Category: Home Improvement

So not a huge amount of progress lately, but we got the pendants hung over the island, and the tile extension to the new boundary of the kitchen put in, and a stray panel of wood to cover a cabinet side placed.

Tomorrow is a big day: the backsplash gets installed. Also, we get to be Mean Customers to the countertop folk who placed the cut-out in the quartz of the island in the wrong place. Which is going to cost them a pretty penny, but given the countertops are costing us a pretty penny, and it was clearly their fault from multiple angles, there;s no question about it.

In Album Hill-Kleerup Kitchen – 2015-05-06

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Whew!

The Good: The quartz countertops (Cambria, Bristol Blue) are fabulous. They look just the way I wanted. They provide some darkness to offset the cabinets, and they provide a blue cast that complements the browns of everything.

I can't tell you how good they look in person. Now it's looking like a kitchen.

The guys who installed were friendly and professional and got the job done. Eventually …

The Bad: They also arrived at 4 p.m., and took about 5 hours, all told, to bring in, line up, caulk down, seal together, clean off, etc. Yes, that means they left around 9 p.m. Which was a late night for them and us.

The Ugly: Everything was perfect … except with the island, where the cut-out for the sink is about 2.5" further family-room-ward that it's supposed to be (in order to be centered under the center pendant). So we'll be calling to have a replacement slab cut. Wish us luck.

Next steps: In terms of big steps … finish plumbing (well, except for the island), flooring (to be scheduled), appliances (after flooring), backsplash (now that the countertops are up), and (not affecting the kitchen going "live") the side yard grading, patio, and retaining walls. Oh, and finish electrical …

… which can't actually be done until the island countertop is determined …

… which is also dependent on our getting the pop-up electrical outlet we had planned for there …

… which we discovered today that we were supposed to have ordered, not the contractor …

… which turns out to be no longer manufactured, and, apparently, the only one left is on eBay for more than normal and with an oiled brass rather than satin nickel finish.

So … we'll cope.

But, hiccups and potholes in the road aside, this was a major, major milestone. And I'm very, very happy.

In Album Hill-Kleerup Kitchen – 2015-04-27

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While I was gone, various small bits and bobs were done around the kitchen — most of the lighting was installed (there are some things that need doing with the pendants before they can be hung), and progress was made on the tile for the floor (but not the rest of the floor, which is an issue in and of itself).

Monday: countertops! Which will be a huge step forward, but a terrible disappointment for the kittehs, who enjoy jumping up into the little boxes.

In Album Hill-Kleerup Kitchen – 2015-04-24

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And … the plastic sheeting is down between the breakfast room and the kitchen. Woot! We have a whole house again, even if we can't use part of it!

Actually, with that tarp down, the kitchen seems huge.

The countertop template folk came today, and everything seems the way it's supposed to be, with no glances askance or widened eyes in horror. Yay. Not sure of the due date for delivery and install, but that's a step in the right direction.

The various cardboard boxes of most of the cabinets are off to the recycler. I feel virtuous.

Painting is pretty much done upstairs and down, and it looks good.

This and that is still to be done on the punch list, but right now we're mostly in a holding pattern for the countertops.

Now to get back in the habit of existing the breakfast room from the family room side …

In Album Hill-Kleerup Kitchen – 2015-04-07

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No new or exciting news the past few days, so I thought I'd run these pix from last Tuesday that show the post-cabinet-install status, after everything got cleaned up (mostly by Jim and Ginger, since I was still heads-down in office work, dagnabbit). There is still some fill-in to do — some trim and spacers and crown molding to be completed once some additional pieces arrive, as well as some additional nail setting and a bit of putty work — but here's where we are.

Well, in the past few days Alex has been in doing painting of the trim, as well as some work in the basement. More on that anon.

Countertop template folk arrive on Monday.

In Album Hill-Kleerup Kitchen – 2015-03-31

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So … Jim the Father-in-Law has flown off, having contributed an inestimable amount toward getting the cabinetry in shape (with much assist from his lovely assistance, Ginger, the Mother-in-Law, and far too little assist from Me, the Guy Whose Big Project Has Had Two Go-Lives In As Many Weeks). The cabinetry, except for some recognized trim-work still remaining, is done.

What next?

Inside, we need to get the countertop folk to template the cabinets (and sinks et al.), so that the quartz countertops can be ordered. Backsplash needs to be installed. Tile needs to be brought up to the kitchen boundary line, and then cork flooring installed thereafter. Electrical and plumbing finishing needs to be finished. Flooring put in. Appliances installed.

Suddenly, the steady march of Progress starts getting constricted by suppliers and specialty contractors.

And, meanwhile, Neko mourns her favorite box of cabinet, cruelly moved from the dining room and installed in the kitchen.

Progress updates will perforce be reduced in frequency, as actual progress … slows .

(To be fair, there's steady progress in the basement, but that's kind of boring. And we're dried out enough to start talking about progress in the side yard to landscape in such a way that rainfall and snowmelt don't form a pond outside the back door …)

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Cabinetry work is essentially complete — there's one more back by the double-windows to put in (now that the crew has trimmed up the window), and there's some crown molding work still to do, and one panel that needs to be added, and all the cabinets and drawers need to be vacuumed out, and the countertop people ordered to template things and …

… but the cabinets are essentially in place, and we can see what the kitchen is going to look and feel like. And it's big.

Also, the swinging doors to/from the dining room got installed, huzzah. They look nice (and will look nicer when painted and push plates are put on them.

Jim heads home tonight. I couldn't have done this without him (though, given how much he accomplished while I was tied up with work stuff, he could clearly get most of it done without me).

In Album Hill-Kleerup Kitchen – 2015-03-31

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Next up: an Isthmus!

We completed the island (save some decorative panels), and put up the rest of the wall cabinets where the peninsula will be. Also we laid down the foundation for the peninsula. Woot!

Also, crown molding. Lots of crown molding.

Tomorrow — building the peninsula, adding some paneling, putting in one final cabinet by the windows after the contractors take care of some trim … and we're wrapped up (for the moment).

In Album Hill-Kleerup Kitchen – 2015-03-29

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No report yesterday because there was not a lot to see, but today …

One of the more daunting elements to the kitchen cabinet install was the oven cabinet, which weighs an ungodly amount, needed to be custom-cut, and, oh yeah, weighs an ungodly amount. If there was going to be one item that I might invoke the Mythical Man-Weekend for, it would have been to wrangle the thing.

(The Mythical Man-Weekend, modeled after Fred Brooks' The Mythical Man-Month, was the idea that if we were really behind or if there were elements that simply could not be handled by Jim and me, or even with the ladyfolk assisting, we'd thrown manpower at the project to get it completed. Not only are we on or ahead of schedule, but the cabinet, though a serious bitch to move about, was manageable. All our friends can rest more easily tonight …)

Having that in place, we're leaving the cabinet that goes beside it so that the regular contractors can put up window trim on Monday. Instead, we started in on the island, one of the features we are really looking forward to having.

While installing against walls can be a challenge, as walls are _never_straight up-and-down (or side-to-side), installing when your only guide is distance from the walls around, centering on lighting fixtures, or the level vagaries of the floor itself, is its own challenge. We got about 2/3 of the island assembled, shimming like lunatics to keep the thing level, plumb, centered, and straight.

The rest of the island will be finished tomorrow. That will leave work on crown molding, as well as finishing the peninsula. Plenty of time (as Jim and Ginger don't leave until Tuesday night).

Feeling good about the project, right now. And looking forward to publishing "Dave's Laws of Big Home Remodeling Projects" ….

In Album Hill-Kleerup Kitchen – 2015-03-28

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Jim and I put a lot of the doors on prior to the ladies arriving from their SoCal sojourn this past week. We also got some cabinets put up on the wall shared with the dining room — the rest of that wall, including the peninsula, will be the last ting we do.

We got the plywood put down on the floor for the base of the island, which was a big thing. The bigger thing still lurking is the oven cabinet, a massive and heavy unit that our two ovens will go into, and that needs a base assembled for it (and to be lifted onto same). Also proper holes cut out in front for the actual ovens we're buying, holes cut in back for the power outlets, and a steam stack into the attiic space for the steam oven.

That may be what we tackle next, before the island cuts down on our maneuvering room.

In Album Hill-Kleerup Kitchen – 2015-03-26a

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If you squint real hard and it's kind of dark. The cabinetry is largely complete on the north wall, and it's looking great.

The work project go-live efforts have been keeping me away fro participating as much as I'd hoped — but maybe that will settle down today.

Yeah, I know, hope springs eternal.

In Album Hill-Kleerup Kitchen – 2015-03-26

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So not a lot visible today — in part because I was tied up with some project go-live activities at the keyboard and phone, in part because this is one of the trickier bits in the kitchen — the framed refrigerator "cabinet," with a big, deep cabinet over it.

When all was said and done, it was all pretty successful, and I expect to see a lot more visible progress tomorrow.

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