Cabinets and counters
Start to finish — 10 days
Before – A view of the kitchen after the clutter was removed but before any work began
Day 0
Cabinets first. And before work could begin, the cabinets had to be emptied of everything. After ten years without a move, a lot of stuff had accumulated.
Omigawd! There are 47 coffee cups in the cupboard. And some are supremely ug-ly! Where did these come from?!
What's up with two bottles of ground coriander? three of sage? baking powder dated 1987?
Not to mention the unopened box of pancake mix, absolutely fossilized.
Where did all this stuff come from? Who's responsible? I want names! The worst is I didn't even touch the cabinet in the laundry room also filled with kitchen stuff. Obviously spring cleaning is in order — and good timing, too.
Old stove, waiting forlornly at the curb ~sob~ ~sob~
The old kitchen stove had to be schlepped out to the curb for pickup. According to Sears, the guys who delivered the new one would take the old one out to the street. Only thing is, somebody forgot to tell the deliverymen. They only shrugged their shoulders, explained that they "don't do that, the old stove is heavy," and promptly disappeared.
Day 1
On Monday the installer from KitchenWorks showed up. He shoved all my living room furniture into corners and covered it with plastic to protect it from the sawdust.
My furniture shrouded in its plastic birka
Colin's workshop
Cabinetry reduced to its skeleton
With his workspace now ready, he promptly removed the counter-top and sink, along with all the cabinet doors and drawers.
Day 2
I came home to find that some of the new cabinet surfaces were already in place. Remorse immediately set in: I know that's the wood I chose, but I'm not sure I like it. Oh, well, too late now.
Day 3
Enormous relief: with the rest of the surfaces in place and the new doors and drawer fronts installed, it's starting to look pretty damned good. Of course, the lack of counter top and sink take some imagination to overcome, but my decision looks like a winner. Hot damn, starting to look good!
Left side of kitchen
Right side of kitchen
Old
New
Day 4
The cabinetry is done! I'm both surprised and delighted. Perhaps I can pull up the installation of the countertop and sink so I can get the kitchen and bathrooms back to normal, at least for the moment. But no such luck.
Day 9
The new counters are in place, and can never be removed! The Corian is glued to the cabinets and the wall.
The sink is in place, but hasn't been connected yet.
Day 10
The sink has now been connected. New garbage disposal installed. An end to "camping" in my own house is at hand!
Look! Running water! That is an awesome faucet. Pressing on top of the head shifts it to a spray, which I would be happy to have in my shower.