10/17/2013 Kitchen completion

10/17/2013.

Who would think something as simple as flush toilets would feel like winning the lottery?  The plumbing has been fully hooked up, so now we finally have running water, flush toilets, and operational tub and showers. No more dry chem camp toilet and having to shower at work after working on the house.  The last of the counter tops arrived and were installed yesterday morning.  Also we fastened the last kitchen cabinet to the wall as we worked towards another midnight.  It feels like a huge weight has been lifted now that we have that task completed.  We still have some crown molding to attach and the back half of the island to wrap, but all the major players are in place now.

Finally we will have some real counter space to work with.  Our current house has barely 1/4 this much.  We're very excited with this work space.  We love to cook together in the kitchen and this will make that so much easier.

The "scary" wall of cabinets.  This was the most challenging section because everything is on a different level and depth.  This also made the crown molding a most challenging task.  We'll get the microwave/range hood mounted later this week, and we're still waiting for the rest of our door/drawer hardware to arrive too.

The island partially complete and needing the bar section wrapped.  We have to wait until the electrician comes tomorrow to finish wiring it first though.

10/2/2013 More Kitchen

10/2/2013

The kitchen has been one of the scariest projects for us thus far.  This is precision work and you can't hide a mistake here like you can on a rough cut deck board, or expanse of cement.  No, this kitchen has been designed down to the 1/16th of an inch, and the margin for error is so minute as to not be worth mentioning.  Couple that with walls and floors that are not level or true and you have the recipe for potential ugliness.  Here's where the attention to detail really pays off.  As is usual, this slows us down more than we would hope, but it must be done.  Our designer, brilliant visionary that she is, has made allowances with some of the trim and design elements included that have saved our bacon several times up to now.  It's not over yet, but we are charging ahead in increments.  

This section darn near killed us.  The top section consisted of three cabinets.  The wine rack, the cabinet above it, and the top section of the tall pantry are all tied together and weigh approximately one hundred pounds.  We (Debra and I) had to raise those up and mount them up to the ten foot level by hand.  We got them up half way on a scaffold, but the rest of the way was muscle, sweat, and an entire catalog of choice words.  We got it, but just barely, and luckily the damage to the wall was minor and hidden behind the cabinets.  We were lucky neither of us got hurt on this portion.

Building the island brought that geometry nightmare back to life again.  This consisted of four cabinets and several panels and trim sections to tie it all together as a unit.  That, plus we had to build the bar wall and everything had to match and had to line up with everything from the floor lines, to the cabinet spacing.  Things like distance to refrigerator and cabinet doors, floor alignment, and getting the whole mess placed appropriately under the overhead lights and pot rack.  The final stress point was the finality of driving three inch screws down through our new floor to anchor the whole mess.  That step was terrifying.  Counter tops are scheduled to be installed on the 9th.