Short update on the kitchen

Well the only thing that happened this week was the installation of the tiled backsplash. I initially started on the north wall which has the fridge and stove in it. We then went around the corner to the sink. I kept this tile level all the way around and stopped right beside the window. The reason for this was that if I tiled under the window area I would have to cut a lot of tiles since they did not fit without cutting. Therefore I decided to install one piece of solid surface countertop as a backsplash under the window. I therefore am having the countertop people cut and polish a piece about 39in by 6.5in for this area. After we finished this area I had the Sister and husband in to talk about how to finish the other side. We  all agreed that continuing at the same level and then going over the small table top would be a good way to finish the tiling. With that decision done I tiled the small area that will be under the eat in counter area on the south wall and then finished off the east wall over the countertop and then over the table top area. This work was all done over Tuesday and Wednesday. Today we spent the morning and early afternoon grouting all the tile work. After cleaning it off a few times and once the grout was more or less set I reinstalled the plugs and switches and that's where we sit at this time. So now that this work is done I can start bringing up the boxes with all my kitchen stuff and start filling in the drawers and cupboards. I still need to finish installing the under cabinet lighting and later this spring I'll start working on building cupboard doors. But for now we have a reasonably functional kitchen, or at least we will after I buy a fridge and stove. So here are some pictures showing the tile installation and then what it looks like after the grouting was complete.

Well I hope that by the end of Wednesday I'll have the remainder of the floor installed and possibly working on some of the trim if I get enough painted. After that I'll work on the flooring in the back entrance. I want to get that done before I get the laundry machines installed.

Well that's all for now see you next week for another installment.

Harold

Kitchen is coming along nicely

Well after two weeks we have some work to talk about. So with the immortal words of the Bugs Bunny Roadrunner show, "On with the show this is it".

Last week Tuesday the counter top guys showed up and installed the kitchen counter. They also mounted the undermount sink at the same time. Took then maybe 1.5hrs after they brought in the four pieces until they were finished and left. And it looks great. We also spent some time in the garage working on shelving for some of my stuff

On Saturday all I did was work in the garage and fix my snowblower. I needed to weld up the drive pulley that had broken into two pieces. The pulley was built in two pieces and all they had was a single tack weld to hold the outer flange on and it finally broke. So when I welded it back on there are now 4 tacks and it will not separate again.

On Sunday went with Mom and the sister and her husband out to the local Lowes store to look through and pick out some tile for the backsplash over the counter in the kitchen. We finally settled on a colour and tile and the took all they had even the broken sets and brought them home. The tile is a tan coloured affair in brick pattern with approx 1in by 2in tiles. Here is a picture showing the tiles on the counter awaiting installation.

This past Tuesday I installed the kitchen sink taps and drain system. As well we installed the dishwasher into its receptacle. I am really glad the local hardware store where I work is only one kilometer away as I must have been there about 5 times that day picking up parts needed for the installation. For example I was installing the tap and the hoses that came with it were just long enough to reach the taps provided the tap receptacle was pointing up. This was the case with the hot water tap however the cold water tap was pointed straight out due to the addition of a tap and line for the fridge water. This necessitated a trip to the hardware store to pick up a hose extension. I also had to go there to pick up pieces to adapt the drain pipe to accept the dishwasher drain line as the original connector I had bought turned out to be to small. Oh well by the end of the day the dishwasher was installed, with the exception of the drain line and the taps and drain were installed on the sink and they worked great. Here is a picture of the two items.

 So today we hooked up the drain line and proceeded to run the dishwasher on its shortest cycle just to make sure it worked and there were no leaks. Worked like a charm. Reason I did not hook it up earlier as I wanted a few clamps to hold down the drain hose inside the corner cupboard and I forgot to pick them up until Thursday night after work. Once this was done we spent time laying out the tiles for the backsplash on the north wall of the kitchen. This is the wall with the stove opening. I had to carefully measure it out so we could cut out the plug openings and cut down a few sheets at the end of the wall. After this was done we spread out the glue and installed the tiles. It looks good and now I'll need to decide on which colour of grout to use to finish it off. Tomorrow I'll probably work on the south wall which is the short stub wall and once that's done we'll need to decide how to do the east wall behind the sink. Since there is the window there and two plugs and a switch I will need to decide whether to go high or low and how to match up the two ends since the north end is 20in high and the south end is only 8in high. Decisions, decisions. At least I have some help on the with Mom and the sister and husband giving me their opinions as well. Here are some pictures showing the backsplash installation.

Well that's all for now. I hope over the next week to finish the south wall backsplash and then hopefully on Tuesday and Wednesday we can finish installing the flooring in the hallway and kitchen area. After that it will be working on the back entrance area and deciding on which appliances to buy for my fridge, stove, washer, and dryer.

Take care and enjoy the winter, may it soon end for summer.

Harold

What lovely warm weather we're having

Well at least for now the weather is pretty good. Got up to 10C today however colder weather is enroute next week.
First I'll start by saying that I will most likely not be doing a weekly update anymore. As we get closer and closer to completion there is less to talk about. So for the future I'll probably only update this blog after some significant work gets done.
Again this week was pretty slow. We painted some trim and did some minor work. I installed the toilet in the spare bathroom, added an extra shelf in the master bedroom closet and trimmed out the small cubbyhole in the living room. After that I spent some time in the garage working on getting some shelving installed to start storing items and cleaning up the area. At this time it looks like the kitchen counter will get installed this week and once that happens I can finish the flooring in the house with the exception of the back room. That will get done separately. The last thing I did was trim out one of the basement window and then spray foam the gap around it. I've had an issue where the small piece of exposed concrete around the window was sweating due to moisture level in the basement. I am working on reducing that moisture level  but it will take time. By trimming out the window and filling the void with insulation it should prevent that moisture from forming since the concrete will not be in contact with the warmer air. I still need to do this with the remaining 5 windows as well. Once they are done all the insulating that can be done will be done and the house will be sealed up quite tightly. Because of this I am now running my HRV(heat recovery ventilator) full time at a humidity level of 40pct. So I'll leave you with a few pictures showing the end result of the work described above.

Well I'll see you next time after the countertop has been installed and the floor has been leveled. Until then have a great 2016.

Harold

Thank goodness the holidays are over

It was not the most productive week at the Mulder homestead. So this update will be short and sweet.

On Sunday we painted trimwork for the spare bath and bedroom. I also did this on Monday after work. On Tuesday we spent the afternoon watching the new Star Wars movie and I personally give it a two thumbs up. It was a good movie. On Wednesday we painted the trim again after work. On Friday we spent some time working on installing the trim in the bedroom and bathroom. I did not start early and did not finish late so as to have some time to relax. Today went to work for inventory counting. So really it was a pretty quiet week. 

Next week I hope to do some more trim work and then install the toilet in the spare bathroom. After that we'll wait and see as to when the counter top will get installed. Once that is installed I'll finish the floor and look at starting the process of installing some doors in the bed and bathrooms. 

So until next week take care.

Harold