lyndale renovation 2015 & 2016
paint, cabinets, counters & disaster

Delivery Day! Appliances are here!

The stove gets a brief opportunity to size up its new hood.

Edgar and mover dude are having a moment.
The fridge is temporaraliy in place; it will move breifly when the upper cabinets go in

Soon, the fridge will be encased in woodwork matching the upper cabinets. We have some concern, as does Edgar, that the fridge position may need to depart a little from the plan in order to accomodate the woodwork. Scott has been called in for a meeting — Val and I are holding our breath a little.

The dishwasher fits like a glove.

The stove height, in relation to the countertop height is perfect.

I never imagined I'd think a stove was sexy, but, dang, the sleek top of the induction stove, and the sweet industrial-style knobs on this sucker are pretty hot. The glass-like top of the stove and the gray countertop seem almost like one uninterupped surface.

Well, the stove had its moment, and now it is stashed, facing the wall like a catholic student being punished, while the upper cabinets are installed..

The fridge, too, has been pulled aside and covered for scratch protection while cabinets are installed.
Visible on the right is the woodworkk that will encase the fridge and the cabinet above the fridge position.
Scott dispelled our concerns about this area and everything is proceeding as planned.

Holy cow, upper cabinets; and boy do they look great!
The trim around the north window looks fantastic too.

Now this looks like a kitchen again. Good Lord, could we finally be coming down the home stretch.

Not so fast — just when you think the world is your oyster, the shit will hit the fan!

Our plan specified a lower-than-standard height for the bottom of the cabinets. 18-inches is standard, but we've specified 16-inches. Afterall, Val is non-standard and she ought to be able to reach the cabinets in her own kitchen.

You see, Val struggles to reach even the lowest shelf.
A 2-inch variation between the plans and the cabinet-install sounds insignificant, but it is critical to Val.

Here is our insurance policy: This is a detail of the plan elevations, and here you can see that
16-inches is specified between countertop and the bottom of the cabinets.

The night following our discovery of this issue, prior to our meeting with Edgar the next morning to discuss a solution, was truly unpleasant. Long-story-short: Edgar didn't hesitate for a moment to make this right. Scott, Edgar and the cabinet builder will hash out an arrangement. The incorrect cabinets will be removed and new cabinets (to spec) will be installed at no cost to us.

In the end, the only downside to this issue is another delay.
Shown here is the back-splash tile that would have been installed the day after the upper cabinets went in.
Now, backsplash and electrical are on hold while the replacement cabinets are being built.