| Thursday, July 24th
Vern finished wiring the kitchen yesterday and started installing the insulation. Let me tell ya, I’m not lacking for light in the kitchen now!
When all 9 lights are turned on it’s like the sun has risen in there! I now have all kinds of options, with respect to which ones I want on too, which is nice. I can turn on just the row on the right, just the row on the left, just the one over the sink or just the 2 by the future pantry. The old lighting consisted of 3 lights – one over the sink, one in the main room and one where the pantry will be.
Vern also installed 2 receptacles outside by the sliding glass door. Now, I’ll no longer need to thread an extension cord from the inside of the house. Lov’n all my new electrical options!!
My breaker box is now officially 100% full. I’m so glad I had the AC put in last summer. Had I waited until after the kitchen was wired, I’m sure Vern would have used the switches that they are now on. In hindsight, the timing was perfect. Here’s a picture of the space saver switch (the one in the middle), which I now know is called a twin pole circuit breaker.
Soon, the drywall will be going up and my barn-looking kitchen will be history!!
Monday, July 21st
This morning Vern finished gutting my kitchen. Whoa-who!! I’m soooo glad to see it gone! Whenever I cleaned the countertop or cabinet doors, it always smelled like cardboard. It was just so nasty. I lived with it for 4 years and now it’s gone. YES.
RIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today Vern was supposed to start rewiring the kitchen. Before that could be done he had to figure out my electric box. OMG, what a royal pita. We spent several hours tracing all the wires in my house. My electric box is starting to get really full and so he really needed to know this information. When we finally had it all pretty much figured out, I made sure to label everything. I really don’t want to do that ever again!
With all the appliances, it’s gonna be tight. I probably won’t need to upgrade to a bigger switch box, but I’m not 100% sure on that. Vern mentioned something about “space saver” switches among some other options. I don’t know the details. I know the stove needs 2 switches, the microwave needs it’s own switch, the dishwasher needs it’s own switch. That’s 4 switches right there and that’s all the empty switches I have in the electric box. I’m still going to need receptacles and lights. AH! Whatever. Vern mentioned being able to use the wire that feeds some of the living room and possibly some from the basement. Not sure! I’m sure he’ll work it all out. A lot of time today was spent preparing to rewire the kitchen and not actually doing it.
About an hour before quitting time Vern installed all the cans for the recessed lights. My shopping trip was NOT done in vain (or a minute too soon). YEAH! I bought 9 thinking he wouldn’t use them all, but he did. All 9 of them are up there. No wires are going to them yet, but they’re UP there!
Until Vern is finished with the electric, I won’t be making beads while he’s here. I’ll still have a few hours in the evening, but that will be it. The corner where my electric switch box is is the very corner I make beads in and it’s extremely uncomfortable for both of us. I tried a little today and I quickly gave up. It’s just weird. He needs space to work and so do I.
So, now I’m at the part of the kitchen remodel that I was looking forward to the LEAST. I have no stove, no countertop, no water, no anything in that room and I’m pretty sure it will be several more weeks before I have any of it back. Washing dishes in the bathtub is the pits. I hope time passes quickly!!
Thursday, July 17th
Vern worked for 3 days this week (he didn't work for 2 half days and he won’t be working here tomorrow). Although I want the job done so that I can get back to my normal routine, a break is always nice!
The kitchen window is permanently installed now. He reframed it and finished covering it with aluminum. I don’t have great “before” pictures because I wasn’t anticipating it being anything dramatic. No shutters yet. They’re on order.
From the inside:
Taking out the small north window wasn’t a big deal and was done without a hitch.
From the inside:
From the outside:
The sliding glass door was also replaced and it wasn’t as easy as simply removing the old one and putting in the new one. Once the old one was removed Vern found out that the hole it left behind was bigger on the inside than on the outside (go figure). On the inside the USB board was cut flush with the studs, but on the outside it wasn’t. Vern also discovered that the old door had absolutely no flashing and because of that one of the corners was getting wet.
So, all the siding had to be removed, the overhanging USB board had to be cut and the new flashing had to be added before the new door could be installed. Well, Vern didn’t have any flashing with him, so he had to leave to go and buy some. ::sight:: A real pita. In the end, it DID get done!
A work in progress:
Here’s the fully installed door plus new lighting (the old lighting included 2 tiny recessed lights set into the fascia/soffit area).
From the inside:
I love the new door – mostly. It’s much more energy efficient than the old one, it’s the right color and generally looks good. The only problem I have with it is that it’s difficult to open and close. I realize that it’s a high quality door and so is heavy, but OMG my old door functioned a lot better! I could whip the old one open or shut easily with one hand. NOT with this new one. It doesn’t quite take 2 arms/hands to open and close it, but it’s pretty close. If I were an old lady with little arm strength, it would be unacceptable. It’s irritating! I know I paid a lot for that thing and to not love everything about it is disappointing. Vern called the salesman about it and some expert is supposed to call him. So, every week now I’ve decided I’m going to ask Vern if this so-called expert has called him yet. I don’t want him to forget about it! I want someone who is familiar with these doors to at least try to make it better. If nothing can be done, I suppose I’ll get used to it. ::sigh::
On Wednesday afternoon I went to see Wall-E with my sister Kitty and her family. What a great movie! I thoroughly enjoyed it! The graphics were stunning, the main character Wall-E was completely lovable and the cultural satire was hilarious! Love this little guy!
When I returned from the movie the first thing Vern said was, “I don’t think you’re gonna like this”. Never a good thing to hear from a carpenter! As it turns out my kitchen ceiling is not level. This news didn’t surprise me at all. Every other ceiling in my house wasn’t level and had to be reframed. In fact, all the interior walls were ripped out and rebuilt. Here’s a picture of the second story during this process (almost 4 years ago):
I guess the kitchen is really off. All the other rooms in my house were off by 1-2 inches, but the kitchen is off by 4 or 5. So, long story short my 8-foot kitchen ceiling will be lowered to 7.5 feet.
More time, more materials. Typical. I’m starting to expect it.
On Monday, Vern will start the ripping out the old wiring and installing the new. This weekend I’ll be shopping for new lights – all kinds – over the sink lighting, ceiling lighting, under the cabinet lighting. Fun, fun. Not really. I hate shopping!
Saturday, July 12th
I'm cooking up a pretty good farmer's tan this summer! It's from being outside -- um -- "bossing the job." LOL It's been years since I've any color! I'm usually Elmer's Glue White. :D In the past, I've used sunscreen faithfully but after reading recent news reports about sunscreen not being effective or worse harmful (by blocking out vitamin D), I've opted not to use any for shortish trips outside. I look in the mirror and it's really different to see myself this way!
Trust me, in person is a lot more impressive...
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