I seem to have a kitchen

[nlbarber]

After another long day of work (the same 2 guys were here until almost 8 again), it's looking like A Kitchen. Yes, one countertop's still missing, as is one faucet, and the tilt-out panel for the sink front isn't installed, there's a little electrical left to be done, and some drawer pulls are missing. And the final paint coat is yet to be done. But...the appliances all work (the dishwasher is running right now! Washing my coffee pot and breakfast and dinner dishes for me, on the "top rack only" wash!) Oh, I haven't unboxed and brought the freezer in yet, as it goes beside the countertop that's being re-fabricated. It's not urgently needed, so I figure why not give them the extra maneuvering room for the installation.

The bookcases in the living room (and the 2 boxes for the cat steps) still lack work--bookcase shelves need the front lip trimmed down, and then everything must be stained and finished. Cat steps need tops and then staining and finishing.

The guys may be back tomorrow for more drawer pulls, that tilt-out panel (which needs consultation with Jack), and other miscellany I haven't spotted--I gave them permission, if they want to work. My guess is they'll finish up that little stuff then take a break until the countertop is ready. (I have no guess when they'll work on the bookcases and cat steps.) Then the final plumbing/electrical/painting etc. can happen (or some of it can happen at the subcontractor's convenience), we'll do a final punch list, and the whole job will be DONE. I note that demolition started on April 11th, so we're still shy of the contractor's estimate of 4 months to the punchlist stage.

Comments

[sunlizzard.livejournal.com]

I've really enjoyed reading about your trials and triumphs with this remodeling. So glad for you that the kitchen is now functional, if not completely finished. It's gorgeous. Go you!

Rather oddly, the construction project in my house is about to begin just as yours is about to complete. I wonder if I should blog mine as well. Heh. It was, unlike yours, not, not, NOT a planned or intentional thing--this is "catastrophic sudden water release" damage repair. Emphasis on the "CAT" part of catastrophic.

Yeah, I should probably blog it....

~ K.

[nlbarber]

Of course you should blog it! Pain shared, and all that...

So, as I have to admit that I'm still not keeping up with my flist, has the CATastrophic water occurrence already been mentioned?

[sunlizzard.livejournal.com]

No, I didn't blog the disaster. The circle of pain shared has been fairly small; intense, but yeah, small. Which just means that I'll have to write it up to set the stage for storying the repairs, I suppose. Like I have time for that, eep.

Short version, however, just for you: You may remember from the LMB list my description of the Cat Habitat we built by enclosing the back patio with lattice material? The kitties love it and all was well for several years. Then....

The reconstructed sequence (evidenced by leftover feathers in the hall) is that a bird got in through the lattice and then bumbled into the house. It must have tried to escape through the kitchen windows, with an unknown number (out of five) of cats in hot pursuit, and in the melee, the joystick-type kitchen sink faucet was whacked not only wide open but jogged sideways, so that the water didn't drain down the sink. Oh, no. That would've been just too fortuitous, huh. Instead, the water cascaded over the countertops--soaking nearly everything in lower cabinets and drawers--and flooded the kitchen floor and parts of the breakfast nook, living room, dining room, and entry. Parquet wood, carpet, vinyl tile. And subfloor, ohhhh, the subfloor.

That was late April. This is now nearly August. Much negotiation between contractors and insurance company; I'll spare you the details--"not pretty" will do. And to top it off, if it isn't fixed by September 1st, my homeowners insurance will be canceled. (That, I do think, we'll stave off. It just added another layer to the stress of it, is all.)

So. One bird. Five cats. A kitchen faucet. And a disaster.

Ummm, your gorgeous new kitchen... doesn't have a joystick faucet, does it? Ummmm....

~ Kay

[nlbarber]

Oh, dear. Oh.....Bad Word, Bad Word. Not enough Bad Words, I think. And a contractor/insurance company fight to drag out the pain. Yeah.

Ummm, your gorgeous new kitchen... doesn't have a joystick faucet, does
it?

It does. But (having just gotten up to check) the spigot cannot be turned beyond the reach of the basin. Whew!

[sunlizzard.livejournal.com]

Hee! Oh, trust me, I have personally expanded the language of Bad Word to whole new heights in this. Whole new heights. Or would that be depths? Take yer pick.

On the reach of faucets: Mine would indeed clear the sink entirely if rotated to the left, as nothing blocks it. To the right, however, it would catch on both the sprayer and the filtered-water spigot. And it was pushed to the right... so why was the stream of water still able to hit the countertop?

Swivel spout. That did it. A necessary mechanism with a wide (depth-wise, back to front) sink configuration. In this case, as Very Bad Luck would have it, though, it merely functioned to extend how far a full-blast stream of water could go. Doubtless some water did flow down into the sink--but most went sideways and over the counters.

Seriously, test your faucet at every possible angle and every possible volume of flow. Find out if it would push the stopper-basket down far enough to impede draining, too, while you're at it, as it would not necessarily be only if it could be pushed completely away from the sink that it could cause a flood. And then, for just that laaaaast little bit of peace of mind, considering how much you travel? Got two words for you:

"Bungee cord." They make little bitty mini-ones, in various lengths. Wrapped and secured properly, faucet-to-spout, they render the question moot. That joystick ain't goin' nowhere! Promise. I could send you photos..... *grins*

I'm going to replace the faucet anyway, in all this reconstruction. I may find it inconvenient in the long run to have to turn two twist-style faucets, especially when I need a certain water temperature; I'm sure I'll get the hang of that, though. But no CAT will. Of that I am also sure.

I think.....

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

Oh. My. God.

ROFLing at the nice low-tech bungee cord solution, though.

You have so got my sympathies...

[sunlizzard.livejournal.com]

Well, it was either duck tape or rubber bands, neither of which would have been a satisfactory solution. But Joe thought of the bungees, and had some the right length. When we're home, the bungee is looped through a cabinet handle; if we're asleep or away, onto the faucet it goes, no exceptions. (Heh. Paranoid much? Heh.) I'm so in that habit that it'll be strange for a while when the new faucet set goes in.

So. Do you have a joystick-style faucet? And did you get up and check it's "reach"? Uh, huh. Uh, huh. Tell all your friends, too. Really. *grin*

Thanks for the sympathies. Construction starts Monday morning. Am spending the weekend packing stuff up to get it out of the way of the workers--and the mess. Ack. Better get back to it....

~ K.