I didn't kill them and neither did the blizzard!

Cornelia  and Warren are blooming!

Small kitchen break

There has been some slacking. Or some living.  And some getting distracted by Barbie Foosball tables...  But this weekend, with some much needed help, there was a grape pergola built! It needs some finishing touches, but then I just have to move the grapes...

Also, still working out how to post from my magic phone - bear with me.

Teaser Pics

Yes.  I definitely had timecrack.  But I did accomplish rather a lot on the punchlist, with some help, and at the expense of rather a lot of sleep.  Turns out you actually can paint until 3am and have it look good.  Not that I'll be repeating that again...I hope.  The kitchen looks and acts like a kitchen, even if there is plenty left to do still!

Anyway, a few pics to keep you interested ;)

Just. Keep. Breathing.

Timecrack.  noun.  definition:  the belief that you can accomplish something in x amount of time, which actually by all physical laws requires 3x amount of time.

I have it.  I still firmly believe I'm going to have a "finished" kitchen before Thanksgiving.  By finished, I mean the bulk of the work that needs to be done by me will be done.  It will not have new windows or door yet, nor will it have a permanent step, and there are several things that will wait until I've raised more funds.  But in terms of walls, molding, cabinets, ceilings, etc, I'll be done.  I know, mildly crazy, given the amount left.  However - see the definition of timecrack above.

The countertop will be installed on Tuesday!  In order for the template to be made, I had to disconnect the sink (still not sure exactly why), and remove the temporary faucet.  In that process, I discovered that the hot water cutoff valve (very recently installed by the cheaper plumber) does not actually entirely cut the hot water off.  Really?  Really?  I mean, I figured it was ok for them to not clean up their workspace at all, and even to have to get them back to center the sink, since they weren't the high-end quote.  But c'mon, the stuff is still supposed to work!  Sigh.

Spent a good chunk of last night installing the cabinet hardware, finally!  In the process, I discovered the first real mis-step of this process.  I've made plenty of timing mistakes, but I'd always liked how stuff turned out.  But - I don't like the drawer hardware I chose.  It doesn't go with the door hardware I really like.  Not that this is a major issue, I can find new, and for the interim it's nice not to have to use your fingernails to open the drawers, but kind of a bummer. 

Please excuse the bad quality of this cell phone photo - but look, hardware!  A kitchen!  We progress - and I just need to keep breathing...

Goldilocks is fired.

She took too long to make decisions.

I, on the other hand, rocked it.  This weekend I purchased:

4 windows.

1 door.

The rest of the cabinet hardware.

And...

the COUNTERTOP.

Yes.  It is bought.  And it's nothing I blogged about before.  See, turns out I just kinda forgot that Home Depot and Lowes exist.  Know what?  They sell countertop.  For cheaper than the specialty companies.  I now own 25 sq feet (although I need only about 17) of Zodiaq quartz countertop in Eclipse Blue.  Here's what it looks like, though it's not quite as greeny in person.

It's not recycled.  It lacks in cool factor.  It's also nearly a grand cheaper than every other option, and it looks good.  I tried, World.  I really, really did.  (As for those ebay suggestions - did you really think it was a good idea for me to have $2K worth of Icestone sitting around in the hopes of finding a buyer?  If nothing else, that stuff is heavy and takes up a lot of space!  No thanks.)

Back to the windows - why 4, you may ask?  Well, I'm getting awning windows in the kitchen instead of double hungs (so they crank out, not push up to open).  Due to the height of my windows, that means I actually need 2 in every opening.  Yet another budgetary estimation.  Oops.  But it'll look great and I can leave them open without fearing burglar entry!

Run along kitchen, run along...

Goldilocks has decided bears are not helpful in countertop shopping.

They just keep coming up with problems...  Guess what?  The Caesarstone isn't significantly cheaper than the Cobalt Ice option.  In fact, it's approximately the same price.

I think I will apply beer to the problem later, and make the final decision that way.  'Cause you know what?  It's going to look good either way - and it's going to be more than I can really afford either way, too.

Wherein Goldilocks and the Bears tackle the problem

I have absolutely no idea why I seem to be relating to a blond-haired destructive trespasser in this case.  However.  At least there's tackling. 

After recovering from sticker shock, Goldilocks investigated some other places who fabricate and install Icestone.  The Bears came along for moral support, and the intimidation factor.

A different installer came back with a quote that was even more expensive than the first one.  However, this guy actually broke it down - it's not that they are holding Goldi over the coals on the fabrication and installation, it's that Icestone only sells FULL slabs.  So even though I don't need and won't use a full slab, I have to buy it anyway!  This guy was smart enough to offer another option - he has a remainder slab of IceStone in Cobalt Ice that is the right size, and would bring my cost down to the (still excessive) predicted amount.

Know what else this says?  That even though I have to buy the full slab, the fabricator gets to hold on and resell the rest of it.  As the biggest Bear said - "no effing way."

So, smart guy has emailed IceStone to see if they by chance have a remainder piece of Sapphire Snow lying about.  Somehow I doubt this will come through.  So now the question is:  

go with Cobalt Ice?

Or give up the recycled idea and go with something like the deep ocean from Caeserstone?  (which would be cheaper...)

http://www.caesarstoneus.com/catalog/product.cfm?ProductID=157

Ugh.  The options.  No tile suggestions please though, I don't like it.  Goldi and the Bears are on hold, waiting for the page to turn...

This one is TOO much.

That's what Goldilocks would have said if she was countertop shopping with me.  Allow me to summarize, full story coming soon (and somehow this is more palatable as a fairy tale):

Goldilocks wanders amongst the countertop options.

"This one is too boring.  This one is too bright.  Oh look, environmentally sound made in Brooklyn!  This one is just right."

Then she tries to pick a color.

"This one is too white.  This one is too grey.  This one is bright blue - and just right!"

Finally, she thinks to actually price it, having realized that in the search for just right, she has wandered out of the easily purchased at Ikea.

"This one will not install.  This one installs but doesn't have my color.  This one is - $4K????  You must be joking.  It's only 15 sq feet!  So much for just right!"

Stay tuned while the 3 little bears provide Goldilocks with restorative beverages and help her find new options.

I may be slow on the posting, but the work is moving along!

Actually, I'm really slow on the photo uploading.  And I think posts without pics are somewhat boring.  Project for post kitchen - get my tech situation situated!  For tech support, this is just embarrassing ;)

Anyway.  Thanks to some amazing help and some great contractors, here's where we are.  Floors are done, except for the final coat.  My great floor guy said he would come back when I was pretty much done with the kitchen to do the final, as he's pretty sure I'll scratch it during the process.  All drywall is up, and drywall patching and taping is probably about 3/4 done.  The plumbers are coming back tomorrow morning to center the sink, so I can order the island countertop soon.  All cabinets are assembled and attached, and the butcher block countertop (for the cabinets on the stove side) is on!

So what's left?  I get that question a lot.  Still quite a bit.  But at least the thing is now usable!  And we should be done enough with the dust that I can put things in the cabinets and clean up the dining room...  Anyway, things that are left:  (Actually, I'm not going to make a list.  I started to, but it got kind of overwhelming.  Answer - quite a few things.  I'll just keep chugging along!)

2 weekends of work and only one blog post

I know you were all waiting with bated breath!  ;)

Ok, sorry.  But somehow there also seems to be a ton to do after work as well.  And at work.  Besides my actual work, which I still do on occasion.  At least often enough to hit all my deadlines.

Anyway - the electricians came and roughed in.  The plumbers came, turned off the stove and the sink, and roughed in.  I destroyed.  R2 destroyed.  I put up drywall.  R2 very patiently held heavy drywall so I could put it up.  A journey in photos below...

After the electricians and plumbers came, I had holes in the wall, wires on the floor, pipes sticking up out of the floor, and a detached stove and sink.

From Kitchen Reno 2

I tore out the old sink and base cabinets, to discover -

From Kitchen Reno 2

tile.  Set on about 2" of mortar, which was set on a half inch of plaster on wire mesh.  Translation:  about 2.5" of concrete.  Never fear, I had a plan.  I would just put up a sheet of half inch drywall on the top portion of the wall, down to the tile, pop off the tile to reduce the thickness, and construction-glue a sheet of 3/8 drywall to the bottom part.  Sure, there'd be a little mismatch, but no problem.

First, I had to pull the tin molding away so the drywall would slip under.  Then, we had to chisel out some holes for the outlets, one of which was just chilling out on the floor, and the other was fastened to the old backsplash.  Finally, we had to put up the drywall.  R2's muscle was key here.  (Her height was pretty handy too!).

From Kitchen Reno 2

Does anyone see the hole in this plan?  Anyone?  Yeah, me neither.  Until - the drywall wasn't even close to sticking on to that mortar with the glue.  See - glue needs a flat surface.  Mortar is bumpy; there are lines in between all the tiles.  Plan = fail.

Well, ok, fine then, I would do it properly and tear out enough of the concrete to put up another piece of drywall where it would be seen.  I did this much in 45 minutes.

From Kitchen Reno 2

Then R2 came back from the gym, and did the rest in a half hour.  (I loosened it.  I swear.).

From Kitchen Reno 2

So then it looked like this:

From Kitchen Reno 2

And the part of my hand I kept hitting with the hammer when I missed the chisel looked like this:

From Kitchen Reno 2

So I went to the bar.

Next day - remember that 1/2" drywall I put up yesterday?  Yeah, well, now it's too thick.  R2 flexed again, drywall came down, 3/8" went up, and I went about my merry way covering the new hole.

From Kitchen Reno 2

Which left me with a conundrum.  See the base there where the two wires are coming down?  See the exposed insulation?  Honestly, I'd have just cheated and ignored it, since you'll never see it.  If it was behind cabinets.  But - that part would be behind the stove.  Maybe exposed insulation behind a stove is a bad plan.  Back to the drawing board...  I was tired of re-doing though, so I consulted.  The Dad and the Google.  And Rachel's brother.  End result - I cheated again.  I perhaps should have torn it all the way down.  But it's perfectly sound concrete.  And all that chiseling just takes too long (and hurts!).  So I popped off the tile again, cut a piece of drywall, and used concrete screws to fasten it to the wall.  Problem solved.  Sort of.  Well enough.  I hope.  Pics to follow when I upload the photos from last weekend.

What else did I do?  What, you think that didn't take me 5 days (one 3 day weekend + one regular)?  'Cause it kind of did...  Ok.  I also put up some more drywall, and put together a few cabinets.  I thought the plumbers would need the island cabinets ready when they came, but they did not.  They will need them on Thursday though, when they hook up my new sink and faucet (and old stove)!  Sans countertop still, but who cares, we'll be using the kitchen again!