One inspection away from finished.

Things are winding down, and today we had our plumbing, gas, ventilation, and general building inspections officially signed off. The dishwasher has been installed, the under-valance light fixture is back up and, at last, the long-awaited sink trim is finished!

I love, love, love the sink cabinet! The turned legs give it just the look that I had in mind. One little curtain and the country kitchen will be complete. Finding just the right little curtain, well...that might take some looking.





Except for the absence of a fridge, we have a kitchen once again.

I ran the dishwasher through a complete cycle, just to test it out. Afterward, I remembered that it still had the protective plastic film on the door, so I peeled that off and watched it shine!



In the bathroom, I turned on the tub faucet for the first time, let the shower run, and plugged and unplugged the drain with the little rubber drain plug on a chain. Fun, fun! I couldn't help but think of my nieces and how I'm sure they will want to try out the tub next time they visit. What could be better than a bubble bath in a big ol' tub, with bubbles up to your chin?!



The electrical inspection should take place in the next day or two, and then....back to The Cottage!

Crazy legs, a pain in the drain, and anyone seen the plumber?

Just when things were going along wonderfully well, and it looked as if we might actually move back into The Cottage by Valentine's Day, this week had to happen.

As mentioned in a previous post, the plumber came last week and installed the clawfoot tub, which is made of acrylic. On top of the tub's plastic wrapping was the tub installation instruction sheet. The very same instruction sheet that I later found tossed aside, apparently completely ignored, in the living room. The tub, meanwhile, had its drain installed by the plumber using plumber's putty rather than silicone to seal the threads. Too bad the plumber did not bother to read the manufacturer's instructions, a neon orange piece of paper with big black letters stating: DO NOT USE PLUMBER'S PUTTY TO INSTALL THE TUB DRAIN!!! USE ONLY SILICONE!!! (<-- only bolder, and in a much larger font).
When I stopped by The Cottage after work and found plumber's putty oozing from around the drain, I was seriously not happy. The tub, being plastic, is never supposed to come into contact with petroleum products or other solvents. Heavy naphthenic distillate, one of the ingredients in plumber's putty, sounds like a petroleum-based solvent to me.
The plumber was informed of the above, and promised to fix it ASAP. Six days later, the tub drain still has not been correctly installed. The plumber is nowhere to be found. He wasn't answering his phone or returning phone calls. One of his crew was supposed to come out on Saturday and finally take care of it, but never showed. Some excuse about meeting with his taxman. The plumber sucks, and I hate him. I also hope the IRS sticks it to him, big-time.

That was probably the most distressing of several blunders, goofs, oversights, and other assorted minor but annoying problems that the past week held in store for us.

The Plaster Guy (who we call "Houdini," because we were told "he's a magician" who would have a supposedly transformative effect, hiding all flaws and making uneven walls seem straight again) was expected to come back to rectify the semi-crappy drywall work he did a few weeks ago:


We were given word that Houdini was expected to rematerialize yesterday evening, but he somehow never showed up until today. In anticipation of Houdini's arrival, I carefully masked off the no-fly zones, remembering all the mud that got slung everywhere the first time he came out. The man does not own a rag, I don't think!


Houdini patched things up okay, for the most part, and only managed to slop drywall mud on a few off-target places in our new kitchen.

Another unexpected twist occurred yesterday when the v-cap molding around the sink got chipped by the contractor while he was trying to set the sink into its final position prior to caulking it in place. Poor J. He was very apologetic, and has ordered new v-cap. I know he is hating this sink right now, for this and many other reasons. I guess Carlos will be hating the sink some more, too, since he will now have to come back and replace the damaged v-cap.


Finally, the wood trim around the sink, the final design of which is still a work in progress, had a bit of a setback, too.

Pictured below are the 2 halves of a red oak kitchen island leg that will be used to trim out the area around the sink base. I ordered what was supposed to be a single leg, split in half lengthwise, from a millwork company in Tennessee. Sounds pretty straightforward, but this is what got delivered yesterday:


two mirror-image pieces of wood that are completely different colors! I emailed this photo to the company's customer service department, explaining why this was just not going to work. To their credit, they were very apologetic, and went out of their way to make things right. Two new (matching) half-legs were shipped out today, and the mismatched ones will be shipped back to them at no cost.

What a week!

Inauguration Day, a new kitchen sink, and the bathroom tile is nearly complete!

On this Inauguration Day, hope and positivity prevail! What an exciting time for our nation!
On the home front, the remodel is going smoothly, and the pace seems to have picked up, maybe because the structural work is now done, and the decorative, creative part- the best part- is the main focus now.
Andrew and I spent some time at The Cottage last weekend, cleaning up and putting one more coat of Friendly Yellow on the kitchen walls before the countertops were installed.

We decided to make an upgrade to one of our new cabinets. One of the lower cabinets contains pull-out shelves. When we ordered our cabinets, we went with the basic stock shelves, which have flexible white plastic rails around the edges, to keep objects from falling off. Andrew gets the credit for noticing that our current shelves just are not right, and look flimsy alongside the sturdy chrome rails on the shelves of the pull-out pantry. We have opted to replace the current shelves with box-like shelves that resemble shallow drawers. The new shelves will require upgraded ball-bearing slides. Making both changes will add just under $200 to the cost of the cabinet, but we think it will pay off in the long run. Luckily, our cabinetmaker will have the new shelves ready to install by Friday.

Upon careful inspection, we also realized that 3 of the new cabinet doors had minor dings to the wood finish. The affected doors have been taken back to the company's shop for sanding and refinishing. The doors will also be re-installed on Friday. We love the new cabinets, and have been very impressed by the cabinet company's efforts to make sure we are completely satisfied, right from the beginning. They have truly been a pleasure to deal with. (Shameless plug here for Town & Country Cabinets of High Springs, FL)!

Today, Carlos returned to grout the bathroom, and what a fine job he is doing!
Here are some photos of the grouted subway tiles:

Closeup of the glass pencil trim, which really has depth and sparkle now that it has been grouted:

And the junction of the grouted and not-yet-grouted walls:


And, in the kitchen, big news! The porcelain farmhouse sink has at long last been removed from its box and given a place of honor! The countertop construction has begun. The plywood and Durock underlayment is now in place, almost ready for tile to be set.
Here, Andrew stands beside the new countertop base around the kitchen sink, with the sink dry-fitted in its new home:


When we got to the Cottage this evening, it was immediately apparent to me that the sink had been installed backwards!
The guys evidently failed to notice the blue trademark stamped into the porcelain:

and had it facing the window, rather than the front. Andrew and I hoisted the sink off of its stand, gave it a 180-degree turn, and slipped it back into place. However, because this sink has an offset drain, the drain-hole that has been cut out of the wooden sink base will have to be corrected, but that should be a relatively easy fix. I blame the mixup on the fact that the installers are male and, as such, completely oblivious. (In their defense, Andrew also said that he didn't know the sink had a trademark until I pointed it out, so it must be a guy thing, and only confirms my suspicions).

The sink, correctly positioned:

and resting on its sturdy wooden base:


The bare wood sink base will be completely concealed behind wood trim and some fancy millwork when all is said and done. The space beneath the sink will be kept open (without cabinet doors), and a curtain will eventually cover the under-sink opening, to complete the country kitchen look.

Cooler days, new kitchen sink and tile, and Meyer lemons.

The end of September has brought cooler mornings, and clear blue sunny days! The Meyer lemon tree outside the kitchen door is full of fruit. I'm looking forward to our first harvest and first taste of Meyer lemonade. Meanwhile, we have decided on this lovely blue tile for the kitchen countertop and backsplash:

The focal point of the new kitchen will be the new fireclay farmhouse sink. Solid white porcelain, with an apron front. It's a beauty, and so heavy that we haven't been inclined to remove it from its nicely padded shipping box. There it will remain until it gets tiled into the new countertop beneath the kitchen window.

I can't wait to see it installed, along with the new cabinets and new tile countertop. The rough-in should be interesting, since the sink weighs about 140 pounds, empty! We found a local kitchen cabinetmaker who has drawn up a beautiful layout for us. We'll have their bid in hand next week. If we're happy with the price, it's just a matter of deciding on a wood finish and hardware, and then waiting 4-5 weeks for delivery.

There's no telling when the remodel will begin, since a lot depends on when the necessary fixtures, appliances, cabinets, and other materials arrive, because we're hoping to avoid construction delays by having everything on-site before the job starts. And that, of course, means final decisions must be made, and quickly, so that orders can be placed, and deliveries coordinated. But, each decision that's made brings our new kitchen a little closer, and it will be happening SOON!