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!