Progress...

Today I put my deposit down and scheduled the installation for my new kitchen countertops. I am going with Granite Transformations, with installation on December 8th! Woohoo!

Although I am sticking with the flooring color I picked several posts ago, I am still waiting on two more quotes as the first one seemed a bit high. Hopefully that will happen later this week.

My new drawers are all painted, and this morning I finished installing the drawer pulls.... in the dark, wearing my headlamp, as we had our first big windstorm of the season last night. The power went off about 8pm and didn't come back on until 10 this morning. Since I have heat that is totally electricity-free, and a campstove to heat water for coffee, this is not a big problem. Except that I only had whole beans....briefly considered grinding them with mortal and pestle... but power came back before I was really desperate. Note to self: Keep a supply of pre-ground coffee beans in the winter!

Another fantasy, shot to hell...

Countertops. Even though I only have 29 SF of countertop, the bid for laminate came in for 64 friggin' SF, because they have to use two 8X4 panels. Man, the prices they have posted are so misleading! Lowes in-store estimate was

And, after waiting a week for it, the bid for my favorite, the Cambria quartz, came in at... (drum roll)....$4400! OMG, in my tiny kitchen! So there must be plenty of people out there who are spending 15-20K just for their kitchen countertops????? Let me tell you, it's not going to happen here. My new front-runner is Granite Transformations at less than half of the quartz price.

The good news is, I got my new drawers and they look great!

Back to Nature

Yesterday I took some time off from obsessing about my kitchen remodel. I took the train down to Edmonds to meet up with Kathy, and we then took the ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula. After a long drive 10-15 miles up winding gravel roads, we hiked the Upper Dungeness River trail. With little elevation gain, this was a pleasant and easy 6.5 mile round trip. It was chilly, and at the top (3100 feet) we found a little bit of snow, just enough to be decorative.

I am always amazed at the size of the Douglas Fir out that way. Yes, that's a tree trunk, not a stone wall.

Details, Details

Ah, remember the good old days when I thought this whole kitchen remodel would cost me under $4000? Flooring for $1000? Well, that was a fantasy. I have about 360 sf of floor, and vinyl, even very good vinyl, is less than $4/sf. BUT.... since you have to buy it, apparently, in 12 foot widths, and eat the waste, the bid came in for close to 500 sf! PLUS, $1.20/SF for installation, and $1.20/ SF for "skim coat" (the stuff they have to put down to keep the texture on my old vinyl from eventually working it's way through to my new vinyl). PLUS... of course my toilet, sink, and stove have to be removed and reinstalled. And the few other heavy items I am reluctant to try to move myself. For this they want another $650! Bringing the total to about $3500, just for the flooring. Sigh. The bid looks to me like they're charging me for 500 sf of skim coat and installation, which seems wrong, so I am questioning that. And thinking possibly I can do the sink and toilet myself.....?

I'm still waiting for the countertop bid.

The chosen ones....

OK, I have made a "final" decision on flooring, countertops, and vendor. Final, that is, unless the quotes come in way above what I'm expecting. Should hear today, I hope.

The flooring will be Mannington Sobella Supreme, color Rajah Red.

The countertops, god willing, will be Cambria quartz, color Chatham

I was all set to go with a laminate (many fewer $$) but when I got to the store and looked at the flooring and the Cambria together, wow, they look like they are made for each other! So, I am definite on the flooring but still sitting on pins and needles waiting to see what the countertops will cost me. I'm planning on living with this stuff for probably the rest of my life (or until I have to move to assisted living....) so it's worth getting something I love, right? Right?????

I am hoping I can reduce the cost of the flooring installation a bit by:

1. Pulling off the baseboards myself. I've done this before, when I painted, so I know I can do this. Also, I will be repainting again anyway once the other stuff gets installed and I can better choose a color.

2. Pulling the bathroom sink. Haven't done this before but it doesn't look too hard.

3. Pulling the toilet --- not sure about this one.

4. Moving all my furniture myself, except possibly the refrigerator and desk.

My new drawers should be installed in the next week or so. When I get my new camera (broke my old one, for the second time this year, by dropping!) I will take some before and after pictures to post.

Remodeling and biking

Amazingly, we picked the one day this week without rain, and yesterday went for a perfect fall bike ride down in Seattle. Colorful trees, bike trails along the water, trails covered with leaves (and puddles from previous days rain), and actual sunshine for much of the day! Followed by the best meal I've had at a restaurant in a long time, and for only $15. Turns out Seattle has this thing called "restaurant week", twice a year, with many restaurants offering 3-course meals, $15 for lunch or $25 for dinner. I will definitely put a restaurant outing on my calendar for the next round of this, in April.

As for the remodel: I got the drawer quote back from builder #1, and it said, in total:

"DRAWER FRONTS AND BOXES with side mount full extension glides -- 788.00 "

No quantity, nothing about installation, nothing about the type of wood. What the heck? So I emailed back with some questions and got the reply "Does not include installation. I can give the name of some installers if you'd like". This, after I specifically said that I wanted drawers built and INSTALLED. This is the same place that was about to skip including drawer fronts and glides until I reminded them. Crossing them off my list.

Builder #3 came in with a quote of $750 including installation, but has not specified the type of drawer glides. Builder #2 at $1000 still inspires the most confidence but possibly #3 will win out after I talk to him a bit more.

I went to a couple of local flooring places and was pretty sold on getting Marmoleum (aka linoleum) instead of vinyl, even though its about 50% more $$. Much more environmentally friendly, as it's made out of natural ingredients like linseed oil and sawdust, and it has a 25 year warranty. And has some colors that I love. BUT.... they don't recommend installing over existing vinyl, or even over particle board. They want to install directly on plywood. I have no idea what's under my existing vinyl and am kinda afraid to look. And, surely ripping out the vinyl will add to the cost. Or can I do it myself? Once again, stay tuned.....

Adventures in Home Improvement

My project for this winter is to remodeling my kitchen.

I started a few weeks ago with taking all the doors off of my cabinets and repainting. I decided to replace the ugly old "hammered copper" knobs with nice sleek new brushed nickel handles. Oh, that meant I had to replace the hinges to match. You'd be amazed at how many different types of hinges there are! Finally figured out I needed 3/8 inch inset, partial overlay (as opposed to no inset, 1/2 inch inset, full overlay, hidden, European style, etc, etc). Could not find locally in brushed nickel, had to order. Finally last week they arrived, I've rehung my doors, and they look FABULOUS! I am SOOOO happy to have ivory cabinets now instead of 1970's era ugly brown wood. I am totally amazed at how much brighter both my kitchen and the adjoining living room look. It's like having totally new cabinets, but for under $200!

Well, except for.... I still need to have the drawers replaced. Really ugly, 1970's plastic, fake-wood-look, falling apart drawers. I need 10 of 'em. Great, I found a place on the web where I can get custom dove-tailed drawers for less than $30 per drawer. Well, except that the drawer glides are at least another $30, and the shipping brings the whole shebang up to at least $80 per drawer, plus I have to assemble and install myself. Oh, and that doesn't include the drawer faces, another $10-15 per drawer, minimum. The installation looks dicey as you have to have all your measurements correct within 3/8" or you've just paid $$$ non refundable for your custom drawers. This having kept me awake for several nights, I am now getting quotes from several local cabinet builders.

Last week a guy came out to measure and quote, but I was less than impressed as I had to "remind" him that yes, I would need new drawer glides, and yes, I would need drawer faces. Which should've been more than obvious to anyone taking even the quickest look at my existing situation. Than I asked him what type of drawer glides he would quote, and he said, oh there are many, many kinds. Not helpful.

And it's true, there are many, many kinds. Side mount, undermount, center mount, self closing, soft closing, plastic, metal. I've seen prices varying from $7 to $70, no kidding. I settled on undermount, as they look easiest to install, seem to be the standard at kitchen showrooms, and are fairly reasonably priced at $20-$30. However, although nearly every cabinet system on display at Lowe's and Home Depot has undermount glides, they do not actually SELL undermount glides. I can get them through the internet but once again the shipping will up the price to more like $40 per set.

This morning a local cabinetmaker came out and gave me a quote for $1000 for the whole shebang, 10 drawers, assembled and installed. I liked this guy a lot and will probably go with this. Close to twice what I originally thought I would have to pay, but still a lot less than new cabinets. Just going to check with one more cabinetmaker tomorrow.

Next step is new countertops. Again, an amazing array of choices. Installed prices vary from about $25/sq. ft. for laminate, up to $90 for granite, or much, much higher for really cool granite. At the intermediate level is quartz composite, which seems to be more durable than granite and almost as pretty. Still, even here you can pay anywhere from about $45 to $90. With the quartz composite, from Lowe's I can get a free undermount sink or integral sink (actually part of the countertop) for free. Still dithering over this, as ... what if the sink needs to be replaced? Does that mean you have to replace the whole countertop? And, i don't know that any of these prices include removal of old countertop.

Another option is "Granite Transformations" which will install a granite-like layer overtop of my existing counters. They will be out later this week to take a look.

And after that comes flooring. My floors are so wavy that I can't use laminate unless I spend god-only-knows to get them levelled. So, sheet vinyl or linoleum will be fine with me. Prices for sheet vinyl look like a little under $4 per sq ft, installed. At 268 sq ft (no my kitchen is not that big. Includes hallway, bathroom, office) lets call this $1000.

So: Paint and hardware: $150

Drawers: $1000

Countertops: $1500?

Flooring: $1000

I am hoping to come in under $4000.... stay tuned!