today. I hope he feels better real soon, for various reasons.

Some of which are quite selfish. :-)

Homestretch

2009-07-23T09:28:00.004-05:00

We're in the homestretch now. The trim work is going up. Lots of detail, and the kind of thing you probably don't notice. But it all adds to the beauty of the room.

The trim in the entry way is done, except for staining the wood strip at the edge of the tile leading to the family room. The coat closet doors are back up, and compared to the new pantry doors - they look AWFUL.

Pantry doors are up, minus handles. We have the handles but after discussion with Dan, we decided we want knobs on those doors, instead of handles. Knobs are easier to work with on bi-fold doors. Luckily, we know a place we can buy them that is fairly close to our house.

Counter tops are going in next Tuesday (7/28). Once the back splash is up, the sink can be hooked up, too. Hopefully all of that will be done by Friday (7/31).

Pix 1 = YAY. We have a handle!
Pix 2 = Molding above the cabinets on the fridge wall
Pix 3 = Divider cabinet now has all of the trim work (on the bottom)
Pix 4 = New pantry doors

Window casing, bench, other trim

2009-07-21T07:34:00.005-05:00

Lots of work yesterday (Monday 7/20), most of which was spent on the bay window in the kitchen. The old bench, with an original stain that was almost black, has been replaced. The new stain, when completed, will match the cabinets. The new window casing is also in, and first coat of stain applied. Bob and I are thrilled with the way Dan has put up the new casing. It looks great! (See pix 1)

Kiki is most confused and unhappy over what Dan has done to her favorite spot in the house: the bay window. Since wet stain and cats are not a good combo, he put up a 'wall' of stuff to keep her out. (Pix 2) She kept going into the kitchen last night, sitting and staring at the 'wall' - and complaining loudly. Probably was thinkg, "Stupid humans. Move this stuff out of my way!"

The plastic wall between the kitchen and dining room has come down as well. (pix 3) That will save me miles of walking, I'm sure, as I prepare dinner. Now that I have a working stove, I cook there. But since I have no countertops, prep is still done in the dining room. Now it's a quick few steps from stove to prep area. With the plastic wall up, I had to go around through the living room.

Today, more staining. Maybe switch out the cabinet above the microwave? It's a little awkward cooking there with the microwave so low. Dan had thought he'd have time to move it yesterday, but EOD came before he got it done.

Happiness is...

2009-07-18T13:40:00.003-05:00

A WORKING STOVE, MICROWAVE AND DISHWASHER. :-)

Don't they look lovely in their new home? No counter tops yet, but all three appliances were hooked up and are now working. YAY.

Lots of work done on Friday, most of which dealt with electrical so things don't look much different.

Next week the trim work goes in, so the pix will be more interesting.

Gonna move the microwave

2009-07-15T09:33:00.004-05:00

(Hi Dan - did you find us this time?)

Dan moved the stove against the wall for me this morning. I got out a big pot, and pretended to cook, stir, etc. on the back burner. The microwave is definitely too low. I kept banging the lid on the underside of the microwave. So either Thursday or Friday of this week, Dan will take out the 15" cabinet and install the 12" cabinet that's in the garage now. Susan will order new doors.

The pictures really show that the two appliances are different colors, don't they? The microwave is much older than the stove. We were not able to get the same color when we got the stove, but came pretty close - we thought. The difference is not so glaring in real life - at least not to us.

Templater is here right now. He measured for the counter tops using some pretty sophisticated equipment involving lasers. He's out in his truck at the moment, creating the plastic templates. He'll fit them to the cabinets before leaving, to be certain the template is correctly sized. Then we wait - hopefully not very long - for the counter tops to arrive. Could be a week, more likely two weeks. [update: they fit perfectly. Susan signed off on them - literally, she took a pen and signed each piece. Everyone left, and the house is quiet.]

We're at day 25 since construction began, and we're ready for it to be finished. Getting the family room back in order helped a lot. Getting the appliances hooked up will help, too. And that is scheduled to happen this week.

Appliances are all in the kitchen

2009-07-14T16:49:00.005-05:00

Appliances are all in the kitchen as of EOD on Monday. See pix 1. I didn't say they were 'installed' - just that they were in the kitchen. Even if they're not all in their proper home & hooked up yet, at least the fridge is working, and out of the family room, so we have our space back. Makes it a bit more of a walk to get to the 'refreshments', tho. :-)

The cabinet where the iron railing used to be - which I'm going to call the 'divider cabinet' from now on because TCWTIRUTB is just too long to type - is installed. There's still blue tape around the bottom, so I'm not sure what that means. There's only one shelf, and there should be two. But it looks great from both the kitchen & the family room. Hopefully, the rest of the electric and wiring can be finished SOON so we can move the phone/answering machine to its new home.

Love the look of the new cabinets. The new light fixture is wonderful. You can see it in pix 1.

Might have a problem - I called Susan to let her know, and we'll discuss more tomorrow when she's here. (The templaters are coming to measure for the countertops, and Susan wants to be here for that.) . The microwave is much, much lower than it was before. There will only be 3 inches of clearance between the bottom of the microwave and the top of the stove 'control panel back'. There won't be as much clearance between the burners and the microwave as before. Question is, will there be enough that I can have a tall pot on the stove, and be able to lift the lid, stir, etc. Bob & I don't care for the way it looks either, but as mentioned before - we're reserving final judgement until the pieces are all together. I'm hoping Dan can move the stove into the opening tomorrow so I can see how it looks/works. He doesn't have to hook it up - just put it there.

If it turns out we can't use the current configuration, we already have a cabinet in the garage that is 3" shorter. I think that would leave an acceptable amount of clearance. The cabinet in there was delivered in error - wrong size. It may turn out to be the 'right' size. Of course, I don't know how much trouble it will be to switch out the two cabinets. Won't Dan be thrilled. He's pretty easy going - at least here. He might go home and complain to his sweetie but he's always calm and pleasant here.

What is wrong with picture 1

2009-07-11T15:35:00.005-05:00

So, look over the first picture - what is wrong? I'll tell you at the end of today's post. It's not the 'stand alone' base cabinet. That's just waiting to be installed. It's something else.

More cabinets are up (see pix 1 - stove wall. Pix 2 - fridge wall). They expect to finish up Monday. The templaters will be here Wednesday to measure for the counter tops. Then we wait. If we're lucky, it'll be a week before they are delivered. If we're not lucky - could be 2-3 weeks. We don't know yet if Dan will be here working on odds and ends while we wait, or if he'll just wait and wrap it all up the same week the counter tops come in. We'll find out on Monday.

We still don't know for certain, since we have not unpacked it yet, but Susan tells us that the 2nd shelf for the cabinet going where the old railing used to be, is packed in with the top for that cabinet. Dan can bore the holes to make both shelves adjustable - so that problem is not a problem anymore.

The blotchy sink panel may not be a problem either. Dan said to reserve judgement until the cabinet was installed in its new home to see how it looks. And it seems to look OK. Final decision will be made once the counter tops are installed.

Did you see the problem? We didn't until we got an email from Susan explaining that the corner base cabinet is the wrong size - the left side as you're looking at it is 3" too short. (Manufacturer error) It should line up with the cabinet above it. We immediately called Kitchen Studio for a more detailed explanation, since we did not understand how the templaters could measure for counter tops when the cabinet was the wrong size. We talked to Deb, who was most helpful. She assures us this will not be an issue for the templaters. She says it's the corner measurement and the way the wall is, that concerns them. Dan will tell them it needs to be 3" longer on that side, and they will be able to adjust. We're a bit nervous, but these folks do this for a living and they know more than we do abut the process. The correct base cabinet should be delivered in time for the counter top installation, so this problem should not cause a delay.

Progress

2009-07-10T08:33:00.003-05:00

Cabinets are all unpacked, and some are up on the walls. Today, more cabinets go up, and maybe the new light fixture in the kitchen. You can see the lovely 'light fixture' we've been using in the picture of the corner cabinets. It may be ugly, but we were thrilled when that single light bulb was hung up there. Light! The new fixture will hang down a bit, and holds 3 up-to-100-watt bulbs. Lots of light!

So far, only 2 minor problems have surfaced. First, the cabinet between the kitchen/family room is supposed to have 2 adjustable shelves, and there's only one - and it's not adjustable. Second, the front panel on the cabinet where the sink is going has a blotchy, dirty looking finish. Dan asks that we wait for all the cabinets to be in, to see how they all look together. If we still don't like the look of that panel, it can easily be replaced. The picture doesn't do a good job of showing how bad the panel looks. BTW, there will be handles on the doors & drawers (not knobs) - they just have not been installed yet.

Cabinets are HERE

2009-07-08T13:32:00.002-05:00

The new cabinets were delivered today. Bob says it took about an hour to get it all unloaded and into the kitchen area. Dan will be here tomorrow, 8am, to begin installation! I am so ready for this project to be done.

Status update

2009-07-05T10:34:00.004-05:00

We had our weekly status meeting with Susan on Thursday (7/2/09). For the most part it went smoothly. We did let her know about our problems with the painter. She was surprised that he failed to paint the walls after she told him to do it. Susan said 'Try not to worry. It'll all be made right". So I'm trying not to worry. I just don't like the idea of that painter coming back and painting walls/ceiling with the new floor in, even though the floor will be covered. That guy is just plain MESSY. Plus, he'll have to sand again in some large areas before painting - and the plastic walls are gone.

We asked Susan to recommend a cleaning crew to come in and clean once the work is done. She offered to pay for the cleaning, but Bob and I just don't feel right about that. If she can recommend a reliable company that will do a thorough job, that's good enough for me. We've tried finding people on our own in the past, using Angie's List, and have not had good luck.

The amount of dust that the painter generated continues to amaze us. If he had taken the time to vacuum up the dust, we believe most of it would have been kept within the kitchen area, since the plastic walls were still up. However, when Jim (floor installer) had to sweep up the mess the painter left, that really stirred things up. (The painter might not have come out looking so bad if we had not been working with Dan first - he is as neat as the painter is messy. Bet Dan would have vacuumed up all that dust...)

The house will be all mine Monday-Tuesday. Bob will be at work, and the workmen will be somewhere else. Cabinets are being delivered on Wednesday so that will be a Big Day for us. Hoping all goes well, and we have cabinets installed by the end of the week. No countertops or appliances, but at least the cabinets will be in.

what is a stair nose

2009-07-02T09:55:00.004-05:00

Just in case you are wondering, here' s a couple of pictures of a "stair nose" (stairnose?)

One is a view looking from the family room into the kitchen. The pantry is on the left. The strip of wood on the edge of the tile is the 'stair nose'. In the old kitchen, it was a piece of grooved metal, with screws holding it in place. Pretty ugly, and impossible to clean. The wood will be stained to co-ordinate with the new cabinets.

The other picture is a close up, showing how the wood wraps around the edge of the step to the kitchen.

The reason the wood does not extend to the wall on the right is because a low cabinet will be installed there. I do not know why the trim was not placed all the way over so the surface was level for the cabinet to sit on. Another question for the contractor.

Floor is done

2009-07-01T15:17:00.004-05:00

The floor in the kitchen and the entryway is DONE. Today went very quickly. Jim was finished by lunch time. We love the look and the feel of the tile. Kiki had to be encouraged, but now she freely walks on the new floor. She does not like the wood stairnose trim, though. She will not walk on it.

In the 1st picture, Kiki is standing near the doorway into the living room/entry way. If you look past her, you can see where the kitchen table went. To her right is the water line for the fridge (ice maker). In the 2nd picture, she is in the kitchen. Behind her is the family room, but it's too dark to see much.

Floor prep done - 2/3 plastic walls are down

2009-07-01T08:31:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, the new underlayment went down. The installer (Jim) had to work several hours pounding down old staples, scraping off drywall compound blobs, etc. Then cutting the wood, and stapling it down.

The dust level in the house has increased to an incredible level. Jim cut the new underlayment in the garage, so we wondered why the HUGE increase in the dust? Even the basement floor is a dusty mess. I wish now we had covered the furniture in the living room. I just had to dust off some of the furniture in the living room and family room. Vacuumed the carpets in a half-hearted manner just to clear out the middle. The stairs are filthy. We're going to have the carpets and stairs cleaned when this is all over.

The plastic between the family room/kitchen and between the kitchen/entry way came down last night. It is a joy to walk on a nice new, smooth floor and to cut through the kitchen.

Pix 1 = incredible dust level. And if the wooden furniture looks like this, you know that the couches, chairs, lampshades, carpets, and even the walls, are also covered - just not as visible; Pix 2 = Kiki is checking out the new 'floor' and she is very hesitant to step on it; Pix 3 = sample of what the tile will look like on the floor. It's not glued down yet, just put there as an illustration.

It's always something

2009-06-30T08:46:00.006-05:00

*sigh*

CHALLENGE - the installer has to figure out how to install a straight-edge tile on a curve, without tearing up the carpet. The carpet in the living room, where it meets the tile entry way is curved. See the picture. UPDATE: In order to remove the old underlayment, he had to take up the carpet. New underlayment & tile will be installed under the carpet, and the carpet then tacked back down.

PROBLEM - KITCHEN PAINT - Painter was here yesterday, and was supposed to finish. Late afternoon, I peeked in and saw that the wall where the fridge goes had not been painted. When I questioned the painter, he said he was not supposed to paint there. I got on the phone to Susan, and she agreed with me that, yes, it needed to be painted since we were not enclosing the fridge in cabinetry. She talked to him, but he did not paint the wall. So now he has to come back and sand and paint it, on top of our new floor - which is going in today. He's a messy guy so I'm concerned. After he left yesterday, I decided to clean up the drywall footprints he left all over the red tile by the powder room. Luckily, I also decided to shake the rugs we keep on that floor. Found a big blob of Butte Rock paint on our gray brick porch! Since it was still wet, I was able to scrub it off.

PROBLEM - STAPLES - The floor installer was here bright and early. He was most unhappy to discover that he had hours of work ahead of him pounding down staples left from the old flooring. He said that should have been done before he got here.

PROBLEM - DRY WALL BLOBS - He was also unhappy over the amount of drywall blobs all over the floor. The underlayment cannot be installed over these blobs. They were supposed to be cleaned off, too, before he got here. So, in addition to pounding staples, he's scraping off drywall blobs.

PROBLEM - OLD STAIR NOSE - The metal 'trim' on the floor between the kitchen and family room should have been removed, and was not. Another unexpected job to do before installation can begin.

PROBLEM - NEW WOODEN STAIR NOSE - The new trim that will go down is wood, and needs to be stained. He says he's not supposed to do it, that 'customer' agreed to do it. No, 'customer' did not agree to do it. Susan agrees that the Floor people are supposed to do it. UPDATE: still don't know who is doing it, but the stair nose was installed yesterday. That means it will be stained with the new tile sitting there up against it. I don't know how that will turn out, but I am NOT happy that it was done that way. The piece is so small it could have been stained in a few minutes. Whoever does it had better not get any on the new tile. :-(

It's always something...

Busy weekend

2009-06-28T14:36:00.003-05:00

We tried to review/approve the quartz slab for our counter tops yesterday - drove 20 miles (each way) to Schiller Park (southeast of O'Hare) only to find that the slab won't be delivered for yet another week. It was not a pleasant drive - 294 is under construction. 'nuf said.

Bob painted the inside of the pantry with primer yesterday. Today (Sunday) he is painting it in semi-glass Butte Rock to match the kitchen walls. He's doing this under protest. His color preference was glossy white, like before. "It'll be too dark in there" says Bob. "But", says I, "we're having a light installed in the pantry. I want some color in there!". We went back and forth, but my sweetie is (even as I type) painting the pantry Butte Rock. UNDER. PROTEST. Check his face in the picture...

I did promise him that, if it was too dark and I hated it - that I would be the one to repaint it white. (Somewhat of an empty promise. For various reasons, I don't think I would be able to do it. So let's hope we're ok with the color.)

Signage

2009-06-26T09:10:00.001-05:00

Our front yard...

Butte Rock

2009-06-26T09:05:00.004-05:00

Drywall is patched, walls have been skim-coated & primed, and this morning (Friday) the painters are here to paint. We've chosen 'Butte Rock' for the walls. (My son Patrick would say that's Martha Stewart for 'brown'). It's darker than anything we've had on our walls before, but we're trying to be brave and go with a little more color. It looks so nice against the floor tile, cabinets, etc. I'm holding up the color sample against the living room wall so you can see just how much darker it is.

Electric passed inspection

2009-06-25T09:07:00.004-05:00

Arlington Heights was here yesterday afternoon, and the electrical work has been approved. Good news.

The soffit area has been covered over with drywall, and the faux paint has been covered over with a special primer. Instead of sanding down the textured paint, the approach will be to primer the walls, then cover them with the same 'mud' used to tape the drywall. Less damage to the actual wall that way. Still a lot of sanding (and mess), to smooth out the 'mud' once it's dry.

Susan called yesterday. Due to a glitch in the design software, two of the cabinets were sized 4" too wide. They've been re-ordered, and the order will be expedited. Susan does not expect any impact to our schedule. I sure hope she is right.

Flooring is to be delivered today, and installed next Monday or Tuesday. That will be nice. Right now we're walking around on sub-flooring that has lots of sharp pointy bits sticking out, left over from the floor they ripped out. So we have to wear shoes. :-( We don't like wearing shoes, especially in the house.

Waiting for Electrical Inspection

2009-06-24T09:33:00.003-05:00

It's Wednesday morning, 6/24/09. Electrical is ready for Arlington Heights inspection. Since they only inspect in our area in the afternoon, the house is quiet this morning. Dan will be here before noon, so he's here when the Inspector arrives.

I did take pictures of the electrical stuff. Very important, yes - but pretty boring. Although the picture I've posted is not boring to us. A new cabinet is being installed between the family room and the kitchen, where the iron railing used to be. A low cabinet, with a height slightly less than the back of the (family room) couch. Once installed, the answering machine and phone that are now on the bar (at the far end of the family room) will be relocated to the new cabinet. No more running from the kitchen to the bar area to see who is calling, or to check for messages. The new outlet is actually not visible in this picture - it's kind of behind the blue tape. The holes you see were made in order to find/run the electric.

BTW, doing dishes in the basement was just as unpleasant last night. Per Dan, the biggest hassle for most of his customers has been the lack of a dishwasher. I believe it.

Good-bye old kitchen

2009-06-23T09:10:00.006-05:00

TOP PIX: junk pile - what used to be kitchen sink & cabinets
MIDDLE PIX: Stove and sink used to be here. Note soffits are also gone.
BOTTOM PIX: Family room, looking to kitchen. Plastic sheeting sealing off the doorway.

Day 1 of the Kitchen Project is behind us. It was a long day, but WOW, did they get a lot done. You can't see in these pictures, but the tile floor is gone in both the kitchen & the entryway. All the debris has been hauled away, and they even swept the kitchen-entryay floor - several times! I was/am impressed.

I prepared my first meal without a kitchen, and I'll tell you that next week's menu will be a lot simpler. For example, no more homemade salad dressing (that dirtied up the mini-processor, a whisk, measuring spoons, measuring cups, and a bowl). I'm wearing a groove in the floor running back and forth between the fridge (in the family room) and the dining room table, where meal prep takes place. We bought a brand new litter box to use as a 'dirty dish' holder. That's how we get the dirty dishes to the basement sink, and then carry the clean ones back up. (YES, of course I wash it). We chose a litter box since it was a nice size - dishpans are too small. I'm also now using a GB. Rachael Ray fans know that means 'garbage bowl'. Works pretty well, too. We don't want an open garbage can sitting around where Kiki might want to investigate. So I fill up the GB, then dump it into the can in the garage.

Today, electrical and plumbing work. I'll post more tomorrow.

Anticipated Remodel Timeline

2009-06-18T08:50:00.002-05:00

Bob and I met with Dan (contractor) and Susan (designer) yesterday to go over the project time line with them. Estimated duration = 5 weeks. It could be longer, depending on how long it takes to make the countertops.

Week 1, which starts on Monday, 6/22/09, will see a lot of work done. Old kitchen - gone. Iron railing between kitchen and family room - gone. Faux (textured) paint - gone. Drywall patched where needed, and electric roughed in. Yes, we'll take pictures.

Week 2, old flooring gone, and new flooring installed, cabinets installed, new pantry doors installed, and new casing around the bay window(s) installed. The walls will have one coat of primer, and one coat of the new color (which we'll pick next week).

We still have some packing to do. There' s a fair amount of last minute stuff to move to its new home: coffee pot, glasses by the sink, coffee cups by the coffee pot, all that stuff under the sink, etc. The goal is to have everything out of the kitchen by Saturday evening. My 'camping out' cooking will start with Sunday's meals.

It will be interesting, when this is all over, to see what the biggest hassle was. Today, I'm thinking it will be the lack of a dishwasher. Our powder room, just off the family room, of course has a sink. But it's so tiny we can't use it to wash dishes. So we'll be schlepping our dirty dishes to the basement. We plan on using a lot of disposables (dishes, glasses, KFS, etc.). But there's still going to be dirty "dishes". I don't think they make disposable pots and skillets, or spatulas, tongs, etc.

More pictures

2009-06-14T14:23:00.003-05:00

The first picture shows the now mostly empty cabinets. The second one shows our new 'kitchen'. Under the table is full of boxes. Things that we won't be using while the kitchen is being rebuilt - like the other 3 sets of dishes I like to use. Bread and butter plates Heck, we're going to use paper plates once the dishwasher is disconnected, so we certainly don't need bread n butter plates!

Note the shelves to the right in the picture. That's where a big part of the pantry items went. There's box to the right of the hutch (behind the shelves) with more pantry items. The two boxes on the right end of the hutch contain all of my spices. I have a lot, and use most of them on a regular basis. Not sure how much I'll be using them without a real kitchen, but didn't want to pack them away.

Yes, I have a complete list of whats in every box, and whats where in the hutch. Not that I'm using the lists much. Frequently, Bob and I have to make two attempts at getting anything. First attempt takes us to where the item used to be (25 years of training is hard to break), and then we remember - No, it's not there anymore.

Bob dug the camp stove out of the basement, and tried it. Yup, still works. I think Hamburger (or Tuna or Chicken) Helper will be our new taste treat on those days when we can't use the grill. Not very healthful eating, but I suppose we'll survive.

Halfway to the wall

2009-06-14T13:59:00.007-05:00

Everyday I pack a little more. Actually, I think we're more than 'half way to the wall', but there are days when I think I'll never get to that wall...

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. :-) These are a couple of the 'before' pictures. The one with the glasses is to the right of the sink. The spices are to the left of the range. Next post will show 'after'.

Kiki likes some of the new arrangement

2009-06-13T14:37:00.002-05:00

The dining room chairs have been moved upstairs into the guest room. Kiki really likes this arrangement. She spends a fair amount of time in one of the chairs (at the foot of the bed) that faces the door, sleeping or just watching to see who's coming up the stairs.

The pantry is now empty, and a lot of the contents are on the shelves we moved from the basement. Some items are in boxes, and the rest are piled on the dining room table until I get the energy to find them a better home.

Bob and I are anxious for the Kickoff meeting on Wednesday (6/17).

Boy, do we have lots of stuff in our kitchen

2009-06-08T07:25:00.003-05:00

Packing continues... We went to U-Haul and bought lots of boxes ($50 worth). I filled up box #16 yesterday. The hutch in the dining room now has the everyday things in it or on it. For example, the cereal bowls, saucers and plates are in it. The pots, pans, skillet that I use a lot are in there, too. Two shallow boxes are sitting on top of the hutch, full of spices and herbs, salt and pepper, etc.

I've started packing up the pantry, but have made little progress there. I'm planning on bringing up a set of shelves from the basement to hold the pantry items we'll be using. We also need to move the kitchen table into the living room. Going to have to remove the leaf in order to do that. The table is 31 years old, and that leaf has never been removed. This should prove interesting.

Sorry, no pix - Bob has to show me how to get them off of the camera. I know how to upload them once they're on the PC.

No packing today. I have to give me back/neck a rest. We planted tomatoes last Friday (?) and that started the back and neck spasms. Packing all of those boxes didn't help any. So today is a day off for me.

Scheduled start date - June 22

2009-06-03T13:17:00.002-05:00

Just got an email from Dan, our contractor - work on the kitchen will begin Monday, June 22 at 8am. WooHoo!

Sometime between now and then, he will conduct a planning session, and provide us with a time line (Project plan?) showing what is scheduled to happen when.

Good thing I've started packing the kitchen up. My goal is to have it all packed and to be living with the new arrangement by June 17 or so. That way if I've packed something I really need, or the furniture arrangement doesn't work, or the camp stove is broken, etc. etc. - we still have time to react before actual construction begins.

This is a week later than estimated. I had hoped to have the kitchen done before 7/28 (our anniversary). Dan's original estimate was 5-6 weeks of work. 5 weeks we'll make it - 6 we won't. I guess we may end up going out to eat on our anniversary, which we have not done in years.

Packing begins

2009-06-03T08:35:00.004-05:00

I've started clearing out cabinets and packing up the 'deep storage' stuff. Things that we either never use, seldom use, or really don't need to use. For example - coffee cups/mugs collected over the years. They were stashed in the back of the corner cabinet - a space reachable only by standing on a ladder. Wondering about their fate when the new corner cabinet is installed - one that offers easy access to all the space.

Bread & Butter plates - yes, nice to use, but for the duration, I think we can use a paper towel.

Drinking glasses - since we'll be washing dishes by hand, in the basement, do we really need a clean glass every time we get a glass of ice water? All the glasses, except for a paltry 4 were packed.

I think you get the picture. It is slow going because I pack a box, rest, pack a box, rest, etc. It's not the packing that tires me out - it is the hauling stuff out of the cabinets. Packing will continue today as soon as Bob gets the spare boxes out of the garage attic, where we've been stashing them for awhile. I expect to make good progress today because Bob is home to help gather stuff out of the cabinets.

We know we have to buy some boxes because so far, no plates have fit into the boxes we have. And, we have a LOT of wine glasses that need to be packed into special boxes to prevent breakage. Perhaps today a trip to U-Haul...

Touching base

2009-05-29T09:00:00.003-05:00

I was told yesterday that blogs are to be updated on a regular basis, whether or not there was anything important to say. I'm new at this, but will try to post more often. What has happened since last time?
Well, cabinets are due to be delivered 6/16/09. Just before that, we'll have a planning meeting where Dan (the contractor) will present his 'project plan' time line. We'll discuss what we need to do, what he will do and when, etc.

I know we have to empty cabinets (duh!) so I'm going to start packing away the kitchen next week. I also know that Dan needs the garage for his tools. No prep on our part there - our garage is pretty neat. Our poor cars will have to sleep in the driveway, though.

Thanks to our dear friends, Mitch & Alice, I also had a couple of questions for the designer: Is the hardware on the pull-out shelves heavy duty? (Yes, each can support 100 pounds). What faceplate will be put on the electrical outlets that will be in the middle of the back splash tile? (recommended = stainless steel. Not sure yet what we'll do)

Stay tuned for more...

Samples of cabinet door, tile, etc

2009-04-27T07:10:00.003-05:00

Here's a picture showing the floor tile we picked, the cabinet door style/color, the countertop, and the backsplash tile. The backsplash tile is difficult to see but is made up of 1 inch square pieces of glass, stone and tile. It's really pretty on a wall. The countertops will be quartz. The floor tile is made to look like stone, but is actually vinyl (I think). Biscayne "Tanned Leather" by NAFCO.

Problem number 1 update - solved

2009-04-26T19:30:00.001-05:00

We had Dan from Double D come out and look at the interior of the soffits. No problem, so we are good to go.

Kitchen remodel - first problem

2009-04-23T15:44:00.001-05:00

Well, here is our first problem with the kitchen project. This is a view inside the soffit on the south kitchen wall. Notice the duct work running through here on the upper left. There is also electrical conduit running outside of the wall studs and then diagonally to the center on the east wall.