There’s Always Something
Our plan was to get as much done on the house before we took a little vacation to see family at Christmas time. It was a good plan, but there were a few hiccups.
Kitchen
The kitchen cabinets were finally delivered and we jumped on getting them installed. We knew we were going to tile the kitchen floor so we lifted the cabinets with a 3/4” board to give us enough room to lay the Duroc and the tile. This is an important step! If we didn’t lift the cabinets the dishwasher wouldn’t fit correctly under the countertops. Now everything is level and if the dishwasher needs maintenance we can pull it out easily. With all our prep done we were ready to go. There were a few challenges:
-the wall oven cabinet couldn’t be lifted so we had to get creative with the toe kick (we will eliminate the toe kick and have the cabinet face go from floor to ceiling)
-the gas range valve had to be placed in a different position due to HVAC ducts (we bought a longer hose to reach the valve on the range)
-the under cabinet sink vent will need to be moved to accommodate the large, deep sink. This seems like a quick and easy fix, but they use PVC pipe here and no one carries a small piece. We had to buy a 10ft stick of PVC for the 3 inches we need.
-the old window sill stuck out too far creating problems for the faucet (solution was to remove it and trim out the window so we have enough room)
-the countertop we are using is a new color so the installer is hoping it comes in on time. While the installer was here he let us know that they don’t do an attached heavy edge, now they just install a thicker countertop. I’m hoping it will look good. There seems to be communication issues with Home Depot and the installer as to what is available. Luckily the changes aren’t costing us more.
-we discovered that they sent us one white drawer for the wall oven cabinet. Our cabinets are hickory! (We had the store order us the correct one. It arrived while we were gone and is now installed.)
In spite of the challenges the kitchen is coming together nicely. All the appliances will be in place after the countertops are installed.
Before
After
The countertops will be installed Jan 6th, then the back splash can be installed. I haven’t chosen the back splash yet, I’m waiting to see how the countertops look first. It was pretty exciting to have the microwave and wall oven installed! We can cook food now!
There is room for a kitchen island in the middle of the kitchen, but I haven’t found one that meets my wants and need. We may end up building one ourselves.
Mudroom
We finally got the mud room wall done. We built the cabinet with the baskets for storage and added a shelf made from the left over piece of walnut butcher block from the countertops. One of my favorite things in this room is the shelf brackets. We saw a picture of some brackets we liked on Houzz and we designed and made our own. It was fun to work together on this project. I think they turned out great!
Before
After
We have a few more little projects in this room: stair treads and risers, new doors.
Pantry update
I ordered a freezer on Nov 7th and waited and waited for it to be delivered. Then when it came in it was damaged. They tried to deliver it in the hopes I would accept it if they discounted it. I had to refuse it and we are back in the waiting game for the new one to come in. The hopeful date is Jan 2nd for the store to receive it and then hopefully delivery soon after. They only come up to Pinedale once every 2 weeks so we’ll see. (Problems of Wyoming country life)
Other items
We have the garage heater installed! It is a life saver when it’s in the minus degrees. We can actually work on projects in the garage without freezing!
The new tankless water heater and recirculating system is also installed. Totally worth the money to have unlimited hot water even when it’s -20 outside! We’ve learned a lot about exhaust venting in Wyoming. You try to avoid putting a vent through the roof and instead put it through an outside wall. It prevents ice and snow from shearing the pipe off if there is a snow slide on your roof. On the other hand, the wall vents form icicles which can cause the pipes to be blocked. This happened on the tankless unit’s vent and we had no hot water until we fixed it. Heat tape is our friend!
Kitchen
The kitchen cabinets were finally delivered and we jumped on getting them installed. We knew we were going to tile the kitchen floor so we lifted the cabinets with a 3/4” board to give us enough room to lay the Duroc and the tile. This is an important step! If we didn’t lift the cabinets the dishwasher wouldn’t fit correctly under the countertops. Now everything is level and if the dishwasher needs maintenance we can pull it out easily. With all our prep done we were ready to go. There were a few challenges:
-the wall oven cabinet couldn’t be lifted so we had to get creative with the toe kick (we will eliminate the toe kick and have the cabinet face go from floor to ceiling)
-the gas range valve had to be placed in a different position due to HVAC ducts (we bought a longer hose to reach the valve on the range)
-the under cabinet sink vent will need to be moved to accommodate the large, deep sink. This seems like a quick and easy fix, but they use PVC pipe here and no one carries a small piece. We had to buy a 10ft stick of PVC for the 3 inches we need.
-the old window sill stuck out too far creating problems for the faucet (solution was to remove it and trim out the window so we have enough room)
-the countertop we are using is a new color so the installer is hoping it comes in on time. While the installer was here he let us know that they don’t do an attached heavy edge, now they just install a thicker countertop. I’m hoping it will look good. There seems to be communication issues with Home Depot and the installer as to what is available. Luckily the changes aren’t costing us more.
-we discovered that they sent us one white drawer for the wall oven cabinet. Our cabinets are hickory! (We had the store order us the correct one. It arrived while we were gone and is now installed.)
In spite of the challenges the kitchen is coming together nicely. All the appliances will be in place after the countertops are installed.
Before
After
The countertops will be installed Jan 6th, then the back splash can be installed. I haven’t chosen the back splash yet, I’m waiting to see how the countertops look first. It was pretty exciting to have the microwave and wall oven installed! We can cook food now!
There is room for a kitchen island in the middle of the kitchen, but I haven’t found one that meets my wants and need. We may end up building one ourselves.
Mudroom
We finally got the mud room wall done. We built the cabinet with the baskets for storage and added a shelf made from the left over piece of walnut butcher block from the countertops. One of my favorite things in this room is the shelf brackets. We saw a picture of some brackets we liked on Houzz and we designed and made our own. It was fun to work together on this project. I think they turned out great!
Before
After
We have a few more little projects in this room: stair treads and risers, new doors.
Pantry update
I ordered a freezer on Nov 7th and waited and waited for it to be delivered. Then when it came in it was damaged. They tried to deliver it in the hopes I would accept it if they discounted it. I had to refuse it and we are back in the waiting game for the new one to come in. The hopeful date is Jan 2nd for the store to receive it and then hopefully delivery soon after. They only come up to Pinedale once every 2 weeks so we’ll see. (Problems of Wyoming country life)
Other items
We have the garage heater installed! It is a life saver when it’s in the minus degrees. We can actually work on projects in the garage without freezing!
Upcoming projects
We will continue to work on the kitchen. I can’t wait to have it all put together! We are also working on the loft office space, the master bath, and finally laying the hardwood flooring throughout the house! January will be a busy month!
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