Evans

Evans Heating and AC showed up today.  These guys are badass!  They made the 40-foot trip up to the roof (in the sweltering heat!) and totally acted like it was no big deal.

The problem turned out to be low coolant levels. They recharged my system and all is well and cool again!  They also pointed out that the heat pump was filthy and offered to clean it as a preventative measure. 

This is a father-son duo who were really nice guys, and they didn't charge an arm and a leg.  Overall I'm really happy with the service and would definitely use Evans again if needed.    

Almost done!

The granite guy was here today to measure for the kitchen countertops.   He saw the kitchen and declared it "almost done!"   For the granite fabrication, I'm going with Richstone Granite and Marble in Springfield, Virginia.

The turnaround on the granite is apparently three to five days, so by next week we should have countertops sitting on these cabinets.

See the fireplace on the left? Since it's so close, I'm having the fireplace surround replaced with the same granite as in the kitchen. 

Here's a better shot of the fireplace.  The surround now is marble, which is nice but totally '80s.   

The plan is to build a new mantle and panels all around the new granite in white - to match the kitchen cabinetry. 

So are we almost done? 

Not quite, but we're getting closer!

Maple Cappuccino

Justin from Arlandria Floors was here today to measure the apartment. He'll send over his estimate next week.

I showed him my top two flooring choices. He is the third person this week to pick the maple cappuccino.  So that's what I'll go with. 

And besides, maple cappuccino sounds like a delicious kind of ice cream coffee drink and who wouldn't want that?

Here is how it looks with the granite and a cabinet door.

Once the flooring is ordered, it takes about two weeks to come in and then the installation will take two days.

Can't wait!

Size matters

Vito showed up today to look at my AC.

When he saw that he had to climb up three stories to the roof to get to the heat pump, he declined the job. Apparently OSHA standards say you can't put a ladder on the stairwell landing in the back.  The ladder has to be firmly placed on the ground, but his shorter 28-foot ladder wouldn't reach the roof from the ground. He needed a bigger, 40-foot ladder.  

The warranty company started looking for another hvac company that has a 40-foot ladder AND is willing to go up to the roof to make an official diagnosis of the problem for the warranty company.  At the end of the day, I found out they could not find an hvac outfit in their network to do the job.  So they agreed to let me find a company and then be reimbursed after the work is done. 

So all I need to do is find an hvac company with a 40-foot ladder.

How hard can that be?

Rain delay

Remember me telling you that my AC is out? 

And did I tell you that it's been 90+ degrees every day for the last ten days in DC?

It's true.  Visit weather.com and they'll tell you all about our historic heat wave.

Anyway, I took the afternoon off from work today to be home for the 12-4 appointment window with Vito's heating and air conditioning.  Fifteen minutes before the end of said four-hour window, they called to say they are not coming as scheduled.   

It turns out they were on the way over when it started raining hard and they can't go up on the roof during or after rain for safety reasons, which I totally get. I've fallen off a ladder and it's not that fun.

The good news is that we're rescheduled for Friday.  

The better news:  we're in for a cooler temps in the 80s for the rest of the week!

Some advice

If you want help making some renovation choices, call your friend who also happens to be a real estate agent.  Who else comes over to see how you're doing, offers great renovation advice and feedback, and then takes you out for brunch at Birch and Barley?

Shahab is the best. 

Here is what he had to say: 

(1) go with a more subtle pendant lights instead of the ones from restoration hardware. I was thinking the same thing so I bought two of these during  my weekly trip to Lowe's this morning.

(2) He recommended going with the Bianco Antico granite. True, I toyed with the idea of going with marble countertops but he's right. Marble on top of the white cabinets is too much white.

(3)  He liked my flooring options and suggested going with the maple over the oak. 

Overall he said renovations are looking great!

Narrowing down the options

I have two finalists for the countertops. 

One is Bianco Antico. It's a white brazilian granite with espresso chunks, mica chips and sprinkles of cinnamon here and there. It has taupe-y areas too.



The second is carrera marble. 

Here are a couple samples I picked up pictured with a base cabinet and flooring options.

Bianco antico on the left; carrera marble on right with Oak Provincial flooring:

And here they are with maple cappucino floors:

So by sometime next week I will have to make a decision on which combination to go with.

No end in sight

There is no end in sight to the shopping for this renovation.

Saturday I went over to Bray and Scarff in Arlington.  I ordered this and this.  They will be delivered Friday, June 25.

From there I drove out to the Lowe's in New Carrollton, Maryland to see my kitchen designer Charles.  I had to order a new wall cabinet due to a last minute change in the design. 

I was also over in Georgetown at Restoration Hardware to pick out pulls and knobs for the cabinets.

I scored these for the drawers:

and these for the cabinet doors ...

These will go great with the focal point of the kitchen.

$$$$

Money is flying out of my checking account like it's Christmas.

I just bought this and this. 

They will be delivered on July 9!

(Most of) The cabinets are in!

Jason and his crew did a great job this past week. He and his crew showed up on-time and everyday, they were professional and their workmanship was excellent. 

They started on Wednesday morning, showing up at 8 am and stayed until about 6:30 the same evening to finish the ceiling soffit framing and hang the drywall.

On Thursday they taped and mud the drywall.

Then on Friday they sanded and primed the new drywall, and painted the ceiling, installed a few extra 4-inch recessed lights into the new soffitt over sink wall, and installed the utility and wall cabinets.

Since the refrigerator was scheduled to be delivered in the early afternoon, they started with the uiltity cabinets on the fridge wall.

Here's the old refrigerator and Jason's crew nailing the cabinet moulding to the top of the cabinets.

The guys from Sears unpacking the new refrigerator.  It's a Jenn-Air counter-depth.

The new refrigerator in place.

And then the wall cabinets went in!  They look great!

A close up of the doors at the end of the cabinet run. It's a wall message center.

... with space for keys, a magnetic pen holder, a board for writing notes, and little shelves for odds and ends.

Here's a view from the kitchen looking out to the living room and front door.

 Coming soon to this wall:  a JennAir slide in range and chimney style vent hood.

Next week on Friday, Jason and his crew will be back to install the base cabinets.

Jason

A couple of weeks ago I ended up in the ER and the doctors quickly figured out that I had gallstones. If you have never had them, thank god.  If you have, then you know they hurt like hell. 

So I had to have a surgery and spent a night in the hospital.  The good news is that I'm feeling much better. The bad news for my DIY renovation is that it is now no longer a DIY project.  On doctors orders I cannot do any work on the kitchen for several weeks.

While at home in recovery this week, I brought in three contractors to give me estimates for completing the job.  I signed a contract with Jason, who came recommended from one of my co-workers.  Jason will finish up the framing, drywall, and install the cabinets.

He starts next week and should be here for about 3 days.

Soffits

Finally!  I made some progress on the soffits today.

Some bling for the kitchen

I love this pendant light from restoration hardware! 

So I bought 2!

Mister Sparky

It has been a busy week!  I finished most of the drywall demolition on the kitchen walls and ceiling.  And then Mister Sparky was here. These guys did a really good job.

I partly opened up the ceiling so they could come in Wednesday to run the circuits for the new refrigerator and microwave locations.

Then I opened up the rest of the ceiling so they could come back Friday.  It only took about 15 minutes to take the ceiling drywall down.  I don't know what I would do without my reciprocating saw!

They spent almost the whole day re-routing all the wiring for switches and outlets that were in the walls and ceiling.  Once they moved everything, it was all clear for me to safely dismantle the drop ceiling and wall studs.

The electricians left me one switch for the only ceiling light near the kitchen.  Here it is resting on the back of the medicine cabinet.  The bathroom is on the other side of that drywall.

Yesterday I hauled five huge contractor bags full of drywall debris to the DC dump, which is by the way the best public service offered by the District of Columbia. I also went to Home Depot and Lowe's to get supplies and the new recessed lighting fixtures for Mister Sparky's next visit. 

Here is a shot from today, in the middle of me dismantling the ceiling and walls.  The whole process start to finish took about four hours. 

After: the dropped ceiling and studs are down!

Here's a view from the living room.  And yes, it is a mess of a construction zone at the moment. Do you like the toaster on the chair?  I have random kitchen items like that strewn throughout the apartment.

And this is a view looking out toward the living room.  The stove and other big items are beign hauled away by this outfit:  http://www.removethatjunk.com/.  The guy's name is Mike and he's supposed to show up first thing in the morning. 

So after today's demolition, all I have left that is functional in the kitchen is the sink. 

Next on my DIY list is finish off the demolition of the sink wall this week and start framing for the soffits. 

Cabinet delivery day is coming!

After months of planning, angst over design decisions, and a very dusty demolition, the cabinets are scheduled to arrive around May 11.

Since this is my third DIY kitchen renovation, I have learned a few lessons about how to handle what’s usually a crazy day. I will need to:

• take the day off. I’ll need to be home during the four hour delivery window so the delivery guys have access to the house.

• review my order so that I know exactly what is supposed to be delivered. I should have around 37 items in the order, including cabinets, fillers, toe kicks, moldings, and a special order panel for the dishwasher.

• orchestrate logistics properly, and that includes parking for the delivery truck. I’ll need to get a couple ‘no parking’ signs from the police department to reserve a spot in front of my house for the delivery truck.

• make sure there is a clear path into my house for the delivery guys.

• clear out space so that all the boxes can somehow fit into the apartment. Once the boxes are in the apartment will be jam packed and so the cabinets need to be stacked with limited space in mind, and it has to be done carefully so as to avoid any damage to the cabinets.

• on delivery day itself I will need to keep an eye on how the cabinets are being brought in. The last time I had cabinets delivered they started stacking the cabinets on their sides. That is a huge no, no! They need to be stacked vertically on their bases. 

• inspect the cabinets upon delivery for damage. My contract guarantees the cabinets will be delivered in good condition, so I’m covered. But if there is damage I will have to re-order new pieces but let’s all hope everything arrives as it should.

Now that I have an estimated delivery day, that means I have a little over two weeks to finish demolition, get all the electrical and plumbing work done, and then frame, drywall and paint.

Gresham

I am so excited for the new cabinets.  It will be a white, timeless kitchen with shaker style doors, granite, and stainless steel appliances. 

After going to four different vendors, I decided to go with Diamond Cabinets at Lowe's. I'm happy with the way the design turned out and looking forward to having a brand new kitchen.  The door style that I chose is called Gresham.

The cabinets will be done in maple and finshed in "white paint." I can't wait!

3-D kitchen views

Here are the various views of the kitchen design.  My kitchen designer, Charles, printed these out for me. Click on the images to see them better.

This is a view from the front of the apartment/living room.

A closer look - stove is on the left, refrigerator will be to the right. The sink and dishwasher will be on the back wall.

A kind of distorted (longer) view toward the stove wall. This is a U-shaped kitchen as you can see.

Here is what you would see looking out toward the living room. The microwave will be in a base cabinet.

And lastly here is what the refrigerator wall will look like. There will be two big utility cabinets on this wall for very necessary extra storage.

Demo pics

Here are some pics from the kitchen demolition this weekend.

These cabinets were dismantled. The countertop did not want to go! But I finally got it up and out of there.

All the drywall between the kitchen and living room was taken down.

A trash compactor was pulled out from under the counter - to the right of the stove.

Another wall that is coming down - opening the kitchen up even more.

I still have a tiny bit of counter space left for the microwave!

Here's the view from kitchen looking into living room.

View from kitchen looking to what will be the refrigerator wall.

A pile of dismantled cabinets stacked up and an old trash compactor - ready for the next run to the dump.

I will need to have someone haul the stove away. 

Here's a closeup of the old cabinets and old vintage cabinet pulls. I'll keep the remaining wall cabinets until the last possible moment. They are still holding some dishes and other stuff.

The kitchen ceiling will be the next to go. You can see that the kitchen wall studs are holding up the ceiling so I can't open up the kitchen without dismantiling the ceiling first.

The ceiling demo will probably take all of next weekend.

When I start putting everything back together, this vent will be moved over a few feet. 

The laminate flooring will come out too.

So hopefully by the end of next weekend the kitchen will be entirely demolished. Then I will bring back the electricians to re-route some of the wiring in the dropped ceiling, run a new circuit for the fridge, and hook me up with some recessed lighting.