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Miami is very similar. Finding someone who will show up, let alone do a good job, is a chore. It took me 4 companies, with deposits and refunds each time, to find a company that would replace our front door. The ones that finally did it did such a bad job that our painter/handyman had to basically redo the installation.Quote:
Originally Posted by j44ke
Beautiful.Quote:
Originally Posted by NYCfixie
We're cultivating JP contractors now. We know we will be queuing up a lot of work over the next few years, and want reliable, high-quality contractors and craftspeople.
Too Tall's List.com
Home Depot kitchen installed by previous owners:
Ceramic floor tile was installed over the linoleum which was over another layer of linoleum which was over the original slat wood floor - Can you say cracked tiles that also squeak?
Cabinets with white mylar crap over press-board - Can you say white finish peels off and cabinets fall apart when a drop of water touches them? How about that none of the line up so none of the drawers or doors work properly and the only way to fix it would to rip them all out and install correctly
How about romex electrical lines that run behind the sink, in front of the wall, and over drawers on the right (not seen in picture) rather than installed behind the walls before the cabinets were installed?
Where does the stove exhaust vent you ask? To the outside? How silly of you to think that. Of course it would vent into the cabinet above the microwave so it gets filled with crap and smells.
Was the original plaster/wallboard removed and cement board installed first and then the back-splash tiles installed over it? Of course not, why do that when you can add a second layer of regular wallboard and use the wrong mastic so the tiles will only stay on for a few years.
How about the electrical outlets? Are the electrical boxes properly secured to studs when they were updated? Of course not. When you double up wall board you should get an electrical box extender to meet code but it is so much cheaper and easier to just secure the cover plate to the tile with tile grout that cracks over time so the boxes fall out.
All Home Depot contracted services. (aka lipstick on a pig, peel back the cover and you always see the terrible/unsafe/shoddy/crappy work)
If we stayed in the house a few more years we would have gut renovated the kitchen. We just fixed and made legal/safe the really bad stuff as a temporary fix.
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Originally Posted by NYCfixie
Quote:
Originally Posted by davids
When working with older homes IMHO it is important to be respectful of their age and the deign themes that are period correct.
Subway tile that is hand cut that gives more depth and originality (less than 5% extra)
Black and white floor tiles with medium grey grout that keeps it period correct (no extra cost)
Taking six months to find the inset ceramic toilet paper holder that nobody makes anymore, is a pain to install even for an experienced craftsperson, and does not fit current million sheet toilet paper rolls that are all stores stock these days but you know is correct for the space. (no cost but can really delay a job).
Good luck with all the work and enjoy the new JP home.
Got our stove installed yesterday. The blower under the old stove did in fact go through the floor to some ductwork, so I covered the hole, and had to shim up for the supports for the new stove. The old one was a drop in unit and the tile was put in around it. Lastly, I had to trim 1/4" off the countertop (which is a laminate thankfully). The wife was pretty stoked about the extra fine layer of sawdust covering the entire kitchen.
Bit it's in!
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Now I just need to borrow the neighbors hand trucks and we'll get the refrigerator in today, hopefully.
After report!
The kitchen is outtasight. We have been enjoying it. The massive island was a good call.
Wanted to say something positive about the KitchenAid dual fuel range we decided on. Get it. If you are at all torn or swayed by some of the other "PRO" ranges your worries are over. This thing rocks. Easy to clean and super easy to operate.
Here are the particulars:
Kitchenaid 6-Inch 6-Burner Dual Fuel Freestanding Range, Commercial-Style
(KDRS467VSS Stainless Steel)
I hope I'm not the only one on this forum who's such a Philistine:
1) I can't even remember the last time I cooked something using my stove-top. I'd say it's been at least five years.
2) In the twelve or so years I've owned my house the oven has probably been used half a dozen times, and most of those were when my sister was visiting.
3) Microwaves RULE !!!
It's not your fault....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mabouya
I ran across this little story about Julia Child's kitchen, and I thought some of you might enjoy it: This is Julia Child’s kitchen. See why it’s perfect. - Vox
Spoiler: It's all business.
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The polaroids of where everything goes are awesome.
Why for the love of god do the granite places not have prices on the slabs? Talk about a time waster.
-Joe
It is a hustle. You pick the slab and your installer decides what it's worth. Truly.
Why would you want anything other than absolute black ;) ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by xjoex
Yep, a hustle. For our counters, we went through our cabinet guy which cut out much of the BS. Any time we dealt with someone who wasn't aware of us and what we were doing, it was painful. Same with tile. They are accustomed to hiding behind the person quoting a job and fear exposing their margins.
Keep in mind with granite/marble at least, you're fabricator is buying the whole slab even if you're only using 2/3 of it and the granite places very likely have different pricing depending on who the buyer/fabricator is. If you knew it cost the fabricator $2k while you're paying $5k for the installed product, that's not very helpful or satisfying, is it? We did honed jet mist granite on the sides and a carrera marble island. When we were shopping around the various granite warehouses, our fabricator agreed to set a price and let us find the slabs that met our aesthetic needs. He may or may not have sacrificed some margin as a result, but we were happy and he's received a bunch of referrals as a result.Quote:
Originally Posted by winmonster
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The new kitchen in Casa MrsTMB does not have a microwave. Perfect.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mabouya
Microwave shaming. Hmmm.
Not using microwave technology reminds of the father of a college buddy of mine who in the early 1980's, after I explained to him the power of computer networks, said that they didn't provide him with anything he couldn't get with a phone call or two.
Julia Child on cooking tools:
Julia Child Loved Science but Would Hate Today’s Food | Smart News | SmithsonianQuote:
In The Way to Cook, Child wrote, “I wouldn’t be without my microwave oven, but I rarely use it for real cooking. I like having complete control over my food — I want to turn it, smell it, poke it, stir it about and hover over its every state. …” Child used her microwave for defrosting and melting chocolate and butter and even baking potatoes (she loved baked potatoes with lots of butter).
(I'll be the first to admit that I don't do "real" cooking, but much of what I eat is fresh or frozen veggies, which don't require cooking anyway.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
No,
Just that when we came to re-do the kitchen and actually started looking at what we do it became apparent that neither one of us ever really used the microwave unless it was to steam some veggies at the last minute sort of thing.
Based on how much room it takes up and how much we do not use it, we just made the decision that it wouldn't affect either of our lives if we didn't have one. So we don't.
You know I'm teasing?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TMB
The kitchen is now pretty much done. Finishing details are in my lap and they are taking longer than I would like.
The baseboards are the big thing right now. When we built the house we had custom cut oak baseboards throughout. The "designer" and contractor suggested we could "get rid of those" and put in flat white paint grade baseboards.
MrsTMB restrained me from throwing them out of the house.
She is away for another 6 weeks or so and I am working my way through the baseboards, sanding, stripping, staining and clear coating so they can go back down.
It is work I enjoy doing, but is is time consuming and sadly work gets in the way from time to time.
My two favourite things in the kitchen are the really deep sink, and the refrigerator drawer that keeps beverages handy and cold.
Maybe I can help? Wolf dual fuel has been hassle free for me save for a slight hot spot in the back of the oven. Love the small burner, simmer control and ease of cleaning. Wearing well over past 4 years. We'll take it to the next place if we move.
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Goddammit, architects are expensive.
I guess we'll do this another way.
Depending on how drastic your renovation will be, they may not be necessary. We knew what we wanted for our kitchen and were able to design it ourselves, with the help of some pinterest boards, for our fairly talented contractor. We missed a few things that an architect probably would have caught, like I would have liked an extra foot of counter length and the cabinet nobs can bang into opposing doors if we don't keep a bumper in place. But we've managed to work around those things.Quote:
Originally Posted by davids
For our garage addition, we need the architect because we are looking for a variance from the town and his formal drawings and incorporation of the land survey measurements will mean the difference between a one car and a two car. It would probably be more if the design was more complex, but he's only charging us $2500 for the work including filing the variance and being present with us for the hearing.
Just want to say this was an awesome read (and look with the photos) - congrats to all of you with new kitchens. Loved following TooTall's process and see it progress over the months. I just bought a house with a fabulous kitchen already done, which was my preferred way to go! But being able to make all those decisions to customize it to a T has such obvious appeal to all the custom bike build gang - I get that! Very very nice!!
So some shots of the kitchen in the new house - I've never had an idalnd before, but I'm thinking it's going to be really handy for prepping space when there are more than one of us cooking.
Attachment 93179Attachment 93180
Love the light in your kitchen.
A big chunk of the light comes from two skylights that are on either side of the visible chimney wall, which extends up past the second floor to the roof. That, and the bay window in front of the sink and french doors, all combine to shower the room in sunlight! It is one of my favorite features of the house!
We're starting to think things.
Attachment 93195
I'm following this development davids; post up pics as it begins to be installed!
Don't put the sink in a 90 degree corner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by davids
You could put the dishwasher next to the oven, then slide your sink plan north to give a 12" maneuvering buffer between the edge of sink and peninsula. You could also narrow up the peninsula to 16" or 18" deep to give better maneuvering at the sink. Moving the DW would be my first choice to avoid losing countertop space.Quote:
Originally Posted by roseyscot
David, do you have any other place you can setup a dinner table when it is called for? We have a real nice folding hardwood dinner table that folds to 8" deep and extends to 12' long. We store it against a wall.
What I'm thinking is reflect the counter (the one with the sink) to the same wall and extend it. Make it two levels with the end part being where three people could sit and eat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BSUdude
DW moved to the peninsula, sink will come in a bit in from the corner.Quote:
Originally Posted by roseyscot
We talked about a banquette, and are moving towards having a table & chairs over there. We like the flexibility of squeezing in (literally) up to 5-6 people for hanging out/cocktails/waffles on lazy mornings or while the hostess is working her magic at the stove. We'd lose that with a permanent counter/tabletop.Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
Here's the latest drawing from our designer. Still a ways to go (shelving next to fridge is way too deep; window is all wrong; need good access to the under-counter storage at the window end of the penisula; etc.), but it's aiming in the right direction:
Attachment 93565
It's getting that cockpit-like workspace feeling.
Almost sussed:
Attachment 94086
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We're even on budget!
We had a new rock facade put in, our contractor brings his amazing dog for assistance.
Attachment 94691
New counters and moved some switches off the wall, the thermostat was right next to the oven, absolutely dumb placement. All moved. Some paint and we'll be done.
Attachment 94692
-Joe
We have a design; we've picked our cabinets, countertops, backsplash, paint and appliances.
Work is due to commence after Labor Day.
Attachment 94846
Backsplash project.
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Still have to caulk between the bottom row of tile and the countertop.
SPP
Nice work, and you have excellent taste in drip coffee makers.
Pete...quick tip. Take some very slightly damp burlap and buff out your tile. Let dry, and then buff out again with a dry piece of burlap. Whether the tile is glazed or not, the burlap will help to erase the final haze left by the grout application.