Improvements, all the time

a shelf for books and looking at

2011-03-06T19:57:00.000-05:00

I made this.

New Projects

2011-01-19T23:36:00.000-05:00

Over the past several years I've spent some time working on woodworking projects for my immediate and extended families. I'm proud of all the projects to date, but especially proud to begin working on more than just built-ins. Like my friend Chris of interestingfurniture.com said today on the phone while I was making brownies, "There's just something to making furniture - it's not tied down, it works where ever you put it, it doesn't require anything more from you once you build it." I'm paraphrasing... but that was close to what he said. Since the 5th grade he always has said things (and write) much more elegantly than I!

Here are two projects I'm working on now:

A shelf for my wife's office downtown (only 1/10 of the construction done)

a countertop for a built-in breakfast nook (ready for install):

Years of Perfect Service, the Unfinished Tales

2010-11-08T22:17:00.002-05:00

This island houses our kitchen garbage can in a full size drawer body on the end opposite the side shown in this photo. [ed: and what a nice freakin' blury photo this is of it!] The Trash Island is going on at least three years of service. Might have been four years ago now that I think about it. I designed it to be symmetrical, with panels on either end that masked whichever end was for the trash drawer. Not sure why I wanted it that way, but I thought, since it is on locking casters, it might be easier to move with a bar on either end, though in practice we just steer it by grabbing a hold of the honkin' Boos Block.

For years I never got around to installing the panel opposite the drawer end. I had run out of Maple plywood and had no other projects going that required Maple. Yadda yadda yadda. One thing led to another and well, time flies; you've come to know the story if you DIY.

Fast forward to this past weekend: I had been cutting birch plywood panels for the office remodel so I had plenty of stock on hand. I passed by the island on the way to the attic and paused for a brief estimate. I figured I could do it in less than 15 minutes. It ended up taking no more than 10 minutes for me to cut the panel to size, fit it and install the hardware. The panel isn't sealed or even edgebanded, but I think I'll leave it this way. As a memento of the years of looking at the unfinished end and hoping I could some day hang a towel there.

So hoist a cold one with me: Here's to finishing a job, but not getting overly concerned about how finished it really is. And remember, no home improvement project is EVER over. Once you start building you won't stop until you die. And once you are dead, it's gonna be nice for your kids and those who might miss you to have things around to look at and wonder "why did he do it this way? why did he not edgeband?" I think it's because life itself is in every detail for DIY fabricators; even what look like mistakes are just life getting in the way. To really geek out, my life IS the metadata that exist around these projects you see on this blog. Their imperfection is perfection. Or as close as I want to come...

New Attic Office

2010-09-22T22:05:00.000-04:00

Amid the daily grind, I've made some time in my schedule to make a mess of my attic office. The goal was to get things (everything) in drawers and in cabinets. I'm sick of the clutter of the home office. Well, that sickness won't go away overnight, not until drawers are made and cabinets have doors, but I think this is off to a good start.

Three cabinets have 3 or 4 drawers each, all 18" wide and ranging from 22" to 14" long, 8-10" deep. The rest are shelf units that will have framed doors with glass panels, or will have them and shelves once I'm done. It should all be done next week.

A lot has changed in 5 years, but it has gotten far better

2010-01-23T21:41:00.002-05:00

These shelves immensely improved today, when I finished the radiator cover and fixed some nagging structural issues. In five years that it took to complete, our little daughter has grown into a charming smart lovely first grader; our two year old boy wonder is the leader of his preschool class and impresses all with his manners and humor; our beloved cat died, but we rescued a docile and beloved beagle, Pepper Rose, who we all call Rosie; I was laid off one year ago last Wednesday and nearly couldn't be happier.

Take care and make good things.

Watch the Inauguration here!

2009-01-20T07:44:00.000-05:00

crawl space door

2009-01-08T12:46:00.001-05:00

crawl space door, originally uploaded by Jrome.

I made two crawl space hatches over the weekend. They were made from scraps and only took a couple three hours to complete. They look, um, unique.

holiday play

2009-01-05T11:04:00.000-05:00

Not Christmas without Bing (and a little Bowie)

2008-12-23T11:46:00.001-05:00

Doodle Style on the crate skate Radio Flyer

2008-12-08T12:51:00.001-05:00

Doodle Style on the crate skate Radio Flyer, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Many months ago Nikki painted the living room. I think it shines nicely in this action shot of Jasper showcasing his love of extreme sports and fashion sense across the living room floor.

This was taken before he took his first steps!

V-O-T-E (so we can all keep our homes)

2008-10-30T21:48:00.001-04:00

attic shelves

2008-10-25T20:09:00.001-04:00

attic shelves, originally uploaded by Jrome.

A few weeks ago I added three shelves to the attic. These are built-ins and affixed securely to the floor, each other and the wall, making double duty as a solid, contemporary, balustrade. The two pictured here hold much of our home record collection. The one around the corner holds Nicole's work library and binders she uses.

The tops I'm not decided on yet. If all goes according to plan, they'll be concrete. If not according to plan, they'll be maple block.

The floor will always be sub-flooring with rugs. We're going cheap chic for this work/storage area. It will be nice, but never "OMG I love the floors!" kind of space.

3 years and nearly complete

2008-10-13T07:39:00.001-04:00

Mads, originally uploaded by Jrome.

For the past 3 years we've been living with a kitchen that's not really finished. It hasn't imposed restrictions on us, per se. It hasn't given us the full effect of the renovation however.

We're still no done, but we're closer. This weekend I mounted the panels on the refrigerator and cut the trim (not yet mounted) for it. Each panel and the trim needs to be velvit oiled, but we're close. The look is nearly done. The function always was!

Weekend Work

2008-09-27T23:24:00.002-04:00

Weekend Work, originally uploaded by Jrome.

I mostly finished the TV cabinet today, adding a platform with casters. The locking casters can be set by reaching in the mouseholes. It works fairly well. Could be my best project to date, although I'm a harsh critic of my finish work, or lack thereof.

Mouse Holes

hovercraft

How I spent my Weekend

2008-07-15T01:29:00.001-04:00

July 2008, originally uploaded by Jrome.

I broke down and in a fit of tight money strings, bought pine treads to close in the stairs. I rented a Paslode finish nailer too, which was fun and a little bit stinky.

Nikki undertook the job of carrying the 2x4s to the basement for proper disposal. And yes, I still need to finish the bottom step's riser. I ran out of pine boards...

Merlin Mann on Dwell on Twitter

2008-06-30T23:34:00.001-04:00

merlin.jpg, originally uploaded by Jrome.

He's got it right. When I hit it big and finally sell my big ideas, I'm buying orange wind turbines for my roof, Merlin. How about you?

This Weekend's Work

2008-06-30T22:41:00.001-04:00

IMG_1301.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

I took down the old tv cabinet (see the archives, Nov 2005, I think) and remade the cabinet. The old one was huge, and had a lot of shelves, but it induced cluttering.

The new one is downsized, but fits the flat panel tv Gramma got us for Xmas this year. I'm putting flipper doors on it and it should be pretty nice. This is a work in progress. At some point, if I need to, I can take it all down again. Maybe in another 3 years when Jasper is bigger.

railing

2008-06-21T08:47:00.001-04:00

DSCN3214.JPG, originally uploaded by Gramma Kit.

My mother had new railings added to her porch. I've always liked the three railing look. It matches the house well - an old farm house with a classic red barn and lots of green around it.

My father always regretted the cement porch. It has lasted 35 years, probably more than a wood one would have, but it has needed moderate upkeep. I loved it as a kid on a big wheel. It's a big long straightaway with a 90 degree left hand turn at the end, perfect for Dukes style driving! I wore out the wheels in two big wheels over the course of a summer.

original DIY

2008-06-18T13:59:00.001-04:00

R002-012.JPG, originally uploaded by Gramma Kit.

My father standing behind the house I grew up in. I think he's putting up the siding.

Early Home Improvements

2008-06-14T14:35:00.001-04:00

Taking out the Glass, originally uploaded by Gramma Kit.

In 1975, when I was 2, my Dad was working on our house. It was a fixer-upper, obviously. An old farmhouse on the top of an impressively steep old country road, miles from the city, it had charm and was rustic to say the least. No running water, no electricity. And, in the case of this picture, no entryway wide enough to bring in the large kitchen island my Dad made for the huge kitchen.

My Mom recalls that Dad removed the plate glass window, which was very thick and heavy, then they together lifted the island through the hole. Amazing. I like to think I can remember this day.

2008-05-23T13:51:00.001-04:00

DSC01485, originally uploaded by Gleason.

My good friend Chris and his wife Michelle had their first child earlier this month. I owe Chris most of the credit for teaching me (over the phone no less!) everything I needed to know to build our kitchen from scratch.

Thanks Chris! Love the fiddle.

Jrome

Just a Reminder

2008-05-05T22:29:00.001-04:00

Columbus Day Excursion to Look Park, originally uploaded by Jrome.

That now that the weather is getting nicer (at least around here in New England) we should all have no excuses for getting on a bicycle.

Or a tricycle.

Ride to the store, ride for fun, ride for a reason other than getting in shape. (Please!) Ride to feel the wind and the sun on your face.

The Machine

2008-03-23T22:24:00.001-04:00

The Machine, originally uploaded by Jrome.

We made pasta tonight for dinner with our neighbors. The kitchen was a hoppin' with four burners going (that's all of them) and it all turned out nicely.

This picture shows the color our counters are turning. I love that they get stained and show signs of age. Gracefully we go into our second year with them. The goal with the color was to look natural without looking new. They look like 2" thick pieces of tanned leather, the kind they make the best club chairs out of for fat men who smoke cigars and rule the stock market. Or something less pretentious.

bookshelves as stairs

2008-03-18T14:41:00.003-04:00

This is probably old news, but I can't get over how cool these stairs are...I mean the shelves. Er, I mean the stairs. Er... Anyway, the whole story here

These aren't the stairs in my house, Mr. Inspector! (And this isn't my picture either...it's from here.

Backsplash

2008-03-08T21:42:00.001-05:00

IMG_5078.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

We still need to caulk around the edges, but for the most part, the backsplash is done. (no project is ever really done around here.)

Kizhe

2008-03-08T16:14:00.001-05:00

Kizhe, originally uploaded by Jrome.

We had to say good bye to our house cat this morning. She was a great cat. She loved her home and all the improvements we made to it. Best of all, she blended in, the natural colors and wood trim throughout the house I guess.

She was born on March 9, 1993. One of the very best I've ever known (and I've known many!)

Sledding

2008-03-04T23:06:00.001-05:00

IMG_4933.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Break from DIY. Sledding through sculpture garden.

Jaspy

2008-03-01T13:14:00.001-05:00

Jaspy, originally uploaded by Jrome.

We've taken a break from working on the house for now. Funtimes.

snow men

2008-02-24T19:56:00.001-05:00

IMG_4864.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

We got the creative juices flowing this afternoon. Was a beautiful day!

03-23-06

2008-02-09T22:31:00.001-05:00

03-23-06_0822.jpg, originally uploaded by Jrome.

We started off with an idea...

home office

2008-01-29T14:34:00.001-05:00

home office, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Our attic conversion was nearing completion, but not fast enough for our lives. So we've moved the office upstairs, foregoing carpet, trim and full inspection. In a few months we'll have our carpenter come back and finish up the stairs and railings. For now, the space is bright, the office is set up, and Maddy and Jasper have their own rooms.

Drywall going in

2007-11-09T23:08:00.001-05:00

stairs (framing), originally uploaded by Jrome.

Yesterday they hung the drywall, and today they finished up hanging it and started taping and mudding. Looks pretty darn good. So much brighter!

Attic window

2007-11-07T21:56:00.001-05:00

Attic window, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Today, Tim and Chris finished up the last window and hit the road. Job well done I think. I could never have done it in the time they did, nor done as good a job. Well, maybe if the Evans boys were all here and we had plenty of time to get it done. But, heck, I gotta baby coming.

Here are some pictures of the last work day:

Also, today the drywall shipment arrived. They guys boomed it up through the attic window. 4x12 sheets. Huge. It was windy and the hell, the third floor is up pretty high. So I says to the guy, "I bet when it gets really windy you put on a show, eh?"

He looks at me like a wise sage and says, "Well, a load this size weighs about the same as a small car. Gotta git blowin' pretty good to sway it. But when we get down to the last few sheets, they she starts movin' alright!"

Nicole had to check out the truck. She walked outside right under the boom and I just about had the baby myself. We're all safe and sound. Less than a week to go. What are we going to call him?

Windows and treatment

2007-11-06T20:43:00.001-05:00

IMG_4091.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Yesterday, Tim was back with his buddy and they installed the windows in the back, the area I'm affectionately referring to as "my office" now. Not a bad looking space.

The ground slopes outside, and from the back, it's about 5' higher than out front. Plenty high at 3 stories! The scaffolding they set up was fine, but I'm glad it wasn't me up there. They had the window installed and the siding back on before I knew it. Took longer to stage it than it did to install!

It's been a bit loud in my current office space... but luckily the world is running quietly on email lately and not, oh say, Skype. (Speaking of Skype, I've got to replace home office Skype line with a hard line. Just gotta do it. Tried to make it work. Didn't work. Moving on...)

I paid Tim the balance today, $6,850. $1850 for the insulation and labor. $5,000 for the completion of the windows. Hope he shows up tomorrow...one more window to go in! :0
Here's what one can get for about $17,000:

1. cheap hair cut

2. old shoes to be sealed up in the wall. I was supposed to leave them in the Roman Forum, but I couldn't bring myself to leave behind shoes that had been so good to me for so many years. (I'm saving this story for another post, but let me just say I bought them NWOB, with the tag still on them, totally vintage, from the Goodwill on Townsend in SF. I then wore them to work at Riv for the 3 years I worked there. Everyday. No kidding. Never had a pair shoes hold up like that. Never.)

3. stairs. Rough framed stairs. Next year we put in the finishing touches. There will be drywall up though, of course!

4. Upgraded windows. Not the fanciest, but they work and are much nicer than what we had before. Twice as nice, in fact!

(before)

(after)

5. Your life back!

Imperfection is Perfection

2007-11-05T10:35:00.001-05:00

I was reminded of my Richard Sachs t-shirt yesterday when Madeline and I were playing soccer at Look Park. This happened to be the same day that the Cycle-Smart International Cyclocross race was going on in the Park. While we kicked the ball around, I saw Richard himself cruising around. I would have said hello, but I've actually not ever met Richard in person and I think I only ever spoke to him once or twice while I was at Rivendell. Anyway, my favorite houseblogger, Bill at enonhall.com, also posted a similar sentiment. I think we need more of this, not less!

clipped from enonhall.com

The beading tool is really a scraper with blades for different profiles. The tool comes with two fences that guide you along the edge of the board. One is for curves and one is for straight runs. The curves take a little practice, especially when your curves takes you across the grain like mine do. Scraping a straight bead with the grain is fast and easy...and a lot of fun. You simply make pass after pass, lowering the blade as you go, and scraping away more and more of the wood to reveal the profile.

So far, my beads look pretty good. They're not perfect, but I also didn't want them to be. I like looking at work like this and being able to see that somebody took the time to do it by hand. That, to me, is cooler to see than seeing it be absolutely perfect. Perfection is boring. -- Bill

Insulation went in

2007-11-04T18:04:00.001-05:00

IMG_4018.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Last week we had the insulation go in. With the baby coming to town any day now, I found myself really dreading the inspection. I don't know why exactly, but I just want it done. Obviously done right, but just done. I want it over. Well, the inspection went just fine. In and out. We'll have the windows at either end done tomorrow (or Tuesday if it rains) and the drywall crew will be hanging on Tuesday. 7 days later, the job should be done, taped and mudded, sanded. The whole 9 yards. Then paint and a carpet. Hopefully this will all be complete around Thanksgiving. Crazy? I dunno.

Then six months later we'll have our GC come back and do the finish carpentry, including the mission railings for the stairs and the maple treads. I'm debating trying to do it myself, but I don't know a single thing about stairs or railings, and doubt I have time to learn it at the moment.

More photos...

I'm 6' tall. The ceiling is about 7'3 at the peak. If I stay in the center (5' wide) I don't have to stoop. Since my desk will be up there, I'll spend most of my time sitting. Can't wait to see it done. Hmmm. When did I put on those glasses?

Hobbit hole to the storage area next to the stairs. With the wiring for a light hanging there.

Another view of the hobbit hole. We had the electrician run a light in there. Cozy.

Stairs to the attic

2007-10-15T18:09:00.001-04:00

Stairs to the attic, originally uploaded by Jrome.

While I was away more progress was made on the attic. The framing is nearly done and ready for inspection. Our electrician is coming by Tuesday to complete his work. Then we're ready for the insulation and the drywall crew. This is really the first job that I've not done it all, but looking at what Tim has accomplished, I know I couldn't have done it as well or as quickly.

Here's the space from above.

Here's the stairs from above.

Here's looking back towards the stairs.

White Trash Porch

2007-09-07T16:24:00.001-04:00

White Trash Porch, originally uploaded by Jrome.

It took four trips to the dump. Three of those trips with 10 bags. One with 5 and some crappy wood.

First two times I pulled up, it was the standard $1 a bag. After I pulled up the third time, the older dude was like, "It's on me. You're working hard enough." Fourth time, he didn't even look at me. I just drove in, dumped and drove out.

Classic small town dump story.

Beginning in the Attic

2007-09-03T09:45:00.000-04:00

So this Labor Day weekend, Tom came by on his way to his cousin's welcome home from Iraq party in Buffalo, and we tore up the temporary attic flooring and pulled up all the insulation. The job would have been 10x easier if the fiberglass insulation wasn't over old Kimsul insulation. Probably laid down in the 50s, this stuff is crepe-paper backed and what looks like asphalt impregnated pulp paper loft. It distintegrates on contact. We eventually worked out a system of rolling it up..."like giant sushi." But it was still a mess and dirty hot work.

clipped from www.tias.com

We of course wore respirators. But when the dust began to fly, we set up my new air filtration unit which helped immensely. Nicole got this for my woodshop in the basement (which will be set up properly after this attic demo is complete) along with a dust collector. It will be a phenomenal system.

clipped from steelcitytoolworks.com

Finally, here are some shots of the progress:

How many bags of insulation did we scoop up and toss out? Hmmm. Labor Day weekend. Dump closed at noon. Missed the chance for a dump run. Damn. "Well, let's just stack it under the porch in case it rains..." Bringing down the property value one giant black bag at a time. I think there were a total of 30 bags. Not all of them fit on the tiny back porch.

Duct Done

2007-06-10T16:15:00.000-04:00

Transport Me

2007-05-17T07:37:00.000-04:00

We're nearing the end of bike to work week.

Trash Island 80% Completed

2007-04-17T10:29:00.000-04:00

The wood frame sits on a rabbet I cut in the drawer box. I can change the frame over the years as our needs change. I'm sure we'll have a different trash can in 20 years... and when we bought this round one, we said it would be temporary. 20 years is rather temporary?

Kitchen Media Center

2007-04-17T10:04:00.000-04:00

When we first sketched up the plans for the kitchen, I imagined a place where we could work on the computer...you know: look up recipes while cooking, google something, look up horse breeds on wikipedia, that sort of thing. I had actually budgeted a Mac Mini and a flat panel monitor... but we ended up just bringing down our G4 iMac when my wife got her MacBook.

This cabinet has had various window treatments. It was to have an associated wall cabinet, where the monitor was going to be placed; electrical run just where we needed it and all the cables were to run in the wall....well, none of that happened. I built the cabinet. Plopped it in place and we've lived with it. The concrete countertop is not yet siliconed in place, since I need to finish the cabinet and attach the panel next to fridge. It weighs a ton and hasn't budged.

I still need to finish the kick space (secret compartments housing our external hard drives and pirate booty) and velvit oil the door and trim. The door needs a handle and some bumpers. Yada yada yada. But I think it looks good. Cleaner. Neater.

Kitchen Work part 58.3

2007-04-07T22:16:00.000-04:00

Ever since we saw Mark and Sharron's awesome doorstops, we've wanted one super swank one for the kitchen. The way the bathroom door opens up, its doorknob can slam into the concrete countertop...not that it would hurt it, it's just a horrible sound.

Months passed and I forgot what Mark's doorstop looked like. Fast forward (rewind?) to three or four days ago, I'm buying hardware to finish off some projects and I notice the catalog I'm perusing has doorstops. One looks not too shabby. Here it is installed.

Here are some of the doors and hardware I installed as well...

Not all of the Amerock bar pulls arrived. These two slim cabinets (hold baking sheets and two drawers full of utensils, hot pads, mitts, and a timer) will be adorned come a week or two. I still need to Velvit Oil some of the trim. I'll get to that in 20 years. I like how they look like J and L and two squat Hs.

Here's a picture of the cabinet in the corner, which I lovingly refer to as the "kittycabinet." Maddy demos the sweet barpull action.

The cabinet our cat's food and birdseed for the feeder outside the kitchen window. Nicole recycled two large containers and I built the cabinet just for them. They're pretty standard plastic containers. We've got a million of them in and around our basement where the cat does her bidness. Those are Blum hinges, easy to install and the mounting plates are interchangeable with various varieties of hinges I'm using around the house. (Well, so far they're interchangeable...)

How Pizza Gets Done

2007-04-04T22:13:00.000-04:00

We made a pizza back a few weeks ago around Maddy's birthday. The pizza got done, but the kitchen still isn't.

Accessorize, Polar Bear Style

2007-03-31T19:51:00.000-04:00

While in NYC's Central Park Zoo last weekend, we wandered over to one of the (6? 8?) exhibits and noticed this sign. I haven't yet checked ebay for the polarized toys, since we're just about stocked with kiddie paraphernali, but I will. Wild. The blue bear cans would look nice in the kitchen...

Trash Island

2007-03-18T21:57:00.000-04:00

One man's trash is another man's treasure. Does that work for islands?

The drawer will get a full overlay door front to match the rest of the kitchen. The butcher block still needs to get siliconed in place. It's heavy enough to not slid around at the moment, but every once in a while someone bumps it and it moves an inch and scares us.

It was a busy weekend, but this little project took me only a couple of hours. Most of that time I spent staring at the drawer parts I'd cut to size, trying to visualize. The can is temporary, so the second interior frame cradling the lip will be relaced with a full sheet of waterproof something.

The hardware: Accuride full extension self closing. Good for, oh, 100 pounds or so. That's a lot of treasure.

St. Patrick's Day Weekend 2007

2007-03-18T12:35:00.001-04:00

St. Patrick's Day Weekend 2007, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Time out for home improvements...with 16 inches of new snow from Friday and early Saturday, it was time for sledding at the local "mountain."

We were the second group on the hill this morning. It was windy and cold. The snow crusty and deep. Once the runs were set, the sledding was excellent!

Starting new projects, and going from 0 to 1

2007-03-14T11:44:00.001-04:00

When Nicole and I began tearing up our kitchen, it was something we both had wanted to do for many years. Years spent renting apartments, flats, bungalows, basement units, and condos. You can't rip it out until you own. Once we owned, we tore out what we wanted. We lived with the scars for a while as we figured out what to do next.

That creative spirit was inspired. We could have lived with the old kitchen for years. But when the fridge quit at the same time Sears was having a sale, it took two minutes online to figure out that the time had come. Throw down $2500 at Sears, then spend nearly ten times that building something we'd never built before.

Fast forward to now. I have so many ideas now, I don't know where to begin again. I think I need another fridge event to trigger. Or I just need to do something. Pick up the wood and turn on the saw. Strap on the googles and gloves and the goggles and get to it.

But Ze Frank said it best yesterday, on my little girl's birthday, so I'll just let you hear it from him. Then get out there and do it.

William's dragon

2007-03-08T20:43:00.001-05:00

William's dragon, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Ikea makes white boards (under $20 each) that are pretty nifty. If you work in an office that has white boards, you know how fun they can be. I like them just for doodling...my practical wife loves these for posting photos up. But since we went digital a few years ago, we end up looking at photos our friends mail us. Fancy photo album.

William I think made a great dragon here. He even spelled out D-R-A-G-O-N with M's alphabet magnets. Little did I realize some of the markers he used were less Dry Erase and more Caked On. Best stuff to use for getting these suckers clean like new? Bon Ami, my father's favorite cleanser that he swore by!

How to live in a new kitchen

2007-03-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

Over the holidays, it became clear the best room in our house is the kitchen. There's broadband in there, access to 50 days worth of music; all the food you can eat, some nice pots and pans and a dynamite range to cook it with; cold, cold, cold clean drinking water; great light, both natural and manmade; great coffee - espresso!; and seating for 4 with room around the island for 2 standing. There's even room for art projects.

We entertain ourselves in the kitchen. Friends and family stop by and we hardly leave the room. Maybe it was the wine....

maybe the flowers...

or just friendly smiles...

Jenn Air diagnostics

2007-03-05T11:59:00.001-05:00

Jenn Air diagnostics, originally uploaded by Jrome.

I wandered into the kitchen last week and noticed the doctor had been around to check all of her patients. Everytime I load the diswasher I'm reminded how much more I have to do in the kitchen. Here's a short list gathered just from looking at this one photo:
1. level the dishwasher and add foam strips to insulate against noise.
2. trim shim under end panel and add finish trim
3. I don't see the backsplash tile relected in the countertop...get to work on that!
4. Finish the "Block Island" project...this side needs the faux door panel and the other side needs the whole trash drawer assembly. Get cracking!

Barn & Snow

2007-02-15T20:21:00.001-05:00

Barn & Snow, originally uploaded by Gramma Kit.

I grew up with a barn. This barn in fact. When we moved to Mass. I wanted to buy a house with a barn, or have the opportunity to build one.

In 1998, a month or two after I graduated from CU and days before I moved to San Francisco, the barn was repaired. It hadn't been touched in probably close to 75 years. We hired Woodford Bros. a local outfit that restores barns all over NY, PA, and OH. It took them three days to shore up the barn and get it ready for the next 100 years.

My mother wants to put a plaque in the barn to commemorate the restoration and explain why we did it. That's a story for another time. For now, I just want to enjoy the blanket of winter snow.

Frankie Laine

2007-02-07T13:37:00.000-05:00

I glanced down at the last item in the What's News column of today's WSJ and saw that Frankie Laine passed away at the ripe old age of 93. I found out about Frankie Laine late in my life, but I sure do enjoy his music.

I was 30 years old and a stay at home dad. My mother was in town to visit her new granddaughter. While the baby napped my mother and I talked about music. My wife had gotten me a record player for my birthday and I'd begun picking up bargain LPs at a great place over in North Beach near where I worked. I'd put on a record and listen while the baby slept or I'd just spin records through the morning and afternoons in lieu of turning on the TV. I don't recall us having an internet connection...now that I think of it.

Anyway, my mom liked the records and took to reading issues of Mojo that were laying around. After reading about the Rosemary Clooney album Blue Rose and the album she did with Bing Crosby called "Fancy Meeting You Here" we set off one day to find it at Jack's in the Lower Haight. When we got there, my mother astounded me by talking to the guy (Jack?) about all sorts of music for at least an hour. With the baby asleep in the Bjorn, I just walked around looking for blues records and asking dumb questions, clutching Fancy Meeting You Here (mint condition) and a nice Frankie Laine album. In the end, my mom bought all the records, probaby $80 worth, and each one is a gem.

The Frankie Laine album I have is now one of my daughter's favorites. We all love Wild Goose and That Lucky Old Sun, but really the whole album is fantastic from beginning to end. When I get around to it, I'll upload a picture of the album we have...I didn't find it in 5 minutes of searching the internet. I can't believe more people out there aren't talking about that album, but that's okay. We all love it. Thank you, Mr. Laine!

Ikea hardware...in action videos!

2007-02-03T17:16:00.000-05:00

Ikea Grip Hardware

2007-01-31T23:30:00.000-05:00

I took a spare moment this evening to mount some hardware we picked up at Ikea over the weekend. I've always liked the simplicity of these pulls. They work and give a nice clean look.

These doors on the sink cabinet will get long handles for dishtowels. We have a long bar on the dishwasher, but it's a tall tub, so the dishtowels end up wiping the floor when you open the door. I suppose I could clean the floor more often...

BTW The blue espresso cup is a commemorative cup from the 2004 summer Olympics that my sister picked up. I love Athens. I spent a summer studying there, and it was one of the best experiences I've had.

1500 watts of power

2007-01-30T20:46:00.000-05:00

Last Friday we had our electrician come by to check on our dimmer switch, which was running hot to the touch. Well, seems there was a misunderstanding about how many Tweak heads - ten (pumping out 75 watt PAR 30 floods) - we were running on the TechLighting rails.

We didn't have all the right parts when he first ran juice to the box, but thankfully we didn't blow anything until his return visit. To manage the power, he installed what I like to call the MacIntosh Dimmer. It's vented. It's not entirely black, I hope it didn't cost a small fortune, and it wasn't built in Binghamton, NY.

Oh, and he told us to just vent the hood out the side of the house and avoid messing with the old knob and tube..."it'll be fine, just don't mess with it." So the venting, yeah, that'll have to wait until spring.

Advice for Venting Hood?

2007-01-26T09:13:00.000-05:00

Anyone out there have any advice on venting a hood?

We've started the job, and now I'm a bit stuck. We ran the duct work from the hood, but now are in a bit of pickle trying to get it through the exterior wall.

Our house has vinyl siding and I'm slightly concerned about how to tackle that. Cut out from the inside, trim away the vinyl from the outside, screw on the aluminum vent, then caulk like mad?

Should I wait until spring, when the weather is warmer?
Can I caulk in the cold?
Is there some special vinyl vent flapper that I should know about?

Supply List in hand:

ducting standard 10x4 stainless box
exterior vent = aluminum with a gasket flapper

We got it all at Home Depot...pretty standard, I guess.

Lights, Camera, a bit of hot action

2007-01-24T21:09:00.000-05:00

We installed the last of the kitchen lights. Tweak heads, with PAR30 75watt wide floods. Dimmer of course. TechLighting line voltage. White. Bright.

Aerial view from high command.

Some After Pictures of our Concrete Countertops

2007-01-24T11:24:00.000-05:00

The seam is logically located at a break, from cabinet to open undercounter storage. The open storage allows us to sit on stools and look out the window. We eat more meals in the kitchen sitting on stools than we do in the dinning room.

It doesn't auto-retract, but it's easy to use. Our water pressure is strong, so when you open the faucet all the way up, you get a super powerful jet. The hose extends long enough to reach the corners of the sink.

This secretary style cabinet will get a full door closing off the base. And that drawer front will get the finished piece installed. The one that's on there was just temporary. Funny how it's been like that for 6 months.

There's still lots to do. The center island/trash home is on deck, as are all the cabinet doors. We actually installed all the lights overhead, so I'll post more pictures of that soon. (It's now extremely bright throughout this room!)

Barn

2007-01-24T11:06:00.000-05:00

So, I grew up with a barn. It didn't look much like this when I was growing up. It was mostly gray, and the boards along the bottom were sometimes missing. In 1998 our barn was saved. It's looked pretty much like this since then. I think it needs a nice new coat of dark red barn paint.

There's very little room for a barn on our urban lot. I'd like to have a place outside of the house to work - you know woodworking, bike stuff, guitar playin' - but I'm not sure I can fit it all inside what we've got back there.

So, this spring, I'm planning on building a workshop in the basement of our house. It will be small, but large enough for our needs. It'll have a dust collection system and air filtration system, and be closed off from the rest of the basement - drywalled, own circuits, etc.

But I wish I had a barn!

Funtimes!

2006-12-22T16:52:00.001-05:00

IMG_1843.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

It's fun to spend time in the kitchen! Making cookies, talking on the phone.

Faucet installed

2006-12-22T16:49:00.001-05:00

IMG_1842.JPG
Originally uploaded by Jrome.

The faucet went in Wednesday afternoon. Just in time for holiday visitors. It would have been trying to go sinkless during the holidays. If you live in Noho, Claude Laprade is the man. Although he's probably busy...but you really can't go wrong. Bravo Claude! Happy Holidays.

Before

2006-12-21T07:52:00.000-05:00

Countertop Arrival

2006-12-21T06:39:00.000-05:00

The Stone Soup guys backed the truck up and extended the ramp directly from the street to our front door. (Whether there were any trolls under the bridge, we may never know!) The largest pieces were on special dollies that wheeled into the house. The dollies flipped up, allowing pieces to be moved the shortest distance under their own weight.

Lights update

2006-12-06T07:59:00.000-05:00

Well, our Tech lighting is not quite all complete. We ordered 1" standoffs and one of the standoffs was a 2". As you can see here with Mr. Too Tall:

So that tiny detail has kept us from getting all the lights up on the ceiling. I heard from Hampden-Zimmerman: the wee standoff is on order, but is held up by Tech to ship out with another HZ order. I guess the $2k we paid for the lighting doesn't prompt Tech or HZ to ship the wee piece to us FedEx directly. So we wait. The other Tech order is expected to ship around Dec. 12. So we should have the newest addition to the short standoff club by Christmas.

How's that for a holiday lighting story?

New Countertops

2006-11-11T20:21:00.000-05:00

early November, originally uploaded by Jrome.

We sprang over to the Arts & Industry building today to check in on the open house and have a look at the progress being made on our concrete counters. Stone Soup Concrete is handling the job, and they're great.

They've just expanded the space they have, so there's room aplenty to see the countertops and sinks and vanities and bars. You name it, they make it out of concrete.

Our counters are five pieces in total. This picture shows the sink. We've got an undermount Elkay sink (one big bowl with a tiny shallow bowl for the disposer) and a very swank faucet by American Standard. We kinda went whole hog on the faucet, because you touch that every day for 20 years. Why not have it silky smooth and functionally beautiful?

The countertops are sweet. They bear the evidence of being handcrafted. As my Richard Sachs t-shirt says: "Imperfection is perfection." Every non-machine cut edge, every non-form molded piece, is unique and could not be duplicated. They are quite literally, functional pieces of art. It's not high art, but it will be beautiful in our kitchen for many years to come.

Thanks guys!

Tech Lighting

2006-11-06T22:46:00.000-05:00

Tech Lighting, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Friday and Saturday Nicole and I mounted some of the Tech Lighting. It wasn't hard, after our electrician Dave Foster put in some boxes. The plaster got patched and the lights went up fairly easy. I worried too much.

More pictures coming soon. Or you can click on the photo here to see some more on Flickr.

Updated kitchen counter dinette

2006-10-31T21:28:00.000-05:00

Updated kitchen counter dinette, originally uploaded by Jrome.

I picked up some maple boards Saturday from Noho lumber (along with a couple three sheets of maple plywood, ouch!) and spent the rest of the weekend getting tings in order. I'm not much of a finish carpenter. Haven't actually finished anything up to this point. This may be the first. But of course it's not done yet. Hope I just didn't jinx myself!

Here are some more photos

Island in the Sun

2006-10-18T17:22:00.000-04:00

IMAGE0005.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Here's a little look at the island. It's constructed of 3/4" maple plywood. The side facing the window is open. The full length door attached to the custom fabricated pull-out trash can will cover that up. Over here on the dark side (or do I have it turned around? --it is on wheels ya know!), there will be a faux door, complete with towel rack style hardware. Just like the rest of the kitchen.

Here's a picture of the hardware, again, for those who haven't seen it all:

Inside, besides the trash can pull-out there'll be a drawer that will house the trashbags and trashy stuff. The drawer functions as a lid to the trash can, so that when the "trash drawer" is closed, the upper drawer sits directly over the top, sealing in the stink with a rubber gasket affixed to its bottom.

I sometimes wish I had a rubber gasket affixed to my bottom.

I promised I'd have some plans for the island up here. I will, but not just yet. I want to do it right. Check back.

The kitchen is now more or less done. I created a list of stuff that still has to be done or installed, and it is lengthy. But right now, our kitchen has full functionality. It feels good to have completed this much. There's still more to go, but how many kitchen remodels do you know of that took over a year, cost less than $20k for deluxe stuff including all appliances, and the humans never had to live a day without the sink or stove? I don't know of any...I'm sure there are millions, so spare me your details. Just a little pride talking here...I just need to let myself believe that a job like this can take a year and not be a disaster. Now I've done it.

Here are some pictures of our work so far. Pretty woody, huh?

Island on wheels

2006-10-16T13:43:00.000-04:00

I spent about an hour working on Sunday to chop down the cabinet carcass a few inches, since I goofed the overhang dimensions of the butcher block top . Once I got that cut, I installed the casters I picked up earlier from Woodcraft and then brought it upstairs to try out in the kitchen.

Wow. I have to say the whole thing is great. It moves easily. The island can be locked down and used or whisked away into the pantry or dining room. I wonder why islands aren't all made this way. The height is great for just leaning against, so standing up chatting with the cook, having a glass of wine or scotch, is now the standard kitchen pose.

More pictures to come. Here's a picture of the casters I used:

More pictures of the finished cabinet will be uploaded, along with plans in the coming weeks, once all the details are finished.

Next up on my docket are some pictures of my work shop. In the grand scheme of things, the workshop has been one of the areas that's plagued a quick turnaround of the kitchen job. As we close in on finishing the kitchen, the next project, which is an attic conversion to create a third floor office/spare bedroom/storage area, will require that the workshop be well organized. So the basement workshop will be walled in, dust collection and air filtration will be added, a few new tools (bigger contractor's table saw perchance?), and full storage. The old kitchen has given up its cabinets for the shop, and the temporary birch plywood counter that currently graces our kitchen will provide some ample benchtop space.

Speaking of the kitchen, it has the following list of items hankering for my attention:
lighting
trim
exhaust vent
refrigerator's maple panels
painting, ceiling
backsplash tile
counter installation
mail sorting wall cabinet
magnetic panels and creative wall

new island

2006-09-24T09:01:00.000-04:00

IMG_1030.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

The Boos block arrived and we stuck it on the base. It's clear I'll have to make a new base. This one will be too tall with the wheels on....ooops.

It shouldn't take too long to rehash it. I also built a corner cabinet, and we're hosting some of John's artwork...there's one peaking out in the corner.

Maybe we'll have an show for him? Hmmmm. Drink wine, show friends the work we've completed on the house, drink wine, have some cheese, sell some artwork....hmmmmm.

Flickr

2006-09-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

September 9, 2006

2006-09-19T08:11:00.000-04:00

09-09-06_1420.jpg, originally uploaded by Jrome.

I shot a few photos with my cameraphone when we visited Stone Soup to order our countertop. This is just one corner of one space they've filled. They're expanding. Business looks brisk!

Counter Top Extravaganza

2006-09-15T10:06:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, Nicole and I tromped on down to Stone Soup to pick a color and drop off our sketch. We picked a color and they named it for us. Super. The color is like old tanned leather (an acid effect) and we hope it will look like it is as old as the house. The thing that always has bugged me about new kitchens is that they look too new. In my mind the beauty of concrete is that it can look aged. Since it is formed by hand, there's evidence that human hands worked on it. Edges are crisp, but not die cut, the color warm and fuzzy. It has patina. It will grow more character with age. It should never look worn out.

I'm also in the process of building a kitchen trash receptical/island. Here's a picture of the John Boos top it's gonna have.

Ours will be maple however not Lyptus. The bottom will look like the other cabinets I've made, 3/4" maple plywood construction. It'll have 3.5" red locking casters from Woodcraft.

Backsplash

2006-08-29T09:49:00.000-04:00

We ordered some additional samples from Susan Jablon Mosaics. I like the site, and the other tile samples we received were great - just a bit too colorful. Anyway, we like this one and if our eyes like the samples as much as our heads , these will be up on our kitchen wall soon.

we bought these

2006-08-15T09:30:00.000-04:00

we bought these, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Since our refrigerator will cease being photo central soon and no one liked the idea of giving up on cool magnets, we bought two of these white boards from Ikea. They were pretty cheap, simple. The plan is to mount them on a wall in the kitchen, where M will be able to play with her talking alphabet, and see our photo montages/pictures. Later we'll let her play with the dry erase markers!

Old Lights.jpg

2006-08-11T15:54:00.000-04:00

Photo 58.jpg, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Tomorrow I order new lights. Our kitchen will not ever be this dark or this shabby.

Tweak by TechLighting

2006-08-09T08:49:00.000-04:00

Tweak by TechLighting, originally uploaded by Jrome.

We're using the Tweaks in our kitchen remodel. We have 10 of these puppies pumping out some thrills. It's a T-Trak line voltage head. We're using a two different bulbs, a 75 watt flood and a 75 watt narrow spot. Spots for art, floods for work areas.

We got ours at Hampden-Zimmerman in NoHo. Well, we're getting ours from them...once tax free day comes.

Range with hood and knives

2006-08-09T08:30:00.000-04:00

Range with hood and knives, originally uploaded by Jrome.

A few weeks ago, Nicole got tired of waiting for me to hang the range hood. Despite not having the exhaust ducting in hand, we spent a couple of hours and hung the art. It's dramatic, and we're pleased. Nicole is more pleased, since the basement is now missing a humongous and heavy box.

Proof that nicole did paint in June!

2006-07-21T13:09:00.000-04:00

Picture 016, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Those June photos are pretty dark. Here's true proof that Nicole painted (she painted in June and into July).

It's nice and bright. The floor still needs to have a second coat of Velvit Oil applied. We may do that this weekend when we hang the range hood. (We're hanging it, but we won't run the ductwork right away...not until we have it fabricated and I can punch a hole in the exterior wall.)

Drawers

2006-07-21T13:02:00.000-04:00

Picture 011, originally uploaded by Jrome.

I've been quiet for quite some time on this blog, but not because I haven't been busy! I built up two drawers for the landing pads and built new cabinets as well...did I mention that before? I guess not!

Anyway, the drawers are deep and hold handy things, like tongs, flippers, mitts, and cooking nick nacks. The cabinet doors and trim are not done yet, because I haven't had the time to fabricate yet. I will, oh, yes, I will have the time eventually. Part of the slowness is the custom nature of the woodworking I have to do. I spend a lot of time measuring and about ten minutes cutting. Then fabrication, always a big mystery, takes up the rest.

I built these cabinets first, and then got them all together, then realized some slides I had bought for the secretary desk weren't going to work. I turned to the left and saw the then new landing pad cabinets and thought, "drawers!" Thankfully, since I used pocket screw joinery, I was able to take them all apart (no glue!) and install the slides, build the drawers and reassemble. Nicole then Velvit Oiled them, and presto! New look, new functionality. We like them. (Oh, and I edgebanded it all too. That was fun.)

Paintin'

2006-06-05T21:23:00.000-04:00

N and I painted this weekend. Well, N painted. I patched a couple of holes. We were busy!

cabinet with counter base for drawers

2006-05-31T19:30:00.000-04:00

IMAGE0004.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Two weeks ago Sunday I built a 12" deep base cabinet and a 24" counter base. I over built it, completely out of 3/4" birch and maple plywood, with tons of pocket screws.

The whole thing will have a concrete top. In this picture the top is 3/4" plywood. Picture a 1.5" concrete slab and a nice single slab of maple connecting two drawers.

I salvaged the drawers from the Thomasville mistake. They're not bad. Nicely dovetailed. Pretty solid. I'll get some AccuRide slides (maybe full extension if they'll fit...they're pretty narrow drawers.)

Before and After

2006-05-31T10:21:00.000-04:00

Temporary Counters.jpg, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Just to remind myself that progress is being made. Same corner.

Rainy Weekend Cabinet Work, 2

2006-05-19T11:41:00.000-04:00

I was inspired to combine a shallow base cabinet, a secretary, a concrete counter and room for storage. The project is centered around providing storage for our phone and assorted electronics - fax/copier, Mac Mini (so I'm planning), key storage, mail sorter, drawers for pens and pencils, phone books, etc.)

Originally I drew up a huge wall cabinet, but decided to break it into a base cab and wall shelf, to contrast with the wall stack to the immediate right. This project shows just the base cabinet cut plans. I'll use pocket screw joinery and some wood glue on the quadrupled slats that will support the concrete counter extension.

I'll probably add doors later, and most likely a divided drawer (one face, two drawer boxes) before the concrete goes in.

Backsplash, Splash!

2006-05-18T11:56:00.000-04:00

I poked around online for hours and stumbled onto Susan Jablon Mosaics and then spent more time blending. Splish splash, a few moments later I was ordering up some samples. We don't have a great amount of area to cover, so we can splurge. What am I saying? We splurge anyway! I mean, heck, we're staying in this house forever, right? Why not do the kitchen up right!?

Well, yeah! Let's hear it for fancy backsplashes in contemporary kitchens!

Rainy Day Kitchen Cabinet Work

2006-05-12T09:38:00.000-04:00

This weekend I'm building the final versions of some of our new kitchen cabinets. I'm making them out of 3/4" Maple plywood. I'll fabricate the doors later. Here are the plans for the two landing pads, which will go on either side of the range.

rosle rack

2006-05-09T09:03:00.000-04:00

rosle rack, originally uploaded by Jrome.

In an effort to free up counter space around the stove, we chucked the block in favor of the oh, so nifty Rosle rack. It installed without need for mosle.

Sunday's Finest

2006-05-05T15:17:00.000-04:00

before garden fence1, originally uploaded by Jrome.

As I blogged earlier this week, I dressed up my neighbor's garden this Sunday. Here's how we did it!

We took an old fence and knocked out every other board. Then we cut it to the height we wanted. A few beers helped. It was hot! Thirsty work.

More Fence

2006-05-04T13:22:00.000-04:00

IMAGE0038.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Here's a nice sunny photo of Sunday's work. It's an old fence with a new look.

Hardware

2006-05-02T17:34:00.000-04:00

Hardware, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Cabinet hardware arrived today. Now we're cookin' with Gas! The stuff is nice and heavy. "It weren't cheap," as they say, but we like the look.

I'm seeing it everywhere, so does this mean we're just keeping up with the times?

(I always thought I was behind the times.)

culinaire

2006-05-01T22:53:00.000-04:00

culinaire, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Our faucet arrived today. The box was much larger than I expected. The case was tenor sax length, but only four inches high. The faucet is massive with smooth as butta action. It's all metal except for the aerator cap.

Garden Fence

2006-05-01T10:50:00.000-04:00

Garden Fence, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Sunday was post hole digging day. Neighbor Jon and I planted four posts and recycled an old cedar fence I had to make a weathered garden fence. It's a nice addition to the two yards, defining the raised beds.

Sink Arrived

2006-04-26T20:41:00.000-04:00

I got home today and there was a big Elkay box sitting on the porch. The Bear and I ran around in the afternoon sun, swinging, playing tag, and throwing around a ball. I took a bunch of nice pictures with the pencam. Nice little cheapo camera.

Nice big expensive sink.

Sink and Faucet

2006-04-26T14:57:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Faucet.com, we're on our way with some dlx accoutrements. They should be arriving next week.

The Faucet is an American Standard Culinaire. We're getting the stainless steel one. I like the look of it, kinda right angles. I also like the all metal construction. The plastic handled sprayers turn my stomach, although they do squirt with some force. I'm mostly a drizzler. This faucet should do.

The sink is an Elkay Lustertone Double bowl. N picked it out. I like it. We went small shallow bowl for the disposer and a big wide deep bowl for everything else. Super.

Backsplash prep

2006-04-24T12:00:00.000-04:00

04-08-06_1815, originally uploaded by Jrome.

A few weeks ago I gave the plaster behind the sink some attention. I patched some cracks, filled some voids, and generally had a fun time.

I let it dry over the weeks, promising "I'd be back" and I've noticed how much shrinkage really does occur. I don't think 2 days is enough time. Even over a week of really dry weather there was more shrinkage. Once the next layer goes on, I'll wait another couple weeks and do a third coat, sanding in between. Tarps of plastic will keep the kitchen mostly clean.

We're still debating doing stainless steel or tile. We saw a nice stainless backsplash recently that kinda turned us back onto it. N even suggested it!

Lamp Lighting

2006-04-23T16:29:00.000-04:00

Lamp Lighting, originally uploaded by Jrome.

A long time ago, I promised myself I'd have a camera and post some pictures of new things we had just gotten. I seem to recall a promised picture of the living room overhead fan. It's a marvelous thing, wood, metal, italian glass. It feels Japanese to me.

The camera I recently bought is a PenCam. It's not ANYthing special, but it amuses.

Temporary Counters

2006-04-14T10:35:00.000-04:00

Temporary Counters.jpg, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Here's a camera phone shot of the kitchen as of a couple three weeks ago. It's very natural woody feeling.

We still have to...
1) buy and install the track lighting and rewire, buy, and install the overhead light (a hanging pendant)
2) finish patching/leveling the walls and paint
3) install the range hood and vent outside
4) pick the color and then install custom concrete counters
5) build custom shelves and four space frames before the counters go in
6) pick out a sink
7) buy the faucet we like (this one)

Sink Cabinet level.jpg

2006-04-14T10:29:00.000-04:00

Sink Cabinet level.jpg, originally uploaded by Jrome.

I spent a day installing three cabinets, an end cap, the dishwasher, and running new supply lines for the sink.

The floor slopes away rather dramatically, so there was lots of shimming to get it all lined up.

I crafted a counter out of two sheets of 3/4" birch plywood, sealed with Velvit Oil. I joined the pieces, both a full 8' long, with pocket screws. I used the Pocket Rocket. I like that tool a ton. No need for a million clamps, glue or biscuits.

Once the concrete goes in, the counters will move to the basement workshop. I'll just remove the screws and then I'll reassemble once they're in position downstairs. I'll have a very nice shop and plenty of workspace as well!