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lucas_tx_gw

More on the Barker Cab Install

lucas_tx_gw
10 years ago

Got the appliances and sink in over the weekend, so today DH put the drawers in.

Had a bit of an issue with the DW cabinet, so thought I'd give a heads up. The cab is 24" deep but has 3/4" stretchers across the back at the top and bottom. So its effective depth is something like 23.25. Turned out it was too shallow for the 24 5/8" DW.

Cab also has stretchers across the top front and back as well and sides are screwed to other cabs so after consultation with Chad, we cut out the high stretcher in the back and cut the low stretcher down to a height of 3" so it would fit the channel area in the back of the DW where the plumbing and electric are routed.

I sent Chad the specs for the DW and he's looking at redesigning the cab to accomodate these ever growing DWs.

Funny I was very careful to check the width and height because I knew those have been causing issues but I guess we never put 2+2 together on the depth. Anyway, all's well that ends well.

Back on track. Drawers went in perfectly and look great.

It will probably be a while before we finish out the trim on this and do the frig surround but I thought some of the Barker-philes out there might want to see the progress. Forgive the mess, since we now have appliances and running water, we're moving stuff from the temp kitchen back but at the same time, still doing construction. :-)

Comments (28)

  • susanlynn2012
    10 years ago

    Thanks for sharing about the dishwasher cabinet needing to be adjusted. Thanks for also sharing the work-in-progress pictures.

    By the way, can you give me the details of your beautiful floors? I love them!

  • lucas_tx_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks. Here's a link to a thread with more info on the flooors.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Floors thread

  • susanlynn2012
    10 years ago

    Thank you lucas_tx!

  • rmiriam
    10 years ago

    Lucas_tx, it's beautiful! I love the wood floors and cabinets together.

    One question - do you really need a cabinet for a dishwasher? I always thought it would just go between two other cabinets, saving the inch and a half the cabinet box would take up. Every inch counts in my tiny space!

  • GreenDesigns
    10 years ago

    You don't use a cabinet for a DW. It goes between adjacent cabinets, with possibly a side panel and filler if needed for spacing or structural issues. And add a ledger board at the rear to help support the counter.

  • lucas_tx_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I guess it's just a matter of opinion but by the time you go to the trouble to use "a side panel, filler if needed and a ledger board" it seems a lot simpler to have a nice neat cabinet that includes all that (provided said cab is deep enough :-)).

    Personally, in my case, there is not an adjacent cab because the sink cab is angled so the DW would have needed a side panel anyway.

    For super tight spaces, if you didn't want to give up 1.5" of space, I'm sure not having a cab would have been fine but I think it's a little harsh to say "you don't use one" without knowing the details in each case.

  • three0h2
    10 years ago

    Although we noted the DW cabinet offering, we chose not to do the cabinet with our Barker install. Our DW is in a corner, so we put in a slab side panel next to the wall and viola, that was it. Much easier than cabinet assembly, install, leveling, and shimming. It was less expensive, quicker, I didn't lose 1.5" of space, and no visible frame for a more consistent look. The space and aesthetics were my deciding factors against ordering it, but my contractor father confirmed he didn't want it and wouldn't use it.

  • annkh_nd
    10 years ago

    Beautiful, lucas! What will your countertops be?

  • lucas_tx_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Well I have to say my poor little cabs are feeling pretty bad about the turn this thread has taken. They didn't want to be photographed half naked anyway (no trim no hardware) but I assured them that many people were very interested in seeing how pretty they were so they agreed.

    Now the thread has gone a completely different direction and they are feeling a little neglected.

    Perhaps the DW cab vs. no DW cab discussion could move to a thread of its own.

    Maybe someone can get this thread back on track (and make the little naked cabs feel better :-) by saying
    "Gee, thanks for posting pics of your natural cherry Barker cabs, lots of us have been waiting to see them!"

  • Holly- Kay
    10 years ago

    Lucas, your cabs, even naked, are beautiful. Thanks for sharing your progress with us.

  • three0h2
    10 years ago

    Your cabinets look great! Thanks for posting the photos. Looking forward to seeing more pics as you progress. :)

  • lucas_tx_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Counters...

    SInce it's an interior room, we want light counters. We're currently thinking LG Viatera in Sugar Storm which is reasonably quiet and then something really blingy for the backsplash. We both like glass and/or glass/stone mosaics, so that's the way we are leaning and we'd like to add some color with that.

    For the upper level of the counters what we want (if we decide to bite the financial bullet) is some edge grained mesquite. We like that it's native Texan but mesquite trees don't grow very tall or very straight, so even though they are ubiquitous, it's hard to make lumber from them and it's difficult to work the lumber because it's very hard.

    We went down and spent a Saturday morning in Dan Vos' wood shop and it was just amazing. We have relatives down there in Dripping Springs and that's just a cool little family business, so we are trying to support those where ever we can.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Mesquite Counter Tops

  • KBSpider
    10 years ago

    Yay, naked pics! ;) I've been waiting for you to post more - they really look beautiful! Looking forward to more....

  • rmiriam
    10 years ago

    Sorry, didn't mean to hijack! I really do love the cabinets, and didn't even notice that they were "naked." Can't wait to see them dressed.

  • williamsem
    10 years ago

    Wow, I'm not personally into the light cabinet look, but those cherry cabs are gorgeous! What lovely grain! I feel like I've been deeply wounded by cheap builder grade golden oak. Maybe some day I'll be able to get some nice natural cabs like those! I'd be interested to see how the color changes over time, if you are able to post pics in a year or so.

    Is this what they call kitchen porn? I hope I don't get I trouble for having pics of naked cabs in my browser history! Especially such young cabinets...

  • Holly- Kay
    10 years ago

    LOL Williamsem!

  • berner43
    10 years ago

    They look beautiful! Thanks for taking the time to share them! What door style is that? There is so much movement in that gorgeous wood I can't tell from the pics. What happened with your bowed end panels? Did they straighten out after you weighed them down? Love it!

  • eam44
    10 years ago

    Wonderful job, beautiful cabs - thanks for posting. Now you've got me thinking...
    Sugar Storm
    {{!gwi}}
    Mesquite


    Driftwood 1" x 4" Brown Linea Offset Glossy & Unpolished Glass and Stone, $34.03/sf

  • Anne Harris
    10 years ago

    Gorgeous. And I love the tiles EAM44 picked out!

  • williamsem
    10 years ago

    Love the 5 piece drawers! Great choice. Also love those tiles, I'm happy with my MOP choice, but part of me wonders what EAM44 would have dug up for my kitchen :-)

  • lucas_tx_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks all. EAM44, you are the killer on finding backsplashes! That's lovely but we are kind of drowning in a sea of brown here, so are considering something with an actual color. Got any suggestions?

    We ended up doing the wood in the FR as well then realized all our furniture is beige as well :-) Guess we better look for some smashing area rugs, right now the furniture is kind of invisible :-)

    Berner43, they are San Francisco. As for the warped panels, one of them is the one to the right of the MW. It didn't straighten out completely on its own but we figured that because it was being screwed between two other cabs it would work out alright so we went ahead and put it in and it did fine. We did make sure we didn't try to use it on the end of that run. There were three panels in that run, one on either side of the MW and the one on the end that were identical.

    The other warped one is the tall panel that will make up the frig surround. It got a lot straighter when we had it weighted down. We had to move everything around when we got the floors so it's up against a wall now. When we get ready to do that frig surround (hopefully pretty soon), we'll have to take a look and decide. I think that screwed between two cabs as it will be at the top, that it will do OK as well, but as I said before, Chad says he'll replace it if it's not going to work out.

    Williamsen, the MOP was kind of calling my name too but DH wasn't wild about it so it's off the list kind of temporarily anyway. Also didn't meet the "we need some color" criterion.

  • eam44
    10 years ago

    Please don't toy with me. I get so excited when people use the "c" word!!!

    My favorite color to pair with browns is blue. If you have a favorite, let me know. In mosaics, if you're going to use multicolors, brown should be in there to help tie everything together.

    I really think the glazed thin brick from Fireclay could be beautiful in your space. It has a rugged feel that would be very much at home in the arms of your mesquite. I'm showing you Harbor below.

    Finally, I have a couple of options from Artistic Tile (sorry) and Mosaic House. You can choose any color in the Mosaic House tile, but you can't find examples of each of them in all the mosaic patterns. The one below is a little roust in its shade of blue, but it'll give you an idea.

    thanks anne. williamsem, I like MOP tile a lot. In the right space it is magical. It might not have enough presence for this space though.

    {{!gwi}}

  • berner43
    10 years ago

    I thought they were San Francisco! That's on my short list. I have no doubt Chad would make your end panels right if needed!

  • lucas_tx_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The blue is good! Actually like the first one the best so far. Not sure about the brick, would have to see in person. Last two are too busy and the 4th one would drive DH crazy, he's "concrete sequential" so it all needs to look nice and neat :-)

  • eam44
    10 years ago

    I love that tile too. You can find info on it at the link below.

    I was hoping to find a mix with more of the blue and an overall less dark feel. So far, either the blue is washed out, or the browns appear yellow or reddish. Here are a couple of other options along similar lines.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Glass Mosaic

  • steph2000
    10 years ago

    Lucastx! How fun to see your Barkers kitchen come together. They are a strong contender for us still, so it's really helpfu to see and hear about an actual install.

    That DW issue seems pesky! Wonder why that's even a problem... hope he fixes it.

    Did you do crown from them? If so, do you love it? Can we see it?

    How are the drawers? Do they operate well? Are they truly full extension? Do they seem sturdy?

    It's looking really good and you are in great hands with backsplash. I'm kinda liking the very last one EAM posted...

  • suburbanjuls
    10 years ago

    I'm following you as well on your progress as we are finalizing our Barker layout. It's gorgeous so far and I look forward to the full reveal. Can I ask you about what you put on either side of your range, fillers or end panels? And did you make it full depth, or just a few inches, to block the space? Thanks!

  • lucas_tx_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    We're doing another section today (frig surround) so I'll try to provide more details on the anatomy today.

    Per the earlier discussion, DW cab is not a must have but if you have a DW picked out and are worried, send Chad the specs. I just took a pic of mine and emailed to him. He loves real world feedback and is very grateful.

    EAM, agreed slightly less dark but with the blue would be nice but that first one is appealing and DH like it as well. I think we do prefer the brick style, the squares just seem a little busy for our tastes.

    What do you think about this one? Blue is more muted and it says it's Bathroom tile, don't know if that would matter.

    They also have some that use slate for the 'blue', I wonder how blue those would look IRL?

    Thanks so much for your input on this, you are so great at finding them.

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