Cabinets Are In! Now for the DW, GD, Sink, Counter...a Week or Two to Go

 This...

Is NOW This...

And the NEW Area for Cabinets...

Of course, there is still much to do.  The Dishwasher needs to be put in.  The Garbage Disposal put in.  The new Sink (Double Stainless Steel Sink) needs to be put in.  The Counter Tops need to be put in (Granite).  And the New Microwave needs to be bought and put in.  But the hard part is over, and we can start loading up the cabinets again.

So, what do you do with everything that is in your kitchen that does not fit in the Fridge or stored in the oven?  Above is our toaster oven, paper towels, plastic silverware (which we don't normally have) and a few other odds and ends on the dining table.

The guest bathroom is our new Starbucks Outlet...we named it Lotte Potty.

The second bedroom is full of food, dishware, cooking utensils, etc.   The large cabinet was our previous food pantry...now our storage for paper towels, TP, Kleenex, etc.  Some of our less used cooking utensils will find a permanent storage place in the drawers.  The table in the foreground is Indy's Grooming Table, which is normally out on the enclosed patio...can't wait till it is back because someone needs a haircut.  The table along the window was also in the kitchen, and not sure what we are going to store there for the long haul.  Over the next few weeks we will be transitioning stuff from this room, into the new kitchen cabinets.  The fun never ends...

The Fisher Paykel Drawer Dishwasher is sitting in our Living Room, and the garbage disposal is just in front of it out of sight.

So, how did we all handle this?  Well, Indy had a hard time with all the various people who have come by.  There was the initial visit from the Cabinet Shop to measure for the quote.  There was the visit from Uncle Mike to move an outlet up about two feet so it will be above the counter top in the area that we did not have cabinets before.  Then there were two plumbers who spent two hours removing the dishwasher, the garbage disposal, installing four emergency shut off valves to replace the four original copper ones which were frozen in the open position, and remove the plumbing for the sink.  (Per hour, that was the most expensive work done...about $250 per hour each!) 

Then there was the guy who destroyed the kitchen in about four hours...

And the guy who spent two work days putting all back together again.  (Yes, it was installed by ONE GUY!  He did EXCELLENT work but camera shy)

I was looking at the old (30+ years old) copper ice maker line on Monday, and decided to change it to a Shark Industrial 25 FT Stainless Steel Braided Ice Maker Hose with 1/4" Comp by 1/4" Comp Connection, which Amazon delivered the next day.  

 

So on Wednesday after the demolishing of the kitchen, I ran the line from the under the sink area to the refrigerator, putting the line just under the sheet rock so that it would not interfere with new cabinets.  For $22, this sure brings peace of mind for the rest of my life/ownership of the condo.

We can't wait until the kitchen is totally done, but in the meantime we will do the best we can with it.  Not having running water in the kitchen is the hardest thing.  Tomorrow I will shut Lotte Potty down, and move it back to the kitchen, fed by bottled water, setup on top of a cutting board that perfectly fits over the new cabinets to the right.  For the far left cabinets, I have two heavy duty boxes from Home Depot which I have not used yet, and they will make good temporary counter tops.  So we will be able to use the kitchen, and serve most things in paper bowls with toss away silverware.  It will be nice to have a somewhat functioning kitchen again.  Both Marcia and I are glad this part is over, and frankly can't wait till it is totally finished.