Cal - too bad you couldn't find the color - Here is our final house color - Not done this week but awhile ago - but posting to close out the color talk. The funny thing, when I started, I didn't want white trim - but figured out what I didn't like on white trim is, white trim with lighter colors.

Terri - ouch!

Freeman - still hoping to get to Gee Farms but might have to wait - heading out to gain control of the garden between the rain drops - if the vampires aren't too hungry.

UNGHHHHHH... hi everyone.

I am covered in shiny silver glitter. Only it's not glitter, it's aluminum dust from chop sawing aluminum all day in the 90 degree weather. Sweat plus aluminum dust... I'm real pretty right now. Waiting for ONE MORE charge on my dewalt drill to do the LAST segment of my railing!!!

Schicksal - I had a surreal eureka moment when I put two and two together that your beautiful modern DIY odyssey is ALSO the hairy re-do the whole damn floor support odyssey! I was exhausted on your behalf all weekend, thinking about ALL the work you have done in the past year. It is definitely looking very awfully amazingly beautiful, though.

Love the pretty covers, that fabric really has a zing to it!

I'm too tired to respond to each of you at the moment. I need to eat and drink while my charging happens. Pictures in a while, hopefully!!!

This post was edited by beautybutdebtfree on Tue, Jul 8, 14 at 18:02

i didn't post last week. too embarrassed to admit i got nothing done. it's not really true but when i sat down to post i couldn't think of anything! the big thing is that i've have 2 possible cabinet makers. one i've been working with a while but he was out of commission from a big fall. so he came yesterday with his sample finish for the cabinets. when i visited his shop it did not seem like he understood what i was looking for. so he set about finishing a couple of scrap pieces of cherry to prove he's been listening to me. i was very pleased.
when the newer cabinet maker came by he was the first to shake my confidence in my design. everyone voices objections and i had answers for everything. but he helped me realize i wouldn't be able to reach stuff if i did it my way. he had lotsa ideas and said he'd put something together for me. but i didn't hear a word because i realized that coupled with some esthetic issues coming out of my design, i had to admit it was dead.
so i tried to start over. then i decided the thing to do was to post here and get advise from the best. it took me forever. i don't even want to list all the problems i had putting together something coherent when i just kept messing up. i finally figured out how to post the pictures and got my thoughts in some sort of order and posted.
meantime my laptop is almost completely dead! i'm so afraid i'm going to run out of money before the kitchen's done.
i had guests in on the 4th and it was great. we could see the fireworks but they we absolutely microscopic.
tomorrow the partner of the 1st cabinet maker (Eron & Burr) is coming over to help me think of a solution to my design problems. the problems all revolve around a weight bearing wall. i'm beginning to wonder exactly what's involved in taking down a load bearing wall. people do that right? you need an engineer or something i suppose.
i'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

I'll be back..the coffee pot just said "coffee's ready"..

But I must say Beauty, that is some nifty "glitter" you got there!

So that citristrip is pretty nifty..I went out this morning to check and it was dried and flaky..guess my "plastic" sticking sucked..or the garage was extra warm..lol

But most of it scraped off very easily..and suprise the wood is/was cherry-ish.
Which works for me..
I applied more on the top..and plastic again...got busy with other things and yep releasing more goodies..when I checked on it again.
How fun!

Went out and priced carpet for the master at my mom's house. HD wins by like $200. She just has to like the carpet that I picked out in that price range. ;)
Their installation and disposal/removal fee is basically the difference.

Yesterday I "worked" on the kitchen..lol..I hung two copper cookie cutters behind the stove. Breaks up the white a little. ;)
Anyone know a trick to remove two stuck in range hood light bulbs? Appear to be mini floods..wiggly, but won't turn out of the socket all the way..Previous owner did give us all the owner's manuals..and that says use a light bulb suction cup..aside from finding one to purchase, any other tricks?
No fingers fit in there, the housing can not be "broken into"..I've tried the little rubber drawer liner piece I use for jar grip..but again no way to get leverage on it..

Oh and has anyone taken their oven door apart? Seems there was a big spill that went down into the vents, and in the oven door on the back of the glass..

I would like to clean some of that out if I have to live with that dumb range for a while longer.

The grill has a small meatloaf and freshly dug new potatoes..."baking"

Oh we primed and painted the wood valances..I think he's going to install them tonight.

@terri I haven't taken my oven door apart, but there have been a couple threads on it for a couple different manufacturers on the appliance forum over the last couple months. Search there and/or google something specific on yours.

@kaylarus Sometimes it's good to just step back and get a running start again.

@bbdf That looks like some dangerous glitter. I'd be hosing down outside. :)

@CEF Sorry to hear about Morgan. My dogs are 8 and 9 and every trip to the vet gets scarier and scarier. I take the older one Thursday for a couple things. (my first 'baby')

Paint--Had our first estimate from a REAL painter for the exterior. Over twice as much as from the other pseudo painters. This guy did send his license and insurance with an emailed quote though, so there's that. It's 20% more than a friends house that I doubt is much bigger. Ours just has so many odd bits. The plan is now...wait. I'll de-patchwork things. The idea to paint the house came about when we got the roof done last winter and got lots of new fascia AND we're getting new doors and...and...you know how that goes. We re-prioritized and decided it made sense to NOT spend that money and make all those decisions now. We'll get the new fascia painted and instead get lawn front and back and some hardscape work done. We'll look at painting again down the line.

Kitchen news--We have some! FINALLY got a date from the contractor. "Looking at the calendar as of right now pending the results of the inspection of course. We are more than likely looking at the week of the 21st. It is possible we could bump up Demo to the end of the week of the 14th but cant not say for sure at this point". Hallelujah, at least I can schedule work and other sorts of things next week. I'd love it done sooner rather than later, but I'm just happy with a date. And that date makes me think we should be able to finish before school starts. Maybe even with at least part of a week to spare.

I drove my birthday self into LA and picked up our BEAUTIFUL pendants. And had my favorite sandwich (Caprese).

Came home and picked up a couple more filler plants and did some planting. Cooling off and will finish up soon.

Cal quail - where are the pictures of the pendants??? :)

beautybutdebtfree - are you using gloves? I can't imagine how the innocent looking sparkles wouldn't turn into splinters if you got them on your hands. And yes, I'm the same one that was basically rebuilding everything but the outside walls. Almost done though, with this area at least.

Today was more of the same - talking to the gas plumber this afternoon and then back at it with the ceiling. I hope to finish on Thursday or Friday, depending on what else is going on. Here's what it looks like now. Pardon the mess.

Still too tired to respond at length, but here is a review. Before shot, the "Bubba Fence." Reaaaaaaaaaaaal classy.

After shot, a real, commercial grade railing. It will outlast me. Very simple lines. Very, very anchored into my concrete!

Um. Still need to ditch the Bubba Fence leftovers, as you can see. Looking for a gardener or poultry keeper on craigslist who might want used Bubba Wire. ; )

Glitter all washed away and gone, now. Done drilling plate aluminum, hammer drilling concrete, and chop sawing aluminum extrusions - and it feels goooooooooood.

That looks amazing bbdf! It looks like the patio of a nice restaurant with a deck overlooking a creek or something.

And schicksal, as always, amazed and lovely.

We took the pendants out. MIL came over to see them. And DH boxed them back up before I got a pic. I'll have them out in the near future to figure out who's going to hang them for us. The big one is HEAVY!

Beauty, that looks great!
Shicksal, you got a lot done today!

Forgot to mention a2, paint and trim... Fabulous! My house is green with white trim too..

Went and picked up the wood valances and they are hung. He added dowel cups for curtains in the future.

Happy Birthday CalQ! The Big Guy hits 50 tomorrow..and 4 days later 45 for me...

Happy early birthday!!!

Bbdf, the fence you out in looks awesome, and you probably saved a ton of cash by doing it yourself too.

Mini update... Countertops start late tomorrow evening. Earlier today I was told late morning, so that now means no cooktop tomorrow.

Also the delivery people called and said the wall and combi-stream oven should be delivered tomorrow evening between 4 and 8. Also a change from earlier today when I heard late morning.

I was taking a vacation day from work so I could be around for all this but not now since there's no point.

Edit: it probably belongs in the appliances board but here is what the inside of a Blue Star cooktop looks like. Range tops and rented are probably similar. I had to open it up and look for a lose nut inside.

Time for a nap, then I start on more of the ceiling. Wish I could get going now but arriving to work between 5 and 5:30 makes me tired.

This post was edited by schicksal on Wed, Jul 9, 14 at 18:00

Schicksal your before and afters are amazing and also kind of terrifying! You're doing an amazing job.

GC stopped by the house while I was at work today and completed the checklist. So we're done except for adding pendants if we decide we want them at some point down the road.

Does that mean that the wiring is already there if you want pendant lights later? If so, wonderful idea!

Thanks! I had to do similar work in the formal living room, entry hall and family room. I have about 1,300 sq ft in work in this project.

Today I didn't get as much done as I wanted to. Only 6 1/2 rows. It took a long time measuring and shooting lasers to get this row where it needed to be. A drawback about doing this kind of ceiling is that if you'd recessed lighting is not lined up it will be extra obvious.

schicksal not only is your house and work beautiful, you post super nice pics. I did bust out a nicer camera for before shots of the kitchen and will for some things along the way. But...

I just posted a thread with pics of my cabinets and they're crappy iphone pics with the sun blowing them out. But they're here...they're here...they're here!!! And they're pretty. :D And they're HEAVY. The delivery guys commented they're good because they're heavier than most.

Christina - Congrats on being virtually done!

I am still half dead from finishing my railing. It was hard work, but I think it was more the heat, and then stupid me I wasn't paying attention and got pretty sunburned, so I haven't been sleeping well due to this.

But this picture is for you Cal Quail - our view over the deck - it's a pretty darned good vista, for a backyard, isn't it?

What a lovely view! You guys are all doing such great things.

So today I bought a bed. Not that I needed a bed, but I've been looking for this style for years and years and believed them to simply be out of my range. It is in the Dauphine style. Based upon the joinery and the date on the very bottom, it's from 18(something something). I absolutely love its curved footboard. A king runs $3000 to $4000, or repros are 3/4 of that. I found this full-sized bed on Craig's List. Yesterday. About 4 hours after she posted it. For [drum roll] $99.00. I plan to strip it down, probably, but it's showing its age so I might have to paint it anyway. We'll see.

Don't laugh at me. I have so many other things I should be paying for (like bills) but I just didn't want to miss this. It's an "Ah HA THAT'S IT" thing! I'll put the CL pic at the bottom.

Now I have to give away a brand new bed, incl queen mattress and box springs. I have no need for it and it never A HAed me. I'm far from shy about giving things away when I find something I like more. Thank goodness, or there'd be no room for me in this house.

Then, after years of falling off ladders, climbing on counters, living barefoot on a construction site, I think I have mildly sprained my ankle. I'm sitting here twirling it around and I can feel it click and there is pain. I'm NOT going to let it freeze up on me, but ooo bubba, it hurts.

My neighbor gave me fresh beets from his garden. oooooo I love beets.

The rest of the day I'm going to change my cat littler and take my MBR cabinets off the wall to refit them into the space, which has turned out to be built smaller than it was to have been. However, I'll make it work.

Here's my bed:

What a green, lush vista! (you've seen my dirt) And I can see why that bed was hard to find. So pretty and unique. I've never seen one with that detail.

I've only opened one more cabinet box this morning. There was a mystery small piece. It's an extra roll out for my pantry. Mystery solved, but nothing fun to look at. It's like I have my own advent calendar sprawled all over my living room. Every couple hours, I just go peek into something new.

I'm dreaming about what will go where now, now that I have an idea of what a 24"w drawer will look like with MY stuff in it. Trying to talk to DH about it but he can't deal until everything is in. I'm hoping to get a few accessory sorts of things ordered and they might even be here when the cabinets are installed.

One thing we want is a different knife storage solution. I want my prep knives in a prep area and steak knives with my cutlery. So I may try this DIY idea since I've got time to kill and cork can't be that expensive. I could get wood hollow inserts and just fill a couple of the sections with this.

Off to take the blue dog to the vet.

Here is a link that might be useful: DIY cork knife insert.

CEF - is that the dresser you went chasing around for? (poor grammar, I know)? Love the bed... I dunno... is the finish shot? Looks kinda good dark wood like that from a distance. Why can't you sell your other bed on craigslist and recoup part of your "treasures" fund?

Schicksal - see pic. Co-geek here! I had to see what was inside the thing. And I totally get your insane house project. There is something just SO VERY SATISFYING about DIY projects, such that you KNOW how it's done, and you did it the way you WANT it to be done, and you have this feeling afterward that it's GOOD. You will not only love your beautiful new space, but every so often think of those solid new floor joists underneath your feet, knowing your floor is solid. Your ceiling is looking great.

Kaylarus - My motto is "forward progress, every day," which means that as long as there is SOME sort of forward progress, even if it's thinking through a problem, or a TINY bit of work, that's good. Some days a person is just fried and needs to do less, and be ok with that.

Cal Quail - I know exactly what you mean about the serial surprises, when opening up stuff (even if it's cabinet parts)! One can make a really fun adventure of things like this in life, can't one? Happy Birthday a bit delayed! I hope you had a lovely day.

Terri - the cornices look very nice! The keystones are a coo-el touch, that little something extra oomph. Hope your finger is healing quickly!

a2gemini - You have a very pretty house and I do like that most handsome spiffy color combination. It carries that very difficult mixture to achieve: classy, pizzaz, calm, but not boring. I really like the textures, too!

Christina222 and Cal_Quail, Thanks for the kind words on the pictures! They are just from my Nexus 5. I wipe the lens before taking pictures; it really helps make them a lot clearer. Today should be a good day for a 1 year ago vs. now pic because I replaced the worst joists on July 10th. Changing the floorplan and raising the ceiling was the best thing we could have done that doesn't involve a bulldozer. This is not the same place I moved into anymore.

bbdf - your view is awesome and you have what no one can remodel or add on. Tons of space to call your own.

CEFreeman - that's a cool bed! You say it's showing its age but I can't tell from the picture. How old is it?

Cal_Quail - Thanks for sharing the knife dock. I wanted to do one too, since staying in a place in Florida that had all kinds of cool stuff built in to the kitchen cabinet drawers. I'm curious to see how more of the cabinets look once unboxed!

Today is pretty quiet. I rolled in at 5:30 today and once I get home I need to clear off everything on top of the cabinets. Also the ceiling planking stored in the kitchen needs to go. But things will be pretty quiet until late afternoon when everything happens all at once.

Shicksal, the date on the bottom says, 18(something something). It's finish is really probably done, but I can't just go slapping paint on it before I give cleaning it up a shot. It's got cool little casters on it, too. I'm thrilled with it. Love my Ah HA moments! :)

BBDF, No, this isn't the dresser I drove all over to get. That's really pretty. Natural maple, 56" wide, and 6 drawers. The ironic part is that I LOVE it and am ready to give some other stuff away to accommodate it.
However, I realized there was something off. It was sized for a McMansion and My home is far from that. It's too big. I could put the bed in the dresser, I think. That, I might try to sell, despite how much I love it. I just hate selling, though. I'd much rather give it away to a good home. Things come back to me in so many wonderful ways, I've never regretted doing that.

But selling my Queen bed on CL. I really probably should. I'm very lazy and haven't sold on CL before. I might try to get some pictures and do it. Of course, that would mean actually folding the laundry I throw in there until I'm bored enough to fold it? I have made myself fold one thing every time I go into that room. I'm concentrating on blankets and sheets, since they're the biggest.

Anyway, my Queen bed is cool, though. It's a dark, espresso maple in an Asian-ish, geometric shape. It's also a tall bed, with footboard. I should probably bite the bullet and try to sell it. You're right.

I laughed at you guys with your appliances pulled apart. I currently have a toe kick heater open, in pieces on the floor, because I wanted to be able to fix it if I ever had to. Harkening to my computer building days I miss very much!

Ok. Gonna eat something.
Keep up the good work!

Have you thought about maybe seeing if it has a shellac finish and maybe just needs a new coat?

The appliances coming in today are not going to be opened up, except to retrieve the manuals from inside :) Actually with the cooktop I only popped the top because a couple of nuts worked their way loose and were rattling around in there. I'm both surprised and not surprised about how basic everything in there is. It looks like the sort of thing that would work 100 years from now exactly the same as it would today if it were plugged in.

Ahhhhh ... fencepost holes being dug, after a tricky layout, dodging some trees and deciding where it's supposed to go. We set it in a couple of inches from the older fence line to give the neighbors a better walkway along that side of their house.

MBR ceiling getting textured, plaster is plasted ... then I can move in there while they patch the rest of the rooms.

Countertops are done for the day. The person who did the template forgot about the freestanding column and the one at the wall, so those will need to be cut and then we'll try again. They are on the drawing though. On the bright side, I'm assuming we're at the top of the list.

Still waiting on the delivery truck.

schicksal, who makes your cabinets? they are gorgeous! and was it you on the appliance forum who was getting miele appliances? did you get the new generation?

This post was edited by AGK2003 on Thu, Jul 10, 14 at 17:18

OMG! :) I was doing my oooohhhhhh quiver looking at those lovely cabinets and that smooth, glistening countertop, Shicksal! Just beautiful. Even though they forgot.. [cough] it's nice they didn't try to site hack it. You must be SO excited.

I just cooked something. Don't worry. It didn't hurt.
I looked up how to cook boneless, skinless chicken dark meet. I'm currently making some rice to eat the whole thing with. I am the 1st to "ick" about chicken, but I looooove dark meet. BBQ sauce on those babies and I'm dyin'.

Ankle is definitely trouble. But I will ignore that.

Other than that, I accomplished a nap today.
I'm also taking down the MBR cabinets and putting them back up about 1/2" over. I might have to tear out a wall for this, after my Multi-Purpose Fred worked so hard on it. But that remains to be seen.

I have such a life. Work. Nap. Reese's Cups, Wine, Work, maybe do something around the house, nap. Kinda a rut, but moving forward!

A local cabinetmaker made them. Our job was their last, and the cabinet building equipment and people went to another local place that I have the info for if needed.

I'm one of two who spoke of getting the 6000 series (cal quail is the other). I went with the Pure Line wall oven and combi-steam oven. If I remember correctly, she was getting a steam oven in Contour Line? I bought the existing dishwasher (Future Diamond) and warning drawer though, both of which work flawlessly.

Wallpaper samples came in too... Well, two of them anyway. The others are out there somewhere. Pics to come later.

Close...speed oven. :) And the existing Dimension DW. But since my cabinets are still in boxes in my LR, it'll be a bit. I'm hoping around the end of the month.

Ouch! about the ankle. Funny how much we use those things. And now, mmm, I want BBQ chicken.

Nice countertops! I think you're building the kitchen I envisioned schicksal. Blessing and a curse to not have total control. ;)

Took AJ to the vet. Ear nastiness and some skin stuff. I hate that the vet I like bought a practice too far away to practically use. I'm going to the owner vet now, who the inlaws have gone to since the beginning of time. He just doesn't like big dogs. He's better than the other gal in the office (LONG story) but I may start the search for a new vet. Sigh.

I did some packing, quite a bit more than I set out to do. :) And I also cleared a couple shelves in my office for stuff I don't want to pack but don't want anywhere NEAR the construction zone. I'll move our dishes there last minute. I made a box of paper plates, etc. and remembered to keep it somewhere accessible. It's funny that as I'm packing I'm starting to be able to think more about where stuff will go. I had a real block about that for the most part.

Sink and faucet are due today. Appliance guy called yesterday SO apologetic that the washer and dryer didn't come in. I'd said we'd take them now and just install them temporarily in the big ol' hole so we could wash clothes. DH didn't think we should, but I felt bad moving it. When he said he had bad news, I assured him that I bet it was good news. He was VERY relieved. I think he might have thought I might have gone a bit nuts. He knows I'm a little...particular.

beautybutdebtfree: love your motto! it's so easy for me to get critical of myself. and i've let my expectations rise. for about 5 months after my mom died i was super hyper and got everything done. then i slowed way down about 2/3 through unpacking and at the beginning of the 2 big projects, kitchen and deck. today and yesterday i did make a tiny bit of progress so i will brag now.
concerning the kitchen, i have 2 cabinet makers generating estamites. they both have wives that are parners and do the designs. yesterday one of them came over and we let out imaginations go for 1 1/2 hours and came up with some good ideas to fix some difficult issues with the design. after she left i worked on my part of it, which is to write down everything i have relative to how i do things. then today she sent me some new designs based on our discussions. i also set up an appointment with the other team for next week to see their ideas. so i hope to be making a decision soon
on the deck front i went with my GC this morning to see the various permet people for the city, zoning, building and safety to get feedback on our plans and how week can work to replace my rotten deck within all the rules that changed since the thing was built 25 years ago. my neighbor is gonna hate it that one thing i have to do is build a "one hour wall" to resist a wild fire in places where the deck would encourage the spread of fire. the wall will be right accross from her front door! she and i are friends. she came to my 4th of july party and i really don't wanna loose that connection. so i'm not planning on telling her until we've designed it and i can show her how nice it's gonna look. (right)
i then went for breakfast and came back to the city offices to begin research on the question of whether the deck was permitted and inspected back when it was first built in '88. it was fun using a microfiche which i haven't done in over 30 years. of course that's how old the machine is and the printing capacity was broken. so i have to go back. but i didn't see what i wanted to see. nothing mentioning the deck specifically and the plans and drawings for the whole construction don't seem to be on file. i will have to contact the guy who built the house.
my adult daughter has started visiting once a week and i pay her to help me get stuff done. yesterday she made huge progress unpacking my "sewing room" where all my craft stuff is and well as my "real" computer" and tons of art (some of it my own). you can actually walk from the door to the far side of the room now. yeah.
so the rest of today will involve cleaning out the fridge :have a great day everyone. i'm excited cuz the sun is out today.

Kaylarus, did you say you didn't get anything done?
Have you read your own post?!?

Enjoy the sun and appreciate yourself. You've gotten a huge chunk of stuff underway.

That, m'dearie, is an accomplishment.

CEFreeman:
you are so sweet and supportive! eveyone here is supportive of one another. that's really important to me because i do tend to have high expectations. i get frustrated that i am in the middle of a million things and a don't get that sense of completion. so your post is very much appreciated! thank you.

To be able to cook again tomorrow I am absolutely excited!

Thanks for the comments on the countertops. One of the guys asked if I planned on having trim around the columns (no...). Then I think they realized that a person + grinder would not work in this situation.

BTW the delivery guys just left. Oven #1 = 97kg, oven #2 = 52kg. Way more than I can lift. I may have to call for backup tomorrow. Unboxing to follow...

Shicksal, that is some sweet looking packages..and it's so cool seeing your kitchen from the "working view" I like the galley walkway set up?

CEF, you might want to at least neoprene brace or at the least ACE bandage that...oh and lots of ice breaks with Ibuprophen and PB cups...yep..that'll do. ~wink~
And I only like dark chicken meat well seasoned and "sauced". I usually teriyaki it..grilled when the weather is agreeable..or baked when it's not.

I played with the coffee table a bit yesterday...got almost all the spray paint off it..the top was stained very cherry..the scraper across it sends burgundy liquid out..I actually like the color it is..so may just lightly hit it with some steel wool..then some poly..the skirt and legs are not the same stuff as the top..so not sure how to handle that..I have the legs in a garbage bag..they need to be citristripped some more.

Letting the top dry from two nights of the stripper..before I decide where next to go...trying to decide which shade of "beige" (as my 17 yr old said) to put in the hall way. It's actually what shade of tan..lol..he is not impressed with Paint Color names..lol

Went looking for dining table chairs...didn't find any bargins or "AHA"'s.
Nor really online.. Hmmm..

Measured my kitchen last night..my U is currently 11'x11'x9'..once I move the fridge out of that area..that's some good counter top range!
I'm very tempted to go upper free...or open shelves...

I've been wandering Houzz...

Unboxing... This will focus mostly on the boring installation side of things since that is what I would like to do. There were a few surprises with the electrical connections that jumped out at me first. I am used to appliances coming with a lots without a plug that I make a connection with on a nearby box. Not so with this. The wall oven has a huge plug and the other one has a normal sized one. I am not making homes that big in the cabinets so I will install boxes behind them in empty space. BTW they all came with Canadian energy stickers. Nothing US in there at all. My inner hipster thinks this is cool. :)

Wall oven

Combi-steam oven

The oven is huge. The picture doesn't do it justice. I would have been fine with 27" but 30" seemed like a more widely accepted standard.

The rollers are smooth. I've never owned an oven that had those before. There are all kinds of racks and things in there.

The combi-steam oven came with all kinds of things I will have to read about in the manual. Do recognize a witted probe amongst the goodies. The interior is quite large. As big as you would expect a traditional 24" oven to be.

Time for me to get creative and figure out how to get this oven 18" off the floor and into that hole...

Thanks, Terri! I would like to say it was planned but given the location of the kitchen as an interior room it was the only logical choice. There was really only one wall that want going away and everything sorry of fell into place.

Teri, no. You're thinking about old fashioned strippers. You don't need steel wool, and frankly, shouldn't use it. Citristrip doesn't recommend it because it's so liquid, it can cause rust. Get yourself a plastic scrubbie and some water. I swear it'll be fine.

If you do want it to lighten, it'll continue to suck the stain right out. Don't spot strip, though, because those spots will end up lighter than the surrounding wood. If you want something off, put a layer on the whole thing.

That burgundy liquid is what I call BBQ goo. Who knew the stain would get sucked right out of the wood. I do think you could take the different parts down to bare wood and play up the fact they're different. Or, paint the base a nice color, and leave the top wood. Lots of options.

Shicksal, overwhelming. You must be dancing around the room! Such cool toys. :)

I cannot WAIT to see how this comes out!

Well... It'll be a while because I have to call for backup. The oven weighs more than me. I was able to get the other one perched up there though, but the trim kit is not installed and it's not plugged in because it will have to come back down.

I also get to do a bit of carpentry. The cabinet people have the ovens installed proud, but did not take that into account when designing the pieces immediately above and between the ovens. They sit where the appliances would be if they were to be installed flush. It's not that big a deal since I can change it.

In any case I am tired and it's time to go to sleep. Today was a long day.

The grain fluffed up a bit and the plastic scrapper loosened up some of the straight edges(splintered), so I went over the two drop downs with steel wool lightly to smooth it all back down after all the paint was off.
I have to work on the main body of the top a bit more and still put those legs and the skirt through more orange goo.
This is a reproduction no name..so the wood isn't top quality. But it was $30 and the right style and size. It is going under my picture window between my two Woodmark velvet chairs.

I am very tempted to see what the Citristrip will reveal of these horrid kitchen cabinet doors.

I think that's a trade-off with Citristrip. Fuss with it before its time and you're not taking advantage of its properties. Let it sit long enough to actually get through the paint layers and its moisture can soften the wood a lot. I think I mentioned something to that effect in that thread to which I linked. That's why I strongly warn against wire brushes and actually steel wool, too.

Luckily, the people who know [ahem] everything about stripping furniture in these blogs and other venues of information are usually treating it like an old, chemical stripper and scraping the crap out of it (in a safety space suit, blah blah blah) within 15 or 20 minutes. That's not long enough to actually cut through more than maybe 2 or 3 layers, nor is it long enough to get into the stain and soften the wood.

I get everything I can off, then use the scrubbie and water. I take my scraper and with the grain, run it along the wood to press out extra moisture. A lot usually comes out. Then I let it dry at least overnight and use 180 to 220 grit to soften the raised grain or the edges that might be softened. Interestingly enough, I never really sand at all.

Teri, while some of my doors were 'marinating' I took a look around and spotted my Quakermaid, reuse center, beaded inset cabinets all ready installed. I looked at the Citristrip and said to myself, "Self? What have you got to lose?" Self replied, "Nada, chickie poo."

And that's how I ended up with what I think are THE most gorgeous, weathered oak cabinets ever. I put a baking pan under the base cabinets and just sluiced everything down into that. Of course, it helps to only have plywood floors... I can tell you that Wilsonart is impervious to Citristrip and Mineral Spirits (I was also painting) if wiped up in a reasonable panic.

Isn't it great that it doesn't remove your skin? Or that you can wipe it on your jeans and the color doesn't come out? Or... that you can do this in place and not die? I'm going to slather some on the bed I bought. I am looking for it to moisten some veneer areas that have buckled, so I can glue 'em back down!

Today I am going to see the movie 'Tammy.'
Enjoy the day!

Action, around here, today. Although I'm not the one doing it, I just run drinks today.

We have 20 something stumps to grind. We lost a lot of trees due to the severe winter/disease this year, and we also lost several due to a lightning strike.

Industrial strength stump grinder with giant carbide teeth on a hefty fly wheel. Here it's being delivered.

This post was edited by beautybutdebtfree on Fri, Jul 11, 14 at 7:54

Here's a shot of what grinds the stumps out. A series of bolts on the flywheel, each with a huge chunk of carbide as the bolt head (bottom of bolt, in this picture).

Wow, BBDF! now that's a machine!
I have stump removing envy. I've lost 5 trees to tornadoes since 2008. It's always horrifyingly fascinating to see a mature tree twisted into splinters.
Put on your ear protection and grind away! Free mulch!!

While I was taking pics of the stump grinder, I saw this in the front yard.

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Schicksal - Nice new culinary toys. You will enjoy the quality and calories for years to come! I can't justify new kitchen appliances at the moment, but wonder what I will get next time the cycle hits me. What I really need is appliances that make it HARDER to create calories, and that make the calories LESS likely to be consumed!!

Holy cow that's big!

I'd love one of those for the stump left behind from an 80' pine I removed last summer. It was dangerously close to our house and the neighbors, and our rafters bore the scars of years of dropped branches.

I'm going to have to come back and ask for help next month with stripping paint from doors and trim at the other house. There are at least a layer or two of latex on top of oil, on top of shellac. Not fun.

Shicksal, you've been reading our Citristrip comments, right...?

BBDF, that's incredibly beautiful. Reminds you of the lovely things in the world, doesn't it?

CEF - the guys are wearing full ears and also polycarbonate face masks with this monster. We have "collected" stumps for about 2 years now, before renting this monster. We had a huge lightning strike BLOW UP a large tree a year ago, and we think there is an underground something (stream, etc.) that transmitted the electricity of the lightning bolt, because all along a line in our property trees died after that, one by one, along the line. We think their roots got electrocuted. Here's a pic of the blown up tree. It blew half the bark clear off the tree, a hundred feet away! This tree was almost 3 foot diameter at cut level.

And 'cause I'm such a geek and picture person, here is a shot of what the grinder does, ears thrown in for scale.

Schicksal - I forgot to say: your counters are really nice and really compliment the look and feel of your walnut. Great choice.

And I've evolved to appreciate just how important patience is in DIY projects. Good of you to wait until you have adequate help to move those appliances. One injury can wipe out all your DIY savings, cause back problems ever after, etc. It's just plain prudent to do things RIGHT. It's worth the wait.

Stump grinder..I need that! This house came with 12 stumps...most are cut nearly to the ground though..but some are nearly 3' across..

That morning tree/sun shot is stunning beauty!

Christine, I only used the fine steel wool after it had "dried" out a bit..I don't have any high 100's sand paper at the moment.
It was pretty crazy to watch the CS work..as I was slathering it on, it was moving the spray paint around in flecks instantly.
Yes, it was a good thing it doesn't stain I forgot what I was wearing and went out to slam some more on one evening and sloshed all over a pair of new black yoga pants...but all is good.. :)

I think next week I will take a door off the cabinet run I want pulled down..and give 'er a whirl with the CS. Can't be worse than the crap layers of soft chunky white paint.

We are going to attempt to figure put how to open the gutters and flush them out..they have a knock off Leaf Guard on them..and I am quite sure full of Fir needles..as there is a weed growing out of one of them..lol

Hmmmm something has agitated the neighborhood crows..they are fussin like nobodies business.
It was peaceful on the deck...

Hey guys.
Went to see the movie 'Tammy'.
It was hilarious, and sweet. It was awful and ridiculous and a lot of fun. For a nice distracting interlude, it's worth the laugh.

Did you see the supermoon?
Edited to add: I forgot to mention my lawn mower blades came in, so a friend put them on. I got all 3 acres I landscaped mowed today. Now that is an accomplishment. :)

This post was edited by CEFreeman on Sun, Jul 13, 14 at 10:22