Another weekend of work done!

This weekend was a short one for Steve, as he had to work on Saturday.  He arrived late in the evening but got up early on Sunday to get started with the plumbing.  He started mapping his plumbing plan of the island, put all the pieces together, cut all the wholes and by afternoon he installed everything.  He took a break in the afternoon to route a bunch of baseboards and window trim so I could prime and paint it all while he was busy working with plumbing.  He also spay painted the hinges for the island cabinet doors.  We want them to match the pewter pulls.
The dark island cabinets have pewter pulls and hinges and the back cabinets,  that are light have the bronze pulls and hinges.  Details, Details, Details that take a lot of time!
 Sunday was a long day then we had dinner with Derek, grilled chicken breasts, roasted asparagus, salad and a rustic berry galette for dessert.  Derek had arrived Saturday with a load of veggies and salad makings.

Monday was Martin Luther King's birthday and our office was closed, Derek didn't have to work too, so we taped off the pantry cabinet area and he sprayed the inside of the pantry door with Chalk-board paint.  We now have a place for Steve to note what food items he is out of or would like for the next shopping trip.  Derek did a great job and it looks great.

I also gave the island cabinet doors one more coat of poly, since they were a bit beat up with all the counter top work going on. Now everything is uniform and consistent in its finish.  They are ready to hang.

Steve will finish the plumbing this week and do electrical for the island next weekend.  Hopefully we can make our first full dinner in the kitchen for the Super Bowl weekend!  I am not holding my breath however.

Kitchen Update

Steve has been working hard this past week.  We are getting so close to being ready to cook in the kitchen, it is getting painful.
Last week he grouted the backsplash and put the final sealer on the back counter tops.  He installed the pot-filler faucet on the back wall.  He installed the flexible gas pipe to be ready to install the stove.
Steve created a plastic enclosure around the island so when he polished the counter tops, the dust would stay within the enclosure.  It sure looked like a Dexter episode was being filmed in our house.
Two nights of polishing and making a lot of dust, then he cleaned the top and added two coats of sealer.  Two more coats will do it.  He also cut the holes in the stone for the faucet and disposal button.
Now I have a lot of cleaning to do, because all the dusty work is finished.
Also, while Steve was doing the polishing and grouting, I was painting all the walls in the living room, dining room and kitchen.  Two coats every where and now just touch ups left.
Today's duty is to paint the brick of the fireplace (a medium gray color) and to clean out all the cabinets with warm soapy water.  I have to remove all the dust from polishing.
We still have to add wiring to the island, plumbing to the faucets and fridge (for ice maker)  a few more shelves have to be installed in the cabinets and the hardware for my pots and pans drawers.
Hopefully by the end of January we at least will be able to cook in the kitchen.
Finishing all the baseboards can come later in February, but I am getting pretty tired of spending every cold evening in the basement trying to cook a meal.

Last Stages of kitchen Reno

Well, it certainly is cold and keeping motivated is not easy, but we plug along.  Steve took New Years Eve, Tuesday off and installed the gas line to the new 6-burner gas stove.  Not an easy job as we had to go from the propane tank through the basement up to the stove, in the kitchen.  All day project, to say the least.

Next day we installed the stainless steel vent hood.  Can't have a gourmet kitchen without one of those.  Not an easy job either as we had to go up through the attic with the venting pipe.  Nothing in this reno is easy!

Yesterday, Saturday January 4th, while Derek and I shopped for more glass tile (accent for the back splash) Steve installed the three new shelves in the pantry cabinet that he built and prepped the back-splash area for tile.  He began installing the large white oblong tiles, that will be our overall back splash and Derek and I worked on the glass tile project.  Steve's idea was to paint, in reverse,  a Fleur de Lys on the back of the glass tile, so when installed, you will see it from behind the glass.  I chose the colors for him to do it like rusted iron, so it will match my island pendant lights that will hang in front of the viewing area.
Derek did an excellent job painting the Fleur, it is exactly how we pictured it would be, or maybe better.

Sunday, up early and after egg sandwiches we talked the tiling.  I assisted with tool finding and painted the last pantry cabinet in which Steve installed in the kitchen, on Saturday morning.  By 4:00 PM we had the pantry cabinet done and all the tile installed.  We are ready for grout.  That will be for another day.  Tile adhesive has to dry well.  The Fleur de Lys is outstanding.  Definitely a feature art piece for our kitchen.
Thank you Derek!