Burnout

To those of you that have full time jobs and a toddler but still manage to get work done on the house, I salute you. Cuz, man, I gotta tell you, I ran outta steam this week. The arrival of fall, the lack of morning sun, and this seemingly endless project all coalesced into a heavy funk this week, and it takes all the effort I have to even think about tiling, spackling, or painting at the end of the day. Tired, tired, tired.

So, in lieu of any real progress pictures, I’ll give you an update on where we stand.

Cabinets
All the cabinets have been installed, but there was a problem with the crown molding and we needed to order a different style. Once that arrives, the cabinets should be done. I’m pleased with how they look. We went with 42” cherry cabinets, and the height makes the room look taller.

Countertop
We ended up selecting a moss green Corian for our countertop. The company came and fabricated a template last week, and the installation has been scheduled for November 5.

Plumbing
Once the counter is in, we'll have the plumber come back to run new water supply lines, new drain line, and hook up the dishwasher and the faucet. The sink is integrated in the counter, so we don't have to worry about sink installation.

Electrical
The kitchen has been completely rewired, but we’re still waiting for everything to be hooked up. That’s partially because I want the electrician to finish everything in one shot, and to make things easy I want to tile the backsplash before he installs the switches and outlets.

Appliances
Appliances are here, but they're not doing us much good. The only two things we're using to cook right now are the old beat-up gas grill and our small microwave. Regardless, here’s the list of our new appliances:

- KitchenAid wall convection oven
- KitchenAid dishwasher
- GE Profile microwave
- GE Profile five-burner gas range
- JennAir chimney vent hood

I assembled our chimney vent hood and was ready to hang it, but then realized the electrical has to be hooked up before it can be hung. The sucker is heavy! Also, since we're moving from an electric range to a gas range, we'll need to have a propane tank and line installed. No natural gas around here.

Tiling
We chose some 4” x 4” rough, tumbled marble and some slate that we’ll intermix to make the backsplash. I’m about 25% done at this point, and I plan to tackle the rest this weekend. Hopefully my measurements are right so that the counter top fits nicely underneath the bottom row of tile. Once the tile work is finished, I’ll need to apply a sealer.

Floor
The floor – a slate-looking laminate manufactured by DuPont – has been ordered and should arrive within a week. We went with laminate for a number of reasons: budget, ease of installation, and durability. If I had an unlimited budget, I probably would’ve gone with tile and radiant heat. Hopefully this won’t end up looking chintzy.

With any luck, we’ll have this all wrapped up by Thanksgiving. Cross your fingers.