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.

Detour...

After almost four weeks of mudding, sanding, mudding, sanding and more mud and sanding, the walls/ceiling are starting to take shape. Here's a shot of Dad helping out before he got smart and went home. Even an unlimited supply of beer couldn't convice him to stick around for this phase.



The project is starting to look like a room again...not a kitchen yet, but a room.

After getting some primer on the walls, I spent a week preparing the subfloor for tile. Put down 5/8" ply over the original 3/4" T&G subfloor, then 1/4" HardiBacker. 15 sheets of HardiBacker...in thinset. After the first sheet of HardiBacker I realized I was going to need alot more thinset...and a power drill. I also wished I just screwed it directly into the ply. But at that point I was committed and I'm not about taking shortcuts. Oh well, just another trip to "Big Orange." Thanks to the guys at the www.floorstransformed.com forums for great info on preparing a subfloor for tile. Check it out if you are planning to tile.





Not sure how many batches of thinset I mixed, something like seven bags I think.


That bit of open wall is for running the wiring for the floor heat mats which will go down this week.

Now for the detour...
Then after some more thinking and encouragement from a friend, we decided to remove the wall between the kitchen and dining room. I didn't think of it earlier, but I like the idea. It will really open up the kitchen to the rest of the house. I wish I had considered this earlier.... like before the drywall was up!!!

Here is a shot from the dining room before surgery.

Once the wall was down, I needed to reroute the electric which will be a pain now that the drywall is done. Looks like I will have to punch some holes in the ceiling that I just finished....And after...The plan is to put in a compact food service/eating island.

Another roadtrip to IKEA is in our future to pickup the cabinets that I am going to use for the island.Here is a quick sketch of the island design. Specs are: size will be 24x48. Tall wall cabinets on each end and a custom wine rack in the center.

Roadtrip

With our cabinet layout finalized and the framing nearing completion, we took a roadtrip to the new Cincinnati IKEA in late June purchase the cabinets.

Yes, it took two cars to pickup all the cabinets. The folks at IKEA were great. They stayed late on a Friday night assembling the order and helping load. Thanks, guys!

Also continued to hang drywall and work thru other details....like the cooktop vent placement. There was an existing vent opening already in the wall, but of course, it ended up being too low, so I needed to cut a hole for a new one. This was not as easy as it sounds because the outside siding is stone...um, fake stone made from cast concrete rather. My sawzall wasn't up to the task and the access was impossible for a circular saw with a diamond blade. Thanks to the suggestion from a friend, a 4" grinder with a diamond blade....worked like a charm.

Starting to rebuild

Starting to frame the built-in for the fridge and a new knee wall next to the steps.

Dad came up for a week early on to help. We were able to make alot of progress with him working first shift then me on second shift. Thanks for all the help, Dad!

We added insulation to exterior walls and ceiling. Before with no insulation the kitchen was always cold in the winter. Only one HVAC vent didn't really cut it. I am also planning to add an electric floor warming system to improve comfort of the ceramic tile floor in winter. Yes, that big box is a new toilet. A casualty of the new plumbing is needing to replace the original Douglas-Leader toilet in the upstairs bath. I preferred to keep the old one, because I liked the old wall hung tank style. But the plumber could not guarantee it wouldn't leak due to parts not being available. Replacing the toilet left a bare spot on the wall where the builder tiled around the tank.

Well..I now know what my next project will be... A look as drywall is starting to go up...

Demo!

After the drainline was replaced, we started demo on the rest of the kitchen on May 31st. Evidence of the carnage:

My three rules of demo:1. Don't break the windows,2. Don't break the pipes,3. Dont go thru the interior walls.Only collateral damage was my friend getting too ambitious removing plaster with the pick-ax and punching thru to the dining room wall. All things considered, 2 out of 3 isn't too bad....

A couple friends and I were able to knock this out on a Saturday. Plaster and lath makes a mess!

Filled up a 14 cu yard dumpster. I'm glad I had second thoughts and ordered the bigger one.