Cooktop Installed

Here it is - the cooktop installed in the aluminum (not stainless) insert:


I think I need to clean David's cell phone's camera lense - either that, or it's set to take low resolution photos.  Anyways, you get the idea.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

But also make sure that you are cutting for the correct appliance.  Apparently I printed the booklet for the Kenmore cooktop but ended up purchasing the GE.  Unfortunately, the Kenmore installation booklet was never tossed.  It didn't help that there are no brand names mentioned in the booklet.  And of course the Kenmore cut-out size was larger than the GE, or it wouldn't have been a problem.  The countertop we are using is a stainless steel table top that we picked up at an auction 10 years ago for $15.  Everything is designed around this, so tossing it and starting over was not an option.  The two solutions to fix the opening size were to use either wood or marble to create a ledge for the cooktop to mount in.  Then David remembered that he has a couple of sheets of stainless steel plate, so he will use that instead.  Just another story for the house!

 

Entry Light

More Kitchen Pictures

Kitchen Pictures for Jeff & Deanna to Drool Over

So, the kitchen is pretty much a clean slate - some rough framing for the island bar, and the duct for the kitchen vent.
This is one of two barrister's bookcases that David had. This one is being converted into a bookcase at the end of the island. Not sure what he'll do with the other one.
Here's one of the island cabinets - David was working on them two days before Katrina hit.
Here's the stainless steel table that we picked up at an auction years ago. Stainless - so no rust from Katrina.
On one of David's last trips to National Guard in Vicksburg, he came home with a walnut footboard. This will go above the cooktop,

So not so much to drool over yet - and that's why there haven't been any pictures!

2 Coats of Finish

David was hoping to apply the finish in the mornings and then work on kitchen cabinets in the afternoons but the finish is taking all day. No matter how well he cleans the applicator pads, some fuzz still ends up in the floor, which then needs to be sanded out before the next coat is applied. Plus the staircase takes more time. The first two coats are a Tung Oil/Resin product - Waterlox Original Formula. The next two coat will be the Satin Formula. The staircase may only need one more coat, but David will probably put another two coats on since he has to on the pine floors.

The floors are looking good - you can see the chatter marks from the drum sander, but it's not terrible. And certainly not so bad that I regret not spending the extra $4K to have it professionally sanded. It shouldn't be as noticeable with the satin finish. Once David is finished with the 4th coat, we need to stay off the floors for 24-48 hours, and then only light sock traffic for 7 days. Claire and Emily will just have to wait until next weekend to dance on the new shiny floors!

Quick Update

David has finished sanding the floors, with a lot of help from Bobby. I've always heard about what a horrible mess the sanding makes, so I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't inches of dust in the adjoining rooms. Still, I didn't realize that the walls would need to be vacuumed after sanding, so guess I can agree that the sanding does make quite a mess. Luckily we don't have any of the hanging light fixtures installed in the rooms with wood floors. On the plus side, we did get to try out the central vac. Worked great!

David will start applying the finish tomorrow. He's hoping for half days applying finish, with the remainder of the day spent on island cabinets. But he's going to put finish on the stairs at the same time, which may add a lot of time because of all the detail work.

Here's a link to a picture of the balusters we're going to copy on our staircase: http://www.stairwarehouse.com/56.html