Monday, February 14, 2011
Today is countertop day! The adrenaline is pumping away and the excitement level is high! Wayne and I went to see the stone and do a layout with the templates on Saturday. Laying out the templates on the stone is very important. Not every granite or marble is perfect. There may be some areas you would prefer to hide or those that you want to show off! I highly encourage all of my clients to do them.
Isaak works on interior molding today, and John and Joe are due back late this morning to continue installing the wall cabinets.
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| We decide to repurpose and reuse and older door we purchased for the remodel many years earlier. |
A team of five guys arrive with the granite right on schedule. These countertops are rather long and very heavy; approximately 22 lbs. per square foot. They get everything inside and in place. The stone looks awesome; by the way we have selected a honed Jet Mist for our tops. As they tweak the one countertop the installer insists on cutting into my freshly sheetrocked walls. I am told that the overhang by the range is ¼” larger. I refuse to allow them to cut into the sheet rock. Cutting into the sheetrock has always been a very sore spot with me. There is a reason they come to template! Follow the template and these problems would not exist! After a while of bantering we conclude that the right thing to do is to return the stone have the ¼” cut off. Stone is not cheap, and I want this done correctly! There is no reason to take shortcuts after waiting all this time. Do it right! They call back the other team of guys to load up the stone and take it back to the shop. They did leave the peninsula so Wayne
Of course this choice affects the remainder of John’s day. Fortunately John calls as we are discussing the countertop issue, and decides it is better for him to stay at his cabinet shop today.
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| He vacuums and does windows! |
I continue to work at home and then it hits me that it would be so much easier to get paint on the walls before the cabinets go up. I head out to buy primer and paint! By the time I get home it is 6:00PM. Wayne & I wipe down the ceiling and walls, and manage to get the walls all primed. We stop for dinner around 9:30 and I head back upstairs around 10:00PM to start painting. The color is beautiful and goes up much faster than the primer. By 1:00AM I am almost finished cleaning the brushes and rollers. The color looks great.
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| Picasso? NOT! |
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| Cocktail counter being broken in! |
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| Michelangelo...Maybe? |
Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Isaak is here and decides it is time to work on the outside of the house. The sun is shining and there is no snow! It is a great day to start trimming the windows.
The stone returns earlier then expected, and goes in without any issues whatsoever! Gorgeous! As you can see by the pictures, this is a lengthy installation process. The longest part is mixing the epoxy to join the two pieces of granite, and then waiting for it to dry. The day starts off good and everyone is happy especially the client and the designer!
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| The return of the countertops! |
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| Our great stone fabricator! |
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| Place the stone and then custom color mix the epoxy. Whew it smells! |
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| Fill in the seams with the epoxy mixture. |
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| Now push to close the seam. |
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| The seam is cleaned of extra epoxy. |
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| And then dried with heat gun...not your blow drier! |
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| A couple extra hands to ensure a tight fitting seam. |
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| Now the sink can be installed. A little adhesive... |
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| and a few extra hands! It's all teamwork! |
John and Joe arrive late morning about a half hour after the stone guys leave. Now the remainder of the wall cabinets can be installed.
As the day continues, I get very little work done and spend most of my day in the kitchen with the guys! So far only one major goof on my part. I gave Isaak dimensions for our spice cabinet as a frameless cabinet, and then later on I asked John to make it an inset cabinet. Guess what??? It doesn’t fit in the frameless opening! Oops! Time for an Add/Change Order.
I keep getting texts from Wayne
Just about two hours later my cell phone rings…it is Wayne
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
This morning starts off with plumbing! Isaak hooks up the sink, garbage disposal and faucet. We now have running water back in our kitchen. Technically we are fully functional. The range is hooked up, the sink and the microwave. We are only missing the dishwasher, refrigerator and hood. These will all have to wait until another day. The dishwasher is hidden in the garage behind the refrigerator. We are not ready to install the refrigerator yet, and the hood cannot go up until the tile comes in! And just our luck, the first course of tile in our backsplash is backorder until late April…early May. Ouch! I have not told Wayne
Isaak has plans to be outside again. We are expecting temperatures in the 60’s today! The window trims are coming along nicely. Snow is no longer an issue…now it is the mud!
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| Surprise...you never know when or where the camera shows up! |
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| New trimwork going up! More to paint...ugh! |
On my way out the door, John and Joe arrive to continue the cabinet install. They spend the day tweaking cabinets and installing the one piece I am so excited to see…which is the tv/phone hutch. I will have to wait until later to see.
I come home to find the tv/phone hutch installed and looking fantastic!
Now I am starting to feel anxious about moving back into our kitchen!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wow, most of the snow is almost gone! The weather has been great. I wonder how long this will last.
Today Isaak is inside working on trims, moldings and window sills after he completes the exterior shingles.
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| Short by only 6 shingles! |
John will be gone for the rest of the week. I asked John to finish the crown moldings throughout the room in the same finish as the cabinets. This will take some time to prepare, paint and cure.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday already! Wow has this week gone fast! I have so much to do at the office that I do not hang out at the house. I see Isaak for a little bit and then I am off and running. Several new appointments today! It’s nice to hear our phone ringing with new prospective clients.
But the great part about my morning was greeting sent via Isaak from Nachum! It’s always the little things that mean the most!
I come home to find that the dishwasher has been installed! Wayne will be so happy!
So here we are…
Base cabinets installed R
Countertops installed R
Wall cabinets installed R
Windows and doors trimmed R
Snow gone R
Message from Nachum R
Happy designer R
Happy clients = PROGRESS R
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