Argh! Unscheduled kitchen reno!

[SideShowCecil]

While cleaning up after William’s breakfast Friday morning I noticed the cupboard under the sink (where the kitchen garbage can lives) smelled less like garbage and more musty and mouldy.

I got my flashlight and crawled into the cupboard expecting to find a leaky pipe. Our house is nearly forty years old and the occasional leak is not uncommon. What I found was bigger.

The faucet on the kitchen sink had begun to leak slowly from underneath every time the water was turned on. Rather than dripping down into the cabinet the water was getting absorbed by the particle-board substrate of the countertop. This must have been going on for a long time. The underside of the countertop was completely soaked and now the mould was beginning to take hold.

So Friday evening was spent ripping out the sink, the counters and of course the ceramic tile on the wall had to go as well. Today we’re heading out to look at new tiles, laminate and fixtures. In the meantime we have to get on without counters or a kitchen sink.

We really can’t afford to be replacing the counters right now, and I guess the exterior painting will have to be put on hold for a week or two but what else can you do?

[jeffus]

Hey, I had one of those unscheduled renos too! (Not quite as extensive though).

I was out on my once yearly golf outing this year and when I got home, the hood over the stove had fallen. It literally just fell out of its place and onto the stove. (Or maybe, just maybe, the wife ripped it out of the wall in protest?! - nah, couldn't be). Her story was that she was talking to her mom on the phone and poof! it just fell (Right, sure it did :wink: ).

Knowing this place, I'd tend to believe the "it just fell" story. Anyhoo, we go for a new one the next day. They come in 2 sizes - 30" and 36". The 30" models sell for 30-50 bucks. Not too bad. We have a 36" model - sells for $150 bucks - of course! And, of course, there's only 2 in the whole store. We have a huge selection of white or tan. Guess we were lucky they had a white one.

So normally, 4 screws and a quick wiring connection and done. Nope! Got to make special parts to make it fit. And then there's the joy of working upside-down. Fun, fun, fun! Good thing I have an awesome set of tools!

-Good Luck on the renovation, Cecil!

[tt3]

I read this and promptly looked at our kitchen faucet with a bit of dread...
Good luck man!

[Weston]

Could be worse... neighbor down the street had clothes washing machine hose bust while they were on vacation. Flooded the entire house for 3 days while they were away and did 20000 dollars worth of damage. They had to replace all of the flooring. It's amazing that a 10 dollar part can do so much damage when it fails

Mike

[Indy]

Worst thing I ever saw when doing water damage restoration happened to a family while they were on vacation. We had a cold snap where the temps were sub-zero, and they hadn't set their heat pump to emergency heat before they left. The pump couldn't keep up and eventually the pipes burst upstairs. A few days went by before the neighbor noticed the sheet of ice that had built up outside the front door. Fortunately they had a key and were able to get into the house. By then, all the carpets were ruined, the ceiling had dropped, and the walls had started absorbing the water that had collected around the baseboards. We ended up having to replace most of the drywall, all the carpet, and even some of the sub-flooring.

Fortunately, the neighbor knew who their insurance agent was, and he got us in their before they came back. The neighbor was kind enough to wait until the last day of the vacation to let them know what happened. The family was greatful because they were on a trip of a lifetime (Bahamas or something), and it didn't ruin the trip. They also said it was a huge comfort to know it was already being taken care of.

[Weston]

WOW!

Now that's a nice neighbor!

[Don-Dad]

Like a good neighbor, state farm is there. hahaha!

[SideShowCecil]

So here’s how it goes so far.

I’ll be building our new countertops myself; it’ll take a bit longer but will save us about 50% of the cost of post-formed counters. The arborite we ordered will be delivered Thursday so we should have most of our kitchen back in service by the end of the weekend.

Finding the ceramic tile is proving a little more difficult. We spent most of the weekend looking and haven’t found what we’re looking for.

Since the ceramic tile has been pulled off I’ll use the opportunity to cut up the walls and run wire for some halogen under cabinet lighting. This kitchen could seriously use more lighting.

[jeffus]

Could be worse... neighbor down the street had clothes washing machine hose bust while they were on vacation.

I feel sorry for that family but I think that's on the standard list of things to turn off when leaving for an extended period of time.

Another great alternative is popping for the stainless steel braided hose. A little extra but well worth the money....

[SideShowCecil]

I feel sorry for that family but I think that's on the standard list of things to turn off when leaving for an extended period of time.

We always get a house sitter when we’re away more than a few days. They mind the house, keep up the outside maintenance, water the plants and even pick up a few groceries for us the day before we arrive home.

[SideShowCecil]

Now I’m just pissed!

My arborite order got cocked up, it’s someplace but nobody can find it. Since this is a long weekend I won’t be able to get it until Tuesday or Wednesday; that’s one more week with no kitchen counters or sink.

[jeffus]

Got to get those raw materials on-site and ready to go!

Sorry things didn't work out! Good luck with the project!

[SideShowCecil]

I read in Saturday’s paper that over forty thousand homes in the Calgary region suffered water damage from the heavy rains in June.

Contractors are overwhelmed by the demand. Homeowners are waiting weeks just for estimates and face waits of six months before their work can be started. It’s still nearly impossible to buy a wet-vac anywhere in the city.

This situation may have contributed my disappearing materials order.

Anyhow we’re finally getting some summer weather. We’re taking it easy this long weekend, just relaxing in the backyard. It’s been a while since we’ve done that. :D :D

[jeffus]

Hey, an idea for an on-line business! You send me your shopping list and a blank signed check, I'll go to Home Depot, buy it, and ship it to you. :wink:

[SideShowCecil]

Sounds like a good plan. :wink:

I think after the exchange rate, the GST, the import tax and the duty applied at the Canadian border it’d be cheaper to buy a second house and use it for parts. :shock: :D

[jeffus]

My next door neighbor looked into buying this place before we bought it. His conclusion: Burn it to the ground! After 3 years of hard labor, it's actually pretty nice.

I kinda see where he was coming from, burn it down, 3 months later the insurance company builds you a brand new one. :-k

I might be giving the insurance people too much credit, but I think they might see right through that option....Especially, if they saw the 'before' pictures.

[SideShowCecil]

We finally got our arborite Friday. It’s a long story; many phone calls and a lazy order clerk I’m sure is lying through his teeth to cover his butt. :axe:

I spent the weekend building up the new counters; Saturday rough cutting and fitting, Sunday gluing and finishing. I finished hooking up the sink at 9pm Sunday night.

The counters came out great, better than I expected. I still have a tonne of work to do; staining, tile, electrical and paint, but now we have counters and running water in the kitchen. Sixteen days with no kitchen sink is too long.
\:D/

[Weston]

Good job!

[SideShowCecil]

The end is in sight. Still some tile to do, more lights to install and paint.

By far the most interesting part was running the electrical across the kitchen for under cabinet lighting on either side of the stove. I also put a proper dedicated receptacle in the cupboard for the microwave/range fan, the less said about how that was wired previously the better.[-X

A few ‘might-as-well’ jobs have crept in too. The range fan currently vents to the side of the house, I’ll be moving that to the roof. I’ll be scraping the stipple finish off the ceiling to make it smooth and replacing the existing lighting.

I put some photos here (http://www.kingsley.ca/Photos/PhotoGallery.asp?folder=KitchenWork)

[Jackson's Dad]

Nice work! I like the look of the tile backsplash.

[jeffus]

Very Nice!

Hey, who was watching the kid while this was going on? (Kidding!)

Great Job.

[SideShowCecil]

Finished for now!

After tying up a few loose ends on the weekend the kitchen work is finished for now. In the spring I’ll be putting in a new hardwood floor, new millwork (to match the new work in the rest of the house) and re-finishing the basement stairs.

The final detail was installing some shelving in the corner to accommodate my (early) Christmas present. My wife bought me a small LCD TV. Since I’m in the kitchen all day I may as well be as comfortable as possible.

More photos (http://www.kingsley.ca/Admin/Admin-ViewPhotos.asp?folder=Kitchen_Finished)

http://www.kingsley.ca/ImageGalleries/Kitchen_Finished/kf1.jpg

[jeffus]

Nice Job! Looks awesome!

[Weston]

Wow! Nice work!