Wednesday, March 15, 2006
New TownHouse Renovation - Day 17 (3.13.06)
Monday:
Goals: Finish putting together cabinet pieces, clean up kitchen in prep. for appliance arrival, organize tool mess all over the house.
Rena and I are starting to freak out. Well, let me be more descriptive. We are vacillating between being completely calm and being completely overwhelmed. A month seemed like a long time when we first set out on this project. But it seems like the last 2 weeks have been slow going on the weeknights. We vow to get a metric assload of work done this week. And also decide to prioritize things that NEED to get done before we move in. It looks like more and more things will have to be completed after we move in. The main things now are to get tile in the kitchen, paint the rest of the walls, install the cabinet fixtures and doors and get the carpets cleaned before we move in.
One good piece of news is that Rena's dad is going to help us by making the countertop for our island. We just need to send him the dimensions ASAP so he can help us out.
Monday was a weird day. I was at the peak of my sickness, Rena was late getting to the place, and things once again are moving in slow motion. One of the main questions I have regarding the cabinets is how exactly do I fill in the gaps between the kitchen sink and the side base cabinets. Ikea drone #1 and #2 both said we needed to get the smaller sink cabinet to work with our setup. "Simply use a piece of filler to fill the gap" they say. So I am trying to see how exactly all of that is supposed to fit together. So I decide to put the door on one of the cabinets so I can see exactly what I am working with. To do this, I need to install the lazy susans and the brace for the drawer. I do this eventually and see the cuts I need to make to install the final filler pieces. It doesn't look too bad. But I want to wait until we have the appliances to see exactly where I need filler, so I can do all the pieces in one shot.
Remember yesterday when we decided that the small 12" cabinet was sticking too far into fridge-land? Well we decided on a plan of action. We were all prepared to just forget that end cabinet and leave it open and maybe add some shelving later. But I figured out that we could move the tall cabinet 2 inches to the left, move the above the fridge cabinet the same distance, and then use a piece of filler between the above the fridge cabinet and the 2nd left side cabinet. Problem solved.
The only problem was the railing for the fridge cabinet ended about an inch short of where we needed it, so I had to drive another anchor in the wall to hold it. This was hard. The cabinet is high and heavy and Rena is short and light. We eventually got everything moved, leveled and supported. But it killed a big part of the night. After that, Rena concentrated on consolidating tools and trash, and I set out to fix the giant light hole in the kitchen ceiling that was left over after we removed the old light panels. The edges of the box were drywall sheet ends, so they were rough, and needed to be taped and spackled. I got that done, and we headed home.
Mood: worried.
Goals: Finish putting together cabinet pieces, clean up kitchen in prep. for appliance arrival, organize tool mess all over the house.
Rena and I are starting to freak out. Well, let me be more descriptive. We are vacillating between being completely calm and being completely overwhelmed. A month seemed like a long time when we first set out on this project. But it seems like the last 2 weeks have been slow going on the weeknights. We vow to get a metric assload of work done this week. And also decide to prioritize things that NEED to get done before we move in. It looks like more and more things will have to be completed after we move in. The main things now are to get tile in the kitchen, paint the rest of the walls, install the cabinet fixtures and doors and get the carpets cleaned before we move in.
One good piece of news is that Rena's dad is going to help us by making the countertop for our island. We just need to send him the dimensions ASAP so he can help us out.
Monday was a weird day. I was at the peak of my sickness, Rena was late getting to the place, and things once again are moving in slow motion. One of the main questions I have regarding the cabinets is how exactly do I fill in the gaps between the kitchen sink and the side base cabinets. Ikea drone #1 and #2 both said we needed to get the smaller sink cabinet to work with our setup. "Simply use a piece of filler to fill the gap" they say. So I am trying to see how exactly all of that is supposed to fit together. So I decide to put the door on one of the cabinets so I can see exactly what I am working with. To do this, I need to install the lazy susans and the brace for the drawer. I do this eventually and see the cuts I need to make to install the final filler pieces. It doesn't look too bad. But I want to wait until we have the appliances to see exactly where I need filler, so I can do all the pieces in one shot.
Remember yesterday when we decided that the small 12" cabinet was sticking too far into fridge-land? Well we decided on a plan of action. We were all prepared to just forget that end cabinet and leave it open and maybe add some shelving later. But I figured out that we could move the tall cabinet 2 inches to the left, move the above the fridge cabinet the same distance, and then use a piece of filler between the above the fridge cabinet and the 2nd left side cabinet. Problem solved.
The only problem was the railing for the fridge cabinet ended about an inch short of where we needed it, so I had to drive another anchor in the wall to hold it. This was hard. The cabinet is high and heavy and Rena is short and light. We eventually got everything moved, leveled and supported. But it killed a big part of the night. After that, Rena concentrated on consolidating tools and trash, and I set out to fix the giant light hole in the kitchen ceiling that was left over after we removed the old light panels. The edges of the box were drywall sheet ends, so they were rough, and needed to be taped and spackled. I got that done, and we headed home.
Mood: worried.
# posted by Tony Starr @ 9:38 AM 
