The Kitchen: Reno Day 6

After a nice long weekend in Vermont, we are back at it. To start, Tom put the dishwasher back in so that the plumber could connect it when he arrived.

The new double sink was also put in and connected by the plumber. It’s very nice to have running water again. 

Next I worked on filling in the gap between the dishwasher and the corner cabinet. It was about 4” and I was waiting until the dishwasher was in place so that it fit perfectly. Using scrap oak I built a frame to act as support and a toe kick to mimic the rest of the cabinets.

For the front panel I used ¼” plywood, same as the cabinet doors, which was sanded and primed. Once nailed and glued in place, I filled the holes in preparation for painting.

Another gap that needed filling was to the left of the stove, where another one of those gable ends meant the counter did not sit flush with the cabinet end. Here I just cut scrap oak to the right width and installed them to again mimic the shape of the cabinet.

Once all the cabinet gaps were filled, I cut plywood, sanded it, primed it and installed it on the back of the island. 

To finish prepping it for painting, I filled the nail holes and caulked the corners on the plywood. The end where we cut to accommodate the counter needed some filling aswell…lots of filling and sanding and more filling and more sanding to get it looking presentable again. 

Work on the pantry continued, the face frame got assembled and primed, then installed. Although I used a lot of glue and finishing nails, it still seems a little less secure than it should, I am considering where I can add some blocking for additional strength.

The final task of the day was putting the first coat of black paint on all the cabinets. Its funny how much of a difference paint makes; all of a sudden the cabinets look much more polished and complete.

And now we know: well still learning my lesson about those gables, they are the gift that keeps on giving in this kitchen

The Kitchen: Reno Day 5

After all the cabinets that were installed the day before, the only one left was the island. To start I screwed the right end frame to the wall and floor, then installed the base frame and the left side. It took multiple adjustments to level them in all direction and I ended up having to cut a hole in the plywood to access the base for screwing it in place.

Next we put the cabinet in place and secured it to the base and end frames.

Progress on the pantry also continued, I attached the right side and screwed both sides to a top frame. Horizontal supports were glued and screwed to the wall for the shelves. As you can see the pantry is HUGE, I didn’t realize until the second side was in quite how big it really is…

Next we moved on to installing the island counter top. The blocking under the gable end proved a problem again and we ended up cutting a chunk off the panel with a circular saw to get it in the right place. 

The corner counter went in easily in comparison. The only difficult part was attaching the mitred corner with the bolts provided. Working in a tight space plus not being able to find a small enough wrench made it a frustrating task getting them in place. I also got the sink opening cut out in preparation for the plumber’s visit on October 10^th. 

The final piece of counter top to be installed, to the right of the stove, proved the most difficult. That stupid gable blocking again, for a number of reasons it ended up being easier and fit better to just cut a piece out of the side of the cabinet for the blocking. It’s hard to explain…but it looks good now and the end of the counter is flush to the end of the cabinet like I wanted. I also trimmed a little off the end against the wall, which went surprisingly well. No chips or anything.

The final thing we did was install the pantry shelves. They are ¾” melamine and are drilled into the supports from below. Eventually they will get trimmed out with some fancy routered edged wood…once I buy the wood and router it and install it…it’s a low priority obviously.

And now we know: gable ends have more blocking underneath that expected. Take that into account when measuring for your counters.

The Kitchen: Reno Day 4

Protecting the newly sanded floor was our first step today; we taped down some heavy paper throughout the room.

Finally we could start with putting the kitchen back together. The first step was securing and levelling the bases for the lower cabinets. These frames are made of 2x4’s screwed together and raise the cabinets the 3.5” to create a toe kick. I levelled and shimmed each one, then screwed them directly into the hardwood floor. I built these ahead of time and neglected to take into account the sink pipes, so that one had to be taken apart and re-assembled once in place around the pipes.

Once all the base frames were in place, the actual cabinets could go on top. Since everything was already level, they went in easily and got screwed through the bottom and through the back into the wall studs. Again there were problems with the sink cabinet, we had to take the back off the cabinet, cut it for the pipes and re-assemble it. 

The cabinet which caused the most difficulty was the one to the right of the stove. When the counter tops arrived, they had larger blocking at the gable ends than I had anticipated and this was not accounted for in my dimensions. I wanted the cabinet to align with the existing microwave slot above and to have the end of the counter flush with the cabinet. In order to do this, we had to chip out part of the wall to give us the extra ¼”.We had a funny misunderstanding; I asked Tom to chip out part of the wall, the top layer of drywall, and he interpreted it as take out the entire section of the wall…in the end it worked out as it is hidden behind the cabinet.

I finally got the face frame on the island cabinet and clear coated the wine slots. Its now ready to be installed as well.

Pantry installation began with the base being put in place and the left side panel attached. I decide to align it with the door frame instead of perfectly level, so there wouldn’t be a small gap at one end. 

And now we know: take into account the plumbing pipes when assembling the sink cabinet. I mistakenly thought more of it would be disconnected when the sink was removed and that I could just drill a few holes thought the bottom.

The Kitchen: Reno Day 3

Sanding, sanding and more sanding. Since the tar was gone, we rented a drum sander and sanded ALL DAY. Although hard on the shoulders, the drum sander was very effective. It took only 1 pass with each of the 3 grades of sand paper.

The hard, pain in the ass, time consuming part was the hand sanding around the edges. Using a combo of the belt and orbital sanders, I did the final 3 inches around the perimeter and both stair landings where the large machine couldn’t fit.  Not the most fun day ever but it looks great.

We also wore cool masks! Tom did not wear his for long though…his cold got much worse today and he lay on he couch a lot.

And now we know: the drum sander is easier to control than I expected but it’s strange feeling holding a machine back instead of guiding it forward

The Kitchen: Reno Day 2

Well I think all of us taking part in this reno can say that steaming tar off a floor is not a fun job. In the end it took all day to get the floor cleaned off. 

The method we used was to let the steamer sit on the paper for a long time, maybe 15 minutes. Then using a metal scrapper, the top layer and most of the adhesive, would come off. For the remaining residue, a hard bristle brush dipped in hot water with Mr Clean loosened things up. Finally, using a rag, anything remaining was wiped off. Repeat this in 12” section for the entire room, with tar fumes and you understand the unpleasantness.

Early in the day we tried chemical stripper instead, but only resulted in making the room smell even worse and making ourselves light headed. It didn’t even really work that well. This was one situation where patience to let the steam work was the best way.

Right before lunch our countertop was delivered. It’s beautiful, I’m glad I went for the flat edge, it is very clean looking. Although I booked the delivery for today, it was only 2 weeks from order, not the typical 3 weeks, so I was half expecting it not to show up. I was very happy that it did and that everything was exactly as ordered.

My mother and husband did much of the work on the floor while I filled holes and sanded the upper cabinets. The paint was peeling and there were lots of gaps along the shelves inside. Honestly it looks like these cabinets were built with scrap wood; some of it is in such crappy condition.

Along the bottom I installed a strip of wood, this completes the face frames and the doors will sit on top. As you can see I still need a solution for those gaps over the microwave shelf, it looks silly right now.

And now we know: steaming is the best way to remove tar/mastic/black adhesive stuff. By the end of the day our technique was refined and very effective, still not fast though.

The Kitchen: Reno Day 1

Finally the day is here, demo day! This is what we started with, the old, dirty cabinets that tip forward and whose doors don’t close tight. The off-white range hood, the Ikea pantry and island both falling apart, the counter that incline forward so everything rolls off onto the floor. 

So we took them out! With my family’s help, the appliances went out easily, the doors came off quickly and even the cabinets were simple to remove.

And then we got to the floor. The first layer of vinyl came off in huge pieces with little effort. Underneath was this hideous yellow and brown patterned vinyl attached to plywood with glue. We decide the best course of action was to remove both layers as the plywood was only nailed down. 

With many crowbars, hammers and an ice chopper, we pried up the floor. It split into pieces and was hard on the back but for the most part it was fairly straightforward.

Once those layers were removed, it turns out what was underneath was even worse. Someone had put down tar paper or some kind of paper with mastic on the hardwood floor and it was not going to come up easily. After a failed attempt to scrape it off and loosen it with warm water, it was very apparent that this was not going to come off without great effort. Tom and I analysed the situation, trying to decide if the hardwood was worth preserving or if we should leave it and put down tile overtop.

In the end we liked the idea of hardwood, although it will be more effort up front, it will be cheaper and we won’t have to worry about tiles cracking on the uneven portion of the room. Research suggested steaming the adhesive, much as you would wallpaper, so we rented a steamer. It is slow going and after 2 hours we had little progress to show for it. 

And now we know: the previous owners really liked using tar in unconventional ways apparently. Why would anyone ever adhere something like this to hardwood flooring? Weird and irritating. 

The Kitchen Reno: Some Painting and Some Progress

After my problems with the paint flaking off the melamine, I consulted an expert and got an oil based primer. Most of the pieces just needed sanding, but for the island wine cubbies, I actually used a metal scrapper and the paint came off in chunks.

Once they were all white (ish) again, I put on the primer, luckily it adhered really well.

For the island I put together the end panel that will face the fridge. It is about 4 ½” wide and has a shaker look like the doors. I ran out of oak and refused to pay $50 for a piece, so I used pine for the ends. 

Although the pantry is too large to be assembled in the basement, I did attach the shelf supports to the side panels. 

I also completed the pantry doors. They are much larger and heavy than I anticipated…it took Tom, my brother and myself to get them glued together. You just needed lots of hands to get everything lined up at the same time.

The front room is now even more chaotic...

And now we know: well I know the way to properly paint melamine now and that an 8 ft high pantry door is going to need a lot of hinges…