We’re done. We passed the final inspection on Monday and have moved everything in.
We will post pictures in the next few days and then bring this blog to a close.
Total time: about 11 weeks. Not bad, and worth every minute.
Where we’ve been:
The week following the installation of the countertop and our first joyous cooked meals, loads of laundry, and washed dishes in the kitchen, we went to Cape Cod for a vacation. Even though we surely know all of our readers, I am too conservative to broadcast over the Internet that our house is going to be empty and free for the taking. Hence the silence.
The following week, our contractor took his vacation, as we waited for the tiles to come in from the West Coast. Michael, the electrician, stopped by to do some work, but we had nothing new and dramatic to report.
This should be the final week of the project, and everyone involved would like it to be so. This morning, the floor people appeared to apply the second and final finish. Our tiler should arrive tomorrow to put up the backsplash, a task of no small concern to me because glass tile can be difficult and there will be cutting of glass tiles and wood trim to make it work. Our outlets and switches need to be installed. Greg has to make a final decision about the cat 5 wire which now links our kitchen to the basement space immediately below it, and not to our cable.
And then that’s it.
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.
So, we learned today that we have to find a color and get it on the walls by Monday, instead of after the 4th of July. This calls for an adjustment of our plans and taking personal days off of work. Greg is getting testers in the city for our last two alternatives to Desert Tan. We’ll judge tomorrow, make our decisions, and start priming and painting the first coat.
Also on the docket for tomorrow is the tile store and possibly Home Depot. Saturday may be the second coat and the recording of our camera donor’s name. We’ll get this done.
This looks different.
I like it. It’s not the same color as the oak borders in the other rooms, but that was neither promised nor expected. I’m hoping we can walk on it tonight.
In other news, holy crap do we have a lot we now have to get done, and quickly.
As promised, I got up early and drove to the Benjamin Moore store at the opening to get our testers. Not surprisingly, Monday morning at seven turned out to be rush hour for painters. Not only was the store open earlier than expected, but there was already a small crowd of professionals stocking up for the week when I arrived. I got a quart each of Desert Tan, Beverly Hills (peachier, but highly recommended, and reflective of a color in the countertop), and a “Summer 2008″ color called Marblehead Gold which crosses over into olive but seemed worth a try.
I thought Billy and John were back today, but Greg said we’re not likely to see anyone until Wednesday when the floors are sanded. Greg would like us to prime again before we paint the room. I envision a weekend of painting.
Jenn Dussault, our wonderful kitchen designer from Carole Kitchens (kitchenpeople.com), came by the house yesterday to do a final look through and measurement. With the well documented sag in the floor, we weren’t sure if we’d have a similar sag in the ceiling. If the ceiling was sagging, we’d have to install a drywall ceiling below the lowest point, just so we could get something level. This would mean we’d have to use a 36″ upper cabinet instead of the 42″ cabinets we had been planning to use.
Well, we were lucky! We have a nice level ceiling, so we’ll be getting the 42″-ers. Of course, that top shelf may require a step stool, but it will be nice to know we’ll getting all the possible space out of our room.
Okay. So everyone asks the question, “How long is it going to take?” Or “Do you have an end date?” Well, since the cabinets are going to take 4 weeks to arrive, that’ll be the week of July 4th (when nothing happens). So let’s say five weeks. We hope they’ll all be perfect, but we could have a bad door (knock on Honey Spice stained Huntington Maple), which might take a little longer to get a replacement. After the cabinets, the appliances, then counter top, then tiles, then finishes, then punch list (again, knock on wood) and then we can hope.
Let’s say first weekend of August?