12.31.2006

Kitchen Reconstruction :: Days Eight and Nine

Well, day eight was mostly clean up day... we spent alot of time trying to clean up dust around the house from plaster demolition (and Steven is still dust mopping now, and spritzing his plants, as I click). I got the floor patched in the new doorway after much tribulation (for some reason the kitchen floor is 3/4" LOWER than the living room floor, so in removing the wall and putting a doorway there, we had to mediate that litttttle surprize!), Steven started stripping paint off mouldings that we are reusing, and I cut lots of same moulding to fit around new doorway.

Today I will install all the pieces and refit the living room base moulds and mostly finish up the new doorway, at least from the living room side. The jamb and head casing on the kitchen side will not, of course, get installed until the end, after the cabinets are in place and we are finishing up. The new pieces of oak I treated yesterday to match the existing oak moulding match very well, and I think when all is said and done, one won't be able to tell new oak from old. Steven will continue to strip, probably in the garage as it seems rain is coming today. We've enjoyed a couple of days of leave-the-door-open weather, unheard of in wintry Ohio. And there are still people out there who believe those ancient ice shelves aren't melting. I had to laugh yesterday when Mike, our neighbor, came over to watch Steven strip moulds on the sawhorses in the back, saying "I've got a really hard-core stripper in the basement." I restrained myself from pointing out the double-entendre, refusing to ask what said stripper's specialty might be or what type of music he might perform to. Does he strip mouldings too?

Hopefully today we will unpack the 2 GINORMOUS boxes that contain the hood that goes above the stove. Seriously, the 2 boxes together are 7 feet tall, 4 feet wide, 3 feet deep. We knew it would be nice from the breathtaking cost of it, but if size is any consideration at all, it's going to suck really well. There's gotta be a lot of packing or air or something other than hood in those boxes, I'm guessing!

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Ok, Here's some pictures of today's work. Does this door look as is it was hatched at any time other than 1925? We are really pleased with the result, it looks good, like it has always been there. And the flow! Ms. Eydie Gorme is already enjoying the MAJOR shortcut to her dining room. The new floor patch I hope won't be as prominent as it looks in this photo: the third coating of poly is still wet and sticking out like a sore thumb here.

Poor Steven has been stripping these moulds again for the entire day, since 11ish. His feet are hurting from being on them that long. But, operation switch-the-doors-around-and-make-a-big-dusty-mess is now almost complete! Whew.



4 comments:

Steven said...

Finally we see something tangible. The new installed door looks having been there from the beginning. That is why Qi and flow is finally right.

Sam said...

Yep. Sure wish we had myck here to do his thing with his big burning sage fattie, releasing all the old, trapped spirits from the house. Seems there aren't any here anyway.

Sam said...

Yep. Sure wish we had myck here to do his thing with his big burning sage fattie, releasing all the old, trapped spirits from the house. Seems there aren't any here anyway.

Sam said...

Everything is looking very good!!! The doorway looks like it's been there for a while--it's too bad you had to tear up some of the paint, but maybe it will be a near match, since it hasn't been so long since it's been painted. I'll bet Gormy loves the easy access to her salon a manger! You and Steven will have to go back to work so you can get some rest. I'm waiting to hear what comes out of the mammoth boxes when you take out the hood and its environs...Keep us posted--we love you both. Oh, I had a pear last night before I went to bed--it was delicious--VERY juicy. Glad Tricky passed them on to us.

BC. & Mama

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