Uenth's Finally Getting Her New Kitchen!!!

[Uenth]

Know this will get moved; but since the season is over and the cluster*ck in the Transfer Portal is mostly over, I'm crossing the lines and posting this here. In a day or two, it'll moved and that's OK.

Anyway, for the last 7 or 8 years, we've been bouncing around ideas for remodeling our kitchen. Had a contractor that remodeled the basement give us a bid but he retired sooner than we expected so we had to hunt for a new contractor.

I could not believe how many contractors would make appointments and then just not show up. Got on one guy's waiting list (like almost 2 years just to get him to come look at the job. I really liked that guy, he knew his stuff and I was comfortable with him. We decided to relook what we were doing (originally we were going to flip the kitchen and dining room with a nice island but I had concerns the existing dining room was just a smidge too small for that, plus it was a ton of money due to knocking out walls and honestly more kitchen than we need at this point in our lives.

We decided that it was best to leave the kitchen where it is, have the new cabinets extended to the ceiling and have a pantry constructed in a niche off the side door. So the contractor that I liked came over in August and we talked about our change, measured everything, had his cabinet guy over for a look see and everything seemed cool. I had a couple questions so I shot him an email in early October and never heard back. First of the year, I called and left a message and never received a response. I'm guessing that he's got other jobs waiting in the wings that are larger in scope and he will therefore make more money, so he's leaving us on the back burner for a time when he's not real busy. Wrong thing to do.

I was walking Missy early about 3 weeks ago and passed by a contractor getting out of his vehicle at a house several blocks away. I stopped and chatted with him. He gave me a business card and I emailed him that day. He called the next day to set up a time to visit the kitchen and also sent me a bunch of pictures of kitchens that he's remodeled. Came by to see the job and called yesterday to make an appointment to bring his cabinet guy as the cabinet guy wanted to take his own measurements (I thoroughly approved of that move).

He's got a couple of jobs ahead of us but expects to be have us started late March to early April. As long as his numbers aren't astronomical, by harvest time, I'll be processing my veggies in my newly remodeled kitchen. I'm so stoked that we are this far along in the process.

Still not official but I've got a good feeling about it all!!!

 

[Uenth]

And, yeah, we got the bid over the weekend. Exactly half-way between the lowest and highest figures I expected. Did need to change it. An upholster rack I had constructed needs to be removed now that I'm retired and also insulation under the living room crawl space was not addressed. We have crawl spaces under part of the kitchen and living room (they are 10 foot, maybe, out from the foundation). Lots of cold air comes up and have never understood why the previous owners didn't address this. Of course, they had carpet and we've gone back to flooring so that may explain that - dunno. They also had carpet in the kitchen which we removed years ago when we did the quick and dirty remodeling that didn't address storage issues, etc.

Anyway, I got an updated bid this morning. Hub has already given his blessing on the dollar amount so I e-signed and returned the proposal. So we are officially locked in. I believe this will commence late March to early April which returns my kitchen long before I need a stove to blanch sweet peas and green beans. Cannot believe this is finally going to happen. Best news is that it isn't taking my entire savings account. A huge yeah on that one!!!

 

[Uenth]

Things are happening at a good pace already. Hub had a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon (I'll have to resurrect that thread later). Got home to find an email from the cabinet guy. Had a scale drawing showing our kitchen with all the new cabinets installed, as well as the pantry in the entry way cubby hole. It's very easy now to picture the remodeled kitchen and I am beyond stoked. It will still be a cozy kitchen but a better traffic flow without the humongous butcher block thing we use for food prep. The cabinets going up to the ceiling will increase storage and they're nesting stove and microwave in some smaller cabinets (perfect for baking sheets/tins) so it will be much more functional and a lot more lights (only one ceiling light plus the light under the microwave). All in all, a huge improvement.

Also, picked out colors for the wood (white, frost, ivory, etc - who knew so many "white's" and finish for hardware. Bring on the wrecking ball, baby, I'm ready. Really not, though, lots of food to prepare in advance so we're not eating out every night. Want to be able to nuke most nights. My downstairs tub will become my interim dishwashing area.

 

[Pavlov's Dog]

Before and after pics, please.

 

[Uenth]

Before and after pics, please.

You betcha. Now that I am officially in the 21st century and own a cell phone (about 2 weeks now), I'll take before and after. As I posted before, it will still be small (I prefer cozy now) but having cabinets up to the ceiling and the pantry in the entry way alcove will make it so much more functional. Plus having adequate lighting will be huge. I'm just beyond excited about this.

We had remodeled our kitchen in Leavenworth, also woefully inadequate prior to reno. Once our contractor finished, it was the focal point of our house and the guy who bought our house told hub that the kitchen was what sold him on our house. I know kitchen's can make or break the sale of a house for sure. We're not remodeling to put our house on the market, just because it needs to be done and we have the money to do it and why have a crappy kitchen when it can be fixed.

I really thought I could adjust to having a smaller kitchen again. I made my piece with it but of all the things we improved in our Leavenworth house, that was the room I missed the most. I've decided that the kitchen is absolutely THE most important room in the house.

 

[Uenth]

Contractor and I have been texting back and forth for a couple of weeks. He had 2 jobs to finish before starting our kitchen. Materials were delayed on the job he's currently on so that set him back. Current plan is that he will come by end of the week and get payment for the cabinets as those have to be paid up front. Balance due will be paid when the kitchen is completed. Anyway, it takes 3 to 5 weeks for the cabinets to be finished, So, our start date is Monday, June 15th. He figures 2-3 weeks for completion since we're not making structural changes, just really cosmetic changes. I think I've already got enough food cooked ahead. All I have to do is finish emptying cabinets. I've already emptied out the top shelves as that is all seldom used items so I'm mostly down to dishes, pots and pans, silverware, etc. Shouldn't take too long to get that done. I am getting really excited now that we have a start date!!!

 

[Uenth]

I finally feel like the kitchen is really going to happen. Contractor came over around lunchtime today to pick up a check for the cabinetry. It was a little nerve wracking writing a check with so many numbers in it but I survived. Still looking at a start date of June 15th unless the cabinet guy slides his completion date back. I am so ready for this remodel, though I did try to torch the kitchen tonight while I was cooking supper. Hub told me to use the top rack slot in the oven to broil our steaks and I had pretty large flames shooting up from the broiler pan. Not being a seasoned cook (I'm serious), I did have sense to grab the meat with the tongs and then, like an idiot, turned the water on. I really had flames then. Fortunately, without the meat providing fire fuel, it burned itself out pretty quickly and no damage. Our insurance company would NOT have believed it an accident, 3-1/2 weeks prior to a scheduled remodel.

 

[Pavlov's Dog]

Don't forget the pics!!

 

[Uenth]

Don't forget the pics!!

I won't. Once I get everything emptied out, I'll take some shots and get them posted.

 

[Hunchback Johnny]

I won't. Once I get everything emptied out, I'll take some shots and get them posted.

Progress pics, not just the finish! We remodeled our kitchen about 6 years ago and it's crazy to look back at how dated it was and the finished product! It's an exciting time for sure, but remember, it normally takes longer than the estimate but so worth it in the end!

 

[Uenth]

Progress pics, not just the finish! We remodeled our kitchen about 6 years ago and it's crazy to look back at how dated it was and the finished product! It's an exciting time for sure, but remember, it normally takes longer than the estimate but so worth it in the end!

Yeah, we're not remodeling novices. Remodeled most of our house in Leavenworth and, once the kitchen is finished, have remodeled the majority of our house (living room and dining room were perfect as is -- maybe dated but we both love how they look), so we know how things can get snarled.

I like how this guy does stuff. He came over yesterday to get money to pay the carpenter doing the cabinets for the kitchen. So now, cabinet guy has money in hand to produce our cabinets. So, working that way should prevent material delay. We're not knocking out walls, enlarging, etc. We're redoing plumbing, electricity, insulation and putting up sheet rock. Then adding a ton of lights and cabinets galore. They are really outdoing themselves on the cabinets. Obviously, they were listening as I told him I love to bake and that I have a ton of baking sheets (cake pans, pie tins, cookie sheets, cooling racks, etc) and they used the space between the stove and wall to make a little niche that will store those bad boys nicely. I also was bemoaning that the much wanted pantry is taking the storage space for the dog food cart and I'll be damned if they didn't create a space under one of the counter tops to roll that bad boy in and out. I was so impressed that they listened and created what is going to be a fabulous solution. I'm hopeful that we won't hit horrible snags and delays but I've got a pretty good amount of food stashed in the freezer. I've been making double batches when I cook so I'm freezing half and will just need to thaw and nuke. We'll also have use of the crock pot so I can use that for "real" food. We both love sandwiches to we'll add that to the mix and will eat out, just not a lot hopefully. We'll get by pretty nicely but I'm just ready to get them in and then out and start enjoying the new kitchen. They're also doing some insulating on the floor boards that crawl spaces in the living room and kitchen are under so we'll be much warmer next year as you really felt the lack of proper insulation under the floor boards on those below zero, horrible wind chill days. Just another creature comfort. I also intend to have a window treatment done for our living room before winter as we have blinds and I'm not sewing curtains for the 12 foot windows we have in the living room. The problem with blinds is that there's all that space on the side of the blinds that lets in cold air and the window treatment I want fits right up to the window framing so we shouldn't be letting in much in the way of cold air. I don't think it will amount to a huge saving on our utility bills as otherwise our house is pretty tight, it will just make us a tad bit warmer on those really cold, nasty days. I'm almost excited for winter. LOL!

 

[Uenth]

Kitchen update --- drum roll, please.

I am getting agog with excitement!!! I got a text from our contractor last night and the expected delivery date on our cabinetry is June 22nd. I'm not sure if he is going to want to slide the start date back a week so that cabinets are in hand before he starts swinging his hammer or not. He uses these guys all the time so he may feel totally confident in starting. I'm going to send him some questions this weekend and that is my first question.

I have already emptied all the top shelves in the cupboards as well as what we affectionately refer to the "low cabinet", so I really don't have a ton of stuff to move. I think I can empty some drawers as they're filled with a bunch of baking things (cookie cutters, etc). I don't plan on doing a ton of baking between now and the start date -- too busy in the garden and still spend a fair amount of "care giver" time. I did take down a bunch of decorative stuff that was on the top of the cupboards, a tea set gifted to us, a cute little tea set that is a snow lady and a couple of really cool cookie jars (one looks like the castle in Disney world and the other looks like the Nestle Tollhouse house). Got out my trusty step ladder this afternoon and pulled that stuff down. Ran half of it through the dishwasher tonight and should get the other half washed with tomorrow's load. Our spare bedroom is going to be jam packed with all this crap. Still trying to figure out where the stove and dishwasher will go during this process. We're not replacing appliances as we replaced all 4 last July and they all still look like they were just delivered -- I've been fastidious about cleaning every nook and cranny on them. We ponied up for top of the line stuff and I want to keep them looking good as new.

I'm finally starting to feel like this is really happening. We've been so close to the remodel thing a couple of times before and it didn't work out so I've been kind of holding my breath. But we never put any money down and we've paid about 1/4 of the total cost already, so I'm thinking we're a go this time.

 

[Uenth]

OK, delays, delays, delays. I have the kitchen emptied out but we still haven't started. Wanted cabinets on site before demo started and contractor needs to complete the job he started before the cabinets arrived. So I cuss sometimes when I start to cook and realize that something I need has been moved to our spare bedroom. This too shall pass.

At any rate, new cabinets were delivered yesterday. Our garage is now full of boxes and boxes of cabinets. I opened one just enough this morning to take a picture. This cabinet will go between the stove and the wall and is designed to hold all kinds of baking tins (cookie sheets, muffin tins, etc). I think I'm more impatient now, having looked at the cabinets. Cannot wait to see them in the kitchen.

Without further ado, here is a picture of one of our new cabinets.

 

[Doc Fumble]

Without further ado, here is a picture of one of our new cabinets.

I'm sensing Uenth is just a little bit excited.

 

[Uenth]

I'm sensing Uenth is just a little bit excited.

Ya think???

The good side of the delay is that corn is ready to harvest and I still have a stove so I can get it ready to freeze for winter eating. Harvested yesterday, gave some away and we each had an ear with our steak last night. It is fabulous this year!!!

I picked 9 ear yesterday and 13 ear this morning. Have 6 ear that I blanched this morning and just letting stand on towels right now to absorb excess moisture before wrapping individually in shrink wrap and then stored in a gallon freezer bag in our downstairs freezer. Hope to get 6 more ears blanched and frozen after I finish whatever customer work needs to be attended to this afternoon.

 

[Uenth]

Demo starts tomorrow. FINALLY!!!!

 

[Uenth]

Ran to Kohl's this morning and bought an electric skillet. I can cook breakfast in it, fry pork chops, etc. I've got a lot of food frozen that just needs to be nuked up but this way we can have real prepared meals. Hopefully only 2-3 weeks of craziness and then calm and serenity in our new kitchen! WOOT WOOT!!!

 

[Uenth]

I no longer have a kitchen. WOO HOO! Cabinets and sink are gone. Stove and dishwasher are in the entry way. It's all good!

 

[Uenth]

Before and after pics, please.

Here are the before pictures, just for you PD. The last 2 are the entry way coming in the side door. The area with the newel, etc is where the pantry will go. The last pic is where the dog food dishes and water bowl will go.

 

[Uenth]

Just have one tear out picture. I'll take one in the morning before the crew arrives and get them posted tomorrow evening done. They have a lot to do but got a hell of a lot done today. They have a little bit on one wall left, the windows that need to be removed and the tile floor to get up and know that floor is going to be an absolute nightmare. I thought they gave us a great day's work, especially since they got here a little before 10. They got all the old wood torn out, most of the walls exposing my old friends, lathe and plaster, and just a bit of the tile broken up. I expect tear out to be finished tomorrow and then they'll get the framing done so the electrician and the plumbers can get in and get their "rough" done. All in all, I'm very much pleased with what was accomplished today.