Construction - Month 19 - Kitchen Peninsula, Subtops, Sink, Stair Staining, Interior Painting, Laundry Appliances,

Month 19 (Weeks 73-76)

This month, some significant progress was made in a few areas..

Paint..

The interior walls were repainted by the painting company after there was a lot of overspray due to their painting the trim. They made a mistake painting one wall in gloss when the whole house has matte walls however they corrected it once we pointed it out.

Also they made quite a bit of progress painting and staining the stairs. We've had a lot of issues with the look of the stain.. It's very dense wood and wasn't taking the stain well. There was a lot of inconsistency in the stain being darker and lighter here and there. Also runs in the stain which looked a lot like wet stain dripped down along the wood and created darker areas. Then the gloss finish also was pretty coarse looking like it needed sanding. But we've been working with the guy and things continuously look better as they work no and rework on the stairs.



Kitchen..

The kitchen sink needed to get installed which meant cutting out the front face of the base cabinet after creating a template from the sink itself. I ended up cutting it out with a jigsaw after carefully tracing where i wanted to make the cuts and putting some painter's tape along it to provide a guide.

I also needed to build a platform within the base cabinet to support the sink and up to 400lbs of weight (what it weights when full of water). So I constructed a platform out of 2x4's carefully measuring them to set the height of the sink to where i needed it and then laying a piece of plywood on top.

With the countertop installers coming to template, I had to shift into gear to get the kitchen prepped for it. I focused on building out the peninsula by getting the cabinets connected and plumb. Also i had to create a 30" space in the end for the under counter fridge which also involved running the electrical there. To give the peninsula more support towards the end, I decided to tie it all together with a sheet of plywood along the backside and screwing it all together. It looks pretty solid now.

Lastly, I needed to get the plywood subtops on which got a little tricky on the peninsula where we're going for a 14" overhang for some bar stools. To provide more support, not only did I go with a thicker plywood (21/32) but I also elected to route the top and place steel into it rather then putting corbels below. I hate corbels because you always wack your knees on them. After getting it all routed, in went the steel which will end up getting sandwiched between the plywood and stone counter for more support.

laying out the steel support to be routed into the plywood

routing channels into the top for the steel.. messy work

Laundry..

We finally got a working laundry room by moving our appliances in thankfully without dinging any walls. It's soo nice to be able to do laundry again! 

Next we should be making significant progress on the kitchen (hopefully finishing most of it), get going on flooring, get the master bath hardware installed, and get our master closet ordered.

Construction - Month 18 - Interior Paint (Walls), Stairs, Crown

Month 18 (Weeks 69-72)

This month, we moved in! It was probably a dumb idea but when you're bleeding rent money every month that could be going into the house, there is a lot of motivation to put an end to it!

To give you an idea of how dumb, we don't have a working kitchen, the floors are all subfloor, there is dust/dirt everywhere, the painters are painting like mad, our closet has no built ins, and the master bath still lacks towel racks, a toilet paper holder, and there is no hardware on the vanity so we can't open any drawers. Stress increase x3! Well that's one way to motivate yourself to finish up some core systems!

The home really doesn't look much better then the photos you see in the last couple of months other then the painting plastic being put away and the interior doors being hung.. Our bed sits directly on plywood subfloor and the only working plumbing is in the master bathroom. But at least we can sleep and shower..

We eat out pretty much every night and the only way that we can have coffee in the morning is to clean up after ourselves in the bathroom. Meanwhile we have to wear flipflops or shoes everywhere for fear of getting a splinter or worse. Looking out of the windows looks like it's winter with the white paint sprayed on them. 

Crown..

I tried starting the crown myself but the pieces were just too heavy and unwieldy. Plus i didn't care for climbing up high in some cases and i realized there was a good learning curve to making it look great. So I figured what the heck - lets get some quotes to see how much it'd be to have a pro do it.

We really lucked out using Home Advisor to located someone to install the crown. I've never used the site before but the one subcontract that replied to us is possibly the best contractor that i've dealt with. His price was very competitive, he communicated regularly, did quality work, showed up on time, and worked very fast. When we were unhappy with our crown selection and changed course after a few rooms, he ripped it down and redid it without complaint (of course he got another day's work out of it). That's how you get a five star review from me on a variety of sites :)..

Stairs..

The staircase finished being built and the stair company did a terrific job. I really enjoyed working with them as well. It's so nice when you get a professional contractor who charges a fair price, works fast and does a great job. It just goes to show how many don't that you appreciate this so much.. Checking reviews online can certainly avoid some pain. The staircase looks beautiful and exactly what we were looking for!

what our custom posts turned out like

Paint..

Painting moved on from door and window trim to working on the staircase, prepping the crown, and painting the walls (lots of over-spray from spraying the trim). Getting the stain sample the way we wanted for the stained portions of the staircase has been a pain. Ultimately, the gel walnut color seemed to do the trick however the staircase wood is incredibly dense and won't absorb the stain very well (Thus moving to a gel which has worked better).

trying to match the stains to the flooring

final result

Our carpet installation is continuously being rescheduled until the painter finishes since I don't want to risk any paint or stain whatsoever getting on it. This of course makes living there miserable.. uhg subfloor :(. 

We finalized our kitchen countertop and backsplash selections. We're going with a Quartzite Taj Mahal stone for the island and a Quartz for the rest of the counter tops. We'll also extend the Quartzite to the family room fireplace hearth if there is enough material. The Quartzite is incredibly expensive. I guess it's pretty popular and expensive to quarry but it does look terrific and we think it'll stand out on the island.

island Quartzite Taj Mahal color (slab)

Quartz countertop color with backsplash