Lots of stuff happenin'...

Sorry for not posting an update for so long. In addition to trying to wrap up the last bits of the kitchen project and keeping busy at work, Pat started a new job. It's in Washington DC, so we have been busy finding an apartment and getting her settled there. Initially, she will be there five days a week and evetually transition to four days a week. Luckily, we have a selection of several direct flights into BWI or DCA so that helps keep the commute manageable.

In the mean time, we are alternating weekends, so about every other weekend I head to Washington. It's a great city and the people are extremely friendly. We are having fun getting to know the city and seeing all the sites.






After talking it over for a long time, she (we!) made the decision to join the US Public Health Service, http://www.usphs.gov/. She entered as a commissioned officer, Lieutenant (LT) rank. So now, not only do I have to bow, I have to salute her as well...
Kidding aside, it is a great opportunity and will help her with her ultimate career goals. So far she is really enjoying her job and is proudly wearing the uniform! The whole uniformed service culture is a new experience for us, but everyone we have met has been very helpful getting us acclimated. So far the transition has been a great experience.

While I was downloading these images, I came across vacation pics from Thailand still in the camera. Nevermid, that we have been back almost a year! I'll share somepictures soon. But here is a little peek of our neighbors where we stayed..

-scott

This week's project

Here is this week's project: finishing the walls in the landing leading from the kitchen to the basement.

I cut an access hole to insulate an interior wall that I forgot to do when insulating the kitchen walls. My goal is to get the walls patched and painted by this weekend and trimmed out next week. Need to get this project done!

On a totally unrelated subject, I recently came across a website about a cyclist in California hit by a motorist. His story really touched me because in an instant his life was drastically changed. Before his accident he had so much ahead of him; plans for law school and a recent engagement. Now, because of an inattentive motorist he suffers from a tramatic brain injury. Although lucky to have survived, he now lives at home and is relearning how to walk and talk.

This tragic story is all too common among cyclist. I have been riding for roughly twenty years and several times I have been told of a cyclist killed in an accident with a motorist.

Last night was the Ride of SIlence, a ride honoring cyclist killed by motorists. I decided to participate as a tribute to the cyclist in the story above and to do my part to help bring awareness to this issue.

Now, I know not all cyclists are angels. I have ridden thousands of miles, mostly for training, for many years on public roads and I have seen many irresponsible cyclists as well. What motorists need to understand is that cyclists are extremely vulnerable to cars and other vehicles. Even if a cyclist is being an idiot, is it really worth seriously injuring or even killing someone to prove a point? When you are driving, please share the road and be cautious around cyclists.

Thanks for listening.

Finishing details

Sorry for taking so long to get an update posted. The past few weeks I've been busy finishing up details in the kitchen and now that the weather is nice, getting to work in the yard. Pat and I also went to visit family over Easter weekend. The girls' egg hunt was a highlight...

Ella


Alaire

My grandfather. One of my favorite people to spend time with. His stories from WWII are amazing.

As for home-improving, I finished the peninsula this weekend. I learned that finish woodworking is quite tedious, especially if you make straight cuts and everything (the framing, in my case) else is not quite square. My original plans for the bar were quite ambitious. It included having internal lighting and a unique shelf design. But at this point I just want to be done so I simplified the design and eliminated the internal lighting. It would have been really complex to build. And since I am fabricating it from spare parts from IKEA cabinets I would end up having to make another trip to Cincinnati to buy more "wood". Anyways, I'm satisfied with the results. It's simple and I'm happy to be able to check this off the list.

I've recently crawled out from under my rock and started getting out on my bike again. It's been a few years since I've logged any serious saddle time so I'm definitely not setting any land speed records. I even removed the cyclometer so I don't have to look at the speedo anymore...too painful. For some motivation, I dug out this shot (I'm leading) from a few years ago. Now to get back in fighting shape...

Thanks for tuning in, more news later....

New Photos

Several people have commented as to the lack of new photos. Sorry for taking so long to get an update posted. So as promised here are some photos from tonight. I still have the pennisula wine rack and other some odds & ends to finish up but, we have been using the kitchen for several weeks now. So far so good!


We opted for base cabinets with large pull-out drawers instead of doors. We really like how they provide full access without having to reach into deep cabinets.

The temporary countertop is not holding up very well. I used a water-based urethane to seal the MDF. I learned it does not repel water. I suppose I should have thought that one through a bit better... It is severly watermarked, but will do until we get get the new countertops.


We unpacked most of the kitchen stuff this past weekend. It looks like we have massive amounts of storage with all the drawers and wall cabinets, but it was surpisingly easy to fill them up.

Chester likes the heated floor...

Pat enjoying her new cooktop...


The penninsula is still a work in progress. The cabinets are pulled out in this shot so I can glue the upper trim piece in place.


So that's it, let me know what you think. In the future, I will be more regular with my updates. I'll try to post at least once a week, more frequently if I have anything interesting...which is unlikely.

Quick update

This weekend I worked on some of the small bits that are still not finished like painting some door trim, caulking baseboard gaps, shelving in the closet, etc. Nothing too exciting just those last minute details.

This week I will try to get the penninsula finished up, but I will be really busy at work so I'm not sure how much I will be able to get accomplished.

Looks like we will have to make another IKEA run to pick up some more drawer pulls and small bits that we are short. Maybe next weekend.

More pics soon.

Time off for some fun

Met my brother Dave, for a few days of skiing and boarding in Breckenridge this past weekend. He was in Denver for a medical conference, so I cashed in some frequent flier miles and flew out on Friday evening to meet him. We rolled into Breckenridge a bit after 1am.
Pat was great and really encouraged me to go. Even on Valentine weekend!


Dave


As you can see the weather was beautiful.

On the way up to Peak 9.


What a view!

This was my first time boarding in Colorado and it was a great experience. Definitely in another league than the corn fields of Ohio.

We have water!!

We finally have running water in the kitchen again. It's been just over seven months since we have had a functional sink in the kitchen.

The plumber came today and finished the connections to the sink, faucet, disposal and DW. He also made the connection to the gas cooktop as well. So we can now cook in the kitchen again! I still have detail work to finish up, but I was able to get alot done in the past week or so.
I fabricated and installed the stainless backsplash this past weekend. Eventually, I will tile the wall around the SS. I still haven't made a final decision on the tile yet. I'm considering glass tile or a subway tile. Color is another story too, but I don't expect to get to this until after we have our final countertop installed anyway.















Last week, I sealed the IKEA Numerar beech butcher block countertop with three coats of Waterlox (original formula). I hope three is enough because although it creates a beautiful finish the stuff really stinks. It has been curing for over a week and we can still smell it. If I had known it was so stinky, I would have used another finish. Anyway, I really like how it turned out. After if finishes curing (4 weeks or so), I want to sand/buff it to get it smoother. It seems to have raised the wood grain in some places.

I built the temporary countertop for the penninsula and the phone nook (not shown). I still have trimwork to finish on the penninsula. That's on the list for this week.


Also on the list is installing all the cabinet pulls, getting the microwave vent ductwork fabricated (it needs to be custom made), some detail work on the closet, and touchup painting. Then next week I take off for some snowboarding in Colorado with my brother....can't wait.

It's a kitchen....almost!

It's starting to feel like a kitchen now! I think I'm finally in the home stretch. My goal the past week or so has been to get the cabinets and countertop installed so we can have the sink and cooktop hooked-up and have a functional kitchen again. I've forgotten what it is like to have a normal kitchen. Pat has been able to do amazing things with just a microwave and a rice cooker, but she is ready to have a kitchen again.

The past week or so I have gotten the cabinets, appliances and butcher block countertop installed. Finished the under-cabinet lighting and connected the circuit for the floor warming system. It was a relief when it worked.... Oh, and the sink and the faucet were delivered.

We have been trying to finalize our decision for the countertop: granite or concrete. We like the creativity concrete provides, but the time involved to make it will mean at least another 3-4 weeks without a kitchen. So we are also considering going with granite, but it's a bit out of our budget and the low-cost pre-fabbed slabs have their own issues as well. So in the meantime, I made temporary countertops from MDF to use until we make our final decision.

Before the final coat of polyurethane.

So now this is where things stand today. Hopefully I can get the plumber here next week to finalize the plumbing and hook up the gas to the cooktop. I bought a piece of stainless steel to use as the backsplash behind the cooktop. I'll start fabricating it this weekend. Then I'll be working on small details and will turn my attention to finishing the penninsula. Almost there!

Trimwork and cabinets

Dad came up again in early December to help with the trimwork. He does good work.

Dad worked during the day when I was at work and was able to get alot done. Pat & I finally made a decision on paint color and I painted the walls.

I replaced the door thresholds. Only took four attempts to trim the door to the right height. It is really cold out, so I was glad to get the new thresholds in.

Dad was able to get the trimwork done quickly so we started putting together the IKEA cabinets and prep for install.

This is just some of the boxes that were taking over the basement (there are more that what is shown in the photo).

The first wall cabinets going up.

North wall cabinets

South wall cabinets

We decided to build the cabinet bases from wood rather than use the IKEA plastic feet for a couple reasons. Not sure if it worked out to be easier in the end though.

Finished tiling

I finished tiling the kitchen floor at the end of November. The cheapo power drill I bought to mix thinset with died on the second last batch. :( RIP!

Overall it took about 4 weeks nights and weekends. It was my first time tiling anything, and but once I got the hang of it seemed to go alright. I'm happy with the results.



Here are some pictures of the steps leading down to the basement and side door before tiling. The plywood are temporary steps until I finished the new treads.


These are the steps leading upstairs and to the living room. The pink paint looks to be original. I uncovered it after removing carpeting when we moved in.

Here is what the completed floor looks like. I decided to tile the entire floor to help make leveling the cabinets easier. I hope the extra effort was worth it...

And some shots of the finished stairs.

Next up is door and window casings and baseboards...and cabinets, hooray!

Making progress again

Note: this was originally posted on my old blogsite in early November.

Alot going on since Aug: vacationing in Thailand, busy at work, golfing in San Diego....and a little bit of work on the kitchen in there too.In between vacations I have been able to make some progress...finished the ceiling, painted and installed the lighting. Walls are primed and realy for paint.

Pat and I are still trying to find a color theme that we both can agree on. We have on idea, but haven't found the right shade.

Also, finally making progress on the floor again. Installed the heating system a couple weeks ago which went down brilliantly.

The mats come in rolls. Simply select the correct size for your room layout.


















Here is what the floor looks like when the mats are installed and before the self-leveling cement is poured. I only installed the heating mats in the main traffic area, not under the cabinents (for obvious reasons).

Another shot after the self-leveling cement is poured. I had to work fast since I was using rapid-set. I used 1/4" foam strip/tape to dam the doorways and openings to contain the SLC.

We found a beautiful natural slate at "Big Orange" of all places...long story.

Anyway picked it up last Friday and starting putting down the tile this past weekend. Including preparing the subfloor and tiling, I've lost count of the batches of thinset I have mixed so far... my power drill was literally smoking the other day.Once the tilework is complete, the IKEA cabinets go in....hooray! Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel....Dad offered to come up again and help with the trimwork, which I'm sure will be a bigger job than it seems.More soon.

Time for a vacation...

I finished rerouting the light switches and framing the wall and ceiling transitions after we got back from IKEA Sunday. I needed to get the cabinets that are going to be used in the peninsula and exchange another cabinet for a different size. Mental note: don't go to IKEA on Sunday at noon...it was packed.

The goal for this week is to get the serving bar/penninsula frame and drywall finished and paint the walls so I can pick up where I left off on the floor.

Here are some shots of the penninsula frame coming together.

I was hoping to have the cabinets and a temporary countertop installed for the sink before we take off for vacation next week, but I don't think that is going to happen. I think I will be lucky to get the floor tiled. I friend of mine offered to help out this week, so hopefully we can make allot of progress. After a couple weeks in the islands of the south of Thailand, I should be rejuvenated to get this project completed.