2018 Downstairs Bath Remodel

The powder room off the kitchen has been in need of a major overhaul since the first day I moved into this house. With the possibility of moving looming, I finally had the work done in 2018.

I hated to lose that lovely linoleum!
Not really, it was long past its prime

Jeremy Yates of Sure Flow plumbing did the plumbing work (new toilet, fixtures on the sink), as well as some replacement of pipes in the basement.

New tile installed

Randy O'Kain did all the finish work. He also installed some floor transition strips that weren't done as part of the kitchen remodel.

When Randy pulled up the linoleum, he found some remnants of a tile floor that had been laid as some time previously. I always thought that the man who lived here before me had created this bathroom out of a closet, but I think it must have been here originally.  The new tile was a porcelain that looked like slate. I liked how it turned out.

The old wallpaper was stripped and wall
prepared for paint.  

New wall color applied.

Finished product. 

The toilet was turned at an angle to make it a bit more comfortable. Moving the sewer stack was not really feasible without some major renovation, so this was a better solution than previously, where the toilet was facing the wall, making sitting down a bit of challenge.

Epilogue

It's been about two and half weeks since most of the work was completed. The last of the punchlist has been slow to get finished, which is a little irritating. Brian FINALLY got the water line issue on the refrigerator cleared up so that the water will dispense and ice is being produced.  But, the never-ending issue with the microwave cabbie still plagues us.

Since I wouldn't allow Brian to leave the electical outlet free floating in the wall, he came back and installed a recessed outlet. Unfortunately, it was a single plug version that centered the plug in the middle of the box. The microwave cord is heavy-duty and wouldn't quite fit inside the recessed area. Therefore, the cord itself didn't allow the microwave to sit back far enough and instead of sitting on the shelf, it was actually balancing on the trim piece on the front of the shelf. Needless to say, it also stuck out from the front of the cabinet too far. I tried using an extension cord, but the heavy duty cord had the same issue with the size of the recess.

I told Brian that I'd seen a double plug recessed box at Home Depot and offered to pick it up. Home Depot also had a GE Profile microwave with the same cord as mine. Much to my chagrin, the plug would not fit into the double outlet at all. Where the single plug sat too low, the double sat too high. OMG! On the other hand, the extension cord plug did JUST fit, so if I can get Brian to come back and switch it out, it may just work. There is still very little clearance to work with, and I'm hoping that the extension cord will be flexible enough to allow the microwave to sit in the space correctly. If only that extra half inch had been added to cabinet depth. Too bad they weren't custom cabinets. Wait a minute! They ARE custom cabinets! <sigh>

The good thing is that once this plug is swapped, I think I can call it complete. I still need to figure out what to do about the light fixture over the bar and whether I want to change the fixture over the sink, but those are definitely decisions that can be put on hold. Slowly, but surely items are making their way back up from the basement into the new space. Someday, I am confident that I'll be moved in.

It is Done! (kinda)

I walked in last night after work to a finished room. The guys worked frantically, I could tell, to get all the details done. They had cleaned up all the construction trash--my garage hasn't been that tidy in a very long time!

It's almost surreal. After needing and wanting to remodel for so many years, it's hard to believe it's finally done. I am very pleased with the outcome.

There are a couple of details still to be done. They forgot to hook up the water to my refrigerator. I have to return the microwave because it wobbles and I still need some kind of shelving in the upper corner cabinet.

I've spent most of today getting unpacked. In spite of all the extra space, it's still been a bit of a production figuring out the best place to put things. I think there really isn't a good way to store small appliances to where they are really handy. I also seem to have an inordinate supply of tea towels. And, I've still got to figure out how to organize the spice cabinet. All in good time.

Final Details

The tile is up and part of the grouting done; the TV mounted and stove hood installed. The new bar was built and put in as well as the hardware on the cabinets. The storm door has been hung. My list of loose ends is slowly getting checked off.

Grouted tile with accents

I did have a small glitch with the light fixtures. I discovered that the large pendant I got for the bar is too large. No problem, I thought. I'd get the smaller semi-flush mounted light in the same collection for the bar and put the other fixture in the dining room, replacing the ceiling fan that I've wanted to replace forever. However, when I went to order the new fixture, I found that that line has been discontinued by Minka Lavery. I couldn't find a single fixture left in a dozen websites that used to carry it.  And, now, that I am looking at the pendant above the sink, I think it may be a little large and "rustic" as well. Ah, the perils of buying stuff online. I am not going to do anything for the time being, however. I am tired of making those kinds of decisions!

Stove hood in its protective sheath.

The construction crew was able to adjust my doors so that they no longer scrape the floor. Unfortunately, not before a pretty decent gouge was made by the French swing door. <sigh>

So far, I have been pleased overall with McCartney Cabinets and Agape Construction. The cabinets are gorgeous and great quality.  They all have been responsive to my requests, even though communication could have been better all around.  Even so, missteps have been corrected without drama, which I've appreciated.

Undercabinet lights

I am hoping that the rest of the tasks will be completed today. I am beyond antcy to get it finished, though I know that I have a huge job of organizing ahead of me. I feel like my whole house is in disarray, which of course if I were honest, it is usually in disarray. However, it is worse than normal. The next tough task is trying to figure out where to put everything. Oh! Too many choices to put things now!

Almost Done

 The countertops were installed as scheduled (actually a few hours earlier... Thank you, Cutting Edge!). They are gorgeous! Brian and crew came back and installed my sink fixtures and placed the appliances. Of course, nothing ever goes without a hitch. The refrigerator opening had to be enlarged an inch at the top (not a big deal), and the microwave didn't quite fit into the opening intended for it (a bigger deal to fix).

The granite is gorgeous. It's greener than I thought it would be, but I like it really well. I've never particularly been drawn to green, so that's a bit of a surprise. The backsplash will be copper slate, with a few accents of irridescent glass tiles. I'm looking forward to seeing the personality that will bring, though I'll miss losing that lovely wallpaper border NOT!.

Brian said there were only a couple more days of work left, which is surprising as it seems there are a lot of little details to do. Bob is going redo the bar, narrowing it so that I can get a stool under the ledge. Since that was supposed to be mainly cookbook storage anyway, it will actually be better to not be quite so deep. Olivia seems to think that's her special spot.

Olivia has already made herself at home.





It's Christmas Eve and I got what I asked for (or at least the revised request): a functional sink and working appliances!

End of Week 3

The granite has been templated and Bob warned me that this would be dead time since the appliances can't be hooked up or the tile installed until after the countertops are in. Countertops are due in on the 23rd, which is really quick turnaround. I hope they make it. If I can have the appliances hooked up and a working sink, I can deal with the details being finished. 

The refrigerator, microwave and stove hood arrived Friday. I now have three refrigerators sitting in my garage. The refrigerator could have been put in then except for Brian had asked Bob to put a solid back on the refrigerator opening, which he didn't do. Brian came by Friday to clear some trash out and move the stove back in. He didn't have clearance around the outlet with the cabinets and didn't have his tools with him, so he didn't hook it up. Just having it in the kitchen does make it feel like there really is an end date someone along the line. :)

So, we aren't going to make Christmas afterall. Funny, how my expectations have reduced to just having stuff working.

Cabinets

Sink View



Refrigerator/Pantry/Bar

I came home tonight to find the cabinets mostly installed. It felt so totally surreal to actually have furniture back in there. What I have thought about for so many years has finally started to come to fruition. Hard to take it all in.

They are lovely, though I did have a few  surprises. There were a couple of cabinets that I thought I was getting that I didn't. I've figured out how to adapt around them, I think. I was relieved to hear that another turntable was supposed to go in the upper wedge-shaped cabinet. Currently, there is nothing in it, which makes for a lot of wasted, awkward-shaped space! Overall, it will take me a while to fill all that space up. I'm terribly excited about that! 

Stove side



The granite folks will be out in the morning to template the counter tops. Installation is set for 12/23. They are squeaking it in! I think that as long as my appliances are hooked up and I have a working sink, I can deal with any minor details that might overlap after Christmas.  :)

I purchased the TV and mounting bracket today that will go on the wall above the bar (see photo above). I think the only thing left to buy are the under-cabinet lights. We're getting there...