Kitchen updates
Jun. 23rd, 2006 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nlbarberI'm way behind on my notes on the construction--last week seems to have disappeared in a work- and pre-trip- fog. I'll see if I can get the major events/discussions recorded...
Wednesday last week (the 14th) saw the old door into the garage bricked up. It looks good--Tyson didn't feather in the new brick, but he did a nice trick of putting white mortar that matches the brick color where he put half-bricks in, and a gray mortar that (almost) matches the old mortar for the rest. The new area is noticeable, but part of that is that the new bricks are whiter thanks to having been recently pressure-washed. (The new mortar has lightened up a little from the picture.)
Cabinets: The island is now the right size. The problems with the cabinet dividers and extra shelves are all OK--the right stuff was ordered, it just needs to be found (or reordered if not here) and installed. Lots of the trim problems have been fixed, and more will be done after the second order of replacement trim pieces arrives. Most of the drawers are now in place. The marred refrigerator panel has been moved to put the bad spot toward the fridge, instead of facing the passageway. I've picked out a drawer pull and bought about half of what I need--Lowes should have the rest of them next week.
The granite templating happened last week as well. I got a call from Jack who was supervising the guy from the granite shop, saying he thought I should put the eating countertop in the picture window above the sill instead of below. We talked about it for a while, and I went with it. But then over the weekend I worried about this, got out a tape measure and checked heights on my dining table, my brother's, the card table, and the underside of the sill, and decided I needed it under the sill. Called Betsy first thing Monday, told her (with apologies), and she was surprisingly easy about the change. Wednesday when I got in from work there's a truck parked across the end of my driveway and a guy wandering around with cell phone. Turns out he's from the granite place sent to re-template the eating counter, and he's managed to lock the key and his tools in the house. I let him in, and then watched as he started to template it. After a while Tyson showed up and provided lots better direction of the operation than I could.
I spoke to Tyson while he was there Wednesday afternoon about the bookcases (wanting the edge molding on the shelves cut down so as to be less in the way of close shelf spacing for books, want one knotty facing piece replaced), the two holes in the brick that still need patching from the old dryer vent location and the old electrical meter, moving the unneeded brick from my driveway to a spot beside the garage wall, and getting the stuff stored in my garage moved back to the left side so I can get to my storage cabinets and my recycling area. The bookcases are Jack's work, not Tyson's, but I think the rest is Tyson's problem. Very effective conversation--a helper showed up Thursday before I left for the airport to move the brick and re-arrange the garage. Tyson was apologetic about the job taking this long, too--he said he thought it would be done by now. (Though the contract expected end date is still more than a month off.) The garage reshuffle may have put the still-needed cabinet bits and pieces behind the appliances that will be installed later--Jack and his crew will have some problems getting them out, I'm afraid. Oh, well. There may be some small friction between working styles of Tyson and Jack going on here...
Wednesday last week (the 14th) saw the old door into the garage bricked up. It looks good--Tyson didn't feather in the new brick, but he did a nice trick of putting white mortar that matches the brick color where he put half-bricks in, and a gray mortar that (almost) matches the old mortar for the rest. The new area is noticeable, but part of that is that the new bricks are whiter thanks to having been recently pressure-washed. (The new mortar has lightened up a little from the picture.)
Cabinets: The island is now the right size. The problems with the cabinet dividers and extra shelves are all OK--the right stuff was ordered, it just needs to be found (or reordered if not here) and installed. Lots of the trim problems have been fixed, and more will be done after the second order of replacement trim pieces arrives. Most of the drawers are now in place. The marred refrigerator panel has been moved to put the bad spot toward the fridge, instead of facing the passageway. I've picked out a drawer pull and bought about half of what I need--Lowes should have the rest of them next week.
The granite templating happened last week as well. I got a call from Jack who was supervising the guy from the granite shop, saying he thought I should put the eating countertop in the picture window above the sill instead of below. We talked about it for a while, and I went with it. But then over the weekend I worried about this, got out a tape measure and checked heights on my dining table, my brother's, the card table, and the underside of the sill, and decided I needed it under the sill. Called Betsy first thing Monday, told her (with apologies), and she was surprisingly easy about the change. Wednesday when I got in from work there's a truck parked across the end of my driveway and a guy wandering around with cell phone. Turns out he's from the granite place sent to re-template the eating counter, and he's managed to lock the key and his tools in the house. I let him in, and then watched as he started to template it. After a while Tyson showed up and provided lots better direction of the operation than I could.
I spoke to Tyson while he was there Wednesday afternoon about the bookcases (wanting the edge molding on the shelves cut down so as to be less in the way of close shelf spacing for books, want one knotty facing piece replaced), the two holes in the brick that still need patching from the old dryer vent location and the old electrical meter, moving the unneeded brick from my driveway to a spot beside the garage wall, and getting the stuff stored in my garage moved back to the left side so I can get to my storage cabinets and my recycling area. The bookcases are Jack's work, not Tyson's, but I think the rest is Tyson's problem. Very effective conversation--a helper showed up Thursday before I left for the airport to move the brick and re-arrange the garage. Tyson was apologetic about the job taking this long, too--he said he thought it would be done by now. (Though the contract expected end date is still more than a month off.) The garage reshuffle may have put the still-needed cabinet bits and pieces behind the appliances that will be installed later--Jack and his crew will have some problems getting them out, I'm afraid. Oh, well. There may be some small friction between working styles of Tyson and Jack going on here...