The Little Soffit That Could

cabinet install fun

Yesterday was a marathon. After looking over measurements and pondering, we decided at the last minute that we didn't want the upper cabinets all the way to the ceiling as we'd never reach the upper shelves, and we definitely didn't want a little space up there to collect dust. So I built, drywalled and mudded a little soffit. In doing so, I discovered that the ceiling has a fairly substantial dip in it. So the emergency soffit surgery wasn't a bad thing -- I can hide part of the dip with the soffit instead of trying to cover a variable-sized gap with trim. I knew the floor isn't level, but I didn't know about the ceiling, so it was good to figure it out before I started hanging cabinets.

After getting that straightened out (ha!), I made reference lines for the upper and lower cabinets, and started installing. I started with the corner (a blind lazy susan thingy -- it's pretty slick), and shifted and shimmed and finally got it in place. I then moved on to the sink next to it, which presented its own challenges. Besides the unlevel floor, the sink has outlets for the disposal and dishwasher, water supply lines, and the DWV pipes. So lots of measuring and re-measuring and then drilling and cutting to make openings for them all. I discovered I was off by about a half inch on where the vent pipe exits -- d'oh! Fortunately, the next thing in line is the dishwasher, so I was able to take a little out of the corner of the cabinet and it'll work fine. No one will ever see it unless they stick their head under the sink, so no worries. It did cause me some worries in the meantime.

Today will be more of the same: a second coat of mud on the soffit, installing more cabinets, and rearranging things to get ready for tomorrow. You see, this flurry of activity is because the countertop installers are coming tomorrow at 8AM to make a template for the countertops. Yes, it's true...the do-everything-yourself guy is having someone else do some work. In part because I've never worked with the material (Icestone, which is made from recycled glass and cement), but largely because the stuff is frakking heavy. Most countertop materials are (besides laminates), so I'm happy to have someone else do this work.