House remodel

[JJW]

I've been remodeling a house for two years. A new shed took all last summer. Two baths took the winter (oh the things I had to fix just to do my work) The kitchen has taken this spring and summer (working alone). My wife wanted a few custom cabinets to match the store bought cabinets.

Not to brag, but I can build cabinets all day long. It's the matching that has been the challenge. I don't recommend it.

It's been a nightmare trying to find matching materials, supplies, tools (those pretty border cuts) to say nothing of style. I'm finally down to the last few doors... ran out of varnish, but when the varnish gets here I have only 6 doors left to assemble.

I completed and installed the 6 hardest cabinet doors over the weekend, so I was finally able to see how it will turn out. Close enough. After I hang those 6 remaining doors the remodel will be complete.

NO MORE STRESS!!

It's been difficult with having to fix this old house in the meanwhile. I can finally see the end.

To accomplish anything you start by knowing it can be done.

Hmmm...sounds like a new sig line.

 

[TheRealCallie]

I would love to see before and after pics. I have a thing for kitchens. They are make it or break it in any house, IMO.

 

[JJW]

Thanks for the interest, Callie. I should have the remaining doors complete and handles in place in a week or so. I'll post pics when it's fished..

 

[JJW]

Kitchen is finished. As per request, here are the befores and afters.



Those are all store bought. You might call this an upgrade from 1993 cheap (note the ugly tile) to contemporary cheap.

Honestly, the cabinets were priced reasonably. These are labeled frameless. Nothing to obstruct access. Not even between the tandem doors.

Speaking of access, the corner cabinets with the unaccessible rear portions were replaces with diagonal cupboards. You can't see it on the bottom corner, but it has a bi-fold door. You can reach the backs of either cabinet easily.

The new cabinet under the microwave is actually a converted sink cabinet. It is a sliding deck with a facade front. The whole facing opens to reveal a trash can and a recycle bin. It turned out really well. And it's critter proof.

The new tile is glass. Being an old glass man (Not to say I'm old, but the glass employment was a few decades ago) I was intrigued but glass is finicky. After a few cuts I found it much more agreeable than ceramic. If you know how to cut glass these are a snap.

Note the removal of the refrigerator. I relocated the microwave. It especially shadowed the stove. The hood really opened it up.

The new floor was chore, but only because the previous owners left the original linoleum when they slopped a floating floor over it. I could rant about the crap I had to go through to get up the old floor, but once done the new floor is firm and durable. It is still laminate but with the secure rubber backing it feels much more sturdy than the old foam underlay kind.

 

[JJW]

These others I built myself.

This first one is actually in the dining room. We were so short on storage that we were using the coat closet as a pantry. The indented cabinet leaves plenty of room for the table. It didn't need to be deep. It's for canned goods and such.


The refrigerator had to go someplace. This space was an ugly breakfast bar. Useless in my opinion. Who wants to have a wall in their face while they eat? One problem with the move was the baseboard heater. We found a small under counter heater that I installed in the toe kick on the lower left. An awesome discovery.


This next view shows the cabinet closed, and then open to the hide-away broom closet.




Last innovation was the pullout trays for the small appliances. It makes it easy to get those in the back without having to remove those in the front.


That's the new kitchen. It only took ten months. But there was only about three weeks where we had to do dishes in the bath tub.

If anyone has questions about how I constructed any of this, feel free to ask.

 

[TheRealCallie]

Ohhh, Nice! I really like that you moved the fridge and microwave. Make the room so much more accessible and inviting. And I love what you did with the Fridge. I approve.

 

[Sci-Fi]

Wow that looks smart, nice job. The hidden broom closet is genius. I've never seen a kitchen with hardwood floors before, that just seems nuts.

 

[JJW]

It's almost over. This weekend we are buying wood for a spice rack to mount inside the center right hand door of the fridge enclosure. Nothing special, just organized. A lot of the time involved has been due to covid and the shortages it has created. We spent a lot of time waiting on wood.

The purchased cabinets are beech. I had to special order beech wood to fabricate the frames for the doors to match the original doors; basically 3"x3/4"x90". That was the only beech we could find. We found birch to be the closest in color for the stain we used. It was available in plywood form at Home Depot... a board in this city, 2 boards in that city, four in that town... nightmare shopping. Wood has doubled in price this past year.

Don't rush into a project if you can wait for the market to stabilize.

It was fun mostly, when it wasn't nerve shattering. The scarcity of supplies made errors unforgiving.

Thanks for the paise.