The Kitchen Project

This is the week we’ve all been waiting for. All of us, even the cats. This week we get a working kitchen back. No more dishes in the bathtub, no more laundry in our tenant’s washer/dryer. No more hotplate cooking. Many many pictures to follow this week.

Wednesday: Countertops are installed in the morning.
Thursday: Sink installed. Dishwasher and Washing machine hooked up to water supply. Fridge water hooked up. Stove installed. Radiator installed.
Friday: All door handles & pulls finished. Glass shelves installed.

The tiles, alas, will not arrive for another week to week and a half, while either we or our contractor is on vacation. (I just called this morning, and they said a 3-3.5 week turn around)

This morning I began dismantling our old fridge in preparation for our next appliance delivery. The plan was to have the guys from Yale carry the old fridge down the stairs, so we could use it for overflow and parties. I took out the shelves, drawers, and started washing the inside of both fridge and freezer to be totally ready. I even took the door off its hinges so I could make the whole job easier.

Then, on a hunch, I thought I’d measure the door and the fridge to make sure we’d fit. Getting it through the first door was going to be no problem. The door to the basement however, was too narrow by an inch! Frustrated, I remeasured both, and while doing so, Phoebe managed to escape into the basement. I ran down after her (in my socks) and lost her in a pile of boxes. (I got her out after a while, with some treats. I always find it funny how they stare at you when you find them like “Oh, were you looking for me? I’ve been here the whole time!”)

I did measure our other door to the basement, which is under the porch. The fridge would fit through that door, but we couldn’t get the fridge under the porch in a way that it would ever fit down there. So I guess the idea of an overflow fridge will have to be put off for another day.

P.S. Thanks to Mark for putting up with an overly frustrated Greg, especially when we realized we didn’t have enough gas to start the car, and I had to get the spare can from under the porch to give me enough to make it to the station around the corner.

Last night, Mark and I unpacked the glasses and plates and moved them into our cabinets. When we were done with what we’d boxed up, we moved some more of the glasses that didn’t fit into the kitchen over from our china cabinet in the dining room. There was still SO much space left. We’d barely scratched the surface. We moved over some wine glasses and beer glasses so the ones we had in the dining room would be crowded.

We’ve been told not to put anything in the base cabinets until the countertop goes in, so all of the cookware is still boxed up. I have some pantry items in cabinets, but still, the kitchen seems empty. We’ll be building out the back closet with shelves for pantry items as well, so we’ll have more space than we can imagine.

We picked out our cabinet and drawer handles after several trips to Home Depot and Lowe’s. We brought a few items home and decided on this curved handle since it’s stainless and echoes the curved handles of the fridge, stove and dishwasher. We had thought to go with a steel rod, but this was a little less industrial looking.

Once we got back from Lowe’s and decided we wanted it, the debate began: drive back up to Saugus or look for them online. We were able to find them online for slightly less than the per-handle cost, including delivery, so they’re on their way from California to our house.

Yesterday our electrician Michael came over and installed our ceiling fan and started working on outlets. The fridge is plugged in, so no longer on an extension cord. From upstairs, it didn’t look like he’d done too much, but the basement had a lot of new wires run around. The kitchen is going to add a pile of circuits to our system, since modern kitchens have to allow running the toaster and microwave at the same time. (In our old kitchen, this outlet was on the same circuit as the TV in the front room and an outlet in the dining room.)

Today, we hope for more progress! In the mean time, I leave you with our new fan. On a 90+ degree day, he’d be good to get that wired and running.

Boston Fabrication of Norwood, Mass. promises that will be the day our countertop will arrive. It’s a Wednesday. Let’s see how much else can be done that day and the two following.

On Friday, we painted the trim a subtle white called White Chocolate. The arrival and installation of the cabinets before all of the crown molding had been installed meant that Greg had to do some stretching, craning, and awkward weight balancing on sills and cabinets to reach every corner of the room. I stuck to the windows and door frames. We did two coats one after the other and are happy with the results.

Although the kitchen is far from functional, we are now eating out of the new refrigerator and freezer. It beeps when the door isn’t fully shut and we have learned when it is closed and when it isn’t.

Yesterday, we turned our attention to the hallway. The replastering of the entrance to the kitchen required the hallway to be touched up, and since we lacked the paint we’d used in the rest of the hallway and had never finished the ceiling the last time, we decided to finish the work started years ago while moving in a slightly different direction in color. The ceiling was repainted white over the existing patchy single coat of gray. Greg chose a slightly greener tone for the walls, which he loves and I’m learning to appreciate. I don’t think we’ll need to redo the white trim around the doors, but the crown molding bears the scars of both ceiling and wall paint and needs to be done. We may replace it to match the kitchen depending on the cost.

Sunday was also devoted to working in the backyard. Our garden has been out of sight, out of mind since we handed over the back porch to construction. We’ve kept it under some control with basic weeding and mowing, but the most successful shrubs needed clipping, the tomatoes had yet to be put in the ground, and wildflowers had swarmed our perennials and needed to be pulled out in large clumps. I also removed several years’ worth of dead blackberry canes. The blackberries always ripen the week we’re away at the beach, and the birds get to them before we do; let’s hope this year is different.

Our countertop template was done today, and I asked the guy when we’d be ready to put it in. “It usually takes about two weeks. Call us Monday or Tuesday and we’ll have an exact date.” TWO WEEKS? I had always heard one week. Our tiles have also been ordered, and those will be a two week wait. Plus, they’re so heavy, they’re coming by freight truck from somewhere in southern California or Mexico. Apparently, UPS “throws boxes” and we don’t want boxes of glass thrown around.

The countertop template is done with corrugated plastic strips, built out into grids with notes and measurements on them so they can cut the countertops easily from them.

In the mean time, Mark and I have been looking at cabinet hardware and anticipating the installation of our appliances. Billy had said the plumber and electrician would be back once the countertop was in, so everything could be done at once, but that’s a long way away, now. I guess my dreams of getting out of our makeshift kitchen and cooking on a real stove are dashed again.

The crown moldings and bottom rails on the cabinets have been installed. The baseboard molding and last bits of the wall crown molding have been put up. We need to paint the crown molding soon, which will be a challenge as some stretches are quite inaccessible above and behind the cabinets. All of these are visible in the photo below:

All of the appliances save the dryer have arrived. We’re hoping to see the electrician and plumber next week. The dryer should arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday, at which point they can cart away our old fridge.

The templater for the countertop pulled up to our house just as I was leaving for the busstop this morning. I’m looking forward to hearing from Greg how that went.

Note: The food contained within this refrigerator is intended for human consumption. This sign was placed at nose hight for your convenience.