Kitchen 90% Functional

We still have a lot of work to do before we can declare phase 1 of our kitchen remodeling project done.  However, April and I put in a huge effort to get the major pieces back together and functional.

Our kitchen has come a long way from where we started.

It took quite a push yesterday to make it as far as we did.  April literally spent the whole day painting.  One of the things April did was paint the under-sides of the cabinets to match the brown stain.  The darker undersides of the cabinets looks much better which is important because they are three inches higher and therfore easier to see when sitting down.

I also painted the walls adjacent to the kitchen.  One wall has the new corner where a soffit used to be, another wall between the kitchen and the dining room, and the wall I added the light switches to.

One thing I'd like to say about April is that she has an eye for details and will do anything to attend to them (the details that is).

I had to warn her to not look too closely at the rest of the house; otherwise, she would never stop.  To give you context, April has been a professional cake decorator.  She has made many wedding cakes that are fit for royal weddings (IMO).  When I think about it, painting is not all that different than decorating a cake.

A Jig for Drilling Cabinet Doors

Today I made a drilling jig, not a dance; rather, a tool, from some inexpensive hardwood that I picked up from the hardware store.  Before April and I started our kitchen remodeling project, we removed the original door knobs from everything.  We HATE knobs.  Knobs will reach out, grab a pocket on cargo pants, and rip the pant leg right off.  Everyoe in our family has had at least one item of clothing ripped by snagging a knob while we walked by.

We LOVE handles because they pose virtually no clothing hazard and they look really great.  There are a couple of challenges installing handles.  First, there are twice as many holes to drill.  Second, the holes need to be exactly as far apart as the corresponding holes in the handles the screws attach them to.  Third, the holes need to be aligned with each other.  I suspect so many kitchen cabinets do not have handles on the cabinets because they are so much harder than knobs to install.

Over the past two months I've thought a lot about how I would install the handles on the doors.  I knew I couldnt eye-ball each hole.  The question I kept asking myself was, 'How do I drill two holes in exactly the same spot on every door, and how do I mirror the holes on opposite sides?'

The answer to my question was to build a jig.  My first design was an utter flop.  In fact I asked my son-in-law Zach to help me with this.  I gave  him exact instructions and he followed them exactly.  The problem was that my original design was vulnerable to drill-bit deviation, a deflection of the drill bit.  It was also too big and impossible to build with the tools I had on hand.

My son-in-law did an awesome job, my design was flawed.  A week later I came up with a jig design that reduced the effects of bit flex, would put the holes in exactly the same place every time and would mirror the holes by flipping the jig over.  I'm happy to report the jig worked flawlessly and is pictured above.

The jig works by placing it over the corner in the door where the handle will go then drilling through the jig's holes into the door.  I secured the jig with a clamp.  I also placed a piece of wood behind the door to reduce splintering when the drill bit pass out the back of the door.

Here I'm drilling the holes in an upper cabinet door that opens on the left (hinges on right).  I've positioned the jig so the holes will be in the lower left corner of the door.  I can mirror these holes on a door that opens on the right by flipping the jig over.  Nifty eh?

It took me an hour to create the jig; however, once the jig was created I was able to drill all the door handle holes in just a few mintues.

Pendant Lighting Installed

Installed the pendant lights and the above the sink lights last night.  Their Oiled Bronze finish goes perfectly with the cabinets.

Cabinets are Back Where They Belong

With the walls painted, the cupboards could be hung back on the walls . . . Three inches higher.

The cabinets were the minimum height above the countertops, and April's mixer couldn't fit under it.  As long as the soffits were there it was impossible to raise the cupbords higher.  Thus the kitchen remodeling project.  

We have quite a bit more to do, but it is nice to have the plastic down and the cabinets back up.

As you can see from the photo the doors still need to be attached.  I installed one pendant light and there are two more.  Three is also the new above the sink light and kitchen chandelier.  I'm still waiting for power supplies for the under cabinet lighting.  So I still have quite a bit left to do.  

I'd also like to do something about the appliances, the sink, and the countertops.  

Finished Second Coat of Paint

Second coat of paint is on and the plastic is gone.  At least gone until we stain the island and lower cabinets.

Next we can either hang the cabinets that have been stained, or install the pendant lights.

First Layer of Paint . . . Finally

Last night we were able to put the first layer of paint on.  It's really green.  However, very little of the walls will actually show when the above-counter cabinets are reinstalled.  

The Right Tools Can Make All the Difference

Last Friday I finished priming the kitchen for painting and was ready to texture the ceiling first thing Saturday morning.  

A couple days ago I purchased a can of spray on texture.  On Friday I reviewed the directions from the back of the can.  The directions on the can listed a website I could go to to watch videos on how to properly use the product.  I watched every video and confirmed that I had done all of the preparation steps first which were to: 

  • prime the surface

  • mask the area off

  • bring the can up to room temperature

I picked the ceiling above the refrigerator for my small sample/starting area because it's the last part if the room you look at when entering the kitchen from the garage.  Per instructions I attached a little white straw to the tip of the nozel on the top and began to spray on the texture in a small area.  The product foamed up on the ceiling as expected; however, virtually all the product dripped off the ceiling before I could knock down the stuff.

At this point I had to decide if I was going to spend an hour or two figuring out how to get the product to work or if I was going to rent a tool the pros use.  The decision to rent a texture gun from HD took all of one second to make. 

I made it to the rental department at Homedepot, picked up the texture gun and a bag of some dry ceiling/wall texture compound.  At home I mixed the texture compound according to directions.  There were also a couple DIY videos on youtube.  By 10am I was texturing with the texture gun.

I started splattering texture over the same place I had previously attempted, found I had the mud too thick, watered it down, and had success.  After a few minutes of dry time I gently knocked down the splattered mud on the ceiling.  It was perfect and I continued texturing the rest of the ceiling being careful to get the mud evenly spread.  I was glad that I taped painters plastic onto the walls because I had to center the gun right on the inside corner where the ceiling meets the wall.

One interesting note when the texture on the painters plastic dried it fell off making a real mess on the ground with dried chips of plaster.  I was very glad to have the ground cloth to catch the chips.  It was a messy job.

I was finished texturing by 1pm, had the unit cleaned by 2pm and returned to HomeDepot by 3pm.  There wasn't a single point that I felt rushed.  I took my time and was able to get the results I wanted.

My son-in-law Zach helped me setup some fans to help dry the texture.

At 4pm I picked my daughter Holly up from where the charter busses dropped off the students who participated in the state academic decathalon championships.  This year Bingham High School won the state championships and will be competing in Hawaii for National Championships in April.  My daughter Holly took 3rd place over-all in the state in her catagory.  CONGRATULATIONS HOLLY!!!!

We were back home by 5pm.  By 7pm I re-primed the ceiling and by 10pm I finished repainting the ceiling.

Here are the finished results.

Tonight I'll tape the ceiling and begin painting the walls.  I can't wait to get those kitchen cabinets hung back on the walls.

Ready to Prime and Paint

After several weeks, we are finally ready to prime the ceiling and walls and paint.  Here is everything we don't want to paint is covered up.

Kitchen after final layer of Plaster/Mud

I took Friday off to work on the kitchen and made significant progress.  The final layers of plaster have been applied.  I'll do a little more sanding and plastering until it's all flat, but the  heavy lifting on the drywall work is done.

Drywall Tip For Smooth Flat Walls and Ceilings

During a lunch break at work yesterday I took a walk around the lumber isles at Homedepot.  One of the employees asked if I needed anything and I told them I was looking for inspiration for my kitchen remodeling project.  I also explained that I just finished my first round of taping and muding the new drywall.  

The Homedepot employee then suggested that I shine a light down the side of the wall because it will show where there is any unevenness in the wall or ceiling.  

When I returned home this evening I rigged a bicycle light to the end of an extension pole to shine down the wall.  Then I wedged the pole between the ceiling and the floor next to the edge of the wall I was about to sand.  After I adjusted the light to shine down the length of the wall I was amazed to see how much of the unevenness it revealed.

Here is a picture of the bicycle headlight rigged to the extension pole

Here is another angle that shows just how uneven the dried mud is on the wall

. . . and I thought I had done such an awesome job of aplying the mud.  The side-lighting causes any unevenness to cast a longer shadow thus making it much easier to sand things smoothand flat.  Here is the same section of wall and ceiling.

and here is the same wall after the final mudd

Much better, eh?

I still have one more sanding to do before I prime for painting.

It's also worth pointing out that the dust from the joint compound is really nasty stuff.  Don't breath it and don't let it get on your skin.  I find the little face masks inefective against the dust so I wear a full face mask, eye protection over my glasses, a hat, long sleve shirt, and gloves.  Here I am, all outfited for sanding down drywall.

I'm taking the day off from work tomorrow so I can have two full days to get the walls ready to prime and the ceiling ready to texture.

I'm wondering if I should prime the ceiling first then texture or visaversa.

Another Layer Gell Stain and Mud

April has worked really hard to find the ultimate method for staining our cabinets.  She's used paint brushes, staining pads, and rags.  Ultimately, the best way to apply gell stain is with a sock.  Yep, that's right, a cotton gymn sock.

We've spent weeks finding just the right process to stain our cabinets which I think are maple.  They are still excellent cabinets and the cost of replacing them is unbelievable.  The best price I found for Raised Roman Arch tongue-in-groove maple (aka honey oak) on framed inset cabinets is about $175 for a single 12x14x30.  We have 20 doors for the above-counter cabinets and over 40 doors/drawers for our under-counter.  It would be a minumum of $10,500 for unfinished DIY cabinets for exactly the same ones we have now, unfinished too.  

How in the world do people afford to get new cabinets?

Here is a final look at the back-side of the main Pantry Door that April has stained.  Doesn't it look great?

Today, I sanded the first layer of joint compound from the walls and applied a 2nd layer with the 4" taping knife.  I wore a short-sleeved shirt while I sanded the first layer of dry mud.  Later in the evening, I learned a very valuable lesson when I showered off the dust.  Wear a long sleve shirt when sanding the dried plaster because it reacts with water when you wash it off.  I'm glad I was smart enough to wear a respirator when I was sanding.

Here is the kitchen with the next layer of mud.

Actually, if you look on the left you will see I haven't quite finished the 2nd layer of joint compound.  I've got a 6" knife and a 10" knife.  I'm supposed to sand, do a layer of mud with the 6" knife, sand again, then do a final layer of mud with the 10" knife; however, things are looking good enough to jump to the 10" knife next.  Any thoughts or recommendations?

I plan on taking some time off from work next week to finish up the painting and get the kitchen put back together and make it usable again.  We still need to replace the ovens, refrigerator, and dishwasher but we've already burned through our tax returns so we'll have to save up a bit before we can replace the apliances with stainless steel ones.

I have one last question I could use some advice on.  Notice the yellow paint on the wall that's behind where the cabinets used to be?

That paint is so slick, nothing sticks to it.  I'm going to raise the height of the cabinets 3".  I think I'll need to strip off the bottom 3" of the yellow paint so the primer will stick to it.  Is there a better way to do this?

Perhaps some special primer?

Oh-well.