The Next to Last Renovation project for our house

[jp1]

One of the minor issues we had not addressed got resolved today! We don't have any extra of the flooring that is all over the downstairs. So if you look beside the fridge in it's new location it's 1/4 inch lower and not the same laminate hardwood look. (It's just the concrete base) Contractor came by today to drop off supplies and discuss the plans for work for the next couple of days when they will be finishing framing and initial drywalling. While we were in the bathroom I asked "what if we took 6 inches of flooring from the back of the area where the laundry machines go and install it at the front of the fridge space and then use plywood for the space behind that and for the back 6 inch space where the laundry machines go. He thinks that will work great.

Since he left I've made detailed plans of how everything needs to be laid out with measurements so hopefully by the end of day friday all that will be left is mudding/sanding drywall and purchasing the pantry cabinet to go where the fridge used to be in the kitchen. And there are three companies that sell cabinets from the company that made the rest of our kitchen cabinets who I've asked to discuss/quote making the pantry cabinet. Hopefully I'll have that last bit of this project finalized by the end of the week even if it'll be a month or two before we actually have the cabinet.

[Tradd]

Always nice to have the nagging issues taken care of! Good idea on the flooring.

[jp1]

Good idea on the flooring.

Last week contractor and I had literally discussed putting plywood under the fridge and getting paint to match the kitchen floor color and hoping no one would notice. This will be a much better solution.

[rosarugosa]

That sounds like a good solution, JP.

[iris lilies]

Your fix of the floor is a good one.

in our previous house the ceramic tile in front of the refrigerator cracked, 3 squares. It was old and we couldn’t match it exactly. I chose big squares, darker but in the same color to coordinate but still be obvious it was a repair. Not a brilliant solution, but acceptable.

[jp1]

One of the cabinet people got back to me to day that our cabinets and finish are still in production! The previous owner of our house had done the kitchen in spring of 2020 so it was anyone's guess if a four year old style was still being made, but apparently it is. So I'm now working with the cabinet maker to put together exactly what we need/want. Hopefully at least one of the other two will also quote the job so that we can make sure the responsive one isn't completely out of whack price-wise. Since the one has been more responsive I hope to give them the business but not if they turn out twice as expensive as the other(s) or whatever.

And the contractor and his team moved the chunk of flooring from the bathroom to under the fridge. It looks great. Tomorrow he's going to get paint that matches the color to use on the plywood that will go on the floor under the rest of the fridge and that will be done.

After tomorrow everything but mudding/sanding the drywall and painting it when that's done should be finished. Except for installing the custom pantry cabinet which will be weeks from now. Thankfully I have my shift at Marin Humane in the morning and then I plan to go to the local coffee shop to take a work conference call and maybe work for a while before coming home. Contractor and his team are nice people but dang they make a lot of noise...

[happystuff]

It all seems to be progressing quickly! Congrats!

[Tradd]

Wow, you got lucky the cabinets are still available. After the last few years, who knows what is available or not!

[jp1]

Wow, you got lucky the cabinets are still available. After the last few years, who knows what is available or not!

No kidding. And with something like kitchen cabinets the manufacturers seem to be eager to move on to the next thing. But no, we wouldn't be replacing all the kitchen cabinets if our style was no longer being made. We'd be figuring out a chaper solution like maybe painting the existing cabinets. Thankfully we don't have to go down that road.

[jp1]

Apparently we are just in time with this renovation. Speaking with the second cabinet store today apparently our cabinet manufacturer is downsizing the max door size. We need a door to cover a 23"x63" opening for a dish cabinet built into the wall next to where the new pantry is going. Currently they make a 23.5" wide door but as of March 11th are changing to a smaller maximum size. There are workarounds but having one big door is definitely the most attractive solution.

And I've been warned by both cabinet stores we're having quote this job that the pantry cabinet will take 5-6 weeks to build. That's a bummer, but I can live with it. We have a freestanding shelving unit that can sit in that space until the cabinet is installed. It just won't look pretty.