Cabinets

[UCGal]

Jeeman – I’ve been thinking about this all last night. I’m changing my advice. I looked around my kitchen (and the rest of my house) and realized it will be YEARS before we’re done. Some people have exposed brick that they call rustic… We’re going with exposed studs. Seriously, if I were like most most of my friends, I’d have freaked out a long time ago. (I have a higher tolerance for “construction zone” than most of my friends.) When I was going through my pictures, I realized it had been almost a year since my husband took a section of cabinets off the wall to rerun some pipes in the wall – and that I’ve been living with a kitchen that is put back together… sort of… so it functions – but is worse than when we started, aesthetically.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the budget or desire to hire folks to do our work… After we built our companion unit (and got ripped off by the first contractor, big time) we’re broke, and burnt out.

I can post pictures of the cabinets my husband built in place for the companion unit. At least the cabinet boxes… A quick search of my work ‘puter and photobucket account show that I don’t have any “done” pictures readily available here. Same concept except he started from scratch.

Here are the pics… They don’t show what you’re asking for, specifically – but they may give you an idea of how to do a project that will drive your wife nuts…

companion unit cabinet boxes…

Main house kitchen destruction

Not quite what you asked for but… if we ever finish, I’ll post “done” pictures.

[UCGal]

[quote=CDMA ENG]Dont know if this helps any but when I restained my mother cabinets I took all the cabinet doors to a company that chemically strips them. It wasn’t cheap and I still had to do a cursory resand before refinishing but it did cut out a lot of time. Very worth what it cost though…

CE[/quote]
Can you pm me the name of the place you used. As you can see from my previous post… I’m ready to get our kitchen remodel out of the slow-motion mode…

[UCGal]

[quote=CDMA ENG]Dont know if this helps any but when I restained my mother cabinets I took all the cabinet doors to a company that chemically strips them. It wasn’t cheap and I still had to do a cursory resand before refinishing but it did cut out a lot of time. Very worth what it cost though…

CE[/quote]
Can you pm me the name of the place you used. As you can see from my previous post… I’m ready to get our kitchen remodel out of the slow-motion mode…

[UCGal]

[quote=CDMA ENG]Dont know if this helps any but when I restained my mother cabinets I took all the cabinet doors to a company that chemically strips them. It wasn’t cheap and I still had to do a cursory resand before refinishing but it did cut out a lot of time. Very worth what it cost though…

CE[/quote]
Can you pm me the name of the place you used. As you can see from my previous post… I’m ready to get our kitchen remodel out of the slow-motion mode…

[UCGal]

[quote=CDMA ENG]Dont know if this helps any but when I restained my mother cabinets I took all the cabinet doors to a company that chemically strips them. It wasn’t cheap and I still had to do a cursory resand before refinishing but it did cut out a lot of time. Very worth what it cost though…

CE[/quote]
Can you pm me the name of the place you used. As you can see from my previous post… I’m ready to get our kitchen remodel out of the slow-motion mode…

[UCGal]

[quote=CDMA ENG]Dont know if this helps any but when I restained my mother cabinets I took all the cabinet doors to a company that chemically strips them. It wasn’t cheap and I still had to do a cursory resand before refinishing but it did cut out a lot of time. Very worth what it cost though…

CE[/quote]
Can you pm me the name of the place you used. As you can see from my previous post… I’m ready to get our kitchen remodel out of the slow-motion mode…

[UCGal]

One more thing, Jeeman… I followed your recent stuff on JtR’s blog and was impressed by your attitude.

I wanted to give you props for describing your house as an ‘updater’. Saying that you could live in it a while as you find the time/money to make the changes. I think too many people want “shiny & new” right from the get go… By living with the house for a while you might reach different decisions about layouts, finishes etc.

Example… On our incredibly long, incredibly slow moving “to do list” is remodeling our master bath. We’ve been in the house since 2003 (plus I grew up in the house – bought from my dad.) Something we would have overlooked if we’d remodeled the master early on is finding space to put in an upstairs laundry. Over time, living in the house, it’s a bigger priority. We’ll have the opportunity to do it right, long term, because we didn’t rush in and put shiny new surfaces on existing layout – but rather thought about function more.

[UCGal]

One more thing, Jeeman… I followed your recent stuff on JtR’s blog and was impressed by your attitude.

I wanted to give you props for describing your house as an ‘updater’. Saying that you could live in it a while as you find the time/money to make the changes. I think too many people want “shiny & new” right from the get go… By living with the house for a while you might reach different decisions about layouts, finishes etc.

Example… On our incredibly long, incredibly slow moving “to do list” is remodeling our master bath. We’ve been in the house since 2003 (plus I grew up in the house – bought from my dad.) Something we would have overlooked if we’d remodeled the master early on is finding space to put in an upstairs laundry. Over time, living in the house, it’s a bigger priority. We’ll have the opportunity to do it right, long term, because we didn’t rush in and put shiny new surfaces on existing layout – but rather thought about function more.

[UCGal]

One more thing, Jeeman… I followed your recent stuff on JtR’s blog and was impressed by your attitude.

I wanted to give you props for describing your house as an ‘updater’. Saying that you could live in it a while as you find the time/money to make the changes. I think too many people want “shiny & new” right from the get go… By living with the house for a while you might reach different decisions about layouts, finishes etc.

Example… On our incredibly long, incredibly slow moving “to do list” is remodeling our master bath. We’ve been in the house since 2003 (plus I grew up in the house – bought from my dad.) Something we would have overlooked if we’d remodeled the master early on is finding space to put in an upstairs laundry. Over time, living in the house, it’s a bigger priority. We’ll have the opportunity to do it right, long term, because we didn’t rush in and put shiny new surfaces on existing layout – but rather thought about function more.

[UCGal]

One more thing, Jeeman… I followed your recent stuff on JtR’s blog and was impressed by your attitude.

I wanted to give you props for describing your house as an ‘updater’. Saying that you could live in it a while as you find the time/money to make the changes. I think too many people want “shiny & new” right from the get go… By living with the house for a while you might reach different decisions about layouts, finishes etc.

Example… On our incredibly long, incredibly slow moving “to do list” is remodeling our master bath. We’ve been in the house since 2003 (plus I grew up in the house – bought from my dad.) Something we would have overlooked if we’d remodeled the master early on is finding space to put in an upstairs laundry. Over time, living in the house, it’s a bigger priority. We’ll have the opportunity to do it right, long term, because we didn’t rush in and put shiny new surfaces on existing layout – but rather thought about function more.

[UCGal]

One more thing, Jeeman… I followed your recent stuff on JtR’s blog and was impressed by your attitude.

I wanted to give you props for describing your house as an ‘updater’. Saying that you could live in it a while as you find the time/money to make the changes. I think too many people want “shiny & new” right from the get go… By living with the house for a while you might reach different decisions about layouts, finishes etc.

Example… On our incredibly long, incredibly slow moving “to do list” is remodeling our master bath. We’ve been in the house since 2003 (plus I grew up in the house – bought from my dad.) Something we would have overlooked if we’d remodeled the master early on is finding space to put in an upstairs laundry. Over time, living in the house, it’s a bigger priority. We’ll have the opportunity to do it right, long term, because we didn’t rush in and put shiny new surfaces on existing layout – but rather thought about function more.

[jeeman]

UCGal,

Yes, I agree, and have gotten the advice to wait and live in it for a while. I’m just exploring all the issues now because I know things like this take a long time. 🙂

My friend bought a real fixer in Poway, and that was a year and a half ago. I think he is still doing alot of work on it, weekends, weeknights, etc. I know it’s alot of work and the house will be in disarray, so we don’t want to start until we get the materials, layout and labor in place to do it in 2-3 weeks. Alot of “friend of friends” are looking for work to do, so it seems like labor is getting cheaper.

My mom renovated almost her whole house…new travertine floors, onyx fireplaces, marble stairs, hardwood floors upstairs, new cherry cabs in the kitchen, granite, for around $80k. The guy she found does good work and charges $220/8 hour day for him and his partner. Not bad for $13.75/hour.

I wish you well on your house! Props to you for being a DIYer! Truth be told, my answer to JtR wasn’t totally correct…I could be handy if I just went for it…I am an engineer. But I’m too much of a perfectionist. I’ll spend 20-30 minutes fretting over 1 travertine tile’s position, and then not be happy with it for the next 10 years. Someone could do a worse job than me, and I’ll be impressed. I’m just weird that way. So I just said no, because I don’t have the skills yet, and then I won’t be happy with the results.

Jeeman

[jeeman]

UCGal,

Yes, I agree, and have gotten the advice to wait and live in it for a while. I’m just exploring all the issues now because I know things like this take a long time. 🙂

My friend bought a real fixer in Poway, and that was a year and a half ago. I think he is still doing alot of work on it, weekends, weeknights, etc. I know it’s alot of work and the house will be in disarray, so we don’t want to start until we get the materials, layout and labor in place to do it in 2-3 weeks. Alot of “friend of friends” are looking for work to do, so it seems like labor is getting cheaper.

My mom renovated almost her whole house…new travertine floors, onyx fireplaces, marble stairs, hardwood floors upstairs, new cherry cabs in the kitchen, granite, for around $80k. The guy she found does good work and charges $220/8 hour day for him and his partner. Not bad for $13.75/hour.

I wish you well on your house! Props to you for being a DIYer! Truth be told, my answer to JtR wasn’t totally correct…I could be handy if I just went for it…I am an engineer. But I’m too much of a perfectionist. I’ll spend 20-30 minutes fretting over 1 travertine tile’s position, and then not be happy with it for the next 10 years. Someone could do a worse job than me, and I’ll be impressed. I’m just weird that way. So I just said no, because I don’t have the skills yet, and then I won’t be happy with the results.

Jeeman

[jeeman]

UCGal,

Yes, I agree, and have gotten the advice to wait and live in it for a while. I’m just exploring all the issues now because I know things like this take a long time. 🙂

My friend bought a real fixer in Poway, and that was a year and a half ago. I think he is still doing alot of work on it, weekends, weeknights, etc. I know it’s alot of work and the house will be in disarray, so we don’t want to start until we get the materials, layout and labor in place to do it in 2-3 weeks. Alot of “friend of friends” are looking for work to do, so it seems like labor is getting cheaper.

My mom renovated almost her whole house…new travertine floors, onyx fireplaces, marble stairs, hardwood floors upstairs, new cherry cabs in the kitchen, granite, for around $80k. The guy she found does good work and charges $220/8 hour day for him and his partner. Not bad for $13.75/hour.

I wish you well on your house! Props to you for being a DIYer! Truth be told, my answer to JtR wasn’t totally correct…I could be handy if I just went for it…I am an engineer. But I’m too much of a perfectionist. I’ll spend 20-30 minutes fretting over 1 travertine tile’s position, and then not be happy with it for the next 10 years. Someone could do a worse job than me, and I’ll be impressed. I’m just weird that way. So I just said no, because I don’t have the skills yet, and then I won’t be happy with the results.

Jeeman

[jeeman]

UCGal,

Yes, I agree, and have gotten the advice to wait and live in it for a while. I’m just exploring all the issues now because I know things like this take a long time. 🙂

My friend bought a real fixer in Poway, and that was a year and a half ago. I think he is still doing alot of work on it, weekends, weeknights, etc. I know it’s alot of work and the house will be in disarray, so we don’t want to start until we get the materials, layout and labor in place to do it in 2-3 weeks. Alot of “friend of friends” are looking for work to do, so it seems like labor is getting cheaper.

My mom renovated almost her whole house…new travertine floors, onyx fireplaces, marble stairs, hardwood floors upstairs, new cherry cabs in the kitchen, granite, for around $80k. The guy she found does good work and charges $220/8 hour day for him and his partner. Not bad for $13.75/hour.

I wish you well on your house! Props to you for being a DIYer! Truth be told, my answer to JtR wasn’t totally correct…I could be handy if I just went for it…I am an engineer. But I’m too much of a perfectionist. I’ll spend 20-30 minutes fretting over 1 travertine tile’s position, and then not be happy with it for the next 10 years. Someone could do a worse job than me, and I’ll be impressed. I’m just weird that way. So I just said no, because I don’t have the skills yet, and then I won’t be happy with the results.

Jeeman

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