Wedgewoodium Leviosa!

my familar, Rosie

Installing the cabinets and moving back into the kitchen before putting down the flooring had one big advantage: we had a working kitchen sooner rather than later. It had a number of disadvantages, not the least of which was dealing with our antique Wedgewood stove. It weighs a frakking ton (or in honor of the proposed term for 10^27, it's hella heavy.) Back when I bought the house and moved from an apartment in Berkeley, the movers complained about the weight. But one of them complained about everything, so I didn't think much of it. When it came time for K and I to move it out and then back into the kitchen, I thought a lot more about it.

So when I installed the linoleum, I cheated. Rather than move the stove out and back in a second time (moving it out made more difficult by the space being made to exactly fit it), I rented a couple of small house jacks and lifted it out the way. The minimum time for them was a day, but it was still very much worth it. Hella easier than moving the hella heavy stove twice.

Linoleum!

100 lb. roller

After much debate, some shipping delays, and yours truly moving slowly, we finally have real flooring in the kitchen and dining room!

I picked up the order last week, and rented the one tool I didn't have, a 100 lb. roller. I've been working slowly but steadily since then, and installed the last pieces under the antique stove today. A couple things slowed me down (the antique and very heavy stove not the least of them), but overall linoleum tiles are pretty easy to work with. The aforementioned antique stove was a challenge to work around (or more to the point, under), and the irregular shape of the dining room by the back door made for some interesting shapes to cut, but the real sticker was that we'd decided to do a pattern with the tiles. And not just a pattern, but a pattern involving partial tiles. Whole tiles would have been a snap, but we decided that the size of the room wasn't large enough to look right with whole tiles, so we decided to do a border with half tiles.

cornery goodness

Let me just smack you upside the head if you're thinking of doing such a pattern yourself. It's not impossible, but it does add a ton to the work. Even after I figured out to make a jig / miter board for cutting tiles in half, I still had to note which were 'left' halves and which were 'right'. The error in my jig was probably a 1/32 of an inch or less, but when all the full tiles are exactly the same size, and you don't have grout to hide the differences like with regular ceramic tile, that 1/32" adds up to a noticeable difference when you start putting halves together.

begin in the middle

If you're not doing some sort of insanity like a pattern with partial tiles, the layout for the linoleum squares is exactly the same as with regular tile. Find the middle of the room, adjust 1/2 tile width if necessary, and then snap some perpendicular lines.

After I got past the 1/2 tile border in the dining room, things went pretty quickly. Except for the angle by the back door and the space under the stove, of course. But we're pleased with the results, and I even had enough energy left today to install the toe kick under the various cabinets (I'd measured and cut it ages ago, and temporarily taped it into place until we had flooring.)

Blast from the Past

Edis at work 4.5 years ago

This morning I had a blast from the past: Edis, who worked with me frequently while I was building the addition. He stopped by to say hello (we'd long since lost each other's numbers), and not surprisingly given the economy, see if I had or knew of any work for him. He's currently working part time at Target and doing some painting, but there isn't much of the latter work for him these days.

We talked for a while (his English is much better), and I showed him the kitchen (which I did after he worked with me). I told him that I'd ordered linoleum for the kitchen and dining room floor (yes, that's right -- after lots of hemming and or hawing, I finally decided to go with natural linoleum). I'll call him when it arrives, but if any of you in the Oakland/Berkeley area are looking for a hard worker with some basic carpentry skills, email me at designsinlight and I'll hook you up.

Thanksgiving

getting the fish ready for the oven

The kitchen and dining room got their first big test for Thanksgiving. We had K's brother and his family and K's mom over for Thanksgiving. It would have been a struggle to do in the old kitchen because it had so little counterspace. Cooking a meal requires some scheduling so everything is ready at the same time, but the logistics of trying to schedule with no storage space for dishes in progress makes it extra hard.

We were helped in no small part by our sister-in-law bringing lots of side dishes to accompany the plank-baked trout, pumpkin gnocchi, and rolls we made, and K's mom bringing more than enough dessert.

seating for 8 or more

The old dining room would have presented similar challenges. We'd have had to set up an extra table in the living room to have seat 8 people. With the addition and remodel, Uncle Al's table not only fits easily in the dining room, it fit easily with 2 of the leaves in it. If we'd needed it, it would have fit with all 3 leaves.

In short, the kitchen was a joy to work in, and overall the new space passed with flying colors.

To Say Nothing of the Kitchen Sink

Nothing too exciting to write about. Yesterday I finished hooking up the vent for the range hood. This afternoon I spent cleaning up the dining room so I can move forward with that. It's been full of cardboard, boxes, pieces of styrofoam, etc. from the kitchen work. Everything (including the kitchen sink) had packaging. Some a little, some a lot, but it all added up to a substantial amount of cardboard. K had cut a bunch of it up before to go in the recycling bin, but there was still a fair amount left. Some of it I'd used to protect the plywood underlayment while installing the cabinets, and some had been re-used for various tasks before that, but most of it was just waiting to be recycled. I even have a potential lead on recycling most of the styrofoam. Each of the cabinets had styrofoam on the corners, and numerous other things had pieces here and there, so it added up to a fair amount. The catch is that they're waiting on some new equipment, and so can't accept donations right now. But better than into a landfill.

Holy Cow...

the kitchen

Somehow we went from a nice space to an actual kitchen today. I finished painting the wall behind where the stove will go, and with K's help installed the range hood. Hooking up the electrical for it was a snap.

Then I cleared a path from the refrigerator in the living room into the kitchen, and again with K's help moved the refrigerator into its slot. A bit of cleaning of the stove and lifting it onto some sliders, and K helped me slide that into place. I hooked up the gas, checked for leaks, et voilà!

Of course there's plenty left to do, like trim and flooring, not to mention the dining room, but today was a good day, ending with a fully functional kitchen.

crushed by the stove?

The Eyes Have It

my other eye

Well, one eye has it. Iritis, that is. Saturday I had a bit of a headache. Sunday it was worse, and it was odd because it felt like it was behind my eye. K noticed my eye was bloodshot, and when we went out, I discovered it was very sensitive to light. I called the advice nurse at Kaiser, and they wanted me to come in to check it out.

So today I trundled over to Kaiser for an appointment with my doctor. After checking in and a short wait, I was ushered in for a mini-physical (weight, temperature, blood pressure), then in to an exam room. My doctor is great. He came in and quickly asked some questions and examined my eye, then very quickly said, "It could be glaucoma. I'll make an appointment for you at the eye clinic right away." Eek!

Right away was the next available appointment, which was two hours away. Sigh. So I ran some errands and came back. Another pre-exam including a quick vision test, then the ophthalmologist came in. He asked some questions, then examined my eyes. Then some eye drops, and a glaucoma test. No glaucoma, but I do have iritis -- inflammation of the iris.

After a visit to the pharmacy and some more waiting, I have some eye drops to treat it, and a follow-up visit scheduled for next week. None of these things took that long (except, oddly, the check-in at the eye clinic), but it all added up to pretty much the whole day shot.

I also got a heads up that my other eye (shown pictured above) was showing signs of pigment dispersion syndrome. That's where the pigment of the iris flakes off (I guess they didn't prime it before applying the paint?), and can clog the drainage of the eye, leading to glaucoma. So when in the next couple of years when I have to get reading glasses (what?!), he suggested I get a glaucoma test, too, and every couple years going forward. Hmmph.

Two conditions I'd never heard of before, and I've got 'em. It could have been worse, so no complaints here. But the upshot is that instead of finishing the touch-up painting in the kitchen today, all I got done was moving stuff back in and putting the outlet and switch covers back on for the part that is done.

Kitchen Widgets

towel bar

Along with the big stuff like countertops and cabinets, there's a lot of little stuff that often goes into a kitchen, like a towelbar. I spent a lot of time searching for alternatives to the $90 Swedish-made brass ones and $3 steel ones, and finally found this beauty on Amazon for $22.

plumb bob how-to

I was impressed with the instructions. They instruct you how to make a simple plumb bob to help hang the bracket vertically, though they don't describe it as such. I've used various items including washers, chalk lines, and actual plumb bobs (thanks, Pete) as a plumb bob, but for something this short, I just use a level. But the idea of taping a coin to the instructions to get a vertical line is brilliant, and since many folks don't have a level or necessary understand their usage, it's probably better they don't describe what it is your doing, just tell you to do it.

I was less impressed with the massive plastic clam shell packaging it came in, but that's unfortunately all too common these days. And I would have preferred something U.S. made, but this was the right size, style and price.

ain't she lovely?

Another recent addition to the kitchen was a new compost bucket. We've always composted, even though haven't had a garden to use the compost in recently. It's long been in a Tupperware container, which works, but shows you the moldering fruit and veggie scraps piled on the coffee grounds, and is not the most appetizing thing to see on your kitchen counter. So I found this bamboo compost bucket, also on Amazon. It has a dishwasher-safe plastic bucket inside, and a simple filter in the lid to reduce odors. And it looks great with the new counters.

busy week

sun pillar

A strangely busy week, but not much progress on the kitchen. We do have knobs and pulls on all the cabinets, and with the microwave, toaster oven and coffee maker in the kitchen along with functional plumbing, it's starting to feel like a real kitchen. I still need to finish the floor so we can move the refrigerator and stove in, but it's a functional room now.

Friday I was out at Habitat. Yesterday we worked on the yard getting ready for fire season, cutting down the long grass, pulling weeds, and picking up branches and pine cones. I found a cool old milk bottle that I posted on the Our Oakland blog. I haven't found out anything about it yet, even Googling around on the intertubes.

Today we were off to the graduation of our oldest niece from Stanford. On the way home, we saw a cool sun dog, and then as we got closer to home, a beautiful sun pillar. I only had the point-and-shoot, but I managed to get this shot. No where near as nice as my friend Jim's sun pillar shot taken at Lake Tahoe a few years back that was featured on NASA's astronomy picture of the day.

A Happy Little Jig

a happy little jig

Yesterday K cleaned out cupboards and lined them with grippy shelf liner, while I installed the two tall pantry cupboards. Then we made one of the most important decisions about the kitchen...the knobs and pulls. EcoHome Improvement had some cool (but expensive) pulls made with recycled glass by Aurora Glass that donates all its proceeds to St. Vincent de Paul, but none of the options grabbed us. Given the cool countertop we've got, we don't want something too busy that will clash with it. So we ended up getting some simple (and much cheaper) brushed metal ones that match the faucet. Since there are lot of cabinets, I took the time to make a little jig so they'll all get installed in the same position without needing to measure a zillion times.

Today after visiting another church (which has some amazing Tiffany mosaics), K finished cleaning cabinets and pounding down nail heads in the floor, and I filled in over the nail heads and along any of the joints that were large. I also re-hung the last doors now that all the cabinets are installed.

We're still boggling over how much more countertop and storage space we've got now. Only a few things have been moved so far, but we've got gobs and gobs of room compared with before.

Seussian Plumbing

bye, K.C.

After more work than you'd expect (given where I was yesterday), we have a functioning sink, dishwasher, and yea, even disposal. After a trip to Home Depot, I discovered that my original dry-fit plan wasn't going to work (even if I'd gotten that last piece in the vent stack), so I made another trip to Home Depot for more fittings. The trip was totally worth it, though, because I saw this in the parking lot. Apparently it was the last day for someone named K.C., and his or her co-workers bid them a fond farewell by wrapping their truck (with a Home Depot shopping cart thrown in for good measure) in plastic. The antenna has a cardboard tube with goodbyes written on it, so K.C. will know who to blame.

the maiden voyage of the dishwasher

After returning home, I tried an alternative solution I'd come up while playing around with the available parts at Home Depot, but decided my original plan (updated) was the way to go. So I forged ahead and started gluing, and finally arrived at a completed vent stack and drain. After waiting a bit, I tried things out, and discovered a small leak around the strainer, but everything else was good. After re-seating that with more plumber's putty, everything seemed good to go.

So I tried the ultimate test -- starting the dishwasher. With little fanfare but much excitement, I let it run a 'quick wash' cycle, and all was well. Woohoo!

Almost There...

under the new sink

I got a lot done yesterday. I set the sink in place, cut into the drain line and installed a new T (after doing a little snaking to clean out the line, so I installed a new clean out, too), installed the disposal and strainer, the faucet and supply lines, and got most of the DWV connected. I just couldn't get the last piece in, so that's my main task for today. Well, that, and check for leaks. So far, so good, though.

That Sinking Feeling

After much ado, we now have a new sink. It's not installed yet, but the counter is re-cut to accept it, and we have it. And nobody played with the price in the mean time, like happened to This D*mn House.

I was figuring the new sink would fit, because it was the same dimensions as the old one (33"x22"). But I figured wrong, by about 1/2" on each side (the countertop guy was very precise with the old sink, I guess.) I cut most of it with my skilsaw and a concrete cutting blade, but I couldn't get into the corners (especially near the backsplash), so I rented an angle grinder and took out the last bits with that. Not surprisingly, it made a huge mess, even with the shop vac going. I got it all cleaned up, the dishwasher pushed into place, and the water supply shut-off valves installed, too. So tomorrow I can hook up the drain, put the sink in the new hole, and we should have a working sink (and dishwasher!) soon.

Roger, Houston...

Roger Houston. Insanity Base, here. We have counters.

And they're beautiful. It took a good chunk of the day for them to install the counters, and cutting out the hole for the sink made a ton of dust, but we're very happy with the end results.

The only problem now is the sink. We'd been planning on reusing our old cast-iron sink because it's in OK shape, but now with the new cabinets and beautiful new countertop, the sink looks a bit more banged up and stained than we remembered. And looking at the faucet, the same will be true for that if we replace the sink.

We're considering recoating the sink, but we haven't been able to find any place local that does actual recoating (vs. painting like Miracle Method.) Anybody know of a place in the East Bay that recoats sinks?

Ready for Counters

ready for countertop

The countertop is ready, and will be installed Monday morning. While K cut some cardboard to catch any crud that might drop into the cabinets, I finished securing the last cabinet and getting ready for the countertop. It's an exciting step, because once the countertop is in, I can install the sink, disposal and dishwasher. We're particularly excited about the last one. While we're doing OK with takeout and microwaved food, we've gotten tired of doing dishes in the bathroom sink.

A Day of Rest...Mostly

Rosie inspecting the work

After a couple of days of intense work on the kitchen, today was mostly a day of rest. Except I had to be up early to meet the countertop crew coming to make a template. Getting up early isn't easy for me under the best of circumstances, and I was up late last night getting ready for this morning. I had to re-install the sink cabinet over 1/2" (thank you, non-plumb and square walls of an old house), and had to plane a little off the back of the last lower cabinet to get it to fit in the corner. Designing with small tolerances means little wasted space, but doesn't leave much room for error. Fortunately the blind lazy susan cabinet requires a small spacer, so I was able to make adjustments by trimming that, but it was still a close fit. Rosie was kind enough to inspect my work, and approved not only of the cabinets, but enjoyed the boxes they came in.

countertop template

This morning the countertop crew showed up and made fairly short work of creating the template. They'd clearly done this a bunch of times before, and confirmed where we want a backsplash, which edges of the cabinets are flush and which get finished edges, etc. But they puzzled over where to put the seam -- the material comes in 8' lengths, so there will be at least one. After measuring and pondering (sounds familiar), they settled on a plan. The template was marked up for the seam, backsplashes and edges, and off they went. They'll be back in about a week to install it. Wahoo!

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.

Fiat Lux

On Wednesday afternoon my neighbor helped me paint the kitchen, and I put a second coat on Wednesday evening. Since then I've been finishing up the electrical, putting down the plywood for the underlayment or flooring if we go that route, and getting ready to hang cabinets. Adding the main fluorescent light fixture made a huge difference. Now it feels like a real room. A room with a heck of a lot of outlets, to be sure, but a real room.

Top 10

The top 10 rejected titles for this post:
10. White Room (Cream)
9. Lay Down Primer (Eric Clapton)
8. You Make Painting Fun (Fleetwood Mac)
7. Any Colour You Like (As Long as it's White) (Pink Floyd)
6. Fixing a Hole (in the Drywall) (Beatles)
5. Paintin' on a Sunny Day (Bruce Springsteen)
4. Haven't Got Time for the Paint (Carly Simon)
3. When Paint Dries (by the painter formerly known as Prince)
2. Blinded by the White (Manfred Mann's Earth Band)
and the #1 rejected title for this post:
1. Primed, Sealed and Covered, I'm Yours (Stevie Wonder)

In other words, the kitchen is primed and ready for painting.

Rip It, Rip It Good

wet sanding

K and I ripped the plywood into 2' widths today. Not because I'm ready for it yet, but because K worked at home today and ripping full sheets of plywood is a 2 person job. Unless you've got a much nicer shop set up than I've got; I had to set up the table saw in the yard to have enough room to maneuver a full sheet.

I finished mudding the kitchen over the weekend, and spent the balance of today wet sanding it. Alas, the potentially boffo sponge (I bought one for the good folks at Casa Decrepit, too) wasn't so boffo. The rough 'scrunge' side separated from the rest of the sponge after not too much use. I'm still a big fan of wet sanding vs. dry sanding, but a regular sponge works just as well if not better than the special one.

In other exciting news, our new dishwasher arrived. It's a lovely, water- and energy-efficient Bosch SHE43M02U that K picked out. It'll be a while before I can hook it up, but we are so looking forward to not doing dishes in the bathroom anymore.