Thursday, March 31, 2005
Flooring is started
Bissell Jr started on our maple hardwood floor today! He is running two days behind, but I think the job will go in fairly quickly because they got quite a bit done in the short time they were here today. The floor is beautiful and full of character. I think it will match the baseboards very well.
For now, we're just waiting for him to finish the floor so we can place the rest of the cabinets, order the granite, and pick stain colors. He feels they'll be done mid-next week (with the first 3 sandings) so we can start looking at stains.
Mike is still busy planing boards. He wants to have bunches planed so that when he goes to run the molding, he can fly through them without changing blades. I hope it goes that well! :)
For now, we're just waiting for him to finish the floor so we can place the rest of the cabinets, order the granite, and pick stain colors. He feels they'll be done mid-next week (with the first 3 sandings) so we can start looking at stains.
Mike is still busy planing boards. He wants to have bunches planed so that when he goes to run the molding, he can fly through them without changing blades. I hope it goes that well! :)
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Staircase mixup
Another setback....
We are replacing our oak staircase with wrought iron and maple. The stair company was supposed to start on the stairway today and finish it tomorrow....well they showed up but told us they couldn't do any work because we didn't have any baseboard done yet and they have to have it in order to line everything up. argh. They never told us we needed baseboard done, otherwise we would have milled some.
So...we have to reschedule the staircase guys for next week, and get our butts in gear and finish some baseboards! I hate having the stairway open (no railing) because I worry about someone falling over the edge. Hopefully we'll get them out here soon.
We are replacing our oak staircase with wrought iron and maple. The stair company was supposed to start on the stairway today and finish it tomorrow....well they showed up but told us they couldn't do any work because we didn't have any baseboard done yet and they have to have it in order to line everything up. argh. They never told us we needed baseboard done, otherwise we would have milled some.
So...we have to reschedule the staircase guys for next week, and get our butts in gear and finish some baseboards! I hate having the stairway open (no railing) because I worry about someone falling over the edge. Hopefully we'll get them out here soon.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Lights!
All of the recessed lights are in place and the wiring is finished. We had Dennis place the outlets sideways and close to the underside of the cabinets so they don't interfere as much with the tiles. We also have mutiple switches for the lights so we can turn the lights on from different locations -- foyer, mud room, kitchen. There will be SO much light in our kitchen now! I love it! Of course we are putting dimmers on everything so it's not so bright all the time. :)
We went at lunch and reserved 3 slabs of cranbury brown granite. Now we just have to wait until the cabinets are in place so they can make the templates before we actually choose which slabs we want.
We went at lunch and reserved 3 slabs of cranbury brown granite. Now we just have to wait until the cabinets are in place so they can make the templates before we actually choose which slabs we want.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Work begins!
DLK construction was here bright and early to start working on the kitchen. He came by yesterday to check our progress and returned today to start. We already hit a snag....the pocket door cannot be installed in the pantry because when they removed the drywall they found it to be a load-bearing wall and also it was full of plumbing. :( We've decided to install an external pocket door instead -- not our first choice -- but a better option than a swing door or bifold.
We made a decision on the pendant lights and the dining room light -- both are from Besa lighting. Judi is going to order them for us and check into the Lutron lighting control Mike wants. We also went to Builders Appliance Supply and ordered the Dacor cooktop and the microwave trim kit. Both will be delivered in about two weeks.
Things are happening fast now!
We made a decision on the pendant lights and the dining room light -- both are from Besa lighting. Judi is going to order them for us and check into the Lutron lighting control Mike wants. We also went to Builders Appliance Supply and ordered the Dacor cooktop and the microwave trim kit. Both will be delivered in about two weeks.
Things are happening fast now!
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Major demolition begins
Last night, Angelo and Geoff helped Mike demo the kitchen and pull up some flooring. In a short amount of time my kitchen was gone... :)
Today Mike and I removed the molding and continued pulling up flooring. The worst part is pulling the thousands of little staples out of the subflooring that were used to secure the laminate floor. time consuming for sure!
As we suspected, the floor under the dishwasher will need replaced. We found out our DW had been leaking for a long time when we replaced it due to a separate problem, but we weren't sure how bad the damage was until now. Bissell Jr is coming by on Monday to instruct us on replacing the floor....
So tomorrow we hope to finish the demo and put Mike's planer together. :")
Today Mike and I removed the molding and continued pulling up flooring. The worst part is pulling the thousands of little staples out of the subflooring that were used to secure the laminate floor. time consuming for sure!
As we suspected, the floor under the dishwasher will need replaced. We found out our DW had been leaking for a long time when we replaced it due to a separate problem, but we weren't sure how bad the damage was until now. Bissell Jr is coming by on Monday to instruct us on replacing the floor....
So tomorrow we hope to finish the demo and put Mike's planer together. :")
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Busy week!
It's been a busy week around here! On Sunday, we had the 220 lines installed for Mike's woodworking machines, we ordered all of our stainless steel appliances, and we started laying subfloor.
Our cabinets arrived on Tuesday! They look great -- at least the one we opened did. :) Mike left for CA Tuesday night, so I've been busy packing the kitchen, laundry, pantry, and coat closet so that we're ready for demolition Friday night. Our hardwood floor is being delivered tomorrow morning, and the dumpster arrives on Saturday.
Whew. I'm amazed at how much crap we've accumulated over 4 years! I guess this is one way to declutter. :)
Our cabinets arrived on Tuesday! They look great -- at least the one we opened did. :) Mike left for CA Tuesday night, so I've been busy packing the kitchen, laundry, pantry, and coat closet so that we're ready for demolition Friday night. Our hardwood floor is being delivered tomorrow morning, and the dumpster arrives on Saturday.
Whew. I'm amazed at how much crap we've accumulated over 4 years! I guess this is one way to declutter. :)
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Moving day
Our PODS (personal on-demand storage) unit was delivered this morning to store our LR and DR furniture. Our friends Geoff and Angelo came by to help Mike move everything and also help him move the 350lb Woodmaster machine down to the basement.
When everything was stored, we proceeded to demo the LR since that is where we are going to store the flooring when it arrives. We're waiting for Dell (the floor guy) to come by to tell us if we need to install a subfloor in the two front rooms....
Our stair parts arrived the other day. We are re-doing the staircase in maple and wrought iron -- it is currently oak, with pine and poplar trim. We bought the supplies from www.buystairparts.com because all the local suppliers were much higher, even accounting for the shipping cost. We went with the single ribbon twist, double ribbon twist, and the double ribbon twist with scroll. We purchased the newel posts and handrails, but Mike is going to make the skirtboard for the stairs himself with his new machine. :)
When everything was stored, we proceeded to demo the LR since that is where we are going to store the flooring when it arrives. We're waiting for Dell (the floor guy) to come by to tell us if we need to install a subfloor in the two front rooms....
Our stair parts arrived the other day. We are re-doing the staircase in maple and wrought iron -- it is currently oak, with pine and poplar trim. We bought the supplies from www.buystairparts.com because all the local suppliers were much higher, even accounting for the shipping cost. We went with the single ribbon twist, double ribbon twist, and the double ribbon twist with scroll. We purchased the newel posts and handrails, but Mike is going to make the skirtboard for the stairs himself with his new machine. :)
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Designer's challenge :)
Our designer, Judi from Design Details, came by to show us the tiles she had picked for our backsplash. The only problem is that we don't have a sample door to check the color! We figured we'd just have to wait until the cabinets arrive next week to make our final choice.
We are also trying to finalize the lighting plan and fixtures, and the color scheme. I think this is the worst part because I don't want to pick a color that will look dated quickly, or one that a few years from now I will totally despise. :)
I guess that's why we hired a designer...to tell me "no way" and suggest wonderful thinghs I never would have thought of. lol.
We are also trying to finalize the lighting plan and fixtures, and the color scheme. I think this is the worst part because I don't want to pick a color that will look dated quickly, or one that a few years from now I will totally despise. :)
I guess that's why we hired a designer...to tell me "no way" and suggest wonderful thinghs I never would have thought of. lol.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
WOW!
Diamond will be delivering the cabinets the week of Mar 14th! I can't believe it! We weren't expecting them to arrive till the first or second week of April, so this is a very nice surprise!
Things are really moving along now!
Things are really moving along now!
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Baseboards, casings, and doors...oh my!
We recently found out there was a major miscommunication between us and BissellJr. We thought he was supplying the new baseboards and casings and that they were included in his price -- but they were not. He was only going to stain and poly coat them...
This was a major setback for us because we did not include these items in our budget. We definitely had sticker shock when we began pricing baseboards and casings and determined how much we'd need of both. Here is what Mike wrote about it in an email to his High School shop teacher...
>>I got the classic sticker shock when it came to the base, casing, and trim pieces. It turned out to be as much as almost redoing the kitchen... this was a problem! ;-(
So remembering what I learned from the master... you.....I put my little noggin to work. I went out and bought a planer/molder http://www.woodmastertools.com/ model 718. I then went out and bought a fairly decent jointer, Dell X5 6" 2hp. I started getting prices on wood and went to woodcrafters and the published price was $4.80 per-BF [board foot] for #2 maple. I told them I wanted 400 BF and what would be the price, and they quoted me a price of $3.80 per-BF. Better.....and even at that price we were still under the cost of the lowest pre-finished stuff I could find at $2.70 per LF for base and $17.50 per 7' casing. But not being satisfied with that price I started to look around and found a guy on the web http://www.hartzellwoodstock.bigstep.com/ who stated that he had a lot of different woods for sale including maple at $750 per 1000 BF-- or the way I calculated -- $0.75 per BF. I did not need 1000 BF but at that price I did not think I could go wrong. The delivery was $250 but still only raised it to a dollar a BF. So, now in my basement I have about 900 BF of clear, #1, and #2 maple... great looking wood.... I could not be happier with the quality I got. I have a table saw, jointer, and the planer/molder arrives tomorrow and a new 3hp dust collection system next week.
So using my "extensive" :-) skills as a woodworker, I'm now going to be making all of the base, trim, casing, and shoe molding for the house. Plus, at the end of the day I still have the tools and I'm still way and I mean way under the total price for the molding at a supplier.
>>
Ok....so we tackled the issue of baseboards and casings, so we decided to go ahead and order the maple 6-panel doors for the 1st floor and upstairs landing (all visible doors), and we also ordered 15-light maple french doors for the formal dining room. I have always wanted french doors there to open the foyer and DR up, so I couldn't be happier! We ordered them from Lowes too. :) We feel like we have personally kept them in business this last month!
This was a major setback for us because we did not include these items in our budget. We definitely had sticker shock when we began pricing baseboards and casings and determined how much we'd need of both. Here is what Mike wrote about it in an email to his High School shop teacher...
>>I got the classic sticker shock when it came to the base, casing, and trim pieces. It turned out to be as much as almost redoing the kitchen... this was a problem! ;-(
So remembering what I learned from the master... you.....I put my little noggin to work. I went out and bought a planer/molder http://www.woodmastertools.com/ model 718. I then went out and bought a fairly decent jointer, Dell X5 6" 2hp. I started getting prices on wood and went to woodcrafters and the published price was $4.80 per-BF [board foot] for #2 maple. I told them I wanted 400 BF and what would be the price, and they quoted me a price of $3.80 per-BF. Better.....and even at that price we were still under the cost of the lowest pre-finished stuff I could find at $2.70 per LF for base and $17.50 per 7' casing. But not being satisfied with that price I started to look around and found a guy on the web http://www.hartzellwoodstock.bigstep.com/ who stated that he had a lot of different woods for sale including maple at $750 per 1000 BF-- or the way I calculated -- $0.75 per BF. I did not need 1000 BF but at that price I did not think I could go wrong. The delivery was $250 but still only raised it to a dollar a BF. So, now in my basement I have about 900 BF of clear, #1, and #2 maple... great looking wood.... I could not be happier with the quality I got. I have a table saw, jointer, and the planer/molder arrives tomorrow and a new 3hp dust collection system next week.
So using my "extensive" :-) skills as a woodworker, I'm now going to be making all of the base, trim, casing, and shoe molding for the house. Plus, at the end of the day I still have the tools and I'm still way and I mean way under the total price for the molding at a supplier.
>>
Ok....so we tackled the issue of baseboards and casings, so we decided to go ahead and order the maple 6-panel doors for the 1st floor and upstairs landing (all visible doors), and we also ordered 15-light maple french doors for the formal dining room. I have always wanted french doors there to open the foyer and DR up, so I couldn't be happier! We ordered them from Lowes too. :) We feel like we have personally kept them in business this last month!
