Kitchen demo & remodel

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Wife wants a new kitchen, so I spent the past few weekends gutting out the kitchen to it’s walls & sub floor. Getting all of our pots n pans, tools n do dads n dry storage was a chore in itself.
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This floor was a heinous job that I wish on no other human. Such a PITA (&heavy). Breaking and removing and
Cleaning tile remnants is just yuck.
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After the crap floor was removed down to the subfloor, I tackled the cabinetry, countertop and tile work. This went much faster comparatively and was easier work (less up n down than the floor).
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I’ve put together our dining room as a temp makeshift kitchen off that 50w plug/extension dangling there. We are utilizing heavily disposable cutlery, plates etc through this process but any dishes made get done in bathtub.

Next steps are to clean up the Sheetrock and reseal it in preparation for texturing/tile work later on. I cando this is parts after work through the week leaving larger chores for the weekend. While removing the floor I realized it has shifted down by where the original heavy fridge location was maybe a 1/2-3/4 inch and am considering next steps to bring that true. I’m thinking of taking1/2” OBS and screwing/liquid nail that onto the subfloor to bring it up and reduce squeakiness prior to installing my new spalted maple water proof floor. Anyhow now I have a big stack of old janky cabinets & old appliances outside. I’m sure the neighbors love that lol
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...and ol' murphy came knockin. While I was doing this demo and prep work, the O2 sensor on my truck went out so its in the shop and the mechanic wont be able to address it for a couple days at least, so hoping to get that addressed & fixed before the weekend. More to come.
 
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Volvo242GT

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Looks like fun... (yes, sarcasm intended) Anyway, should be nice once it's done, plus the house will be worth more.

I do have a suggestion... Replace at least one of the electrical outlets with the duplex/USB charging outlets... Been doing that on our house, replacing at least one outlet in each room with one, that way we don't have to use the charging plugs that come with our phones, etc...

-J
 

Certificate of Excellence

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Looks like fun... (yes, sarcasm intended) Anyway, should be nice once it's done, plus the house will be worth more.

I do have a suggestion... Replace at least one of the electrical outlets with the duplex/USB charging outlets... Been doing that on our house, replacing at least one outlet in each room with one, that way we don't have to use the charging plugs that come with our phones, etc...

-J
You read my mind. I actually have two purchased out in the garage. Since we are often charging kid ipads in the kitchen, this will be a nice upgrade for that room - no mo' stinkin' chargers. Now a retractable solution for the chord would be even better but yanno, I am asking too much. :p

More Murphy too. The mechanic called me yesterday and said they could not find an issue - that the truck was driving fine. I have no idea how to explain this other than for the previous week, this thing has been stuck in my driveway undrivable because it will start but then shut right off - no idle. OBD2 on board detection is not throwing any codes which I also found weird. Loose sensor maybe? Fun times ...
 
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Volvo242GT

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I have seen aftermarket USB-lightning port sync cables that are with a reel mechanism in the past... So, they are out there.

Re: the truck, our old Ford Exploder would do something similar if the tank was low and it was parked facing downhill. Apparently, in Ford's wisdom, they decided to put the sending unit/fuel pump assembly in the rear right corner of the tank. So, it'd be start-die-start-die-crank forever. Roll downhill to a flat surface, start-run.
 

Certificate of Excellence

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Another productive Saturday spent on my knees. Dropped the new OSB subfloor. I ended up shimming under where the original subfloor had sunken down - came out very well and sets me up for a clean transition from dining room to kitchen when I drop the final floor tomorrow. The 500+ screws that went in to secure the OBS, now that part got old pretty fast but needed to be done to prevent squeaks n humps.
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Also ran about 20 feet of stainless steel water hose under the subfloors to where the new fridge will live and popped it out of the wall. I still need to find a nice box to finish off the hole I cut into the sheet rock. Luckily I only had to drill through one support beam and the 2x4 bases of each wall as I came up through the floor - not too bad all in all.
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Also cut out some segments of hole-E sheet rock and patched them up and sealed the exposed Sheetrock sections in preparation for installing the tile back splash (last step).
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Anyhow, it’s coming along. The floor has been a real bear - so much work has gone into just getting it to this point lol.

On a positive note, the mechanics Fixed my truck so I was able to drag all the old cabinetry n bits I yanked off last week to the dump this morning.
 

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So I started framing in the bottom cabinets, taking care to keep that front edge plumb for the counter top. That dumb waiter was a PITA lol.
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Despite shimming up the new subfloor, it still has a shift down along the interior wall. The home itself is just shy of 50 years old, and has settled downward (between .5 and 1.5 inches) along this interior wall comparative to the outside wall. Anyhow between shimming up the new subfloor and cabinets when needed, the top has come true (I’d say within a 16th of an inch) in preparation for the counter tops.
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Next steps are to build out & finish a 8x24 sheet pan box between the sink and dumbwaiter, finish the side that comes up against the stove space, and tack in the toe strip. Certainly tired of not having a kitchen so motivated to button this up over the next week or two schedule depending.

more to come.
 

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Finished boxing in the dumbwaiter & building the sheet pan box, installed the new trim, toe kick and had the new fridge show up.
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Getting the fridge in was a pita to get up the back stairs (this home is a 1970s split level design w/ three levels and the kitchen is in the middle up about 10 stairs) and through the door. I had to take the iron rail off the back deck staircase & the exterior doors off their frame to get this thing inside (could my wife have chosen any fatter of fridge lol) Also had to disassemble it and take its doors off to get it through the exterior door frames lol … but we got it done. Took some time.
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Trim got done as well & the toe kick went on. Site inspector showed up as well to make sure my work is up to snuff 😅
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Anyhow, still need to fill in some 45’ seams, paint trim & cut a few bibs n bobs but this stretch is mostly done. I’ll get to installing the American walnut butcher block counters this week some time & slot in the range and the new dishwasher that should arrive this week sometime. Can’t wait to get the appliances in, top on & sink installed & water reconnected. Cooking in my dining room via microwaves, air fryers & instapots + doing dishes in my bathtub is for the flip in birds. Woof!
 
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Certificate of Excellence

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Using this as a means to document the process. Below is what I believe to have in raw labor to date. Sweat equity.

DEMO TASKSEST HOURSDATE
Kitchen packup/relo
8​
Mar-22​
Chair rail removal
36​
Sep-21​
Tile removal
36​
Oct-21​
Wall Paper Removal
36​
Nov-21​
New Fan install
6​
Nov-21​
Cabinet/tile/counter Demolition
12​
Mar-22​
Subfloor
8​
Mar-22​
Floating Floor
14​
Mar-22​
Low cabinets
16​
Mar-22​
Top Cabinets
0​
Counter
8​
Mar-22​
Trim/Toekick/baseboard
8​
Mar-22​
Hood
0​
Ttile install
0​
Labor in hours
180​
Labor in Days
7.5​
Est Labor cost
6300​

I had been meaning to do a Music recording PowerPC Marchintosh video but just wasn’t able to fit it in. Now I know where all that time has gone.
 
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Got the uppers hung & I realized quickly how not square the kitchen soffit is when trying to hang square cabinetry in it lol. Anyhow got it done.
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It has been an absolute struggle to get the butcher block counter wood in. Paid for but the supply chain for it is all screwed up and has taken forever to get it here. Hopefully we can get it installed by end of next week. My new dishwasher, sink & disposal have been on my back porch waiting for the stupid counter to get in. It’s always something dragging out the schedule but Dems da breaks with any project I suppose. Anyhow below is a pano with everything in except an 18x90” pantry that I will install next to the fridge at some point.
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For now though, really just waiting on that Butcher block counter top and then onto the sink, remaining appliances and then finishing touches like backsplash tile, hood, & touch up painting - after that, I’m walk-in away 🙂

of course I’ll reward myself with a bomb pan rack installation at some point.
 
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Finally got … half of my butcher block counter in lol. To add to the humor of it all & absolute time suck, the company we purchased through ordered the wrong amount (they measured!!) so I have half of my counter in lol. Got the dishwasher installed (who knew you had to have it professionally installed to maintain full warranty & install ppl won’t install without counter so… took a minute) otherwise I would have installed myself about a month ago lol. Anyhow, coming along - can finally see it coming together.
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Got the doors that needed flipping, flipped & shelving in. I am especially happy with the Kohler basin sink & faucet. That setup is slick, easy to install & had absolutely all the bits n bobs. Also installed the usb charging plugs & a new low profile garbage disposal, so that but is done. Below is the naked bits still needing acounter.
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I installed an additional pantry next to the fridge for added storage and am considering what I’ll install over the top. I was thinking one of those wall/ceiling mounted wine cooler perhaps. Wife & I enjoy our vino, so I think that would be a nice & well used addition/upgrade. Next is to install a box hood and to pick out what tile we’ll go with for the back splash.
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Finally got the contractor to sign off on the work.
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Certificate of Excellence

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Surprise surprise, the last section of butcher block arrived. It was 2 inches short - seriously can’t make this stuff up. Technically it fits but jeez. Anhow, moving forward, I Laid on the first coat of food grade oil conditioner on the counters today. Looking good.
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I’m in the process of emptying the entire bottle between 3-4 coats and will then start with the protectant wax which will be another 2-3 coats.
 

Volvo242GT

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We have the same faucet here at our place. Just a heads up about it... Sometimes, it will dribble out the spray holes, instead of just using the aerator. If I depress on the switch that goes between the two modes, it will usually stop dribbling for a bit. Sometimes helps to also depress the high water flow button (the one above the switch).
 

Trash80toG4

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Apr 1, 2022
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Can't tell you how much I'm impressed by both your design and installation throughout. I spent a couple of years dong Kitchen Design in a Big Box and can only think of one suggestion for you. Being an inveterate tinkerer/sometimes professional in many related fields including the design and construction of cabinets, I hope you'll appreciate the props and the one tweak. ;)

I wouldn't close in the top of the pantry for your wine rack. The cubic that's traditionally inhabited by a marginal use cabinet over your fridge is open for use at this point. I'd have built an X design wine rack cabinet for that space. Conserving the plane across top of pantry and custom wine rack to doorway opens up the option of installing indirect lighting where your soffit blocks that possibility over the rest of your cabinetry. LED lighting on a dimmer provides utility/mood adjustment and set to low overnight makes stumbling to the fridge in the middle of the night less hazardous.

Holds more wine bottles as well. 🤪

Fabulous work, especially the custom sheet pan rack, much impressed.
 
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Hi there, thanks! I appreciate the compliments - my wife thinks as you do and shot down the wine cooler. Besides, while Im 6'4" and to me is a great use of space, she's a lot shorter than I so getting to it would be an issue for her. I do really like your point of it blocking natural light, so for now, that space is for storing/displaying some of my nice cast iron pots n pans and lets a lot of afternoon natural light through from that southwestern exposure. Anyhow, ended up installing a microwave over the oven. I originally chose to put a nice big box hood right up to the soffit sans microwave as I don't really use one (gasp) but ultimately for resale-ability of this home, decided it needed (buyers would expect) a microwave so in it went. Connecting to the outside vertical exhaust chimney was a bit of a struggle (as its not perfectly centered over the stove - I chose to push the range over about 7 inches so it wasn't so close to the corner & would make more usable room) but ultimately got it done. Looks good. I'll post a pic later.
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Finally got to the subway tile backsplash. This isn’t a terribly bad job but is slow going and very easy to make a huge mess, so having tarps taped off and all your meez in place is key to completing each section with relative speed and cleanly. In the past I’ve used tile adhesive that you trowel onto the surface or back butter tough to fit pieces but this time I used a new product called muscle bound. It’s like super sticky adhesive double sided tape for tile. I had some issues with it not adhering to the Sheetrock in places because when I was oiling and conditioning my butcher block counters, some of that oily residue remained on the Sheetrock, so what they say is true - the surfaces your adhering to have to be 110% free of residue/dirt. Once I got those spaces I missed cleaned it worked ok. Still, I wasn’t entirely sold but overall it worked well enough. Below are my subway tiles adhered to the musclebound mat ungrouted.
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Where this stuff gets kind of hard to use and inconsistent is around sockets. In the pic above you can see where I reaffirmed the cut tile pieces around the sockets with liquid nails because they did not adhere solidly on their own. This was a big disappointment and why I would think twice before using it for this application again. None the less, overall, adhesion was good so I proceeded to grout. Better half wanted a cool gray grout w/ flake (pure steel) so I settled on a premix Mapei flex color 3D grout. About $50 bucks per half
Gallon but worth not having to muck around with mixing up your grout and has a resealable lid so will not dry out as you progress through a multi-day/weekend project like this. So, as of right now, I got the east backsplash wall completed so cooking can recommence (had to pull out stove to tile & grout behind.
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Most importantly wifey is very happy with the look and the flake in the grout has made my hands looks like sparkly magic elf hands.
 
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Trash80toG4

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Absolutely fabulous! Will you be using a contrasting colored plastic cutting board on that beautiful butcher block countertop?

One bit of advice from a former plumbing department team leader: be on the lookout for an inexpensive single hole faucet set at Habitat outlets etc. All sprayer hoses fail. Fancy, lifetime warranty pulldown sprayer hoses fail. You're only guaranteed free replacement parts upon failure under warranty. That being the case, you will never find OEM repair parts locally. You'll have to wait for your zero cost replacement parts' arrival from mfr. because there's no retail market for them. If a universal kit is known to work with your faucet, get one. Otherwise the only immediate repair possible is temporary replacement of the unit. Keep one or the other affixed behind the garbage disposal for Murphy's visit. ;)
 

Certificate of Excellence

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Absolutely fabulous! Will you be using a contrasting colored plastic cutting board on that beautiful butcher block countertop?

One bit of advice from a former plumbing department team leader: be on the lookout for an inexpensive single hole faucet set at Habitat outlets etc. All sprayer hoses fail. Fancy, lifetime warranty pulldown sprayer hoses fail. You're only guaranteed free replacement parts upon failure under warranty. That being the case, you will never find OEM repair parts locally. You'll have to wait for your zero cost replacement parts' arrival from mfr. because there's no retail market for them. If a universal kit is known to work with your faucet, get one. Otherwise the only immediate repair possible is temporary replacement of the unit. Keep one or the other affixed behind the garbage disposal for Murphy's visit. ;)
Actually I’m using the cut out from the butcher block counter which has great contrast against a stainless prep table from my local restaurant supply. Being a chef/food service businessman for 25+ years, I have an affinity for stainless - easy to clean & wears like iron w/o the rust. I actually opted for stainless back splash but my wife wanted subway tile, so in it went - happy wife, happy life.
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At some point I will sand down the edges but haven’t gotten there yet. I am a pack rat and have a garage full of random appliance parts and crap that I have collected over the years just because Murphy n I know each other very well! I got the remainder of the tile to the end and ran out. Lol I accidentally returned one too many boxes of tiles so will have to go back and buy one back that I had returned. No worries as I need to get a few other bits as well. Either way I’m done for the day and don’t want to grout further til the LN has set over night.

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I have cut enough tile for today. I’m going to go get a well deserved donut.
 
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