It's Finished!

After a month of procrastination on the painting, the kitchen is finally complete! I had a day off work this past week and decided enough was enough, I need to paint it and be done. So I did. I had a friend help me that day and we finished the painting in no time at all. So now it is finished and looks so much better. Below are some of the pictures of the final product.

Everything Works Now

I'm a few days behind in posting this, but it's been rather busy lately. I do now have a fully functional kitchen though.

After going back and forth with Lowes on who would do the plumbing work, I finally had a friend of mine hook up the kitchen faucet and garbage disposal and all the plumbing. It didn't take him very long, and with a couple hours of work it was installed and working. I've even used the stove (to heat up a pizza, but it still counts) and the microwave (for popcorn of course). The only thing I haven't used yet is the dishwasher, only because I haven't had a chance to get any dishes dirty yet.

Now there only remains a couple of things to complete the project. I have to decide on paint colors so I can paint the walls. It looks a little goofy right now with the different colored drywall and patches, and the ceiling needs painted too.

But the end is near. I just need to figure out what color to paint and then find the time to do the painting. The second part of that may be the tougher of the two.

Two Giant Leaps

Well, the last two big parts of the kitchen remake took place over the last couple of days. On Wednesday and Thursday of last week the floor was installed, and today, the countertops were installed. Almost done.

The floor was a two-day process. The first day they laid the tile flooring and got it stuck down. They worked while I was at work, so I came home to find a floor with tile down and all the little plastic spaces in between each tile. It looked sort of funny actually. Thursday they came back and added all the grout to the tile and put the new stove and dishwasher in place and installed. It was a fairly quick process watching them work on the grout. Nothing felt better than watching the stove go into place though. The replacement for 'ol yeller was finally there and in place and in working order. Of course I refuse to use it until the whole kitchen is 100% done. Partly out of wanting it to be done first, and partly because I still have no sink, so if I did use the stove and cooked, I couldn't clean anything up.

This morning, the marble company came and installed the granite countertops. It was two guys, both fairy strong looking, and they struggled to get the two bigger pieces in there. They were pretty heavy. They got them in there and got the dishwasher secured and everything and only took them a little over an hour and a half. It was a lot quicker than I thought it would take, but the countertops are on and the sink is in.

I did hit one stumbling block though with the faucet/garbage disposal/plumbing. I know I had talked about doing that part myself to save money (or more appropriately, having someone I know do it for me), but I thought I decided to just have Lowes take care of the whole thing to make it easier. The contractors talked the whole time about how the countertop people would do that, but when those guys were here this morning they said they never do the plumbing stuff. So I called Lowes and they said it wasn't in the original contact or payment for the job. I looked at my copy of everything and they were right, there's nothing in there about kitchen plumbing installation. So I guess I may have goofed there. I'm going to look into it more because I was certain I decided to have them do it, but I guess it got left out of the work order somehow.

Anyway, what I thought was going to be a fully completed kitchen today after the countertop installation is not quite complete. I talked to a friend of mine's dad this afternoon and he said he could stop by Tuesday or Wednesday to hook up that plumbing stuff for me, which will be great. I'm sure he won't charge me the $350-$400 that Lowes would have charged.

So it's almost over. The long journey is coming to an end. I thought it would never come. And then I realized today I still have a major hurdle left, even after the plumbing gets taken care of. I have to paint the walls. Which opens up a whole lot of other problems in trying to decide which color to paint it. This could be a long drawn out issue because: 1) I'm so particular, and 2) I am the worst color coordinator in the world. Just ask my sister.

Oh, and here's an update on the eating list: Tues 7/13 - Wendys, Wed 7/14 - Macaroni Grill, Fri 7/16 - Red Lobster, Sat 7/17 - Steak 'N Shake, Mon 7/19 - Max&Ermas, Sat 7/24 - Dominos, Sun 7/25 - 54th Street Grill/Dairy Queen (dessert only), Wed 7/28 - Little Ceasers, Thud 7/29 - Longhorn Steakhouse (treated a friend to dinner on her birthday), Fri 7/30 - Steak 'N Shake, Sat 7/31 - Penn Station, Tues 8/3 - Penn Station (again), Wed 8/4 - Racanellis Pizza, Thur 8/5 - Red Robin (Yummm), Sat 8/7 - Milo's, Tues 8/10 - Red Lobster for friend's b-day, Wed 8/11 - Houlihans, Fri 8/13 - Mr. Goodcents, Sat 8/14 - Bandana's BBQ, Sun 8/15 - Pasta House.

Everything is... the Same

Nothing new to report on the kitchen progress. I'm still waiting for them to come do some more work on the whole thing. Wednesday the 11th is still the date set for coming to start work on the flooring install, which will likely be a two day process. Once that's in, the stove and dishwasher should be installed as well. Hopefully I can talk them into helping get the fridge moved back into the kitchen as well. I had to move it out myself, which was not easy. With the new floor, I'd prefer a couple people to get it moved back so it doesn't scratch the floor.

I did play with the new drawers and cabinets and one of their upgrades I got for them. It's so cool. You don't have to shut them all the way. You push either the drawers or cabinet doors to shut them, and after they get so close, they close themselves. It's so cool. you don't have to worry about them getting slammed shut or anything, they just gently glide shut.

In the meantime, I continue to sit and wait. Which includes more eating out. I've added a few more restaurants to the list too, including another duplicate. I ate at Penn Station for a second time, but this time it was paid for by someone else as payment for helping them move.

Current Restaurant Tally: Tues 7/13 - Wendys, Wed 7/14 - Macaroni Grill, Fri 7/16 - Red Lobster, Sat 7/17 - Steak 'N Shake, Mon 7/19 - Max&Ermas, Sat 7/24 - Dominos, Sun 7/25 - 54th Street Grill/Dairy Queen (dessert only), Wed 7/28 - Little Ceasers, Thud 7/29 - Longhorn Steakhouse (treated a friend to dinner on her birthday), Fri 7/30 - Steak 'N Shake, Sat 7/31 - Penn Station, Tues 8/3 - Penn Station (again), Wed 8/4 - Racanellis Pizza (for a date - woohoo!), Thur 8/5 - Red Robin (Yummm), Sat 8/7 - Milo's (2nd date - woohoo again). And since I know the plans for this week - Tues will be Red Lobster for a friends b'day, and Wed with be to be determined for a 3rd date - woohoo again.

Three Steps Back

As quick as things seemed to be going with the kitchen, they suddenly came to a screeching halt. After the electrical work and delivery of the flooring supplies, I was ready for things to get hopping. Not so much.

For some reason, I thought the installers were coming on Friday, which was my day off, to install the flooring. Not sure why that was in my head, but since I lost my pocket calendar where everything was written down, I couldn't be certain when I thought they were coming. After they didn't show up, I called and left a message to double check on the scheduling of the work. The contractor called back and after looking at his schedule, said he would be there to install the flooring on August 11 and August 12, which is another couple of weeks away. Of course, the stove and dishwasher can't be installed until after the floor is done either. So it's just more waiting.

At least the date is set to have the countertop measured. Someone from that company comes out on Monday morning to get all the exact measurements so they can cut the countertop. Now, after initial talks with that company, they were set to come out and install the countertop on August 12. With the contractors doing the floor that day, there's no way they can both be in there at the same time. So I asked about moving the countertop install to a different date. Of course, there was no way they could do it sooner, they were too booked. Earliest they could do it was the following Monday, August 16, so I booked that date. Since the sink will come with and be installed with the countertop, I will continue to be with no kitchen until at least then. I'm also hoping they can install the countertop quickly since I close at work that night.

So I guess you could say the patience is starting to run a little thin. More out of anticipation than anything, but a little frustration as well. It just seems odd that they can come and work on it, and in a four to five hour work day, get the drywall up and install all the cabinets, then go weeks without touching it. If so much can get done that quick, why not come back sooner and get it totally done and out of the way. Obviously they have other jobs going on, but the large gaps in doing the work on mine is a little annoying.

There is another matter I need to figure out as well, but I'm not sure I can do that until everything else is done. I need to figure out paint colors for the walls. A friend suggested doing that early in the process, before they put up the cabinets. He said it would be easier to paint without anything in the way, which is true, but I'm not sure I could decide on a color until I had the cabinets, countertop and floor all in to match the colors better and see what looks best. So that will have to wait for now.

So now it's just more sitting and waiting until Monday, when they come to measure for the countertops. I did break one of my goals though. I ate out at the same place more than once now. I know, I know, I was going to try and not do that, but it just didn't work out that way. On Friday night, I ate at Steak 'N Shake for the a second time during the process. It was quick, easy and cheap, and a friend I was meeting there didn't have a lot of time, so we met there. I'm sure I'll hit up some of the other restaurants more than once too, especially since I've got at least another two and half weeks before its done.

Current Restaurant Tally: Tues 7/13 - Wendys, Wed 7/14 - Macaroni Grill, Fri 7/16 - Red Lobster, Sat 7/17 - Steak 'N Shake, Mon 7/19 - Max&Ermas, Sat 7/24 - Dominos, Sun 7/25 - 54th Street Grill/Dairy Queen (dessert only), Wed 7/28 - Little Ceasers, Thud 7/29 - Longhorn Steakhouse (treated a friend to dinner on her birthday), Fri 7/30 - Steak 'N Shake, Sat 7/31 - Penn Station

Two Steps Forward

First thing this morning the electrician showed up to finish work on the all the kitchen electrical work. It took a couple hours and he got everything hooked up and ready to go for power. While he was here, Lowes delivered all the tiles, grout and supplies needed for the floor work.

The electrician liked to talk to himself as I soon found out. Initially I couldn't tell if he was talking to me or to himself, which made it a bit odd at first. I was a little nervous at one point when he was reading instructions on the GFCI outlets, thinking as an electrician he should know that, but who knows, he could have been reading something else.

He got all the wall outlets done, and hooked up an outlet under the sink for the dishwasher and garbage disposal to plug into. The stove outlet got all hooked up and secured and ready to go as well. He also had to hook up the power to the microwave. He had a little trouble with that but got it done as well. He got the two lights hooked up as well. There is one under the cabinets above where the sink is going to go. That was a change I made from the way it was. Previously there was an old, ugly looking light on the ceiling above the sink area. I had them take that out totally, and instead had a light hooked up and hidden underneath the cabinets.

The other light is the ceiling light. It wasn't originally in the plans to have them switch that out, to be honest I had actually forgotten about it. I had bought a new light and just left it sitting in the kitchen for him to see and hopefully change out. As he was finishing up today, he said he noticed the light and said he didn't think it was on the original job description to include that. I played stupid, hoping for the best, and said I didn't remember if we talked about it or not. He said he could go ahead and do it assuming there were no complications. Thankfully there weren't and he changed them out in about five minutes time, and looks so much better.

The tile and other flooring supplies were delivered as well, and by the same guys from Lowes who delivered the stove, dishwasher and microwave. As we were talking we both wondered why they didn't have him deliver all the tile and flooring supplies at the same time he delivered the appliances, which would have saved them an extra trip. But I guess they have their reasons. And now my room that was just emptied of my cabinets now has the flooring supplies stacked up and filling the void. Will that room ever get emptied?

It's All Coming Together Now...

A former boss of mine in Buffalo used to say that all the time, and it's very appropriate in this case. The installation process on the kitchen took place yesterday morning (Friday), and all the cabinets are now installed.

Andy and his assistant, who does have a name but I feel bad because I can't remember, arrived bright and early Friday to start installing the cabinets. They got there a little before 6am, which was great since I closed at work the night before. First up was the new drywall, covering up the holes from the pieces they cut out when tearing out the back splash. It covered up all the electrical work/wiring that was done as well.

Then it was time for the cabinets. I wish I could say I was amazed to watch them put the cabinets in so quickly, but going off about three or four hours sleep, I was half out of it during the whole process. They did work quickly though, and made a whole lot of noise.

I have to say it's amazing to see how much different it looks already, even though the cabinets are the only thing installed. I guess having real kitchen cabinets as opposed to the cheap crap that used to be up there makes a big difference. The microwave was the lone appliance to be installed for obvious reasons. It's not working yet, but I've still go the old one to use for now.

They were very precise in doing the work too. I could hear them talking to each other and you could tell by the conversation that they were being very anal about making sure everything was measured up right, installed right, and fit together right. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I mean it is their job after all. But how many times do we see someone doing their job but knowing they don't really care and are just going through the motions. Obviously its different because I was here, but you could still tell they were being so precise because that's just the way they do it. They were also very thorough in cleaning up when they were done. Again, being very particular and wanting it to be done just right.

Now its moving on to the next couple of steps. One is the electrician. He has to come back out and hook all the wiring up so its live and ready. That includes hooking up the microwave, getting the outlet for the stove up and ready, get in the wiring for the dishwasher and microwave live and ready, and get all the wall outlets hooked up.

The other step is the countertop. They had to wait for the cabinets to be installed before measuring to get an exact fit on the countertop, so now that appointment has been scheduled. Unfortunately, that company couldn't get out here until August 2 to measure, and then set up a date of August 12 to install the cabinets. That means no sink until at least August 12, which means probably no cooking until then either. More eating out - oh joy!

After sitting on the couch through much of the work on the kitchen, the cat finally got spooked by all the work. With all the drilling, and hammering, and cutting going on, he hid in my bedroom around the corner of the bed and barely moved until they left.

Tonight I finally caved in to pizza for eating out. I was holding back because its so easy to do the pizza thing by yourself - and they deliver.
Here's a rundown: Tues 7/13 - Wendys, Wed 7/14 - Macaroni Grill, Fri 7/16 - Red Lobster, Sat 7/17 - Steak 'N Shake, Mon 7/19 - Max&Ermas, 7/24 - Dominos.

More Pieces to the Puzzle

Three more big pieces, both figuratively and literally, to the kitchen puzzle arrived today. They delivered the new stove, the new dishwasher, and the new microwave this morning.

I was a little surprised because as of last notice, they were going to call and let me know what day they would be delivered. I knew it would be Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, but I wasn't sure which day exactly. I was actually planning on calling them this morning to find out which day, but before I could get out of bed, they called me and told me they would deliver between 10am and 2pm.

They arrived around 11:30, and dropped off the new stuff. More importantly, they took away the old stuff. The old stove, range hood and dishwasher were all sitting outside along the side of my house, making it look totally white trashy. 'Ol Yeller, the ugly old piece of crap stove that started this whole project, has now left the building. It is gone. Forever. Thank God.

So now all my new kitchen stuff, and some of my old cabinets, are all sitting in one room. That makes it a little hard to move around in that room, but no worries, at least its here. Later this week, Friday I believe, the contractors will be here to install everything, then it will look totally different.

Oh, and another night of eating out, and another new restaurant can be added to the list. Here's a rundown: Tues 7/13 - Wendys, Wed 7/14 - Macaroni Grill, Fri 7/16 - Red Lobster, Sat 7/17 - Steak 'N Shake, Mon 7/19 - Max&Ermas.

Restaurant Tally

With the kitchen getting remodeled, and no access to a stove or sink, cooking dinner is pretty much impossible. While I stocked up on frozen dinners in preparation, it's still so much easier to just go and eat out somewhere.

Obviously this could get quite expensive throughout the entire process, but somehow I don't see myself stopping anytime soon. I'll probably continue to eat out on a regular basis at a variety of restaurants.

With that, I decided to keep track of how many times and where I eat out during the entire kitchen remodeling process. So far this week, the count is four times. They tore out the kitchen on Tuesday, and that night after running errands, I stopped by Wendy's and grabbed burger and fries. Wednesday, I was off work and after golf in the morning, mowing the yard and a nap in the afternoon, I met a friend at Macaroni Grill where I treated to dinner that I owed for a favor. Thursday night I closed at work, so didn't have to worry about dinner. Friday, I opened at work and afterwards met a friend (same friend) for dinner at Red Lobster. Saturday, it was a little more economical dinner with the same friend again, and had Steak 'N Shake.

Couple of things have come up in the last few days on this whole issue. First is that I'm going to spend a lot of money on eating out the next several weeks until the kitchen is done. Second, I have really good friend who has agreed to eat out a lot lately knowing my situation. I may have to spring for another dinner as payback for being so nice. I've also decided to see how many different restaurants I can eat at during this whole ordeal. Might as well spread my money around to as many local eating establishments as possible.

Here's the tally so far:
Wendy's - 1
Macaroni Grill - 1
Red Lobster - 1
Steak 'N Shake - 1

D-Day is Here

My kitchen is now destroyed. Demolition day has arrived and has quickly passed already. The contractors, Andy and Jeff, showed up about 8:45 this morning and were out of here by 11:30. Tearing stuff up is the easy part.


My kitchen now naked. All the cabinets are gone, the countertop is gone, sink is gone, dishwasher is gone, stove is gone. Even part of the drywall is gone. All the flooring is gone now too. Once they pulled out the cabinets and left, I took out the rest of the flooring that was hidden underneath the cabinets. It is now down to the bare minimum.

The only stumble they hit was with the plumbing for the kitchen. Now I have no idea how it all works, but he had problems getting the pipes cut off and stopped. Andy commented that he hadn't run into a kitchen with a plumbing problem like that for a long time. I told him that was typical of this house. With the age of the house and some of the things done to it previously, a lot of things are odd and troublesome whenever I get stuff fixed or replaced. This was no exception. But in the end, he got it capped off and fixed.

Now it is on to the next step, the electrical work. The electrician is coming on Friday to take care of all that work. A few of the electrical outlets on the wall need to be moved slightly due to some of the changes in cabinets. All the outlets also have to be switched over to GFCI outlets for safety. Andy said today that the wiring for the stove looked a bit shaky and a little unsafe. He was going to mention it to Barry, the electrician, to look at and they would let me know if new wiring would need to be installed. If they say yes, I'll obviously do it. It may add extra cost, but we're talking about electrical wiring that could be unsafe. That's a no brainer on spending a few extra bucks.

I have a small list of a couple things to get before Friday. One being a new garbage disposal so they can have it wired and ready to go. Second is a new doorbell. The old doorbell is an old clock looking thing that was above the fridge. That has to go and wiring moved for the new one, which I have to go buy. Last is a new light. I don't think we've talked a lot about that, but I'm planning on getting a new light, so I'm going to buy one and leave it here for him to switch out. I'm sure it's a quick and easy thing to do, especially for an electrician, so I'll buy it and have them change those out.

In the meantime, my temporary kitchen has moved to the living room. A little cramped and awkward, but I have to admit, it's nice to have the big TV, couch, cabinet of snack food and fridge all in the same room. Makes things rather convenient.

The Last Supper

Well, not exactly the last supper. First of all, it was actually lunch, not supper. And there weren't 12 disciples with me, just me and my cat. But you get the idea.

With the tear out of the kitchen set for tomorrow (Tuesday), today was the last day to use the kitchen for food preparation for the next several weeks. I had to work tonight, which meant leaving for work around 1:30pm. For lunch, I made my last meal in the Old Yeller stove.

In case you can't tell exactly what this fine cuisine is that I heated up in the stove, here is a look at the fine delicacy I cooked.

As I mentioned, tomorrow is tear out day. The contractors are coming out to do the dismantling of the my current kitchen. Now the excitement is going full tilt. The one thing that I had to do on my own for tearing out is the floor. Because my house is so old, there was the worry of asbestos under the old flooring. The contractors would have to charge a ton extra, plus the burden of sealing off the kitchen for protection when they tear out the floor. If I did it myself, it would cause no problems.

Now, I know that the current floor does not pose any asbestos problems, because I put down the current floor myself about four years ago. I replaced the old junky stuff they had on the floor and put down the cheap, vinyl stick on floor tiles. So I know there is no asbestos problems under the current floor. Now, four years ago when I took out the old stuff? That's a different story. Maybe there was and I had no clue. But I'm still alive and no breathing problems, so maybe all is well.

Anyway, back to removing the floor. Peeling up the the vinyl tiles was no problem at all. Took a little hand held scraper thingy (technical tool term there), pried up around the edges of the tiles and they came right up. Easy. Removing the sticky adhesive residue left behind on the floor, not so easy. I used some chemical thing from Lowes to help loosen the adhesive. It helped a little, but not much. I then threw out the instructions, which said to dilute it one part chemical and 4 parts water. I went with 1 part chemical, 1 part water, and it worked a whole lot better. Although the aroma was much stronger. It was still a pain to get it removed and to be honest it's not perfect, but the stickiness is pretty much gone after much hard work. Hopefully it's good enough for them to put the new floor on without any problems.

But now I'm ready for tomorrow. Just waiting to see when the contractors get there and watch them start demolishing my kitchen.

The Cabinets Have Arrived

Today the kitchen cabinets arrived. They were delivered around 11am - not bad considering the 'delivery window' was between 10am and 2pm.

The three delivery guys didn't take long to unload everything. They weren't here more than 15 minutes and lifted some of those bigger boxes like they were nothing. The main guy was pretty funny, and explained in complete detail how to check off the packing slip as they brought stuff in to make sure it was all there. I didn't have the heart to tell him I check in vendors at work on a daily basis, so I know how to make sure everything is there. He also noticed my Cubs picture on the wall and Cubs pillow on the couch. He then hollered out to the other two not to unload anything else and pack it back up in the truck because they weren't allowed to deliver to Cubs fans.

All the boxes of cabinets have now taken up a majority of my living room and completely covered my awesome napping couch. I have to climb over the boxes if I want to take a nap but won't be able to watch the TV as I fall asleep. It's not supposed to be a challenge to lay on the couch and take a nap.

Shortly after the cabinets were delivered, the two installers from Lowes came by to look them over and make sure first of all that everything was there, and secondly that it was undamaged and in good condition. I have to say, I was impressed by how thorough they were. They went one box at a time, checked the label on the box, made sure what was marked was actually in there and that it was the right thing that needed to be ordered. Then they opened the box, took the cabinets out and looked it over to make sure there were no damages, scratches, or anything.

I watched and talked with them while they were doing all this and was amazed at how picky they were over some of the stuff. Not that I minded. They looked over every inch of each piece, checked all the hinges of the doors and looked inside every drawer. They found one shelf that had a scratch on the bottom side of it, and while I'm thinking oh well, it's on the bottom who's going to see it, they said they would have a new one sent to replace it. I have to admit I was impressed with how detailed they were. They looked like a couple of CSI detectives looking over a crime scene.

Oh, and all that talk about "curiosity killed the cat," and how cats are always curious and getting their nose into things to see what's going on? Yeah, not so much the case with my cat. The whole time they were delivering and the entire time the Lowes guys were checking out the cabinets, this is where my cat was and what he did throughout the entire process. Never moved an inch.

The installer, Andy, said he would contact me tomorrow about a time frame on when they could start on the tear out and get the appliances delivered. He also wanted to check with the electrician to coordinate schedules with him as well.

That also means I have work to do. Because the house is so old, they can't take out the flooring because of possible asbestos. Because I put down cheap vinyl floor tiles a couple years ago, I know that's not an issue (or at least it's not now, it may have been a couple years ago). Even still, they can't tear it out without jumping through a bunch of hoops, which means more money, so I have to tear it out myself. Pulling the tiles out is easy. Removing the sticky adhesive on the floor underneath is a different story.

Either way, the project has now officially started.

Delivery Date is Scheduled

How fast things move once you make your payments. The cabinet order was processed and made within a couple days of me making my payment and verifying the order. The company that made them had a cool website that let me followed the progress.

The request was received and confirmed on June 16. It was scheduled for production on June 29, and two days later, on July 1, the cabinets were shipped. They were received by the delivery agent on July 2, who then called me and set up a time for delivery on Tuesday, July 6. Of course, the delivery "window" is like the cable company, where they give you a four-hour time frame when the delivery will be made. Just my luck, my window is 10am to 2pm, right in the middle of the day. But at least the cabinets are on their way. That makes the whole thing seem even more exciting and me more anxious.

The next step is to get a hold of the contractor. Lowe's wants the guy doing the work to come and see the delivery and make sure that all the pieces arrived and that they arrived undamaged. In the meantime, I had to clean up the side room of my house, the one next to the kitchen, where they will store the cabinets until they are installed. This led to me cleaning out the kitchen as well. I packed away all the stuff I wouldn't be using in the next couple of weeks. I guess you could say the anticipation is creeping in and I'm doing whatever I can to have things prepared ahead of time.

I even confirmed with a friend of mine that he still wanted my old cabinets, and which ones, either part of them or all of them. I wanted to make sure I knew so when the tear out process began I could make sure to keep them.

The other interesting thing that happened last week in regards to my order was with the payment to Lowe's. For whatever reason, I sat down one day and looked through all the receipts and payments for the project. In looking at the receipt, which was at least 6-feet long, I noticed something odd. The receipt was broken down by category, with all the appliances in one group; the cabinets in one group; the countertop in one group; the installation of the cabinets in one group; and a last group for countertop installation. As I looked at it, I noticed that the group with the appliance information was on there in two places, once near the top and once near the bottom of the receipt. I studied it more and the only conclusion I came to was that I paid twice for the following items: stove, microwave, dishwasher, kitchen faucet, lighting, ceramic floor tiles and grout for the tiles. The total amount was $1775. And I paid it twice.

Needless to say I made a quick call to Lowe's to figure this out. The designer that I had been working with, Sharon, listened to my explanation and then said she would look into it and call me back. She called later that day and was just as confused as I was. The work order information was all correct, but the receipt from my payment definitely showed I paid twice for that group of stuff. She promised to take care of it and did, within a day or two actually. My account was then credited with the $1775 that I overpaid, making me a much happier camper. That lowered the balance by about half that I had put onto my credit card. Now if I could just convince them that I paid for all the cabinets twice I'd really owe a lot less. Somehow I doubt that'll happen.

But the anticipation level is definitely rising now that the first big step is here, with the cabinets set for delivery in just a couple days. Pictures of the new cabinets will be posted once they arrive.

There's No Turning Back Now

Well, it's official. Everything has been ordered and paid for. Well, paid for in a financed by loan and credit card kind of way.

I went into Lowes last week and sat down and made all the final ordering of everything for the kitchen. The cabinets were the easy part, as they had already been measured and selected. Same with the countertop. The week before, I had gone in and looked at stoves, microwaves, etc., so I had an idea of what I wanted in terms of those items.

I mete with the kitchen designer at Lowes, whose name is Sharon, and would be highly recommended for anyone in the area looking at the same thing. She has been great throughout the entire process. Very nice and friendly (of course she is, she's probably getting commission), and very helpful in a non-pushy, stress free kind of way. She was impressed at how easy the final stage of ordering was since I had already made up my mind on what I wanted.

The two of us walked around and I showed her which oven and microwave I wanted. Then I decided to get a new dishwasher too. Turns out, if you buy a new dishwasher and the old one gets recycled, you get a $125 refund from the state of Missouri. That pretty much covers half the cost of the dishwasher, and they were going to have to pull out the old one anyway, so why not? Also picked out the type of kitchen sink and the kitchen faucet I wanted. Then came the flooring. I had an idea on two kinds, and after holding the cabinet up to them for color comparison, it was an easy selection.

Then came the fun part. I had to fill out an application for what they call a Lowes Project Card, which is basically a loan through Lowes. They approved me for up to $10,000, which I used quickly for the cost of the whole entire project. Then came the credit card, as I still owed about $3,800. (More on the cost thing in a future post). Can you say ouch?

All in all, the whole thing is underway. It's over. Not more extra money for me. And no more living debt free (not counting the house and the car). But now everything is over. No turning back now as the wheels are in motion. Now comes the fun part. Waiting for it to all get here before they can get started.

Everything Measures Up

So I've finally made that next step in the kitchen remodeling project. The contractor come out and do the official measurements for the project.

There were three contractors that came out and measured the kitchen and discussed what was going to be done. Andy was the guy in charge, Barry was the electrician, and I don't remember the name of the third guy, but he didn't talk much and I think was there to observe. It's safe to say there was a lot of talk with fancy construction words that went right over my head. I had to several questions to try and figured out what they were talking about but it all made sense in the end.

In talking with each other, they did make a lot of comments about how "easy" certain things would be, and how "that'll work out perfect" on other areas. The whole time I was thinking, yeah, that means once they get into it, they'll find it's not so easy and doesn't work out so perfect and problems will arise that will cost extra money. I know how that works. Especially in this house, where it seems nothing seems to fit right or go together right whenever there has been work done to the house. I did found out a few extra bits of information that could be beneficial.

For example, if I purchase all the products for the job at once, along with the labor for installation, there is no tax on the actual products. So the new stove, microwave, kitchen sink, that are part of the project, do not have tax on them because of the installation. Andy even suggested that I could get a new dishwasher since they'll have to pull the old one out anyway, and there would be no tax on it. Any new lighting I get - which will happen - would also have no tax. Whatever paint I decided to go with I could get now and have no tax on that either. That might be a stretch on the paint though, as I might go with waiting until everything is installed so I know what color to go with, but we'll see.

Now I have to wait for Andy to turn all the information in, then it's off to Lowes to meet with the designer again and hammer out the final details. The new lights are something I had not thought about but will have to go and pick out as well. And then the debate on a new dishwasher. Depending on the price, I may go for it - why not? When you're spending close to $10,000, what's another couple hundred, right?

So now the project is officially on the track to getting done. There's no turning back now.

Never Trust a Salesperson

With deep apologies to my father and the profession he worked in while raising our family, never trust a salesperson. They'll tell you anything to make the sell.

I've been procrastinating on the kitchen project because I wasn't entirely confident on the choice of countertops. The salesperson at Lowe's basically was selling me a 'special deal' for one that I really didn't like other than the cheap price. I had already made up my mind that if I went with Lowe's I would have to rethink the choice of countertops. The salesperson at Home Depot was friendly as well, and her suggestion on countertops was a lot better, but I still did not feel entirely comfortable with the decision.

Today, a friend of mine went with me to Home Depot and took one look at the countertop the salesperson had suggested and quickly said it was hideous, which confirmed my thought. I just figured maybe I was missing something on the decoration thing and just wasn't getting why this countertop looked so good. She basically confirmed my first thought that it was not that nice. We then spent time looking over other options, one of which she liked a lot but I quickly vetoed because I didn't like it. After more searching, I finally found one that I liked. The problem when looking over things at home was the fact that Home Depot was a lot more expensive than Lowe's.

So now, I have to convince my friend to go with me to Lowe's and look at the stuff all over again. Eventually I will get this project done.

First Big Step is Done

Well, I've gotten past the first big hurdle in the kitchen remodeling. I have now been to both Lowes and Home Depot and talked to someone about my remodeling project.

The first stop was at Lowes. I had all my kitchen measurements and the lady there helped plug them all into the computer and showed me the various choices. Picked out the type of cabinets and type of countertops and discussed all the options available. I went through and told her all the details I wanted to include and requests I had. When it was all said and done, the price was actually less than I anticipated.

The cabinets were $3250, plus another $2000 for installation. The countertop was some kind of special they had on a certain brand that was cheaper, and it was $1200 including installation. Part of this project would include a new sink, which would add another $215 or so, plus another $250 to install it. There would also be a $300 plumbing charge to fix all the pipe junk with the sink. That totals out to be $7215 for that part of the project. A new stove would be around $400 and the microwave $300 - so there's another $700, which takes the total to right about $8000. Then there is the flooring, which would be roughly ?????? As with any projects like this, there are bound to be extra incidentals that you don't anticipate, and things not yet included (hardware for the cabinets), so I figure on $9000 total to go through Lowes. That doesn't include an option to downgrade on the type of cabinets and possibly save a little more money.

The next stop was Home Depot. They do things a little different, in that they do a more general bid with less details, but still a chance to get a good idea on prices. I went with the less expensive option on cabinets from the start - without sacrificing on the look of the cabinets. The "quick quote" as they call it there, was for $2400 for the cabinets - but oddly enough they couldn't give me a very definitive answer on install price. Or maybe that $2400 included installation? There's question number one to call and double check on tomorrow. It's amazing how many details like that you seem to forget, whether its a minor one or a major one - like knowing if the price includes installation. Kind of a big deal. I thought she said another $2000 for installation as a rough estimate. For countertops, it was $2280 for the granite countertop with installation - that part of the installation pricing I do remember. That brings the big portion of the project total to $4280. Add in the cost for the stove and microwave, another $700, similar to Lowe's. The flooring was not very detailed as far as costs, with a rough quote being $1000-$1500, so I'll figure on the $1500 to aim on the high end. The sink, faucet, that sort of thing would cost roughly $500. All of those totals add up to $7380 - assuming the cabinet installation is included in the $2400. Pretty big detail I think. Definitely calling tomorrow to double check. Again, accounting for extra stuff (plumbing stuff for new sink, hardware, etc), another $1000 would be roughly $8500.

Really, the costs were pretty close to being the same. One of the big differences was the countertops. Lowe's had a special deal on their granite countertop, which made the cost of that a lot cheaper than Home Depot. But, I also liked the one at home depot better. That special deal at Lowe's was only on that one color/type, and it was a little too dark for me. The cabinets at Home Depot were cheaper too, but I actually liked them a little better than the ones at Lowe's as well.

Initial thoughts were to side with Home Depot. I liked the cabinets better and definitely liked the countertop better. And pricing was pretty comparable, so no real big difference there.

I now have an idea of how much it would cost for this project, which was right in line with what I was thinking. I had in my mind $10,000, so it hits within the price range I had in mind. The goal now will be making sure those little incidental costs don't get out of control, and where I can cut corners. Not in terms of quality, but in saving price. Do I know someone who can help with the plumbing install after getting the new sink? Do I know someone who can install the ceramic tile flooring and save a ton in costs there? All questions I need to check on to try and save a little money. And of course doing this without taking advantage of friends willing to help.

So there you have it. That step of the project is now done. Now the bigger part - making the final decision (insert dark, tense music theme here). This involves having someone other than the sales person tell me that the colors match, because anyone who knows me knows that I cannot match colors on anything. Just ask my sister.

Further delays....

So today was the day that I had officially set up an appointment to go to Home Depot and sit down and talk details on the kitchen remodeling. I had looked over the catalogs, done all the necessary measuring, had my questions listed out - I was ready to go. Time to get the ball rolling and stop procrastinating on this project.

The appointment was set for 12:30 pm, sort of the middle of the day. After leaving the house at 11am to run a few errands, I noticed how nice a day it was. It was already right around 60-degrees outside, there was a very light breeze, the sun was shining and it was just beautiful. Then I got the golf itch. Sent a text message to a friend of mine, got a quick reply, and in the next five minutes I made two phone calls. The first was to a local golf course to book an early afternoon tee time. The second was to Home Depot to cancel my appointment.

Procrastination strikes again.

Financial Reality Sets In

After looking into the whole kitchen remodeling project, the one thing that seems to keep poking up its ugly head is the financial costs.

Obviously I knew going into this it would be a large total for the project. My biggest concern was how am I going to pay/finance this project. Do I finance through Lowes/Home Depot, or whoever I end up deciding to have to the project. Do I finance through my bank. Do I go rob a bank or sell some heroin to finance it.

The next area I concentrated on was trying to cut the costs as much as possible without taking away from the end result. I started looking at the cabinets to begin with and trying to find one that I liked that compared that to some cheaper styles to see if I could save some money that way.

One area I'm hoping to save costs is in the tearing out the old stuff. As mentioned in a previous post, I can tear stuff out, I just can't put it back together again. So one of my first questions to whoever I have do this project will be if I can save some labor costs by tearing stuff out on my own. Granted I won't go crazy tearing stuff out - I won't touch anything related to plumbing or electrical - but I can take a drill and a crowbar and tear some stuff out. Get rid of some aggression. The first thing that comes to mind in doing that is how do I get rid of the stuff I tear out? Fortunately, I have a friend who recently bought a new house and volunteered to take my old cabinets to use in his basement.

So hopefully, some of those steps will help eliminate at least a little bit of the cost. Or so I'm hoping. The hardest part is getting past how much this is going to cost in the short term, and focus on how much nicer the kitchen will look and how it will pay off in the long run. Easier said than done though. I do know that the grand illusions I originally had have tended to change just a little bit.

Procrastination Rules

I've quickly discovered the easiest part of doing a large, remodeling project with the kitchen: procrastination.

Since I know next to nothing about this area, it makes it easier to put things off and not get started. I finally did get going a week or so ago with some assistance. I met a friend for lunch one day and afterwards went to Home Depot to talk to look into the whole process. After looking around for a few minutes, I was finally approached and talked to one of the associates who was very nice and gave me information on how everything works. It was a bit comforting to finally know what steps to take in getting an estimate and everything. It was sort of a whirlwind of information that I didn't really comprehend until later. There were numerous books of information and examples of what to do and where to begin. It was somewhat overwhelming. But at least it was the first step.

Once I got home, I had a chance to sit down and look over all the information in the booklets. And I got overwhelmed all over again. So... much... information... can't compute.

After a day or two of letting everything sink in, I started to get into it and a little excited about it. I did all the measuring of the kitchen and wrote it all down on the charts they gave me. I got it all diagrammed out and started getting ideas for what I wanted. The more I started looking at the brochures, the more I started to dislike my current kitchen and wanted to remake it right now. The cabinets are way too dark, and they are sagging down. Plus they're just plain. Blah. Then there is 'Ol Yeller, the beat up stove. The sink that doesn't have the two sides. The counter top that has a 1970s style to it. It just needs redone. I was even motivated enough to go to Lowes the next day and got all the information and brochures from their store so I could check into getting an estimate from them as well.

Of course, then I started doing the math on the information from both stores and realized I couldn't go all out like I initially hoped. After some basic math and rough estimates on my own, I figured it was going to take somewhere close to $10,000 to redo the whole kitchen. Ouch.

Needless to say, that realization, even though I knew it was going to be that much, was still a shock to the system. That's a lot of money for such a little room. Not to mention all the things that it could lead to. Redoing the cabinets, counter top, new stove. That could lead to a new dishwasher as well, and a new refrigerator, and so on and so on. So I immediately began thinking of how to save money while doing this project. I figured I could take the stuff out on my own - right? I can tear stuff down, just don't ask me to put it back together again.

But alas, the money factor and the overwhelming idea of how big a project this could turn into and what a pain it will be to go through it all. This naturally led to some more procrastination as I put everything off even more. It just became easier to put it all on the back burner (no pun intended).

The Reason for the Remake

So I've decided that its time to redo my kitchen. I'm not talking about a few little fix ups either. We're talking about tearing everything out, gutting the room and starting from scratch. Now, you might ask, what would lead me to make such a big decision? Take a look at the culprit - my stove. Or as I like to call it, Old Yeller.

Not a very pretty thing is it. The ugly stain-yellow color. The burnt out inside. The aluminum foil drip pans for the burners. The broken clock/timer. The push button controls for the burners that have four settings - off, low, medium and high. The fact that the stove cooking time varies with each use. The list goes on and on.

The stove came with the house when I bought it in November 2002, and I think it was probably here when the house was built 40-plus years ago. Needless to say, it's time for Old Yeller to die. Thus created step one of the problem.

As it turns out, Old Yeller is not a standard sized stove. It's 27" wide, whereas most standard stoves are 30" wide. See the problem? To buy a new stove that is considered a 'space saver' at just 27" wide would cost twice as much as normal stove and looks likes a plastic, cheap, toy stove.

In order to get a new, standard size, normal stove, would involve cutting some of the kitchen counter and replacing the cabinets on one side of the stove. Not to mention the fact that the vent hood thingy above the stove is 42" long. Which begs the question - why have a shorter than normal stove with the longest possible sized vent thingy? So removing that would involve new cabinets above the stove area since I would like to get a stove with a microwave above it, and I don't know many microwaves that are 42" long.

Of course, it's impossible to replace just one section of cabinets. I would have to replace them all. And if the cabinets get replaced, the counter top will have to be replaced to match it. And if the counter top is replaced, I should go ahead and get a new sink so I have a sink with the two sides, not just a sink with the one tub thingy. Oh, and a new sink might as well include a new faucet as well. Why not? While I'm at it, if all the cabinets and the stove are going to be taken out to be replaced, I should go ahead and replace the floor while all that stuff is already out.

So yeah, that's the dilemma I've run into. And during the course of this wonderful (stressful), fun (stressful), creative (I have no clue what I'm doing), and financially rewarding (hello ramen noodles) experience, I plan on typing about it on here to keep everyone updated on the experience and as a way to pass along my joy (vent my stress/frustrations) to others with my kitchen remodeling.

And all this is possible because just like in the movie, it's time for Old Yeller to die.