kitchen makeover

[allen levine]

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.

the problem is the original cabinet went all the way down 6 inches above the countertop to hide the electric panel. Moving the panel is a huge expense, and then its a inspection thing also, so I decided against it.
I didnt want to lose all that counterspace again, so there will be a matching door panel just covering the electric panel, but that microwave would have looked more in place if the side cabinet went further down, but that wasnt possible with the electric panel. Its give a little here, take a alittle here, akward.
I slept almost 10 hours last night, relaxed, peaceful now that the home invaders are gone.

 

[Rennie Heuer]

Given the lackadaisical response from the water company, you might consider having the plumber install an shut off valve in the main line as soon as it enters the house so you can cut off the supply whenever you want without having to wait for outside assistance. Even with the outside cut off located and marked, the inside valve would be much easier to get to (think dead of night, snow, etc.) should you have an emergency and need to shut off the supply.

 

[Jonathan Shively]

Allen, they are looking good! I was thinking about a piece of wood that matches the cabinet extended to cover the black on the microwave also.

Rennie's idea on the extra shutoff is an excellent idea. Think of the peace of mind knowing it is there regardless if you need it or not.

I remember in '83 when Lou and I got our first apartment in West Lafayette. Waited three or four days for the phone to get turned on. I thought it must have been a big wiring deal or something. Nope, someone just needed to get off of their chair and flip a switch!

 

[allen levine]

Given the lackadaisical response from the water company, you might consider having the plumber install an shut off valve in the main line as soon as it enters the house so you can cut off the supply whenever you want without having to wait for outside assistance. Even with the outside cut off located and marked, the inside valve would be much easier to get to (think dead of night, snow, etc.) should you have an emergency and need to shut off the supply.

any valves cut before the meter might be considered stealing water.(so at least I think, it would be easy to divert the water and to another pipe and avoid meter readings)
once they cap it outside, its easy enough to have shut.
I can shut it off from the meter.

 

[Rennie Heuer]

any valves cut before the meter might be considered stealing water.(so at least I think, it would be easy to divert the water and to another pipe and avoid meter readings)
once they cap it outside, its easy enough to have shut.
I can shut it off from the meter.

Our meters are curb side (36" down" so that's not an issue. However, you should have a cut off right after the meter so you can cut the supply in an emergency.

 

[allen levine]

there are cutoffs at the meter and cutoffs to the upstairs bathroom, and kitchen area, and bathroom has its own cutoffs.
The water tap/key is supposedly curb height approx 4 feet left from stack in house. But some have been moved over the years.
Some curbs have blue markings on them, some aprons have holes in them, some lawns have metal caps on them.

my meter is in back of the old fridge, the problem, it has to be lowered, most do it when then renovate these small homes and alot of people drop their boilers/hot water tanks into the crawl spaces with the horizontal tanks, and open up the space upstairs for a closet or a bigger kitchen area.

some people are daring, they dig out a 12x12 portion of their crawl space, and put their washer/dryer with hot water tank down there. Its a gamble because they are suseptable to flooding or hitting water when they dig.

 

[Rennie Heuer]

there are cutoffs at the meter and cutoffs to the upstairs bathroom, and kitchen area, and bathroom has its own cutoffs.
The water tap/key is supposedly curb height approx 4 feet left from stack in house. But some have been moved over the years.
Some curbs have blue markings on them, some aprons have holes in them, some lawns have metal caps on them.

I see I misunderstood the reason for needing to turn the water off at the street.

 

[allen levine]

no complaints, just wanted to say its still a work in progress, weve had some delays couldnt be helped.
I just wanted to show the cabs with the double crown molding, I like it, it all needs to be touched up, but the counter is coming in next week and then the electric box gets covered, the back splash tiles go on and then the floor repairs and its done.
(the contractor was not happy the piece of molding near the wine rack had a different grain pattern, he had to scarf a joint, but I told him I dont have a problem with it)

 

[Rich Soby]

Looking good Allen!

 

[Vaughn McMillan]

Very nice cabinets, Allen. Looking forward to seeing things progress.

 

[Bob Gibson]

Those are beautiful cabinets

 

[Jonathan Shively]

Beautiful cabinets Allen. They will be worth the wait and hassle.

 

[Rennie Heuer]

Coming along nicely.

 

[allen levine]

now that Ive cooled down and forces beyond anyones control are making this kitchen job tough to complete, were very, very close.

Unfortunately, the contractor had to leave a couple of days for emergency surgery for his kid, and after the hurricane, he has a home in Vermont and he had to go up there last night, the national guard is only opening roads every half hour or something, he just told me on phone, didnt hear him well.

the counters are finally in,(almost 3 weeks wait time), he managed to tile the backsplash yesterday, will grout it out next week.
Other little things I like, dislike, not sure, like above fridge, we were told our fridge is shorter than the standard size, so there was just a panel put in above fridge in case we have to purchase a new one and want to get the standard size.
I love the eletrical panel door, now opens up an entire 2x5 foot counter space for my wife. Like having a work island but no island. We had a low desk there and no counter space.
I like the low pan drawer with the top pullout section, convenient.
I wasnt sure what this plastic thing was in this popout drawer, I thought it might be a manual grape juicer. (its to hold a ring while you wash dishes) who knew?
wine rack was a good idea, keeps our few bottles out of the way and neat in place.
The main problem I have with the entire kitchen is where the stove is at.
It will not push all the way back unless we go for alot of new plumbing to the washer and dryer which was built over a slab and the pipes run in back of the stove. My wife thought spending another thousand or so on plumbing is ridiculous, I have to agree, so we all put our heads together and came up with a small curved piece to just keep it all blocked, and if we ever move the washer and dryer, the piece will pull off and we can push the stove back.
My wife is thrilled, thats all that matters for her.
I also liked the under the cabinet molding.
in the beginning, I wanted a darker quartz for the countertop, but I think my wife picked out a nice piece and the backsplash works well with it.
the single faucet was supposed to be on the left, but my wife is a righty and she couldnt reach it out on the left side to work comfortably, so we had it put on the right of the sink. so many little things you dont think about but the counter guy asked right away for her to come see how far a reach it was before he cut holes.And I liked the ogee shape on the quartzs' edge and the way the counter comes out foward in front of sink. All things we were told to do.

sorry bout the mess, I just threw all the stuff back into the kitchen this morning to clean up the other room.

 

[Rich Soby]

Looks like its coming together great! You're on the home stretch now!!

 

[allen levine]

yep, there were little things he hasnt finished like framing out some of the windows he put it, and I felt like cutting the molding myself today to just get it finished, but hey, I hired him, let him do his work.

 

[Brent Dowell]

That looks great Allen!

I really like the way the counter top ties everything together...

 

[Rob Keeble]

Oy Vey and you want to cook in that kitchen. I would be too scared to fry an egg. Thats a show piece they done well Allen. Your wife must be happy with it. Looks fantastic. Woodworking we can aspire to trying to do.

So much i like about it.

How am i gonna live now with my builders specials after seeing such a nice set of cabinets.

Hope you both enjoy it very much.

 

[Rennie Heuer]

ooooo. That did turn out nice!

 

[Mohammad Madha]

Yeah! that turned out great.