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kitchen makeover

:lurk::lurk::lurk::lurk::lurk::lurk::lurk:
I feel your pain Allen. The kitchen I just finished is in a home that was built in 1810. If you look at the pictures along the ceiling I had to cut and scribe little pieces of stock to fit between the crown and the ceiling then paint them ceiling white to make it "go away" the ceiling dropped 2 inches in 4 feet but the floor did too and I had furniture feet on the cabinets so at one end they look the way they are supposed to at the other end the almost touch the floor.
Then there was the horse hair plaster..... and when I cut the hole in the ceiling for the plumber and electrician I think I discovered where the carpenters had set up their sawhorses because I got a face full of all the sawdust and rippings that were stacked up in that bay along with the blown in insulation from fifty odd years ago........
In another month you will look back and say to yourself it was all worth it!
Looking forward to seeing the progress!!!:D:D
 
vaughn, I forgot to ask, but it looks like a pump for something.
There were alot of people squeezing into the work space today and the shed guy was outside, so I was sidetracked.

rich, no matter how many curtains and tarps the contractor put up, the cement dust and plaster dust from the old walls have lightly coated my entire downstairs. I noticed last night my eyes were killing me, and this morning everything had like a talcum powder coating, so today I made them work with the windows open and the AC on anyway. It was 91 degrees.
The contractor wont install any cabinets until he knows how hes going to tackle that one spot near the fridge,(he doesnt want to have to do any wall adjustments with all the plaster dust and get the new cabinets dirty, so he wants all the construction done first,) so unless the plumber and the alternate plumber(my plumber does not have time to move the water meter this week, but will move the gas pipe tomorrow) does not finish or get here tomorrow, Im going to have a rough time dealing with all the delays.

My gas dryer is on the same line as the stove was, so now that the stove has been removed, the gas shut down, we have no dryer either, something I can live with for the week.
I dont deal well with mess and clutter, so Im a bit anxious, and being stuck not being able to do anything has been torture for me.
Tomorrow I can at least start dumping stuff into the shed and maybe start removing wood so I can insulate.

one of my neighbors came over just before to look at the shed he saw it on my driveway this morning.
My yard is so cluttered with debris and all the stuff that belongs in the shed, the old cabinets, my shop trash, a real mess, he said, man, look at this place, you got everything back here but the kitchen.......oh......wow! you even have the kitchen sink out here!!!!!
 
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Although I feel I over ran in time on my project (due to the micro space I have for a shop...) I managed to keep my clients in a working kitchen the entire time. They had the fridge hooked up at the other end of the room and the gas stove was kept on. The only thing they had to do was use the bathroom sink to wash dishes. they set up the microwave, coffee maker and all their dry goods in the family room as well as the old kitchen table.
But even with me following my plumber and electrician around with the shop vac and following myself around with it as well, fans in the windows vacs on all the tools... still got that superfine dust everywhere in the kitchen area. fortunately we were able to keep airflow in one direction for the most part going out the window with fans.
I was still over there at the end wiping down all the cabinets and appliances.

It will all be over in good time, and you can kick back in your hammock with a nice tall cold glass of something and watch the grass grow for a few days!:D
 
you seem to have a pretty good handle on what Im going through.

My problem is the chaos of it all. Im just not that type of person, I need to have things in order and under control. Nothing is under my control here.
Contractor tells me I need to get a sink, faucet, pick out appliances,hardware and I have it all where it should be at the exact time I was told, but every step of the way so far seems to have an obstacle in front of it.
eh, guess Im just whining like a customer.
 
Alan, I think your guess about a pump is probably right. I seem to recall you saying the water table is pretty high in your neck of the woods.

On the dust bit...

A few months ago I was doing some drywall replacement in a newly-emptied furnace closet. (The HVAC unit had been moved, so I was turning it into a usable closet.) This was for our friend Patti, who is the mom of one of LOML's friends. Patti is a real neat freak, so I've done all my drywall sanding at her house in the past with the 5" ROS hooked to my Dust Deputy and Shop Vac (with a HEPA filter). That combination worked great for keeping the dust to a minimum and speeding up the sanding process to boot. I used the same setup when I was working on her closet...the vacuum was in the hallway and I was on a ladder in the closet, sanding on the ceiling. When I got done, I stepped out of the closet and everything looked cloudy. I figured my glasses were dirty, so I took them off. Still cloudy. :rolleyes: It looked like I'd set off a dust bomb in the hallway, living room, and adjacent bedrooms. Not a lot of dust, but just the ultra-fine stuff that made it past the Dust Deputy. Probably stayed airborne for hours. :bang:

Turns out that on the ride over to Patti's house, the filter on the Shop Vac had come loose and fallen into the barrel. :doh: Patti wasn't home at the time, but I told her what had happened the next time I spoke with her. Even though she normally gets the "friends and family" discount anyway, I ended up not charging Patti anything for that particular project. ;)
 
its plaster walls with wire mesh and some places have sheetrock over plaster or cement. there isnt a neat way to break it down. Again, my eyes are killing me but its my own fault. I spent the day indoors mostly and right with them.
Tomorrow I try to stay outside and get some work done.
 
Allen,
Is your dust collector portable, or on wheels?
You might consider hanging plastic sheeting over the door from the kitchen to the rest of the house and taping it off. Then take your dust collector and run the hose through a window. No need for the bag as it will just clog your filter. but if you seal the window around the dc pipe and then crack a window or door on the other side it will exhaust most if not all of the dust being generated by the demo. Consider setting up a fan or two to direct the air to the dc.
I do this with one of my dc's when I have to spray in my shop and just run the hose out the bulkhead.
Still not 100%, nothing is, but it will make a big difference.
 
this morning at 8 am, a team of plumbers arrived to move the water meter quickly, they were doing me a favor since they were booked already and my buddy who does the plumbing asked for a favor.
they needed to shut the water line down, and its out near the curb, problem is, mine isnt marked, they had a metal detector and dug in the possible spots where the shutoff key should be, and dug, and dug, and unburied some old bolts and screws, but no key slot.
They dug until 9:45 and called the water company to come down and find the key. Even if they have to break open my driveway they will repair it free of charge. But they say 24-72 hours, so once again, more delays.
My plumber leaves tomorrow afternoon for his new home as hes semi retired and doesnt work friday-mon. So now Im hoping I get both the water company and the other plumber here sometime tomorrow or friday or Im looking at another 3 day delay.
The contractor really doesnt want to bring out my new cabinets if he has to still do some cutting or construction, but might not have a choice.
I loaded some stuff out of the garage today into the new shed so I made some foward progress there at least.

The new appliances came today.
 
well, adding up all the bills so far and what we still have to pay, were around 15% over what I thought we'd spend.
And thats when we found out what everything really costs, cause I thought it was much less.
The water company has not arrived, so the meter wasnt moved, but I had the gas line moved today. A little progress.
He put in a few cabinets but is leaving most of the cab work for tomorrow when he brings his assistant. He says putting in the remainding cabinets wont take that long, and he can get the quartz guys here to template everything, but to me, theres no difference whether they come tomorrow afternoon or monday, since noone works on the weekend.
My plumber is gone for the weekend, but arranged a different guy to show up tomorrow if the water company graces me with a visit. You would think you can just call them and then look up the specs and tell you where the shutoff key is. eh.
 
Ill post an update, then Im going to stop until its all in and done. Im reading my posts and Im starting to sound like Wendy Whiner.
But, I will never do anymore upgrades in my home with contractors.
It has nothing to do with my contractor, hes a good guy, but I cannot deal with the mess and home invasion all day long. I have alot of issues, and this is one of my biggest. I cannot deal with it anymore, and there is no relief in sight at all. I will redo my upstairs myself, at my pace, when Im ready.
Cant deal with strange people in and out all day long making a total mess in my home.
To start, my kitchen floor and part of my backroom floors have some major scratches. The contractor promised me he will take out the bad boards and replace them, as I have a box of leftover flooring. I knew all this construction would kill a maple floor.
I was so put off today, I had to leave my home for 2 hours and sit in a fast food restaurant drinking coffee or else I think I would have done something I would have regretted.
The water company-incredible. I called them a few times today since Im going on the 72 hour mark as they told me, 24-72 hours.
Today, I was told since theres no emergency, this type of order can take up to 3, 4, 5, 6 weeks till they get here.
My contractor told me to demand a supervisor, and finally, after an entire day of phone calls, they are coming to do an emergency shutoff monday, having a plumber present, they will locate the tap and turn it down so tuesday the contractor can finish the last cabinets and get my counter templated weds.

So the floor is an sore spot for me, since its only 1.5 years old, and now Im not sure with the microwave. My wife didnt check first and when they measured, they used my old microwave which is standard size. This new microwave is tremendous, and it sticks out a bit too far for my liking, but it seems my wife thinks it looks great, Ive been sending her pictures.
The contractor thinks its ok., I just have a little problem with the black showing, so I might have to get a thin strip of brushed stainless, Im leaving it up to the wife. Heres where we are at.
Again, I wont bother posting about this kitchen anymore till its all done.(I do like the glass doors over the sink, valence did not ship, next week well have it, and I do like the huge pots and pans drawers, with the top pullout drawers, the double trash pail/recycle cab, and a few other little details.
I do believe the spacer on the side of the microwave is coming out or getting cut once the panel goes on the fuse box.
and IM not to sure with the double crown molding exactly how the contractor and the design person figured it out, confusing for me, so Ill have to wait and see.
 

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As aggravating as it is, well, I'm sure it will look great when it's done. Those cabs look great.

Hang in there Allen, it will all be over soon...
 
Great looking cabinets Allen :thumb::thumb: I see what you mean about the microwave. It looks like it sticks out about and inch too much. Not bad though.
All this waiting from the water company just to locate the shutoff ??
That's nuts.
 
Yeah that water company stuff is for the birds.
Cabinets look great Allen! It's going to be a really nice kitchen when all is said and done!
The micro isn't terrible. You might consider (if there is enough space) a matching molding or just extending the cabinet sides around it just enough to hide the black.
 
Hang in there Allen because as it looks now you will be one happy camper when it is done:thumb: There are always going to be issues when you have large projects as this and they all will be good at the end:)
 
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