Episode III - Revenge of the Cabinets

Underestimating the time any job takes has been a recurring issue throughout the entire project. The problem this time is that the countertop was scheduled in less than 18 hours and the island wasn't installed yet. Rush... I had to build custom plywood brackets to anchor the island cabinets to the sub-floor and unfortunately, in my dash to the finish line, I measured once and ended up cutting twice!

This island is only 24" deep by 54" wide and I wanted storage access from both sides. To accomplish this objective with IKEA cabinets I had to use 6 individual wall cabinets that - surprise - don't come with pre-drilled metric holes for the pegs of the IKEA leg brackets. Was that the cabinets' revenge? Regardless, I decided to saw off the plastic pegs from the legs at 2 am in the morning and used wood screws through the plastic base to secure them to the bottom of the cabinet. The island HAD to be done by 10 am. The night was short...

Wooden Brackets for securing island to subfloor

Where the island must go

Early morning: Island completed

IKEA legs bracket mod

Episode II - Attack of the Cabinets

The wall cabinets are in place and measurement for the main countertop is done. I still have the island and a small cabinet to install near the garage door before they come back in a few days to deliver the countertops.

The tall cabinets along the west wall have been a bit more challenging. I had to shim under the IKEA ovens for even spacing and door clearance. The dimensions and shelf position were not provided and careful measurements of the appliances were needed. Despite the adjustable legs, I also had to increase the height of the cabinets by about 1.5" with a few pieces of 2x4 so that the refrigerator would clear the upper cabinet above.

Tips of the day:
1 - Blocking with pieces of 2x6 between studs was a good move and allowed me to secure the cabinets with standard #10 screws along the wall, thus avoiding the unpredictable drywall anchors.
2 - I took my time for measuring the bumps and valleys of the drywall along the entire wall length. Using a long straightedge, I was able to see that the first cabinet needed to be shimmed on one side only. This was key to square and tight cabinet installation.

Episode I - The Cabinet Menace

I called the countertop company and made an appointment for them to measure in 2 weeks! The intent is to give me an incentive to gear-up this whole renovation.

IKEA cabinets come in flat packs and require assembly. The first one took about 40 minutes: Locating and regrouping all boxes, parts, bits and pieces for each cabinets from the master list. Open the boxes without damaging what's inside with the box cutter. Sorting screws and other hardware without losing them in the helping hands of my 4 year old. Looking at the instructions - not optional. By the time I was done, I could assemble a 24"x24" 3-drawer base cabinet in about 10-15 minutes, drawers included.

A couple of tips that makes IKEA cabinet installation much easier:
1 - I installed all drawer or door hardware on each side panel before the whole cabinet is assembled. Doing this on a couple of sawhorses is a plus. My back thanked me for that.
2 - Against IKEA's instruction, I used a cordless drill with adjustable torque set to medium to screw the hardware in the particle board panels. A 3-drawer base cabinet requires about 30 to 40 screws. This time my hand and wrist thanked me!

Install wall cabinets first

Cutouts for plumbing, electrical and dishwasher

Walking on Gold

Guess what? About 25 days have passed since I began tiling and I just finished! From 10 sq ft in 3.5 hours when I started, to a whooping 24 sq ft in 1.5 hours, the progress is visible. Too bad I didn't start with the most inconspicuous section of the kitchen: Newbie mistake. The very essential skill to develop is to consistently comb the mortar in even thickness. That happened somewhat when I stopped thinking about what I was doing, and was just doing it. And that happened the 24th day of tiling!

Should I mention that I had to scrape and redo half of the grout because of inexplicable color differences between day-1 and day-2 batches?

Few stats: About 90 tiles or pieces of tile were installed, 175 lb of thinset mortar was used, 2 knees were turned callous; a fair amount of frustration due to a process hard to master, some discouragement due to some unreasonable amount of procrastination, 1 bag of grout, $1,500 saved by doing it myself and a couple of badly-laid tiles.

Overall, the end result is not that bad. Just wish I had someone to mix the mortar for me, someone to clean the tools after me, and someone to lay the tiles for me!

Finished!

Last pieces

Grout Color Issue

Consequence: Remove and Redo the Grout

25: A number to hate!

I thought tiling would be fun and rewarding. Wrong! The job is painful. The way my knees feel and look can now attest. Breathing dry thinset as it becomes air-born in an uncontrollable cloud when pouring it in water is unavoidable. This becomes a tad more tolerable when done outside as long as my car isn't in the direction the wind blows! Setting up 25lb bag of thinset takes 25 minutes no matter what, and cleanup of tools and buckets in 25 degree temperature is a vacation. Twenty five is a number I learned how to hate.

Let’s do some math: I have 165 sq ft to cover. It took me three and a half hour to cover the first 10 sq ft which means it will take me more than 57 hours to cover the whole kitchen! I bet this will take 25 days to complete! I'm about to think that $2,500 (twenty five hundred!) for a professional to do this in 2.5 days might have been worth it. Too late. I'm in till I... get done.

"Tuscan Leveling System" update: Not bad but no miracle here. The system is leveling unevenness between tiles up to 3/32" but it still requires spreading thinset in an even thickness to obtain professional results.

First Cuts

Time to pull out the big toys! First cuts with the tile saw and dry-fit of a few key pieces. Things are looking good. The tile saw is very powerful and rip a tile in half in no time. I almost find it enjoyable.


















To help with laying the tiles even with one-another, I purchased a cool system called "Tuscan Leveling System". It supposed to helps even-out slight height differences between tiles (called "lippage") thus making the art of laying tiles a walk in the park for me who lacks total tiling skills! The system is quite expensive and I'm hoping it will do what it says. I'm about to find out...

Tuscan Leveling System

Ready, Steady, Tile!

The plan is to install 165 sqft of tiles in a couple of weekends. Doable, right? Let's see...

First mistake and I didn't even mix the first batch of thinset: The edges of one row of cement boards are way too high and form a ridge that leaves the tiles hovering "in the air" by 3/16" on both ends (see picture). This is a huge mistake I can't afford the time to fix by prying out the offending boards. I decided to reduce the ridge by scraping and sanding down what I could. This process of course removed the fiberglass tape reinforcing the joints between the cement boards. …I can feel the issues will cascade from there.

One last thing about cement board best practice: Evidently, taping and mudding joints automatically adds thickness locally which makes the floor uneven. Did I just read that the key to a successful tile job is the flatness of the subfloor? So, inherently cement boards are not your best friends, right? Got to stop over-thinking... It's too late to change anyway.

Doing something constructive at last: Dry-fit the tiles in both directions to plan for the most aesthetically pleasing layout with manageable cuts in both size and placement.

The tile has an interesting linen textile effect

Texere From Ann Sacks

Back-Breaking Backer-Board

Installing the 1/4" cement board is the final step before laying tiles. Mixing, keying and combing the mortar, laying and screwing the 3'x5' cement board is all what it takes. About 600 screws, two and a half 50lb bags of thinset and a couple of painful blisters later, this job is done. Not much fun here but a good practice run for the upcoming tile job.

Note my "vintage" Skil Jig Saw

Partially complete or incomplete: Just a point of view

Subpar Sub-floor

I plan to install 12"x24" rectified porcelain tiles and began having second thought about my sub-floor structure the day I was about to install the cement board. I went online and found a great tiling forum at http://www.johnbridge.com/ that provided the needed advice. When tiling with large format tile, the floor must be extremely rigid to prevent flexing under load and consequently avoid cracking grout line and tile overtime (Tiles don't bend!). To satisfy this requirement, I had no choice but to tear the recently installed flimsy 1/4" OSB from the sub-floor and replace it with 5/8" B-C exterior grade plywood. Quite happy about putting more work against correcting the issue. Doing it right the first time is saving me "mucho dinero"!

Ready for duty

1/4" OSB and screws under attack

Almost a finished room!

Sub, old 1/4 and new 5/8

First Completion

The ceiling is painted and the 4" recessed lights are functional. That is the first fully completed job. The pressure is on since the goal is to have a fully functional kitchen by the arrival of my visiting in-laws on December 14.
So, what's left to be done:

• Tiling floor
• Refinishing window/door trim  & paint 
• Assembling & installing cabinets
• Getting the countertop ordered and installed
• Installing appliances
• Finishing electrical & plumbing
• Tiling backsplash

20 Minutes of Safety

To make sure the cars in the attached garage won't burn in case of a fire in the house, the building codes demand that I install a 20 minute-rated fireproof door between the garage and the kitchen. Some might say that fire can start in the garage. True. Though, I found many more opportunities for things to go wrong in a kitchen (Fryer, gas range, B-day candles, etc.) than in the garage... Regardless the new door is a good thing since the old one was an uninsulated inside door with a 1" gap at the bottom due to the removal of the various layers of old flooring. The new door will keep warm HVAC air inside during winter and the heat from an eventual house fire as well. ...At least for 20 minutes!

OLD

NEW - Not sure I'll remove  the "Fire Door" label

The Drywall Holds a Secret

I'm not bad at doing drywall, I just don't like it. I'm too perfectionist to do it efficiently. Besides, blending seams is an art-form I have no intention in trying to master. So, one day, the drywall guy shows up while I'm at work. I left a remote garage door opener for him to access the house. Nothing unusual here, except that I later discovered that he "forgot" the opener and a set of blueprints inside one of the stud cavities behind the drywall he had just installed! He never showed up on-time nor the days he committed and yet, he managed to get the job done. He is the kind of guy you want to hate but you can't because he successfully makes you believe he tries really hard to make things happen for you. Took him 2 weeks though...

Southeast Corner

Northwest Corner

Viva IKEA

Time for some shopping. 150 miles away. Destination IKEA. That's where affordable and stylish cabinets and appliances are coming from.
Saturday marathon:

• 6 am: wake up. 
• 6:30 am: Pickup a Uhaul and chat with the owner about his passion: Parrots in cages. 
• 7 am: Take ownership of the 14 footer.
• 10am: Arrive at IKEA. 
• 11:30 am: Shake hands and say bye to IKEA kitchen consultant. 
• 12-noon: Done refueling with a plate of Swedish meatballs. 
• 12:30 pm: Pull the credit card and feel the pain. 
• 1 pm: Bribe an IKEA employee to help with the loading of 178 packages of all sizes and weight. 
• 2 pm: Take off and return home. 
• 4:32 pm: Open the window to stay awake.
• 5 pm: Bribe the neighbor with a beer to help with the unloading of 178 packages that now feels rather like 356 packages. 
• 6:30 pm: Return the Uhaul and drop the keys in the box (no parrot chat? Thanks but no-thanks).
• 7 pm: Collapse on the couch watching Gordon Ramsey's "Kitchen Nightmares".
• Shutdown.

 In the packages:
All the cabinet frames and doors and trims
Oven, hood, microwave, dishwasher, cooktop and a toddler bed!

178 packages

Odds and Ends

A few things to complete before the drywall shows up:
1 - Drill a 8" hole through the rim joist to the outside and install a 8" wall vent and duct for the future exhaust hood. Couldn't resist emptying the entire can of expanded insulation foam.
2 - Install strategically located stud-blocking to easily attach cabinets and appliances to the wall with straight-forward wood screws. This will help avoid the frustrations that usually comes with the use of ineffective drywall anchors during cabinet installation.
3 - Insulate exterior walls with fiber glass. Notice the safer use of unfaced insulation in joist cavities where heat-producing recessed light fixtures are present.

8" Venting Duct

One Can Only!

Stud-Blocking here and there

Unfaced Insulation Where Needed

Vapor Barrier Over Insulation

A great way to make new friends

Hard to believe that we found the means to fill the 20 cubic yard dumpster. Well, not really: We actually became very popular in our neighborhood and many new friends came to "borrow" some space in our dumpster. I never thought this could turned out to be such a coveted real estate!

The drywall guy dumped other job site leftovers and scraps, the next door neighbor added old windows and framing, a coworker found a resting place for its vintage cast iron kitchen sink and the anonymous did an occasional rogue night-stop to clear basement and garage. Did I mention the dumpster police squad? This is our almost-retired neighbor lady who decided to shoo away the daily inspection of the metal scrap scavenger guy.

Sparks everywhere

Everything is old but well built. Though, the electrical no longer meeting code is not a surprise. So what do we have? Original extra-stiff 12 gauge solid copper cable that feeds everything and that requires a pry-bar to bend into shape, and an offending collection of non-grounded outlets. System overhaul is needed. I'm not a pro at making sparks, so there should be peace of mind in hiring a licensed electrician, right?  Not quite. The electrician found interesting to drill through the newly installed vent pipe and the plumber retaliated by drilling through a couple of newly installed 120 volt lines. Water or fire? Who was the winner?!

4" Recessed Light Fixtures Everywhere

Old

New (with temporary switch)

Venting about ductwork

Who wants an HVAC register at eye level? Not us! Relocating this duct is easy: Cut and paste - literally. This is where my once-purchased-with-no-need Dremel tool became helpful. A nice clean cut and the top part of the duct is extracted from the belly of the house. No bleeding. A couple of tin folds and a length of aluminum tape later, and the patient is back in business, this time at ankle level.

Before

Location, location, location! 

Surgery completed

Note the electrical boxes who quickly decided to take over the newly liberated real estate.