This fine day we are taking down the tile (I should rephrase that, the Silver Fox is taking down the tile) I was probably on clean up and "gopher" duty....which had to be done before the counter top was replaced. The Silver Fox had it all done in less than a morning!
Here is what the old tile looked like.....not bad really.....but it did look dated.
We are all ready for the counter top people to come.....sink & stove top pulled, drawers removed, etc.
All the counter top removed and it was a butt-kicker for the two guys that worked on it. They couldn't believe how many nails were holding that down. They told me they hadn't done a job like that in quite awhile. This kitchen would have been built in as the house was built. No modular cabinets.....all nailed, screwed and glued. Well done too!
The microwave and oven are wrapped for protection and ready for new counter tops! Go!!!!
Until.....Houston, we have a problem! UGGG!!!!! This piece is 10" too short! Stop everything! And because of the way it needs to be installed. This needed to be the first piece in. Just that quick we were done for the day. They didn't have a big enough piece at the shop to re-cut. So it had to be re-ordered and we had to wait 2 weeks to move forward. Major yuck! So instead of being without my sink and stove top for 24 hours as planned.......was without it for 2 weeks.
This must be a rite of passage for those doing a kitchen, you ALWAYS hear these horror stories of waiting for whatever it is that you need FOREVER before you can move ahead.
We chose a Formica product and not stone, just really didn't want to spend that kind of $$$$ for a counter top and what I picked has the look of stone and no up keep and will be a nice contrast with the cabinets.
They were able to put in the one piece under the microwave and where the new cabinet went. That is 6 feet of counter top that I LOVE.....new real estate for me.
What you can't see is we have plastic up at all the door ways, into the dining room, living room, and hall way.....to help contain the mess. The guys pulling out the counter top cleaned as they went and they didn't leave a hot mess for me to clean up.....but the really UGLY was coming! Can you hear the theme from JAWS.....it is looming....
The Silver Fox basically spent an entire weekend sanding all the cabinet frames.....what a miserable job! I felt so bad for him. Hot, Dirty, Dusty....ICK!
Clean Me
Finally we are all ready to paint.....holes filled and more sanding! We spent a whole weekend painting the frames.....2 coats.
My resident painter....every household should have one. Green tape is our friend....love that stuff.
Painting is happening.....this was back in August.
The doors are being put up.....the first one, 1 of 56! It took us awhile to hang the first couple....but like any project like this, you figure out a few tricks and what works and what doesn't. By the time we got down toward the last few doors, we could hang them pretty quickly.
This was a big moment hanging the first one!
One up and 55 to go.
OH MY GOODNESS! There might have been some background cheering going on!
Making progress.....this was before the Silver Fox had done the final paint on the doors. You ask how do I know that? Because the handles are not on the doors, that was how we kept track of what needed a final coat. Once they got their knobs, they were done.
To be continued.......
