Month: December 2017

Kitchen Ovens, Uppers and Counters

2 weekends ago we focused on getting the double ovens installed and the hood and upper cabinets.  The first project was cutting the oven cabinet opening to the right size.  Then installing the brackets and wiring the ovens to the wall box.  The ovens didn’t get lifted in and set until Sunday when we had some people over to help but the hard part was all done on Saturday.

The other project for Saturday was upper cabinets and the hood vent.  The first upper went in, then Mark and I got the hood hung, followed by the left 2 uppers.  The bookcase on the end is not yet hung.  On Sunday I put in the shelves and the doors back on all the new cabinets – it’s starting to look really finished!

Uppers in

Other than kitchen progress the girls and I cleaned the downstairs as best we could (cluttered mess) – and got the christmas decorations out.

In the afternoon I got the electrical prepped in the basement for the electrician we hired to put in a new sub panel and clean up our main panel box.   The electrician came during the week when I was in CA so I got to come home to a new sub panel and an awesome looking main panel!

This weekend I emptied the diningroom and kitchen of all tools.  The girls and I moved all the toys from the livingroom to the office now that we have a diningroom again.  This gave us room to get our xmas tree!

Finally I was able to get the final installation of ovens completed – racks in, doors on etc.  Ready for cookies!

Today the counter installers came!  The kitchen looks so much more finished with the counters!  In a couple days we’ll get the sink/dishwasher installation finished but now I can clean out the cabinets and start filling them at least!  Merry Christmas to me!

I hope to get a few of the outlets hooked up and working maybe tonight.  I have to buy knobs and pulls still for the cabinets and that will be a fun project to install all of those.  The only other ‘major’ project is to wire up the outlet to the fridge/freezer and move those in before xmas – the cabinets on the sides will be a january project but I’d like my fridge/freezer in the kitchen for christmas!

Kitchen Base Cabinets

We’ve had a very busy few days and the kitchen progress shows it!  Thursday night Ryan and I stayed up late sanding both the kitchen and diningroom.  Friday night we vacuumed the ceilings/walls then started priming – getting the ceilings primed and 1 wall.

Saturday morning Ryan and his dad started with a ceiling paint coat, then finished priming all the walls.  Once the ceiling was dry they got the second coat on and we got all the paint stuff cleaned up.  We won’t paint walls until later on (we haven’t even picked a color yet.

The first cabinets to go in were the 2 small diningroom cabinets – these were initially going to be part of our island so they are the Bali Blue color but we decided to make the island smaller (larger walkways between island and cabinets) – and these 2 cabinets work wonderfully as a buffet in the diningroom.  We may build some shelves above or make a matching cabinet with glass doors or something down the road to make it even more hutch like but for now it is wonderful as a place to put our china – lots of storage!

Diningroom cabinets

These will have a matching counter top so it will really make it tie in with the kitchen perfectly.

Next up was the kitchen base cabinets – starting with the corner.  Saturday they dry fit the first few cabinets and got an idea of level but waited to install them.

Sunday installation started in earnest and the stove/oven side wall was first.  Next was the sink and dishwasher.  We have an end panel on the side of the dishwasher that still has to get installed – we’ll do that Monday or Tuesday night since the counter folks come Wednesday to stencil.

Next up was the island.  This took a few steps, we had to put them in place, then move them to cut out a hole for the return that will go under the cabinet.  Also we had to drill and run wires up from the basement for the outlet that will go in the cabinet/island.  Finally some 2x4s were anchored to the floor so the cabinets could be attached to something.

Island cabinets (also a view of the sink dishwasher).
The rest of the L part of the cabinets

There is still plenty to do – we have 3 upper cabinets to install, 1 small shelf unit on the end then the 2 pantry cabinets that flank the fridge.  Those things all don’t have to happen before counter stenciling though so they will happen in the next couple of weeks.

Obviously we also have to install appliances and plumbing.  Plenty to do but the main rush is done!  Counters take 2 weeks so getting them stenciled was a huge priority.  We can’t do the sink or stove top until counters are in!  Should be in the week before xmas and our plumber (ryan’s cousin) promises he can come over and do our finish plumbing before xmas!  So far we’re on track.  Now we just need ryan’s back to hold out.  It’s been tough and he still has 3 weeks before surgery 🙁