SchneeWorld

Final Inspections

We had the final inspections last week and we passed. That means that should someone get hurt due to a massive failue of the kitchen infrastructure, we should be covered, insurance-wise. It also means that the plumbing is "to-code", despite the extreme level of bozosity of the plumber.

We still have to get the final patchwork done and the door between the laundry room and kitchen installed, but we're basically good-to-go.

It's a success

The new kitchen got a workout this past holiday season. My parents from Montana came down to see their grandsons and daughter-in-law, so that was two more mouths to feed right there. We had a small dinner pre-Christmas with three additional guests and we had five other guests for Christmas dinner. The small dinner was the first test. We had a married couple and their adult son over. Both father and son are very good cooks who enjoy cooking. So with Kathleen, my mom, Frank, Adam and me, we had 5 cooks doing separate tasks and two spectators all around the island and no one interfered with anyone else. It really was enjoyable. That was exactly what we were shooting for with the remodel.

Christmas dinner was pretty much the same, but this time, we discovered that yes, too many cooks can spoil the broth. Kathleen accidentally turned off my burner, which stressed two dishes (one had too much heat and one not enough) and when Kathleen had to attend to Ben, my mom took over her dish and melted the feta into the beans instead of just crumbling it on top. Whoops. Still, it all worked out well. And think about it...enough space to allow cooks to screw up each other's dishes. That's awesome!

Yea! for Team Schneeman and the Kitchen. I'll probably let it sit for a bit, but I'm already planning the next stages. Maybe a home improvement show called "Pimp My Kitchen" is in the future...

Kitchen +Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

From that to this (in 12 "short" weeks).

The mistake with the counters was corrected the day after it happened, and this weekend, we got the sink hooked up. We are back to fully functional. The most used and useful appliance? The wine cooler, 'natch.

We had a bit of a scare with the plumbing inspection. Kathleen was calling in the final inspections and discovered that the plumbing inspection was not registered in the system, which means, as far as the City is concerned, we did not pass our inspection. Major concerns, thoughts of lawsuits and repeated trips to the wine cooler all followed. Fortunately, one of the final inspectors came by and noted that we have the paperwork indicating that the plumbing passed. So, it truly is just a glitch in the system that can be cleared up much more easily than re-inspecting the plumbing.

What's left? The door between the laundry room and the kitchen and some minor patch work. Whew!

Here are some of the more recent photos, including one of Ben checking out the hood and a hand-held attempt to capture the dramatic undercabinet lighting. I'll have to do an "Architectural Digest" shoot once everything is settled. (as usual, all thumbnails are clickable)
    

Kitchen +It doesn't really matter

We had our counters installed yesterday. Some of it went pretty well, but some of it kinda sucks. Like the poorly done seam in the long counter and the fact that the cooktop opening isn't big enough for the cooktop. Grrrrrrrr.

But, we're getting closer.

Kitchen +Hell's starting to cool down

Lots of progress over the past few days. While Hell may not have frozen over, it seems to be getting temperate. There's more (including pictures) after the jump.[Read More]

Kitchen +Who the hell's counting anymorere

Its been a really long time for the kitchen remodel. We started on Sept 13, and we probably won't be done until Dec 7 or so. We started with enthusiasm and excitement, but that has all been spent. After the jump, there's a run down of the current state of affairs (with pictures). (Click on the little dots)[Read More]

Kitchen +14

The kitchen remodel continues. The vent hood came in last week. It is in a Really Big Box and I haven't even bothered to peak inside. We ordered the cabinetry last week - it should be ready in 4 to 5 weeks. Framing is essentially finished and some dry wall is going up.

We moved the window over the sink so that it would be centered against the back wall. That was a bit stressful (believe it or not) but all is well now. We're getting a third window that looks exactly like the other two that look out towards the back. Pain in the rear that has been. First, the windows that we have are really really good. They can withstand northern winters just fine, which means that the Central Texas heat is not a problem. The problem is that they just aren't sold in these parts. I'm not sure how the prior owner got hooked into buy these, nor from where they were purchased, but it has been very hard locate a dealer. We called someone up in Dallas, but they have a "five window or $5,000 minimum" order limit. I finally talked to the manufacturer and they put me in touch with a local supplier that they are setting up. We had a guy come out and do some measuring. We wrote a check, got the receipt and two days later, the guy quits and did not pass along our order information (not sure where the money is). I wound up having to talk to the manufacturer again and hopefully we'll get the window. But, it is a two week delay, which really really sucks.

Anyway, here's a schematic (measurements are not exact) and a more up-to-date rendering. Note that  the window near the door really is suppose to be a third-window butting up to the other two.

Kitchen +7

We ran into our first couple of headaches. We insisted that we get the construction and plumbing inspected by the city to code. We're not moving any load-bearing walls, but we are replumbing some gas lines and figured that we better get the rebuild approved. Our contractor wasn't quite anticipating this, and he needs to bring in some more subs. That's gonna cost more, and caused a delay.

As we were tearing out the oven and the wall behind it, we noticed that the insulation is all blackened. First question was "did we have a fire?". Don't know the answer to that, but this is the same oven that was under-amped. Someone (us or the previous owners) may have dodged a bullet. None of the neighbors know about a fire. Maybe the excessive heat from the oven blackened the insulation. Or something.

Kitchen +6

The kitchen demolition started last Wednesday, on schedule. That meant that on Monday and Tuesday, we spend mucho time clearing out the kitchen of everthing we didn't want demolished. By Wednesday morning, the kitchn looked like:  and . That was a bit of work.

By Wednesday when I came home from work, the kitchen looked like: and . Zoinks!

Currently, the main entrance to the kitchen is covered in plastic, which ostensibly keeps the dust down and definitely reduces photographic opportunities. In the past few days, we've had out pantry and landry rooms framed out and had most of the electrical wiring done. The electrical work should finish this evening, and the plumbing (what with the jackhammering) should start today. They need to cut a channel to the island to route the gas and electricity.

Where is our functional kitchen right now? Here:
We gave up our front room and made it into a kitchen. We got the fridge, a microwave, a crockpot, a toaster and a blender. Last night, I was cooking pasta on our camp stove out on the front porch. They call South Austin "Bubbaland". We're livin' it.

We should have a functioning laundry room this week, meaning we'll have the washer, dryer and a laundry sink. We may even have our dishwasher hooked up. Currently, a bathroom sink is where we do the dishes, and our neighbor is letting us do laundry at their place.

All told, the sacrifices are not too bad and will totally be worth it when were done. We will have:

• Much better lighting, inc under cabinet and nice halogens with the venthood
  
• A new window to complement the two that look out into the back yard. Turns out our windows are not only top-of-the-line (double pane, argon-gas filled), but they are really hard to get here in Texas
• Nice tile flooring
• Nice quartz composite counters
• Nice cabinets (no more sagging, door that close!)
• An oven that self-cleans (the oven that we have actually self-cleans when it is installed correctly. Turns out that the previous installation hooked up 30 amps, not 50. That's one fire hazard we're stamping out)
• A really nice vent hood
• Probably a new fridge
• A pantry!
• A tankless water heater, installed outside! With 120 degree water delivered at 7.4 GPM 24/7/365 (we'll try to avoid that 24/7/365 part)

Kitchen Day, Minus One (or Two)

We're remodelling our kitchen. We've got the plans, we've picked the contractors, and are ordering the materials. We'll be tearing down walls, moving appliances, building an island, putting in new windows, moving other windows and generally comimitting ourselves to being completely without a kitchen for two months (or more).

We'll be moving from this picture:

To this one: (both picts are clickable).
The 2nd images is not quite realistic, obviously (no upper cabinets, no counter over the dishwasher and the lights are wrong), but it does give a bit of a feel for what we are doing. We have a line-drawing rendering available as well, but you'll need a PDF viewer to see it.

I'll be taking pictures as we go. The demolition should start on Tuesday or Wednesday. Sigh....

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