Finally, Margaret's Kitchen Remodel is complete. Well, it is for me. She has counter tops ordered and a flooring guy stopped by to take measurements and give her an estimate.

 

This project has taken a lot longer to complete than expected. Part of the delay was due to Hurricane Harvey and it's impact on the greater Houston area. Also, my wife (cabinet installer and finishing department) was on a cruise with her cousins and they had an extended cruise from 7 to 13 days because the Port of Houston was closed to traffic, and the roads were impassable due to the flooding.

 

Like some other projects we have done, the list can grow at times, and this was no exception. Instead of demoing the cabinets and patching the drywall, we had to take all of the drywall down, and make repairs to the ceiling. The client agreed to the extra expenses and we got after it. This house was built in 1950's and is in bad need of repair throughout (outside also). This is the home she grew up in and it was built by her dad. Now it is hers and she has set out to update it.

 

The cabinets are constructed from knotty alder with pre-finished birch for the boxes that are visible. The face frames, doors and drawer fronts are stained with General Finishes Colonial Maple with a GF Van Dyke Glaze. A couple of custom items included are the utensil drawer and a custom pull out trash receptacle.

 

And then...when it was time to install the sink cabinet, we discovered a leaking valve. UGH! The plumbing was terrible. I managed to replace both of the valves (hot and cold) but the pipes were in bad shape. She is having a plumber come out this weekend to install some new pipes. The plumber should thank me. I cut a custom opening in the back so it would be easy to get to the piping and valves. I found an aerosol can and used it to make a radius at each corner of the opening (see pictures). The end result looks a lot better than just a hack job.

 

Man-o-man, we found some ugly stuff in the walls. When we were demoing the fir down, we found bare wires that were at one time attached to a light over the stove. The wires were cut back and isolated. Now I have them routed into the cabinet over the stove to supply power to the new vent hood. And then, there was the hidden receptacle. Turns out, there was a dish washer in place at one time, but removed. We killed the power to the box, removed it and terminated the wire in a metal junction box (w/cover plate). And... the receptacle for the refrigerator needs to be replaced but we couldn't identify the breaker to kill the power. That one is saved for the electrician to figure out.

 

And then there is the pantry. The original had two plywood doors. However, the ceiling fan was hanging too low and would hit one door so they cut the door and nailed the upper in place. We demoed the doors, and framed the opening for a new pre-hung 36 inch 6 panel door. Note: She has replaced the ceiling fan with a hugger.

A couple of notes. I cut the custom utensil drawer on the CNC as well as the pieces for the trash receptacle...and all of the cabinet sides (dadoes and shelf pin holes). Makes it nice to have a helper in the shop...even if I do take a break while the machine is working. ha ha ha.

 

I have uploaded some before and after pictures to an album. Way to many for a single post on this thread.

Hope you like them.

 

 

That looks like it was a lot of work, nice job...love the look of those cabinets.

7 hours ago, MT Stringer said:

even if I do take a break while the machine is working. ha ha ha.

You CNC guys sure look like you're having waaaay too much fun!

What a great project, and great work to MT. I love seeing a project like this wrapped up, I bet when you both walked through the final product, the sense of accomplishment was pretty great, this is no small task. Great job MT, loved the images, thank you so much for sharing them with us. I know it's the weirdest thing to pick out of all that great work, but I am green with envy anytime I see a kitchen that has a designated spot for a trash can. Why developers don't install those by default in new homes is beyond me.

 

I hope you don't mind, but I inserted the link to your album so future readers will know which album you uploaded. In the future, all you gotta do is navigate to your album, and copy the link from the browser url window, and paste it in your topic, our software will automatically pull your album into your topic.

 

Thanks again MT, love the show!!!!!

Looks super Mike!

Cal

5 hours ago, John Morris said:

I hope you don't mind, but I inserted the link to your album so future readers will know which album you uploaded. In the future, all you gotta do is navigate to your album, and copy the link from the browser url window, and paste it in your topic, our software will automatically pull your album into your topic.

Thanks John. I am still learning how to use this web site.

Was the ceiling pop corn or just a bad picture?  I think everyone wants flat again.

 

Basically a stomped ceiling...more than once over the many years.

It looks really good! I liked the kitchen cabinet work it's lovely.

10 hours ago, Josie said:

It looks really good! I liked the kitchen cabinet work it's lovely.

Thank you. I requested a finished picture after the counter top is installed and flooring put down, and paint. She also has ideas for a backsplash and a mural for above the stove, so it may be awhile before it is complete.