Kitchen remodel-lower cabinets

Well, here we are. Though the lowers are not 100% done, it's time to at least give you an update and show you the new granite! Wahoo!


Before:

After:
(You can see the side of the cabinets where I still need to paint, etc,)

Before:
(Also notice the top "drawer" just to the left of the oven. It has hinges on the bottom. It used to be that you would open that little "door" and pull out the breadboard. So weird.)
After:
(I countersunk some screws in the front of that drawer/door thingy and spackled over them so now there is no weird door. You just pull the handle and it is directly attached to the breadboard. In this picture the spackle is still drying and hadn't been sanded or finished yet.)

Notice the false front drawers under the old sink. While I was at it, I turned them into tilt-out drawers and added cup pulls to them too. So much more useful!


I still need to finish the side and back of the peninsula. That is a post for next week. Then they will be 100% done! I am super happy. The room is SOOOO much brighter, cleaner, and sparkly.

Future plans: Find some tile for the backsplash. Oh, and learn how to actually do the tile.

Kitchen remodel-the suspense continues

I know you are just dying to see my new countertops. I am painting, painting, painting my little heart out and should have pictures of the finished product in a couple days. Today I was thinking I would tell you some of the products that I use and some of the steps that I took to paint the cabinets.
1. WASH
I used oxiclean this time. I had a hard time finding TSP for some reason. Plus with 3 kids it's not like I can drive all over town looking for it. So I just used what I had on hand that would be a good degreaser. You can follow the directions for whatever soap you use. Sometime you need to wipe them again to wipe off any soap residue, sometimes you don't.

2. SAND
Either use sandpaper or liquid sand. I use one or the other or both. Areas that would be hard to sand (round edges, etc) get liquid sand. How much do you need to sand? Let me put it this way: Shiny surfaces don't take paint well. So you have to rough them up. If you are painting, you don't need to sand off all the finish. Just rough up the surface. Small vibrating sanders are not expensive and you will use is many times. It's worth the 25 or 30 bucks. (Wipe off the dust with tackcloth (LOVE) or a damp cloth (or babywipes).

3. FILL
I filled any holes that I needed to in order to change the hardware. I have used wood filler, wood putty, spackle, caulk....just about anything. What is the best? For me, spackle looked the best in the end. Purists would probably roll in their grave, but whatever. You gotta do what you gotta do. I used caulk in the cabinet cracks.
Label doors and drawers so they get put back in the right place.


4. PRIME
I used Zinsser oil-based primer/sealer. It smells and you need mineral spirits to clean up. But it adheres well and holds up well. It can be recoated in 1 hour! When I managed apartments, the painters always wanted Zinsser when we were painting old brown cabinets white. They didn't even bother to sand the cabinets. So in a pinch you could skip the sanding, but make sure the cabinets are very clean. Then prime. If you don't want to use oil-based primer, I recommend Kilz2 latex primer. Also great. Also can be gritty and you will want to sand between coats.
I usually do 2 thin coats of primer.


** Here is a tip. Lately, I have been using old plastic sacks as disposable paint tray covers. When I am done, I just pull the sacks off and throw them away! I also wrap my brushes and rollers with baggies or plastic wrap between coats. Even overnight. That way I don't have to clean the brushes as much. Only when I am done with them.

5. SAND. AGAIN.
I sand between coats. Sometimes the primer can leave a gritty residue. If you want a nice, smooth finish, sand again. I use brown paper sacks as sandpaper at this stage. They are about the same as fine sandpaper, free, and easily acquired. Just tear off a piece and go to town. Just a quick rub or two over all the surfaces will do. (Wipe off dust)

I USE 2 COATS OF PRIMER AND AT LEAST 2 COATS OF TOPCOAT. I sanded between primer coats and not really at all between topcoats since it dries smoother.

6. TOPCOAT
I use the same paint and color that I use on my doors and trim. It is from Sherwin Williams and it is a latex ENAMEL for doors and trim in semi-gloss. Proclassic? My label is covered in paint so I can't read it! My understanding is that enamel paint "dries" or rather, cures, to a nice hard finish. I say it's true. Sometimes regular latex paint can remain tacky or soft feeling. Enamel is great. You can paint latex over oil. But I am told that you should not paint oil over latex. I don't know why.
I usually do 2-3 coats of topcoat.

Here are some other procedural things I do. I have some paper cups that I use to prop the doors up. I paint the back side, wait for it to dry enough that I can flip it over and paint the other side. That way, the bottom can continue to finish drying while I start on the other side. The cups also keep it up off the surface that I am painting on so the edges don't stick. I have heard of using push pins also. I couldn't stick them into my doors. I'm weak I guess.

I think that is it for now.

Crown moulding/shelf done!

Here is the finished product!









And then today I did this:








I beat up the base cabinets a little. At least they were kinda crappy to begin with. Plus, my painting plans include some new trim that will cover any of that anyway. So it's all good, little chickens. I started with my little jigsaw but this job was too much for it. So I called in the big guns and borrowed a sawzall. Holy moley. I know what I want next. Hee hee.

Granite comes tomorrow! Yipee!!!

Kitchen remodel- Over cabinet shelf and crown

Bulkheads above cabinets are dumb, aren't they? Sometimes the space above cabinets can be kind of dumb too. Hard to clean, hard to store stuff, everything looks bad up there. Everything you do store up there gets greasy dust on it. You can't win. That is probably where the tall cabinets came from lately.

Anyway, I really wanted to add some crown moulding to the cabinets to dress them up some more. I found this great webpage that had instructions for a shelf along with the crown. Sweet. I love it. Great idea. P.S. You will get lost for hours in that site!

I was compiling a shopping list and realized I already had some 1x3's that I could rip in half with my new (to me) table saw to make the cleats! Here is the dry fit. Then I glued and nailed it (with my brand spanking new compressor and nailgun. The back cleats are screwed into studs in the back as well.


They will not show in the end so they don't have to be beautiful.

Then I bought a sheet of plywood and cut it so that it hung over an extra 1 1/2 inches. (All the instructions are on that webpage.) Again, with my table saw!


Look how nice and smooth the top will be. After I paint it I will be able to actually wipe the dust off once in a while (like every 2 years). P.S. I bought a bit nicer sheet of plywood so that it would be a somewhat nice shelf up there. It was about $24 and I still have some leftover for other projects that come up.
So obviously, the sides of the plywood show. Not good. So I needed some trim to cover it up. Before I ran off to Orange I decided to run by the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. And guess what? I found all the trim I needed and even some crown! I bought all the crown they had in that style which was way more than I needed but I wanted to keep some for when I do the laundry cabinets and stuff. So all of it was 15 bucks but I only used about half of it. Here is the trim being nailed on. It is lavendar. But that doesn't matter! It will get painted anyway! Wahoo!

All the lavendar trim up.

Oh, and I nailed the shelves to the cleats. Duh.
I caulked some at this stage because I realized that little crack might show under the crown.

Here is the crown nailed up! Let me just say, installing (cutting) crown moulding is not for wimps. I wanted to shoot myself. My sister says she and her husband needed marriage counseling after they put their crown up. I believe it! I will have to googlize the tricks to it on my internet machine.


My joints weren't tight but that's okay because me and caulk are BFF's.


Next I will prime and paint! YAY!

kitchen remodel part 2.5

As I have said many times, I am not done. But here is how it stands today. The granite will go in next week. I am not sure if I will try to paint the lowers before it comes or not. Either way I won't do the final "reveal" of the lowers until after the granite is in. But here is the befores and afters for now:
Anything with a green wall and orange oak is before. In case you weren't sure.





Here is a close-up of the hardware. Also, the paint color is Stonebriar from Sherwin Williams. The color is not true in these photos. I couldn't make it right with my little point and shoot. It is a warm beige with a good amount of gold in it. I looked into the famous "Tobacco Road" and it was yellow. Not even beige in my opinion. Just sayin'.