Month: December 2012

I picked up the last base cabinet last night and Ryan got it installed along with putting the stove in place.   I still need to run an outlet for the stove and we need to get the plumber out for the gas line but he might be able to come next week (it’s the guy that did our new heat and a/c – he needs to add a heat drop to the kitchen anyhow and can do the stove at the same time).  So there is a chance I will have a working stove the weekend after xmas!

The counter installers are coming to template on friday (I got confirmation) so here’s hoping they can install in 2 weeks or less like they said.

Now we can relax on the kitchen, get ready for xmas (lots of wrapping to do!).  After xmas we can get back to kitchen work!  And once the counters get installed we can start the hunt for the perfect tile backsplash and floor!

HAHAHA – please ignore the demolished state of the front livingroom, the tree is in the cupola!  At least there’s one working outlet 🙂

We had a very long weekend, full of late nights.  Luckily so far Alex has taken pity on us and Saturday she slept later than ever which was awesome!

Friday night we got the final coat of spackle on in the kitchen and back hall before dinner.  Then after dinner, once it was dry Ryan got the whole kitchen sanded, then I vacuumed it down and we got a coat of primer on the ceiling and walls.  We got tinted primer so we really can get away with one coat of pain most likely.  It was 2am when we finished priming so we called it quits and we ALL slept till 8am saturday (alex usually gets up at 6:30).

Saturday we got a coat of paint on the ceiling and walls while our neighbor was over to play with Alex.  Ryan also got the last piece of cement board put down in the kitchen section (it had to be re-cut).

And finally it was time to start cabinets.  First we had to unpack the cabinets, we decided to start with the base cabinets because it was almost impossible for us to do the uppers since Ryan mostly had to do them by himself since I was watching Alli and because the base ones are what we need in to get our counters templated and we need to get that done this week if we can.

So we dry fit the first few cabinets and Ryan started the long arduous process of getting the cabinets leveled and installed.  By bedtime Ryan had the cabinets between the stove and dishwasher all installed.  We also dry fit the 2 cabinets to the right of the dishwasher to see where we were at.

We slept even later on sunday, Alli was very accommodating and after waking up to eat and play a bit, she occupied herself in her pac n play in our room while we slept in.  It was very necessary.  Sunday we didn’t have any helper so Alli spent a little time in the kitchen with us 🙂  She thoroughly enjoyed herself!

Ryan got the rest of the base cabinets installed!  We are just waiting on one last cabinet that is coming Tuesday night (the original showed up broken), but it goes on the other side of the stove so it worked out well at least.  Hopefully we can get that cabinet installed quickly tuesday night.  I have to call and set up a template appt for this week if they can do it.  They have a 10-14 day time between template and install and we have xmas next week so no idea when we’ll get installed counters!

 

Once the base cabinets were done, Alli was napping so we pulled out the pantry cabinets and got a start on that craziness that surrounds the monstrous fridge.  With a break after nap time was over to hit up home depot and then to buy our xmas tree it was back to it.  Once Alli was in bed we got one of the cabinets above the fridge installed and the other clamped in.  There was a lot of trying to figure out how to get the fridge with the surround kit to fit and still allow cabinet doors to open but we think we got it figured out, it just took a lot of time tonight.

 

So we are positioned very well. I really only hoped to get the base cabinets done and we got a start on the fridge section so I’m excited! I was able to move all the uppers over to the diningroom area, clean out the livingroom and we got the tree up in the cupola!  Tomorrow night I’ll probably get the lights and decorations down and start on that.  Last week was a lot of kitchen work so hopefully this week we can focus on christmas (minus one night to install the one last cabinet).  We’ll see how it goes.

It’s so awesome seeing a kitchen come back together!  This is certainly the hardest project we have taken on.  Even harder than the built-ins.  The walls and floors are so out of whack that nothing was easy.  Now I just need a recovery day (Ryan probably more so) – too bad it’s back to work tomorrow!

 

 

Well Monday night was a bust, I had a migraine and Ryan had work to do late into the night.  Tuesday however was MUCH more successful.  Ryan got home just as I was done with my dinner break after putting Alex to bed.  We got right to work spackling into the night (Ryan much later than I). We got a coat on the ceiling seams and screws as well as another on the walls.  We got the corner bead up on the bumpout and spackled.

Ryan finished sheetrocking the tiny bumpout by the back hallway and put up the corner beads there then spackled.  I got durabond90 put up around the ceiling where there are gaps.  It’s not done but I got a first round done.  Luckily screw drivers don’t wake up peanut while she sleeps, she slept great through all the noise.  By 11 (3 hours in) I was done and went to bed while Ryan finished up getting a coat on the back hallway.  It was a very productive night!

Wednesday was also productive although much easier than tuesday night because all the prep work was done (no more tightening screws for one thing!).  We got another coat on everything in the kitchen and back hallway.  Finished up filling gaps with durabond too. We’re not taping the upper corners since we’ll be doing crown molding and they’re mostly filled in with durabond.  The walls I’m considering done (the ones covered by cabinets) so we just did a full coat on the ceiling (screws and seams), back hallway, bumpout wall and all outside corners.  Then the top 2 feet on the cabinet walls.  It went pretty quick, 2 hours or so tonight.

One more coat on everything, hopefully we’re up for it tonight after Ryan’s holiday party (the good thing is that we have to leave early to get Alex to bed so we won’t be getting a much later start than previous nights).

 

 

This never would have gotten done like this if Dad (and mom) didn’t come out this weekend!  They came out saturday morning around 9am so Friday night ryan and I worked on the electrical, finishing up almost all of the lights (we couldn’t install 2 of the recessed lights because the oscillating saw was needed and it would have woken Alex).  We were up past 11pm working on electrical and we still had some left to do Saturday.

Saturday morning Alex and I headed out to home depot and the grocery store in the morning while Ryan put in those last 2 lights.  At 9am when Mom and Dad arrived Alex was napping so we got ready to drywall (moved stuff around) and I worked on electrical.  The rest of the day Mom watched Alex, Dad and Ryan sheetrocked and I did electrical.  (A couple of new outlets for fridge/freezer, the lights finished, old wiring removed in the basement and hooking up the lights once the ceiling was up so we had some good lighting).

By dinner time the sheetrock was up not only in the kitchen but the back hallway and the little bumpout area by the bathroom!  We have one little section to do (a 2×4 width basically) in the back hall but otherwise it’s done.  Next up spackle.

After a relatively early night, Dad was up early and taped all the seams before they headed home for the last day of hunting.  I got the screw holes all spackled and a second coat on the wall seams.  Then Ryan bought a small rolling scaffolding so this week I can work on the ceiling spackle without having to use a ladder.  It’s small but i can reach the ceiling.  Hopefully we can get the ceiling done before next weekend.  Very little needs to be done on the walls since they are mostly covered by cabinets and eventually a tiled backsplash.  Just the 2 ft or so above the cabinets is going to be visible and with crown molding we didnt’ worry about the upper corners at all.

Here are some pics from this morning…

So even though Sunday was a pretty lazy day (recuperation from friday night/saturday), we still got a TON done thanks to all the help!  Now we just have to get the spackling done this week so we can sand/prime and get the cabinets up next weekend – sure that sounds easy *sarcasm* 🙂  Luckily we also have help coming next weekend so maybe this is doable and we can get the counter guys out to measure next week??

So i know everyone (all 3 readers) are dying to know how it went hiring carpenters after our completely failed attempt to hire exterior painters!

It went great, but we knew it would because we’d hired these guys before.  Mostly it’s one guy and he has a roommate that he likes to have help him.  From what i can tell the roommate does all the grunt work but the main guy is the brains and the meticulous one.  Works well for us.  Just waiting on the bill to see what this costs us.

What did they do Wed-Fri?  Well they got us the rest of the way prepped for drywall.  Wednesday they supported the floor joist that had been hacked to pieces when the upstairs bathroom was originally put in.  It’s not wonderful but it’s WAY better than it was and really eased my mind!  Then they built the bumpout wall around the plumbing that Ryan had gotten the sill plate in for.

They also cleaned out the old pipes (gas pipes, we had gotten the plumbing pipes out) and got all ready to do firring strips thursday (so they removed all the old drywall screws etc).

Thursday they flattened/leveled (not really level but made it flat as possible), the ceiling and added new firring strips where the old had been cut or removed for plumbing.

They leveled out the walls for cabinets which included planing some wood down and firring other wood out. I must not have taken a picture of that.

Next they took out the old arch that we decided to remove and rebuild because we needed to extend the one wall (and hence both walls to make it even).  So they did demo and cut the cement board and dry fit it to put in Friday morning.  They also cleaned up the back hallway, removing the doorway to the basement (new door will go in there as well).

And back friday with some lumber they got the cement board all laid down and screwed (and glued) down.  Just about a foot left of the kitchen floor to go for that (plus the back hallway).  Next up they built the archway!

And now that lunch is over they are starting on the back hallway.  One corner needs a nailer/firring strip added so they are going to clean up the plaster that’s there and add that (i cleaned out that bookcase so they can move it).  Then they’re going to take up that back floor and put down the cement board for the rest.

So tonight I just have to finish up the electrical!  Oh and get some glue for the cement board, we’ll probably have to finish it ourselves since we ran out of glue but if it’s dry fit it will go fast.  Drywall should be here in about half an hour (storing it on the porch) so tonight our list is:

• Electrical (3 recessed lights, some switches, pendant light boxes and 2 center light boxes), all mapped out, (outlets for fridge and microwave).
• Home depot for glue and insulation (this happens during my grocery shopping trip)
• Glue down floor pieces that aren’t done yet/screw them down
• Cleanup
• Move cabinets around to make room to fit drywall in the front door – ugg!
• Insulate the ceilings for sound if i buy insulation i like (i dont’ like fiberglass)  not a real requirement here

With all this prep, drywall should be a breeze with Dad coming out to help.  Hopefully we’ll get the seams all taped too while he’s here.  Coming together!!!

 

This renovation weekend was one of those problem weekends with MULTIPLE unplanned trips to home depot that really bite into the schedule.  We’ve really gotten to the point where we rarely need to go to home depot unplanned, we usually know what we need and can plan to go at a convenient time.  However fate was working against us.

In the morning Ryan started with putting the base to the new wall around the bumpout in.  This involved first taking out some more pipe and some wires, then fixing the subfloor and finally putting in a new bumpout base, it’s a causeway for the plumbing and it bumps out enough to match the cabinets.

Once that was done and Alex had napped we all went out to the dump and  our first trip to home depot (planned), we needed cement board to finish up the kitchen floor, a new hardi blade for the saw and Alex was along for the trip.  Plus we had a burned out drill (brand new) that we decided to replace.  So off to the store we go and it was uneventful, unless you count Alex having a blast sitting up in the cart for the first time uneventful!

Then things went down hill.  First, I bought the wrong blade, it was too big for the saw so Ryan had to run back to get the correct blade. Then he got his piece cut and went to install it and our ‘new’ drill was actually one someone had replaced (it was very obviously used) AND it was the wrong model, someone had stuck their OLD model in the new box and scammed homedepot.  Not cool.  So back to home depot ryan went to get a new drill.

Finally he was able to make some progress on cement board and got most of the floor in.  We have the last foot of the kitchen to do (all cut pieces), the one piece that will go under the fridge – currently the wire for the stove comes up there and I was hesitant to remove it because we are temporarily using said stove still.  And the pieces by the bathroom need to be put in (one is cut but not screwed in).

So that was the floor.  I’m pretty sure some other small stuff got done but I was occupied with a little someone so I missed it.

Then came sunday, up early, out to breakfast, out to home depot (planned) for some duct work to put in a vent for the stove hood.  It’s a 7″ (ridiculous) because we went with the GE Cafe series stove and hood.  First, home depot had plenty of 7″ everything EXCEPT for the piece that goes on the outside and downconverting it to 6″ kind of defeats the purpose of using all 7″ duct work.  So then we saw the 3×12 or whatever the square version is, so we went with that for the outside and first piece, then a converter piece to the 7″ round.  Anyone that has done duct work knows you need some crimp tool to make the pieces fit together if they are not pre-crimped.  We did not have said tool but most of the pieces were crimped – we made it work when it wasn’t.

Then we got to our round duct, cut it to length, put it together and oops – it doesn’t fit!???!!  Turns out they had 6″ round in the bin for 7″ and since it’s not put together we didn’t notice it.  So back to home depot to get 7″ round … ugg!  This wasn’t easy, they had the 7″ hidden in the back and I needed help to get it, the bin was full of 6″ though.  Finally we got the duct in the ceiling, just popping down a bit so we can drywall around it (the 90 degree bend pops down).  It all just barely fits up there in our 8″ floor joists.

With that done we got one firring strip in (ryan had to rip a 2×4 down to match the width of the old firring strips).  We have a number that need to be replaced.  Over the years one floor joist was basically removed for plumbing and firring strips were hacked around said missing joist.  So we are trying to clean it up so our ceiling will lie flat and we can do crown later.

Again, more work may have been done that I missed but due to all the running around this weekend it felt slow.  Ryan also had work to do Sunday and we had a baby to play with.

The good news is that even though there’s some work left before sheetrock, we decided to call ‘our’ carpenter and he can come out Wednesday and work on the rest.  He’ll build out the walls that need it and fix the rest of the firring strips and maybe install some new doors for us if we have time to buy said doors (new back porch door and basement door – insulated).  So we’re still planning on sheetrocking this coming weekend (drywall is on order and hopefully coming friday!).  Then cabinets the following weekend.  It will be nice to see it come back together finally.  Too much of my house is down to the studs!