kitchen remodel update

[TucsonLawrence]

Well, it has been a long couple of weeks, but the finish line for my kitchen remodel is in sight.

After tearing out the old kitchen, I put in the new subfloor, electrical and plumbing rough ins.
Then (and I know this was stupid) I began making the new cabinets, starting with the lowers.

The frames are framelesss and I used 3/4 melamine - I tried a few different methods which some of you had recommended to assemble and finally chose dominos for aligning with conformat screws to hold the cabinets together. The door frames and drawer fronts are 7/8 alder (dimensioned down from 5/4) with 3/8 MDF panels which I routed into beadboard. (after much gnashing of teeth, LOML chose beadboard with a 2 inch width to match the 2 inch width of the stiles and rails) I used blum slowclose hinges. The doors and drawer fronts were primed with shellac based primer, sanded, then finished with 2 coats of benjamin moore advance alkyd paint (which is now HARD as a rock after a good couple of weeks of cure)

The drawers are 1/2 cherry dovetailed with full extension blum slowclose slides and in one of the blind corners I used a half-moon slide out by rev-a-shelf (the other is a simple shelf- pie corner) The floor is coretec plus vinyl plank (we really REALLY like this stuff) and I have added some undercabinet LED lighting.

Backsplash is 2x4 inch subway tile and the counter is granite

It took 6 weeks (not counting a 7 day break in the middle to cruise to Alaska..


Still to go is crown molding, finishing and lighting a support beam, the toe kick, and a couple of tall 8 inch wide slides beside the oven, but other than that the kitchen is pretty much (finally) done

Thanks again for all the support and advice... I'll be glad when this project is over and will post final pics then once it is done.

Lawrence

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[Joel H.]

Lawrence, great job & BIG job!  It looks great and by following your wife's input, you maxed out on brownie points.

Did you shellac the drawers or leave them bare?  Nice touch on the cherry too.  (off subject: the last time I bought cherry it was cheaper then hard maple $2.30/bf vs $2.55/bf so using cherry doubles the fun).

Thanks for the update,

Joel

[fredhargis]

WOW, nice! 

[Mags®]

Significant improvement. Great Job.

[kiln dried]

Looks really good.  As someone who has been working for months on a kitchen remodel I certainly appreciate how quickly you completed this.  Admire your energy.

[ruffcutt]

[jteneyck]

Wow, that's nice.  Very nice work.  If you did all that in 6 weeks you are amazing.  And did you cut out all the boxes with a trac saw?  I guess that's what they are good at but it's still very impressive. 

I love the simple, clean desiign and good proportions.  And despite many who poo poo it, I love your choice of Melamine for the interiors.  Nice and bright, easy to clean, and NO finishing.  My cabinets are now 20 years old.  The doors/drawer fronts were made with veneer plywood panels.  They are cracking and look poor enough that I hope to build new ones next year.  The insides are Melamine and they still look great. 

Look forward to seeing photos when it's all done.  

John

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

Very impressive all the way around.  I really like the clean look and if everything is lining up as it appears in the photos, you did a great job.  Is this your first kitchen cabinet build?  If so....wow!  Did you use the Festool tracksaw for all your rip cuts?  The 6 weeks is very impressive too.  You make me look like a turtle in the shop....

[TucsonLawrence]

Thanks all- I appreciate all the words of support and hope I can answer your questions-

The cherry drawers are waxed - LOML likes the look of unfinished wood, but likes the slight protection that wax affords.  This also allows us to do cleaning and refinishing as needed on demand

For the case builds I used all the tools I had at my disposal so that I did not have to change my setting if possible- I used my track saw for the wide rips with a couple of jigs for even spacing which really sped things up, my MFT for crosscuts and my tablesaw for the dados.  

And yep, this is my first kitchen rehab- and this house certainly made things "challenging" with the non-square/level nature of the kitchen... but it did mostly line up (with some tweaking!) and for that I am grateful.

As for the timing- I am awaiting some grants before I can start up my business building gifts and memorabilia for military and first responders.  This time gap gave me a great opportunity to practice working "standard shifts" in the shop as well as practicing pricing etc ahead of time to gauge my accuracy of time estimates and waste estimates.  I would rather get it wrong on my own time and dime now- (and LOML thinks her "invoice" is amusing)

Thanks again,

Lawrence

[rwe2156]

What is the thickness on the base cab material?  Looks like 1".

Nice Job!!! Very impressed if this is your first kitchen redo.

It was the best money I ever saved/earned.