Are we THERE yet?!?!?

My apologies for not posting more on here recently. It seems like the closer we get to finishing, the smaller the changes from day to day seem to be. It's like taking out the soffits was a BIG deal; placing toe kicks less so (although we're not there yet). Our goal was to have this all done by the end of May. "Done" would be defined as a functional kitchen, bangles and bling optional. To say the least, we haven't gotten there but are sooooooo close!

With this post I'll submit some photos that may give some insight of how things are going.

The first photo is the overall view of the kitchen. The countertops are scheduled to be delivered in 3 days, which would mean the sink could be plumbed in and be functional. To me, this defines a functional kitchen. Notice also that the upper cabinets have all the doors on. We're waiting to put the bottom cabinet drawers in after the countertop is installed. After that, it's all details.

This photo shows the pantry cabinet missing a door. The door actually is here. It's just that we're short two hinges. Back to Ikea.

Next are the bottom drawers of the pantry. Notice the HUGE gap left. Apparently to get two 12.5 inch drawer fronts, you have to buy TWO 24 inch drawer front kits, giving you two completely useless 11.25 drawer fronts. Again, a trip to Ikea.

This is the sink cabinet, complete with disposal. Nothing to see here, please move on....

Above the brand new shiny stove is a wire! We await the arrival of the range hood, which will let us put in the shelves to the left.

The dishwasher awaits its shiny metal covering.

Und das ist alles für heute.

Get it up!

Or more specifically, get -them- up! And they are! All the kitchen cabinets have been mounted and are awaiting only trim, doors and cover panels. Notice I said kitchen. Dining area doesn't apply. At this point, the BIG things remaining are the countertops and sink. Once those are in, which may take a couple of weeks, the rest is aesthetic. That means after close to a month or more of no kitchen, we'll be functional again. The light at the end of the tunnel doesn't seem to be an oncoming train for once.

Oh, and as for the second photo...proper horizons are totally optional after the second martini.

Mamma Mia!

As beautiful as Sofia Lauren, but more functional, allow me to introduce Berta!

Perhaps that was more fanfare than needed, but it marks a significant step in the overall project. The five-burner Bertazzoni range arrived today and was connected. That thing puts out some heat! We're still in a two- to three- week wait state for the range hood, but we're cool with that.

There are five cabinets left to install: two high and three base. Countertops with the sink will follow as will re-introduction of the dishwasher. Only then will the kitchen will be classified as functional, though still incomplete.

The saga wears on...

Kabinett

Cabernet? No. Cabinet. And I'm not wining. Get it?

More storage goes up tonight! This will form the basis of the right side of the kitchen. Clearly the doors and shelves are missing, as well as the finished side panels to the cabinets closest to you, but this was done in an effort to reduce damage while heavy stuff is moving around.

We're taking a weekend off so when we return, we'll begin the left side of the kitchen with the sink, dishwasher and forced air duct. Monday we anticipate taking delivery of our centerpiece, Berta!

CHILL!

I admit, the title is a bit corny. Ok. Really corny. But the fridge arrived today! And if you notice from the photo above, the first cabinet is installed, albeit not completely in place. Progress is being made!

Floor-rida

It's down!

It took 6 hours of actual installation time to get the floor in place, which isn't too bad. The click together design makes it a snap (get it?).

In other matters, we were talking the other night about how having to move all the kitchen stuff and tools in the other rooms of the house makes us feel like we're living in some horrific episode of "Hoarders". Yuck.

Suicide Pumpkin Explodes in Suburban Raleigh Kitchen

Story at 11...

Actually the color is "Koi". Bright, yes. It ain't done yet so hold yer judgment!

Lights are installed too! Three cans above what is to be the sink and two more CREE LED cans to complete the set.

This paint ROCKS!

This TEEEEENY half-pint of Martha Stewart paint covered this wall with one coat!

Fascinating. And relatively cheap! B did apply a second coat after buying a quart just for good measure.

Optimus Primer

There's not a whole lot to report on today, other than the ceiling being primed (and it don't look too shabby, I gotta say) and B's trip to Ikea to return the 18" cabinets for a 15" one and accessories.

One issue that's yet to be resolved (and needs to be tout-de-suite) is the color for the kitchen. It needs repainting terribly. The foyer and downstairs bathroom have their colors already. It's the poor kitchen that's being left out.

If you're making Martinis in your bathroom:

A. You have a problem that requires a 12-step program to help resolve
or
B. You're using your God-given ability to adapt to your environment

Personally, I'll vote for B.

There's a trip to Ikea planned. Yup. Trading out a couple of cabinets that are too big. Sigh.

Could the dust be settling?

The sheetrock is up and now the joint work has been completed, short of sanding down a couple of high spots. Hopefully this will mean the death to dust, at least as far as this project is concerned. So the next steps appear to be painting the ceiling, followed by painting the walls, then floor installation, then cabinets, appliances, and a great big sigh of relief.

Is the light at the end of the tunnel an oncoming train?

KA-BAM! And the lights went out.

I've had my Amateur Radio license for something on the order of 30 years. So one would think I'd possess a reasonable grasp of high voltages and their consequences.

As you can see from the photo, I may be mistaken.

Perhaps I have an excuse. I swear that the house was wired by, as one of my calculus profs once said, "a left-handed orangutan". There are no fewer than FOUR circuit breakers controlling a 9x10 ft kitchen. Last night, we were certain that we had shut them all off. That's until B took to a piece of Romex with the diagonal cutters.

KA-BAM!

The underwear was soiled in the usual manner. Looking at the breaker box, the tripped breaker was, you got it, UNLABELLED. Now we know. Fortunately, B wasn't injured, but the diagonal pliers were. But as far as electrical work in this house, it will all be done with the main breaker off from this point forward.

As the next step in the procedure, the F-bomb was dropped in the usual manner...

It appears that the design software left out one leeeeetle detail - the cover panels. Ergo every measurement on the stove/refrigerator side of the kitchen became too long, and that's the most critical wall in terms of length. So there's certainly going to be another trip to Ikea.

Unser Kampf

No, no, no. I'm no fan of Adolf. I just thought the play on the title was appropriate given the reminder that "we haven't done anything for 3 days." Although the past couple of nights has revolved more around thinking of what to do with speed bumps we've encountered rather than actually a lot of manual labor.

One of the issues is the bathroom exhaust hose. It was nicely concealed above the soffit, but now that the soffit is no more, we have to find a better route. Sadly, when the house was built, several "illegal" notches were made in the joists such that drilling a 3" hole would cause us some serious structural concerns. We may have found a resolution. Stay tuned.

Today brought a couple more trips to Lowes for supplies. I managed to get three 8-foot sheets of drywall in the back of the Pathfinder! It looked only slightly jacked-up.

It's here!

The delivery of 30 boxes, which is 1,300 lbs, of bamboo flooring arrived today courtesy of FedEx. The number sounds daunting until you figure that each box is 43 lbs. It now resides in the house, getting acclimated before it finds its final resting place beneath our feet.

Getting on the level

Now with the staples all gone, we can begin to build up. It seems like the majority of the demolition and deconstruction is now behind us.

First order of business is the uneven floor. The area in the far corner where the refrigerator sits measures about 1 inch lower than the middle of the floor. Yikes! We knew the fridge tilted backwards (see pre-op photos) but were hoping it was just the countless layers of floor that were the cause. Not so. Either the house wasn't built level there (my favorite theory), or the settling of the house resulted in this unevenness. Problem being there's really no huge cracks or spaces in the walls to support the latter theory, so we'll go with the former.

Today B prepped the corner with latex sealant, duct tape and foam tape in anticipation of using the floor leveling compound (Level-Quick RS). We got the drills, buckets and 50lb bags of this stuff and got to mixing. So far, it works as advertised. The very edge is still a bit leathery but for sure the floor will be more even than before. No more tilting fridge!

Next up: repositioning hoses and wires. Then drywall where the soffits once lived.