To start Week 4, we need to finish the electrical upgrades.
We did a lot of re-wiring to upgrade the kitchen. Here the wires from the range hood weren't long enough to feed into an outlet above the stove, so I re-ran some new Romex for the new microwave.
New microwave outlet is in place.
The hole in the middle of the ceiling was patched, along with the oops over the sink. The pink spackling compound dries to a white color when fully cured.
We plan to install two new GFCI outlets where the window used to be.
Before framing the window area, I have to clear some of the existing mortar in order to access some wood underneath. It's nicer to nail into wood instead of drilling into concrete/mortar.
Here's the window framed out with new junction boxes for the outlets.
We've been taken over by boxes! The cabinets arrived on Cendy's birthday, and we have boxes everywhere.
I intended to keep store all the boxes in the 'tan' room, but they all didn't fit.
Painting is on the critical path, so I move everything to the center of the room and cover it with a dropcloth. We start with painting the ceiling and trim white, then the walls come next. Farley does her usual mid-day sun-bathing as she observes the progress.
While waiting for paint to dry, we took care of some wiring. Here the new outlets are wired and installed.
The ceilings needed two coats of paint, and the trim got three.
We paint the walls last because it's easier to 'cut' the paint in next to the freshly painted white trim, than vice versa. No taping required!
Martha's right - the "Nimbus Cloud" grey color looks great against the white trim, and soon-to-be-installed white cabinets!
Home Depot sells these handy drywall patch kits. I used them on the ceiling, and here they are in place over the notches I cut to feed the outlet wires.
They're simply made of a sheet of aluminum covered in a mesh. Both have adhesive pre-applied, so everything sticks to the wall. The mesh is covered in spackling compound to complete the patch.
Here I've patched around a new junction box for a previously buried splice. As we learned from the bathroom renovation, it is not legal to bury wire splice. After removing the old backsplash, I found a buried wire splice. So we decided to un-bury it by putting it in a junction box.
Finally, with the priority electrical items complete, we can start on cabinets! We start with the pantry cabinet. It's huge...
I was hoping I could tilt it up without it hitting the ceiling...and it turns out I could!
But then I realize the first boo-boo of the day. I had pre-installed some level strips of wood for the cabinets to rest upon, but realized they were too long. Although the tops of the base cabinets are 24" long, the bottoms are only 20 1/4" because of the toe-kick. It's a pretty easy fix to cut of the extra 3 3/4".
The pantry rests comfortably.
With the pantry in place, I nail in a ledger for the over-fridge cabinet.
It's 24" deep, like the pantry, and is a little awkward to handle.
Cendy's helping! She's holding the prop that temporarily supports the front of the cabinet.
Six hours later, we have two cabinets installed! I'm definitely disappointed in the progress thus far, and have no intentions of abandoning my usual profession for a job as a kitchen installer.
Next to the pantry, we have a 15" wall cabinet and a neat little message center cabinet. It's easier to screw them together before lifting into place.
The cabinet installation involves lots of long wood screws, which can be uncooperative at times. To make life easier, coat the screw with some bar soap. Not only will they drive easier, the work area is filled with a fresh scent!
The second boo-boo of the day is discovered as the base cabinet next to the pantry is set into position. It should be flush with the pantry....
But there isn't a straight wall in the house. There's a hump in the wall right behind this base cabinet, so I decide to do some precise demolition to fix the problem. With the drywall carefully removed, the cabinet should snug up to the pantry just fine.
Here I clean up some of my mess.
Five cabinets in eleven hours...still not happy with the production, but we're making progress!
With an "L" shaped kitchen, you always want to start with the corner cabinet. Here the ledger is nailed in place.
To no one's suprise, we find a big dip in the wall towards the corner.
With lots of shims, we place the corner cabinet to round out the weekend.
Only two more days until countertop templating appointment!
Martha's right - the "Nimbus Cloud" grey color looks great against the white trim, and soon-to-be-installed white cabinets!
Home Depot sells these handy drywall patch kits. I used them on the ceiling, and here they are in place over the notches I cut to feed the outlet wires.
They're simply made of a sheet of aluminum covered in a mesh. Both have adhesive pre-applied, so everything sticks to the wall. The mesh is covered in spackling compound to complete the patch.
Here I've patched around a new junction box for a previously buried splice. As we learned from the bathroom renovation, it is not legal to bury wire splice. After removing the old backsplash, I found a buried wire splice. So we decided to un-bury it by putting it in a junction box.
Finally, with the priority electrical items complete, we can start on cabinets! We start with the pantry cabinet. It's huge...
I was hoping I could tilt it up without it hitting the ceiling...and it turns out I could!
But then I realize the first boo-boo of the day. I had pre-installed some level strips of wood for the cabinets to rest upon, but realized they were too long. Although the tops of the base cabinets are 24" long, the bottoms are only 20 1/4" because of the toe-kick. It's a pretty easy fix to cut of the extra 3 3/4".
The pantry rests comfortably.
With the pantry in place, I nail in a ledger for the over-fridge cabinet.
It's 24" deep, like the pantry, and is a little awkward to handle.
Cendy's helping! She's holding the prop that temporarily supports the front of the cabinet.
Six hours later, we have two cabinets installed! I'm definitely disappointed in the progress thus far, and have no intentions of abandoning my usual profession for a job as a kitchen installer.
Next to the pantry, we have a 15" wall cabinet and a neat little message center cabinet. It's easier to screw them together before lifting into place.
The cabinet installation involves lots of long wood screws, which can be uncooperative at times. To make life easier, coat the screw with some bar soap. Not only will they drive easier, the work area is filled with a fresh scent!
The second boo-boo of the day is discovered as the base cabinet next to the pantry is set into position. It should be flush with the pantry....
But there isn't a straight wall in the house. There's a hump in the wall right behind this base cabinet, so I decide to do some precise demolition to fix the problem. With the drywall carefully removed, the cabinet should snug up to the pantry just fine.
Here I clean up some of my mess.
Five cabinets in eleven hours...still not happy with the production, but we're making progress!
With an "L" shaped kitchen, you always want to start with the corner cabinet. Here the ledger is nailed in place.
To no one's suprise, we find a big dip in the wall towards the corner.
With lots of shims, we place the corner cabinet to round out the weekend.
Only two more days until countertop templating appointment! 
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