The counter tops are in and I must say they look absolutely luscious.  The installers came on Tuesday and were done in about 3 hours.  There were some issues with the removal of the old stuff (new whole created in the wall), but I am so glad to see it go.  There was also an issue with one section that was not cut quite right.  The result was a gap in the tile over the sink that you will be able to see in one of the pictures.  There was a board under the section behind the sink that created a 1/2″ gap that was supposed to be covered by the backing if it had been cut to the correct height.  We decided to have the installers leave that section without caulking it in place so that we could take the board out and remove the gap (Saturday project, looks alot better now).  Other than that it looks great and we got an awesome deal.  The edging and the under mount sink was included which saved us a bunch.

With the installation done, the only thing I had to do to complete it was install the faucet and reconnect the plumbing.  We had just purchased a new faucet for the old sink and it works really well with this setup.  I had never installed a garbage disposal or kitchen sink drain, so this part took a little while.  It was not quite as bad as I thought it would be and after 4 or 5 trips to Home Depot the installation was complete.  Once again it helps to have the right tools for the job so I was allowed another purchase.  Had never heard of a basin wrench before, but it really made the faucet installation easier.  There is still some touch up work to finish (patch and paint holes, base board for sink cabinets), but the counter tops are in and we could not be happier with them.  The appliances will have to go and my lovely wife/project manager has me scheduled to tile the back splash (new tile saw?!) and install more lighting, but for now here are some pictures of what we got……

Well we have been back from vacation for a while now and have transitioned back into our regular schedule of commuting, work, and weekend projects. The project we are working on now is finishing the kitchen. We decided not to do the appliances yet and we are happy with the cabinets, so the only thing left to do is the countertops. Part of this involves installing some new cabinets underneath the kitchen window. This will give us more cabinet and counter space, and allowed us to get rid of the shelf that was there and had started to deteriorate.

Installing the new cabinets and removing the shelf became my project this weekend since the countertop people are coming to map the space on Monday. The first part of project went pretty smooth. This involved getting the cabinets screwed together, centered in the space, and installing the spacers to cover any gaps. Once I installed the spacers, I slid the cabinets into place and checked the installation with a level. I was very happy to find that they were level where they sat and I did not even have to use any shims. Then it was on to the shelf.

I am not sure I have expressed this in other posts, but the more work we do on our house, the more stuff we find that is just unbelievably shoddy work. I am not sure why, but I thought the shelf would be different. As I started to remove the shelf I came to realize this was just like some of the other stuff around here. Instead of using nails or screws to install this thing, they decided it would be better to wedge it in and apply as much calk as possible to hold it in place. I took me 30 minutes to get this thing out. Of course I damaged the wall in the process, but that has been patched and I have cut a new window sill to put in place of the mess I pulled out. I will include a picture that shows the cabinets in place. We are going to stain the new window sill so it is not installed yet.

With this done, we are ready for the mapping and a week after that the new countertops. I am really looking forward to replacing the blue laminate countertop that we have now….I just remembered there is one more thing I have to do to complete the kitchen. I forgot my lovely wife want to tile the backsplash. That should be easy and may be another opening for me to get more tools. Did I mention the cabinet installation got me a new table saw. It’s amazing how smoothly things go with the right tools.

Well until next time………