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kaigouThe odd comments here and there about kitchens made me stop and think of what we've done so far -- as I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I am, finally, beginning to think it just might not be a giant robot. Yay.
Well, for starters, we replaced every appliance but the fridge (which is probably only a year or two old); the rest -- double oven, dishwasher, and stovetop -- were all avocado and seriously on their last legs. No, seriously: the dishwasher didn't work, the ovens didn't heat, and the stove-top had only two working eyes. I'd say of the money we've spent in the past year and a little more, the biggest amount was probably on those three things (but that was also, undoubtedly, the best spent).
Let's see what else -- and a lot of this is total guestimate, since it's not like I tracked it at the time. I probably should've, y'know, just for comparison, to know whether we really did 'save' anything (not counting sweat equity, of course) against having had the kitchen done completely by someone else. Hrm. What's really annoying is that most of these prices are a guess, at that, because sure as hell no way would Home Depot or Lowe's be so good as to actually list everything they sell on their sites; it's like they assume the only reason to see prices online is to order online, and then there's all this crap about "you'd have to go to your local store for pricing", which rather defeats the purpose of internet research, bastards.
Wow.
And with another $1118, roughly, and I'll consider myself DONE. Err, I mean, I'll consider the kitchen DONE.
What have I learned? Well, for starters, don't let the damn morons paint the frickin' cabinets before you move in. Tell them, no, please, don't, just in case we want the wood -- there's no way I can strip off the cabinets to reveal the original maple, not now. Bastards.
If you have enough storage in your kitchen but the look of it is what drives you crazy, but not enough money, spraypaint the countertops (and cabinets, too, if you want): scuff it all up with a good grit sandpaper (#50 will do), then prime if needed, and spray. Flat color, or use the nifty stone-like craft spray-paint. Let it dry for at least 12 hours, do a second coat, another even longer drying time, and then poly the ever-living hell out of it. Give each coat of poly at minimum a full 24 hours (as little as 12 if you've very low humidity and decent heat); do three coats and that should be enough. It'll last about 2 - 3 years from the reports I've read. Cost is maybe $100 total.
If you don't mind the look but have no storage, open your cabinet doors and install drawers -- you'll quadruple your space. Really sturdy, heavy-weight, dampened-rails aren't that expensive, depending on where you get them -- and they don't need fancy fronts if they're hidden behind your existing cabinetry. Worth the investment, honestly; you'll be using all your space rather than just a jumble of what you can see on the shelves when you kneel down.
Hrm, other thing I've learned is that you honestly can never have too much storage. Well, everyone else may honestly never have too much -- we do. I'm not kidding. When I've got the drawers in for the pots and pans under the sink, and put in the drawers and have the two linen-drawers and the over-the-fridge storage and the shelves beside the fridge in place, and then take a look at the pantry (which I want to insulate because right now it's not and that sucks) ... we honestly will have big gaping holes throughout our kitchen; you'll be able to open the drawers and find them completely empty.
When that happens, I think I'll take pictures and send them to my parents, just to gloat.
* I don't know if I'll get all the drawers; I may only do the bottom, deep ones, and leave the rest to be shelves. It's just easier to contemplate attaching slab-front maple plywood to drawer fronts, rather than fuss with hanging doors, especially since I prefer hidden hinges, and that requires a door of a certain thickness to hold the inset. Bleah. Might be more than a bit past my skill-level, at this point.
** Again with the I-don't-know-yet: plywood and veneer to cover the existing cabinetry and create new doors and drawer fronts so it's all a seamless, glowing, sweetly warm gold-amber that matches with the wood shelves and sill-pieces elsewhere in the kitchen. Plus I think it'll look especially nice with a slightly-warm sand-color for sink and countertop and floor.
I can not believe it's been that much spent, so far. Can anyone tell me if we came out ahead? Anyone?
Well, for starters, we replaced every appliance but the fridge (which is probably only a year or two old); the rest -- double oven, dishwasher, and stovetop -- were all avocado and seriously on their last legs. No, seriously: the dishwasher didn't work, the ovens didn't heat, and the stove-top had only two working eyes. I'd say of the money we've spent in the past year and a little more, the biggest amount was probably on those three things (but that was also, undoubtedly, the best spent).
Let's see what else -- and a lot of this is total guestimate, since it's not like I tracked it at the time. I probably should've, y'know, just for comparison, to know whether we really did 'save' anything (not counting sweat equity, of course) against having had the kitchen done completely by someone else. Hrm. What's really annoying is that most of these prices are a guess, at that, because sure as hell no way would Home Depot or Lowe's be so good as to actually list everything they sell on their sites; it's like they assume the only reason to see prices online is to order online, and then there's all this crap about "you'd have to go to your local store for pricing", which rather defeats the purpose of internet research, bastards.
- Drywall to replace areas revealed once the soffits were torn down, enclose the original doorways, cover the uprights, and various other repairs -- oh, I'm guessing I bought maybe twelve or so sheets of drywall @ $8 ea?, with a lot of wastage from doing the curved arches, sigh. Adding in two rolls of drywall netting ($3 ea), a roll of drywall paper tape ($2 ea), two boxes drywall screws ($4 ea), two five gal. buckets drywall mud ($12 ea), 1 can primer ($16), 12 bendable arch-strips ($2). $176.
- Studs for the new wall and various framing needs in the old door, pass-through, new cabinet, and whatnot: I think I bought maybe three or four carloads' worth, at maybe 8 or 9 studs a trip. Let's say 10, to round up, and four trips, so 40 studs @ $2.25 each; I saved by reusing old studs where I could, and I still have three or four studs leftover. With a few boxes of nails, hrm, $4 each perhaps. $102.
- Wall brackets ($40), spraypaint & primer ($12); I used the primer & spraypaint on the vent hood, as well, but I've not put the vent back up and didn't use those shelving brackets after all, grrr. Brackets I did use werer $14.50 ea, so $58 for four sets. $110. I'll be using those unused brackets elsewhere in the house, though. It's not like total wastage.
- Electrical stuff, too: two pendant lamps ($50 ea... I think), 2 GFI boxes ($30 ea, I think), 6 wall-boxes ($2 ea), 3 regular wall outlets ($5 ea), 1 lightswitch ($7), 4 outlet covers ($6 ea)... and, of course, the electrician who showed up and joined us in flabbergasted silence at the state of our kitchen's wiring (approx $120). Yes, go ahead, ask me about the outlet-box by the stove with the seven wires running in and out... $338. I'd say it's the electrician and the two cobalt-glass lamps that tipped us into electrical being the most expensive by size -- then again, it's also the most likely to spark a fire and y'know, not big on fires.
- Replacement faucet, I think cost about $125; the obligatory plumber's visit, about $70. $194.
- The dreaded island, which is two 20" shelves set on a base, and one three-drawer base cabinet unit, all of the comes-in-flat-boxes kind. Again with the site-design stupidity, so after nearly an hour of searching (most of which was me waiting for the damn site to respond), I can only guess that it was about $100 for the main base cabinet, and maybe $25 each for the two shelf-sets. I didn't buy the doors or drawer-fronts, which alone was a big savings. Add two drawer-pulls from Ikea to serve as dishtowel holders on the side ($8). $158.
- Various and sundry things like L-brackets ($7 for large, $5 for small), outlet and charging holder ($20), MDF panels ($16), plywood ($12), plate/bowl dish holders ($24), wood for shelves ($60) -- and who knows what else. Total scientific wild-ass guess, here. $160.
- 4 baskets for plastic containers and lids. $24
- 2 15" wide shallow drawers for table linens ($19 ea); 6 18" deep drawers for under cabinets ($26 ea); 3 18" shallow drawers ($19 ea), 1/2 lazy susan ($25). $328.*
- 30" cabinet for on top of fridge. $70
- A sink... yes, a sink -- ours is as old as the house, and stains with a snap of the fingers, and then it's copious amounts of soft-scrub and it's still not entirely clean. Plus, why do we need a two-bowl only 7.75" deep bowl when we have a dishwasher? So... that'll be probably about $325. Yipes.
- Daich Spreadrock concrete surfacing for countertops and floor ($50 gal); concrete primer/patch ($30) $130.
- Plywood paneling for drawer fronts etc ($80), edge banding ($37), veneer ($70), 9 pair drawer pulls ($6 ea). $241.**
Wow.
And with another $1118, roughly, and I'll consider myself DONE. Err, I mean, I'll consider the kitchen DONE.
What have I learned? Well, for starters, don't let the damn morons paint the frickin' cabinets before you move in. Tell them, no, please, don't, just in case we want the wood -- there's no way I can strip off the cabinets to reveal the original maple, not now. Bastards.
If you have enough storage in your kitchen but the look of it is what drives you crazy, but not enough money, spraypaint the countertops (and cabinets, too, if you want): scuff it all up with a good grit sandpaper (#50 will do), then prime if needed, and spray. Flat color, or use the nifty stone-like craft spray-paint. Let it dry for at least 12 hours, do a second coat, another even longer drying time, and then poly the ever-living hell out of it. Give each coat of poly at minimum a full 24 hours (as little as 12 if you've very low humidity and decent heat); do three coats and that should be enough. It'll last about 2 - 3 years from the reports I've read. Cost is maybe $100 total.
If you don't mind the look but have no storage, open your cabinet doors and install drawers -- you'll quadruple your space. Really sturdy, heavy-weight, dampened-rails aren't that expensive, depending on where you get them -- and they don't need fancy fronts if they're hidden behind your existing cabinetry. Worth the investment, honestly; you'll be using all your space rather than just a jumble of what you can see on the shelves when you kneel down.
Hrm, other thing I've learned is that you honestly can never have too much storage. Well, everyone else may honestly never have too much -- we do. I'm not kidding. When I've got the drawers in for the pots and pans under the sink, and put in the drawers and have the two linen-drawers and the over-the-fridge storage and the shelves beside the fridge in place, and then take a look at the pantry (which I want to insulate because right now it's not and that sucks) ... we honestly will have big gaping holes throughout our kitchen; you'll be able to open the drawers and find them completely empty.
When that happens, I think I'll take pictures and send them to my parents, just to gloat.
* I don't know if I'll get all the drawers; I may only do the bottom, deep ones, and leave the rest to be shelves. It's just easier to contemplate attaching slab-front maple plywood to drawer fronts, rather than fuss with hanging doors, especially since I prefer hidden hinges, and that requires a door of a certain thickness to hold the inset. Bleah. Might be more than a bit past my skill-level, at this point.
** Again with the I-don't-know-yet: plywood and veneer to cover the existing cabinetry and create new doors and drawer fronts so it's all a seamless, glowing, sweetly warm gold-amber that matches with the wood shelves and sill-pieces elsewhere in the kitchen. Plus I think it'll look especially nice with a slightly-warm sand-color for sink and countertop and floor.
I can not believe it's been that much spent, so far. Can anyone tell me if we came out ahead? Anyone?