New-ish kitchen jam

LOL.
If I don’t laugh….

So the countertop and backsplash… We were happy with that.
Until.

We noticed that the overhang of the countertop will interfere with the lower doors and drawers.
When they installed it all, they didn’t shim the cabinet tops to allow for the necessary clearance.

The drawers barely slip under. But the drawer fronts are not yet installed.
The cabinet door in the corner won’t clear at all.

So.
The backsplash has to come off because it’s installed on top of the countertop.
Then the countertop has to come off.
Shims need to be added to the cabinets and the countertop reinstalled.
Then the backsplash needs to go ba….oh wait. Now the backsplash is too tall. The top needs to be trimmed in order to fit under the cabinets.
Wait again. Now the outlets and switches don’t line up. So, they need to be moved up to match the holes in the backsplash.

I sure hope the backsplash or countertop material doesn’t break in all of this.


Yeah. In reality, we’re looking at just gutting the room and getting new cabinets and everything else.

Hey, at least it’s only been 2 months for a 10 day job.
 
dodgechargerfan said:
As it sits.

All the stuff that was contracted is fine.

Counter and backsplash are good. Although the backsplash is just as thick as the counter, it’s really only an issue behind the fridge where that outlet is in the pic and it might not be that bad.

View attachment 96303

Lights and sink/faucet are great.

View attachment 96304

Anything paint is a gong show. Except for the window trim and sash.

Anything to do with managing the project seemed to be out of order.
That cove where the lighting is: was just sanded and primed today for the first time.
Click to expand...

dodgechargerfan said:
LOL.
If I don’t laugh….

So the countertop and backsplash… We were happy with that.
Until.

We noticed that the overhang of the countertop will interfere with the lower doors and drawers.
When they installed it all, they didn’t shim the cabinet tops to allow for the necessary clearance.

The drawers barely slip under. But the drawer fronts are not yet installed.
The cabinet door in the corner won’t clear at all.

So.
The backsplash has to come off because it’s installed on top of the countertop.
Then the countertop has to come off.
Shims need to be added to the cabinets and the countertop reinstalled.
Then the backsplash needs to go ba….oh wait. Now the backsplash is too tall. The top needs to be trimmed in order to fit under the cabinets.
Wait again. Now the outlets and switches don’t line up. So, they need to be moved up to match the holes in the backsplash.

I sure hope the backsplash or countertop material doesn’t break in all of this.


Yeah. In reality, we’re looking at just gutting the room and getting new cabinets and everything else.

Hey, at least it’s only been 2 months for a 10 day job.
Click to expand...
Shims? More like at least 3/4" plywood.

I can't imagine removing the backsplash or, counter tops in one piece but, if you could, why wouldn't you trim the bottom instead of the top?
 
Is taking the fronts off the drawers and moving them down a bit and option?

Might be a pita but surely less hassle than plan A?

If it doesn't already have them, you can get door hinges that allow you to move them up and down for positioning too.

Starting to get a bit freaked about our fit. Joiner is a guy I grew up with. I bumped into a buddy on Thursday and we went for a pint. Got talking about Stu fitting the kitchen and my buddy goes: "he's an absolutely brilliant joiner Tuesday to Thursday but he still likes to party hard so Mondays and Fridays are a write off"!!!
 
Bob411 said:
Shims? More like at least 3/4" plywood.

I can't imagine removing the backsplash or, counter tops in one piece but, if you could, why wouldn't you trim the bottom instead of the top?
Click to expand...
Well, risers is a better word. It would need to be at least 1/2” strips on every top edge of the cabinet.

Trimming the bottom of the backsplash would require it to be polished again. The top of it is rough and butts up to the bottom of the upper cabinets. So, it doesn’t need to be polished there.
Trimming the bottom would require less re-work overall, but it would look like shit and need to be loaded up with caulk to finish.
 
jbj said:
Is taking the fronts off the drawers and moving them down a bit and option?

Might be a pita but surely less hassle than plan A?

If it doesn't already have them, you can get door hinges that allow you to move them up and down for positioning too.

Starting to get a bit freaked about our fit. Joiner is a guy I grew up with. I bumped into a buddy on Thursday and we went for a pint. Got talking about Stu fitting the kitchen and my buddy goes: "he's an absolutely brilliant joiner Tuesday to Thursday but he still likes to party hard so Mondays and Fridays are a write off"!!!
Click to expand...
That’s been looked at. The drawer fronts would need to be flush with the top edge drawer box and that would look goofy on its own.
That would also require all of the lower cabinet doors to shift down to maintain the spacing, and that would put the bottom edge of the doors below the bottom edge of the cabinet carcase.

There’s one cabinet door that goes all the way to the top - no drawer above it. That one just hits the overhang. No wiggle room unless we drop it down a bit. Then not only would that hang below the bottom edge of the cabinet, it would just about show the cabinet opening at the top.

Even if that worked out, some spot are so close that the drawer tops scrape along the bottom of the overhang.
 
dodgechargerfan said:
That’s been looked at. The drawer fronts would need to be flush with the top edge drawer box and that would look goofy on its own.
That would also require all of the lower cabinet doors to shift down to maintain the spacing, and that would put the bottom edge of the doors below the bottom edge of the cabinet carcase.

There’s one cabinet door that goes all the way to the top - no drawer above it. That one just hits the overhang. No wiggle room unless we drop it down a bit. Then not only would that hang below the bottom edge of the cabinet, it would just about show the cabinet opening at the top.

Even if that worked out, some spot are so close that the drawer tops scrape along the bottom of the overhang.
Click to expand...

Is burning the place down and starting over an option?

On a serious note, major mojo dude, this has been a nightmare from start to finish and of all rooms in the house, having the kitchen out of action is the biggest pita.
 
jbj said:
Is burning the place down and starting over an option?

On a serious note, major mojo dude, this has been a nightmare from start to finish and of all rooms in the house, having the kitchen out of action is the biggest pita.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the mojo.

Legal pro is coming to visit tomorrow to consult on what we can do. Were done with the contractor.

We’re a solid example for a Mike Holmes episode but he doesn’t do shows in our area. We are about 30 kms outside of his zone.
 
Talked to a paralegal on Tuesday.
We have a very strong claim in small claims court.
Guidance is to get it all fixed the way it should be and then make a claim.

As part of that, we need to due diligence and get some more quotes.
Did that today. Just for comparison sake.

New contractor stopped in this evening and we wnt over some more ideas.
We’re moving away from the blue for the cabinets.

We might add a row of cabinets and counter under the window in the eat-in area and paint those blue. It will tie in to the island that we already have. It will be kind of a separate space visually without any physical separation, if that makes sense.
Might be looking at a new floor - just for a colour change.
Some different cabinets added in too.

I’m drinking now.
 
We’ve made final finish choices.
Cabinets chosen. New countertops. New backsplash. New floor. New light fixtures.

Everything ripped out.
We might be able to salvage the countertops and sell them. I don’t really care at this point.

Once the cabinet delivery is known, the demo will get scheduled. Electrical redone. Walls and ceilings patched. Floor will go in. Paint on the walls and ceiling. Etc.

IMG_3217.jpeg


That glass tile will be on just one wall. The other 2 will have the countertop material.
The countertop will waterfall to the floor on one side of the room. It will end on the fridge cabinet on the other side.

We’ll have an upper cabinet above that with panels that come all the way down to the countertop. We’ll be able to hide our coffee maker on that little bay.
The lower cabinet in that spot will be roll out garbage bins.
There will be big drawers for pots and pans. Maybe some pull out pantry or baking sheet drawers.
 
Contractor is on his third or fourth cabinet supplier trying to get something that fits our space.

Even the “custom” suppliers only have standard sizes.
:messedup:

The latest design pushed the sink to the right, making it off center under the sink.
I mean it’s off a bit now, it always was, but this would make it worse and we’d have to get a smaller sink…to replace the brand new sink that we just got.

Imma get my table saw out, dammit!
 
Had another true custom builder quote the cabinets. His quote was very high relatively speaking.
He would be fast though.

We met today with one of the custom makers that we had quote earlier, and we’re going to go with him.
I saw the shop. I saw the build materials. I’m comfortable with the way he carries himself; the way he speaks.
And he plays guitar. He and his son gig in the area. He’s building himself a nice custom cab with a 12” Celestion and matching head shell for his Dr. Z Max 38.

His estimate for custom was relatively good.

We told the contractor, and he’s cool with working with this guy instead of his supplier.

Contractor starts demo tomorrow.
Walls, ceiling, electrical, and new floor should all be complete this week or early next.
Then, we’ll have an empty room for about 5 weeks while we wait for cabinets.
Then we wait another while for countertops to be measured, made and fit.

The one hitch that needs to be figured out is an outlet for the fridge.
The one that is there is in a stupid spot.
That said, it’s not going to work at all with the new cabinet layout.
So, it has to move. But it’s on a wall with a sliding pocket door.
It is going to be a tight fit. I think. We’ll know more when the wall gets opened up a bit.
 
dodgechargerfan said:
Contractor is on his third or fourth cabinet supplier trying to get something that fits our space.

Even the “custom” suppliers only have standard sizes.
:messedup:

The latest design pushed the sink to the right, making it off center under the sink.
I mean it’s off a bit now, it always was, but this would make it worse and we’d have to get a smaller sink…to replace the brand new sink that we just got.

Imma get my table saw out, dammit!
Click to expand...
I downloaded a cabinet planning software and designed something myself.
I used custom sizes in a couple of spots, and I got everything in the way we want. Give or take an inch here and there, but there’s wiggle room in the actual space.

Turns out, it’s pretty close to the custom builder that we are going to go with.
That helps. I had to do the exercise to better understand the challenges with fitting this stuff in.

Really, it came down to the space between the corner and the window.
That defines where the sink should be if we wanted it centred.
That screws up the size of the lower cabinet in the corner. It has to be custom fit.
 
Demo is done for today.

We might need to cut some wall out in spots to redirect the electrical wiring. Some of it was run through the bulkhead and not inside the wall.
Small fixes.

Cabinet maker is coming on Wednesday to map everything out so that the contractor knows where to instruct the electrician to place outlets and switches.

The best part, the house is clean.
Sure, there’s a bit of dust in the kitchen, but it’s minimal and it’s an active construction area. Still, it’s very free of dust and debris.


IMG_4591.jpeg

The white is where the previous contractor painted the interior of the cabinets.
Yeah, the wall was orange when the house was built.


I’m a little wary of the header over the window though.
It’s been there for almost 45 years. So, I guess it’s okay.

IMG_4604.jpeg
 
Still waiting on our fitter to come and price the job. He's promised he'll make it next week. If he doesn't we're going elsewhere, friend or not.

I took a call from the supplier this afternoon wondering what's happening with our order.

I had to explain I had half a dozen workmen, a digger and a diesel generator milling about the garden after someone nearly blew themselves up on my property, it wasn't a good time to discuss things.

Hopefully not an omen for what to expect with the kitchen job.
 
We’ve decided to just yank all of the drywall and insulation and start from the studs.

I’ll feel better knowing what’s behind the drywall. We’ve had a few days in the winter where the cupboards were cold and drafty when we opened the door.
So, we’ll get that sorted out.
It will be better for the electrician to do their thing.
And the walls and ceiling won’t be patched. They’ll just be full boards and factory seams..except where it joins up with the existing wall in the eat-in area.

Cabinet maker is coming tomorrow to do a final measure up and mark where electrical can go.
Electricians should be here on Thursday.
 
Well, that was a good idea or a bad idea, depending on whether we wanted to be blissfully ignorant or know what’s behind the wall.

I wanted to know what is behind the wall, and I found out.

IMG_4615.jpeg


It’s all dry and nothing is growing, and apparently has been that way for years.
So, it doesn’t need to be fully remediated. The bricks can be parted, and we can close it all up with insulation and vapour barrier, as usual.
The footplate is solid. So, it’s fine.

Small cost, but extra time.

Extra fun time…
 
Mate who us fitting ours said he can start next week!

We're away and haven't ordered the kitchen yet but he says it'll take a good few days for demo so we can crack on anyway
 
Yup - we start on Monday the way it's looking!

The new window we got put in is squint on the Z axis and it'll need some sort of work round.

I don't know how much of a faff it'll be - I wouldn't even have noticed if he hadn't pointed it out. Might need to get window guy out to rectify it, I'm pretty chill tbh, having a bit more wall on one side of the window is still going to be a million times better than the shit show we currently have in the kitchen.

Exciting times.
 
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