Almost 4 years on... kitchen is nearly done.

[jay]

Starting in late 2002, I began working on a kitchen remodel... earlier in 2001, I had upgraded the electrical service for the house from 80A to 220A, and put in place new circuits and network cable. But heavy-duty destruction and construction began in July 2003, when Nancy flew out from Minneapolis and she and I worked 16-hour days for a week, while patgreene and the kids stayed in a local motel. That's described here.

Since then... I rebuilt a 1950s vintage set of cabinets, and installed them as a center island in 2005-06, with help from tenacious_snail. And hung a cantilevered set of shelves over the island, and last autumn put in final wiring changes and a pretty slate backsplash.

I'd scavenged two 8' long stainless steel countertops, back in 2003... I needed one more length for the section near the garage door. So I made drawings and had the steel fabricated last summer. Last weekend, I took off the old formica counter and dropped the substrate (3/4" plywood and 1/2" concrete board) and then the new stainless, which had been sitting on the patio for 6 months.

(Much of my patio and garage, over the years, has held remodelling supplies and components... as I slowly worked through it, weekend-by-weekend).

Friday I fastened it in place... yesterday I cut a butcher-block centerpiece... and today, the major work in the kitchen is done. Yay! All that remains is some repairing of the finish (wear and tear over 4 years...), new shelf paper and a missing backsplash.

Comments

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

Mazel tov! :-) Definitely something to be proud of.

I liked looking at the old 'before' picture and seeing what it looked like to start with - lots of differences!

[wordweaverlynn.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! I have done some serious home remodeling and repair (my ex-husband called me Madam Spackle), and I know how hard that work can be. Isn't it a great feeling to walk into your brand-new kitchen and know how much you've improved it?

[bdot.livejournal.com]

when are you going to post a before/after photo? it sounds fabulous

[cerulean-me.livejournal.com]

I was wondering that too :) I would love to see pics!

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I would love to see before-and-after pics.

[iluvdaphne.livejournal.com]

yea what she said? :)

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

I also delighted in teaching you how to tile.

[dangerpudding.livejournal.com]

That's awesome - I look forward to seeing the completed space :)

your hard work

[(Anonymous)]

Great work. I can't wait to see it. You always make me proud.

Mom

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Once it is cleaned up, I'll take an "after" photo. (nods)

[attitude-boy.livejournal.com]

Wow. Congratulations. Four years using a kitchen which was a work in progress. Yipes.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Really, patgreene deserves as much congratulations, for putting up with it for that long...

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

It's a feeling of accomplishment, something tangible... plus my own design elements. OTOH, the time it has taken means that the earliest parts are no longer as shiny.