Let there be light

We took a short trip to Denver to visit my parents and brothers & families.  My hubby is a good guy, we took off Sunday after Church and Choir and drove as far as Glenwood Springs, Colorado.  We spent the night at the Sheperds, Jill's parents.  They are so great, and have a INCREDIBLE home in the Colorado rockies overlooking the beautiful mountains and valleys.  

 We drove in to Denver the next morning and spent a few days before we had to get home (in time for Choir practice), even though our lives revolve around the choir - and that is NOT a complaint - Karl is good to drive me to see my family and enjoys being with them too.  

Anyway, the last installment on the kitchen was lighting...

The old box came down along with 3 flourescent fixtures.  I must admit I did like the light that the old box gave off, but I also like the sparkle of the new canned lights.

It was a bit of a guess deciding where they should go, this was somewhat dictated by the beams in the ceiling and the direction they ran, but I think we guessed well.

Handyman Hone found a couple of cool tools that  a) cut an even 6 inch circle in the sheetrock and b) drilled through the beams without cutting extra holes for wiring.  This 2nd tool was a flexible 5 foot drill bit and the damage and mess to the ceiling was minimal.  We added an additional light over the bar counter, we've had 2 since the beginning, but the darker counter needed another light.  Then 5 others along the wall counter, in front of the pantry and the fridge.

Still need to spakle a 2nd coat, paint and get new rims.   Finally decided on backsplash tile, just need to patiently wait now!!

Picking Tile

I think I know what I want....which helps narrow down the choice between a gazillion tile choices.  Then of course there is the limitation of cost.  I found some I loved, but for $23 a foot I must find love somewhere else.

 The "cheap" stuff is around $4 a foot, and of course the designer corner of the showroom had stuff that started at $30 a foot and went up from there.

 I am going again today to keep looking, some were easy to rule out, others looked pretty good in the light, then terrible in daylight. 

This is both fun and stressful, I don't want to make a costly mistake.

Yippeee!!!

"They will be there sometime between noon and 6:00."   At 6:01 p.m. the crew arrived, 5 Spanish speaking laborers began the relatively quick process, they were gone by 8:00.

 I could barely remember what I had selected, I didn't take a picture of the exact slab, nor did I have a sample, so I was a little worried....

They put in new board with steel corbels to help strengthen the bar area

These guys were huffing and puffing as they carried in the 2 big slabs - they seemed to work pretty well as a team.



 The extra 3" on the bar makes such a difference.  It makes the whole kitchen seem larger.  And you don't smash your knees on the wall.

 We've gone for 3 days without plumbing in the kitchen, I can't tell you how many times I headed to the sink for water.  The plumber is redoing all the pipes underneath now becuase the sink is deeper and the drains are in different places.  

 I don't know if I can stand the wait to get the backsplash tiled!!



Today is the day!!

This afternoon the granite will be delivered!  It will be good, but the tile backsplash is still 3 1/2 weeks away, so it won't feel finished.  But here are some more of what we've been doing to get to this point:

I have to put a picture of Handyman Hone in here - using brute strength to wrestle the old ceramic tile off the plywood base...

  This is the kitchen this morning.  We got the vacuum hose out and got down to places that haven't seen the light of day in 23 years!

I am looking forward to the undermount sink, no more tile grout to scrub, no more seeing every little drop on a light surface, and sink that is 4 inches deeper, and again, the undermount sink (no more scrubbing the crud around the edges of the sink!)  Oh, and the extra 3" at the bar!

...and then you have to live with the mess for a while.

This past weekend we (and I mean Handyman Hone) removed the countertops and repaired the damage I did while removing the tile backsplash off the wall.

When ceramic tile is put directly on sheet rock, there is virtually no way to remove it and not damage the wall.  This I learned by experience, then quickly confirmed it on the internet.  The new tile will be put on the sheet rock again, and the next one to remove it will have to replace the whole wall, not just the part behind the stove.

But this was not a bad fix, and we got the wiring for the undercabinet lighting across the back there while it was ripped down, and put up some new sheet rock.

Next step - countertop tile.  We didn't know for sure what we would find, "they" all told us until you start the demo you have no way of knowing how it was installed.    Removing the edge/trim exposes the plywood underneath.   Little shards of ceramic tile fly everywhere for this!  We had furniture blankets covering the floor and swept and vacuumed repeatedly.

We took a pry bar and seperated the two sheets of plywood and amazingly enough the tile stayed mostly intact on the top board as it was pried apart.  It came off in 3' x 4' sections.  Now we have one layer of plywood resting on the cabinets until the granite arrives the end of this week. 

This layer of plywood was screwed into the cabinets, but the screws came up easily.  The sink in still hooked up and resting on the wood, the dishwasher is also still hooked up, but not secure so we are not using it this week.  It's kind of like camping!   The tile backsplash won't be installed until the 2nd week of June which gives us time to pick something out that will go with the granite and it gives the granite a chance to settle.  The house is a disaster, but I can handle it!!

First you have to make a mess.

We are making some exciting changes!  The first changes are unsightly and messy.  I'm okay with that.  We are putting in granite countertops, but needed to make a few changes first.  We have removed the desk unit because in 22 years no one has EVER sat at it and used it like a desk.  So I had another cupboard unit made.  But before that I wanted the problem of not enough electrical outlets fixed. So Handyman Hone came and put in a new outlet hidden in the cupboard.  We now have the cable TV box, the TV, the undercabinet stereo, underbcabinet lighting and phone chargers plugged in the cupboard!

It meant hacking up the wall, but there will be tile on that wall when this mess is finished.

The new unit -- the drawers and doors are not yet done.

While the cabinet guy was here we had a new cupboard  added here- (the door is not yet finished), but it seems too me there should have been one here all along! The granite is going to be 3" wider on the bar side than the existing counter is.

Then to further mess things up, I wanted to have undercabinet lighting so Handyman Hone had to rip up the walls a bit to install a switch and electrical wiring.  Again this area will be tiled over so I am okay with this look.

I already love the lighting, even though there is nothing special lit up just yet.

There that have been MANY different granite contractors here taking maesurements and giving us estimates.  We finally decided to go with the contractors through Costco.

 Several trips to slab yards to pick out 2 slabs, so many choices.....

 Next, a digital template is made- using measurements and digital photos to detect any irregularities.  We got a sink and faucet through a mattress trade with a plumbing supply guy.

The next step is a VERY messy one.  Next week we have to remove the old tile countertop.  I am told this is extremely messy and we need to take extreme care to protect the (relatively) new hardwood floors.  Then we rip down the old ceiling light and make more messy holes to put in canned lights, then tile backsplash. 

I can hardly wait!!!!