Saturday

Work again.

Friday

So Friday I started at Home Depot getting Grout for the Kitchen tile. I choose Natural Grey as a color and I am happy about that. Once again they lie about the ease of mixing this stuff it is not that easy. It took some time and a little more water than was instructed but I got a good mixture and I started to grout. It did not take too long about an hour and I was done with the actual grouting but needed to finish with a damp sponge and finish the joints. After the first pass it looked great. It took a few rinses with the sponge to get off the excess and get the joints to be smooth but it came out great. Two hours later I gave it a finish cleaning and it could not look better. Sunday I am going to put the Fridge back in place and everything but the threshold joint is done. I am happy about how it all came out and we only have minor things left to do. I have to putty the nail holes in the molding and a few of the edges that are not primed and we have to paint the molding which will probably get done next weekend. Its not something that needs to be done right away since it is already primed white but like Katie said its better to do before we get our carpet in. Pictures will follow when I get home from work. It takes time and I cant do them from my laptop.

Thursday

So Thursday morning came I took the time in the AM to measure out all the cut tile pieces I would need to finish tiling and then mark them out on the tile. I then took a trip to the local tool rental shop and rented a tile saw. I rented the saw for four hours and cut all the pieces I needed and then took it back to the store. I came home and started to tile the floor. Mixing the Thinset was a pain it is not as easy as the bag says it is. It shows a hand mixing the thinset with a trowel but that is BS, I could hardly move a trowel in the mix. I had to sack up and dive in with both hands and mix the mixture by hand breaking the clumps with my hands it was hard. It took about 10 minutes and then it was mixed well and ready to use. I started under the Fridge and moved out toward the stove and it went with out a hitch. In the afternoon the cable guy came and we finally got our cable and internet. While he was setting up I took the time to unpack all the books and put them in the bookcase. We were thinking of not doing this and leaving them till the carpet comes in but that could take two weeks so I decided that was not a good idea I did not want to live out of boxes for two weeks so I unpacked them all. After that was all done I waited for Katie to come home and we sampled on of the local Pizza joints and it was great.

Wednesday

Well Wednesday came and I had to go to the Dr. in the AM so I did not end up going to work. I didn't do much on the place other than lay out the tile in the kitchen and some odd tasks. Winding down with all I have to do.

Tuesday

I spent the day doing some of the trim on the space under the bar and putting the handles on the cabinet doors. I also took the time to set up the bedroom and start to set up the living room. I got rid of all of the extra wood and threw out all of the trash and just did small odd jobs that needed to be done around the place.

Monday

Well Monday came and I took another trip to Home Depot to buy molding and start finishing the place. I started doing the molding in the Kitchen and living room and got that finished rather quickly in about two hours. I then moved most of the stuff in the bed room out into the living room and put up the molding in the bedroom. When that was all done I hung the doors on the Kitchen cabinets and then got to painting our bathroom. We chose the color chili Pepper for the bathroom which is very bold and bright. I panted the bathroom and WOW is it bright. It is a small bathroom so the paint really makes it look much more open. Its funny when you turn on the bathroom light it reflects the bold red color into the foyer. I then took some time and put the bed down and started setting up the bedroom. I then took a trip to best buy and bought a new HDTV. We got a Sony Bravia 40" LCD TV and got 10% off from the post office moving package. Took the TV home and opened it up and connected to my Xbox and WOW what a picture. I have been missing out on this.

Sunday

Well today is the big move. Katie and I boxed everything up and rented a Budget truck and we moved all of our stuff to the apartment. It was a long day and we packed allot of stuff into the bed room and I hope I can get most of the stuff done before the end of the week. We spent the night painting the cabinet doors and setting up what little of our stuff we could. We could not put our mattress down or set up our bed so we both slept on the floor exhausted from the day.

Thursday

Thursday I started the day at Home Depot ordering rug and buying molding and a new vanity and bathroom light and a few other odds and ends. Then I went home unloaded the car and waited for the granite guys to show up. It was a good morning I had all the stuff ready to cut and start molding and ran into a snag. The molding we wanted was not going to work and I had to start from scratch and re-think our design. I chose to use a plain non-tapered molding that would make the joints and fit the wall easier and improve the time frame we need to finish the place before July. The granite guys showed up at around 11am and started to install our counter tops. The guys did a great job and were very professional. I recommend anyone who needs stone for their house to check out www.marble.com. The guys did a great job and it was simple and easy to set up and order and the price was unbeatable by anyone. I moved the cabinet doors to the living room and set them up to paint when I have a choice and then called it a day.

Wednesday

Wednesday I went to work for the day tour and then went home and relaxed. Nothing got done on the place.

Tuesday

Our time is running short and unfortunately we have to move in this Sunday 06/23 which is making everything crazy. I was hoping to move in this coming weekend but our landlord needed us out so he could get the apartment ready for the new tenants. He was very generous at letting us out of our lease early so it was the least we could do. We have decided that we are going to move all of our stuff into the bedroom and that will allow me to do the front of the cabinet doors and start on the molding.
I can not for the life of me remember what I did on Tuesday. Maybe Katie can and she will post what I did.

Out of touch

Well as all of you may have noticed we have not really posted much on this since two weeks ago. It was a whirl wind kind of few weeks with allot of stuff going on. During the week of 6/16 though 6/23 the place really started to come together. Most of the painting got done last weekend with Katie's help. I would never have gotten it all done without her. Monday and Tuesday I spent the day cleaning the bedroom out and putting down the cabinet doors to get the first coat of paint on them. I started on the back and put 2 coats of primer on and worked on the closets as they dried. I decided that the closets needed at least one coat of primer to hide some of the scuffs that were left from the previous owners. I did one coat of primer and they look much better. I finished the back of the cabinet doors and called it a day.

Sunday

Today Anthony made me wake up early so we could do more painting. I really thought I was a hard worker with lots of energy, but after two days (Friday, and Saturday) I was exhausted. My hands hurt from all the painting and I am sore everywhere. I don't know how Anthony has worked so hard on this place during the week while going to work the other days. I don't think that I could do that!

So we painted two coats of green in the living room/kitchen today. I have to say it looks vei nice. As I struggle to paint one wall, Hulk has completed three in the same amount of strokes. It isn't fair, doing home improvement stuff with a superhero. We also painted the ceilings in the bedroom, living room, bathroom and foyer. That was also a trip since I could barley reach the ceiling with the extended roller brush,... so again, I get one third of the way across the ceiling and Hulk has finished the rest! I thought painting the walls was rough, but it turns out ceilings are worse, since you get paint all over your face and in your eyes.

The bathroom needs to be primed, painted and basically re-done, but that would be another project in and of itself. I want a new medicine cabinet/mirror/vanity thing, so we are still on the look out for one that fits our wall. The current one in the bathroom is gross, and the hole in the wall behind it is equally so. I did patch some holes in the wall today in the bathroom, so hopefully we can paint it and make it respectable soon enough.

This is the green in the living room. We are keeping the foyer white. I thought the green would be a bit much, and the white provides a nice contrast (and I wont have to hem and haw over another paint color)
The new wall for the bar is on the left, and we bought wainscoting for the outside of the bar this weekend at the Depot.

Kitchen cabinets and wall painted.

The track lighting for the living room/bar. Anthony did a fantastic job of picking it out.

Track lighting in the kitchen.

Anthony's staple- Dunkin Donuts iced coffee and breakfasts. Though I am not complaining because its one of my favorite parts of the weekend too. (But no donuts!!!)

Saturday

Well Today Katie spent the morning painting as tested for my new job. She did a great job and painted the whole bed room and put the first coat of paint on the cabinets. She was a trooper. I came home around noon and we took a ride to home depot and got tile and a few other things. Spent the rest of the day putting a second coat of paint on the bed room and priming the rest of teh walls.

Picture of the wall as Katie started to paint the yellow.

Here is a picture of the finished room.Picture of the wall Katie Painted in the Living room. Its CELERY SPRIG!

Here Is a picture of the Kitchen Cabinets with their second coat of paint and the walls in the Kitchen Primed.

Here is a picture of the ceiling after it has been primed. With the flash you can see where the plaster bulges but it is undetectable in normal light.

Friday

So Friday Katie took off and we spent the day doing work on the apartment. First things first Katie and I ripped up the tile in the Kitchen which was a pain. They put diamond lath on the floor and then cemented the tile to the floor. It was one of the worst demo jobs I have done. We then took the tile to the dump and started the rest of the day. Katie spent the first part of the day putting a second coat of primer on the bed room walls while I sanded the second coat of plaster on the walls. I then put the third and final coat of plaster on the wall and ceiling joint and spent the rest of the day leveling and hanging cabinets. At around 0930 our appliances were delivered and that is one thing crossed of the list .

Katie Taped the Window so she would not get any paint on the casing.

She also taped the door trim.

Picture of the base sink and dishwasher. The piece of wood between the dishwasher and the fridge is the wall the granite will sit on so it spans over the dishwasher.

Picture of the base cabinets with the 1/2 in plywood that is going to level the cabinets with the wall. Katie was nice enough to go out and pick up the plywood so we could be ready for the granite template tomorrow.

Picture of our new over the range Microwave.

There is a picture of the floor with no tile. Picture of our living room empty after the two dump runs.

Thursday

Work I guess I have to go every once in a while.

Wednesday

So my buddy Dan let me barrow his truck and I cleared all the debris out of the apartment. I took apart the kitchen sink and cabinet and it all went in the trash. It is starting to look like a home now with out all the debris in it. It only took me about 1.5 hours to get all the debris out and to the transfer station which happened to be 2 miles down the street. I dumped 1250 lbs at a cost of $95. I then took the truck to the Home Depot again and picked up new lights for the kitchen and living room a new shop vac and allot of painting supplies. Katie and I are going to paint most of the place this weekend if all goes well. I got back to the apartment around noon and spent three hours sanding the plaster we did this weekend and the strips in the ceiling and wall. I also had to plaster the whole back splash behind the sink. The guys who did the previous work plastered over a piece of wood with nothing for it to adhere to and it was falling off and cracking. I put up some diamond lath and plastered the whole thing. I also had to some large hole patches to fix the crappy job the guys did with the sheet rock before me. It looks like they just punched a hole in the wall twice the size of the plug box and so I had to fill that. I then put a second coat of plaster on the ceiling and wall to cover the demo spots. It is looking really good and blending well. I then took off the kitchen light and patched the holes it made because we are using a smaller light. I then took a few moments to mount the base cabinet under the electrical box and found out that the floor is not very level where I want to put my 30 in base cabinet. It is going to take some work to get it to sit correctly. By this time it was around 1930 and I had enough and went home. Pictures to follow when I get home.

Here is a picture of two of the base cabinets set in their place. Gonna mount them Friday

Picture of all that is left from my big pile of debris after my dump run.

Tuesday

Work no real work so I can afford all this.

Monday

Monday was a very busy day I spent it doing allot of sanding of the plaster Katie and I did Saturday night. She did a great job filling in the screws and the sanding went well. I had to figure out what I was going to do with the strip on the ceiling and wall from the demo of the wall. The thickness was so different I chose to put up some diamond lath and plaster the opening to get it to look even. Some places had a space of 1 in to as small as a 1/2 inch. The first coat went well and I think it will look good when it is done. I also took the time prime the bed room and the foyer and then decided it was quiting time. Pictures to be posted when I get home.

Here is a picture of the wall space after it has been plastered. It will take at least two coats if not three to get the space to blend in. It was a pain in the behind for sure. Used 1/2 in sheet rock strips and diamond lath and plastered the space which ranged from 1/2 in to none at the bottom.

Picture of the ceiling joint. It looks really bad but I had to put it on kind of thick in places. I am going to sand it and then put a second and third coat on that will fan out about a foot on either side to blend in nicely. Thats the plan Hope it works.

Here is a picture of the kitchen wall all plastered up. Got corner bead in and should be done with a second coat.

Weekend

This weekend Katie and I took a ride to get the new cabinets we are putting into the kitchen. We got 2 18 W X 30 D wall cabinets, one 30 inch sink base, and one 30 inch base cabinet. We got all that stuff and moved them into the apartment and then decided we would spend some time plastering the walls together. Katie did a great job patching the screw holes in the sheet rock and I spent my time trying to even out the plaster in the kitchen since it was so different in thickness. After we got all that done we called it a night and headed home.

Sunday Katie and I spent a few hours at the beach in Greenwich and then went to Home Depot to pick up the supplies I would need for doing work for the week. We also got a new 24 inch GE dishwasher and a GE over the Range Microwave. Those will be arriving Friday June 13 and then the counter guys are coming on Saturday to do the template of the counter. Pictures to follow when the arrive.

Picture of the wall Katie spent time Patching. She did a great job and I only had to redo 2 or three places.

Friday

Well I have been pretty busy on the place and have gotten allot of work done. Friday afternoon I got into the place and picked up some sheet rock and had at it sheet rocking the walls that needed to be sheet rocked. It went pretty easy with the walls but the strip in the celling and wall from the demo was a different story. The apartment has .25in sheet rock with a cement finish of varying thickness then a thin layer of plaster over that. It was very hard to match the thickness with sheet rock so I had to fill it in with 1/2 in sheet rock. Monday I will put up some diamond lath and plaster the space. It was going great but my shop vac died so there is sheet rock dust all over the apartment. I did some cleaning and called it a night. I will post pictures when I get home.

Here is a picture of the space in the wall that I need to fill. Its an odd ball thickness so I am going to have to finagle some things to make it work.

Here is picture of the hole in the ceiling. I am going to put in 1/2 in sheet rock strips and diamond lath and fill in the space to level it out.

Picture of the inside of the cabinet casing sheet rocked. It is going to bear the weight of the granite when it comes.

Here is a picture from the living room of the finished sheet rock. I laid the sheet rock Friday.

Thursday

So today I had to go and actually work my real job so we could afford to pay for all these renovations. I figured since I was working I could steal some time away and do a quick little picture in paint of what our counter top is going to look like. So here it is not a real good picture and not drawn to scale but it will do.

CLICK PICTURE FOR BIGGER VIEW

This will sit on the framed out portion of the kitchen in the previous pictures. The x's are studs that will be used to brace the counter top if needed.

We also got in touch with our architect and the plans are done and ready to get dropped of at the town building permit office. Going to go pick them up tomorrow and start the ball running on the rest of the place. Keep you all posted.

Wednesday

Wednesday arrived and Mike came though with the tools and it was on. Got to love a good power tool. Who ever remodeled this place should get a swift kick in the rear for their construction habits. First off the apartment walls are designed so that there is a 1 foot gap on the top of the non-load bearing walls for wires and such. They had 2 wires from the electrical box that they did not bother to pass though top plate they just cut out the Sheetrock and plastered over them. Good thing I noticed that before I cut the wall to ceiling sheet rock joint. The whole place has a 1/4 inch plaster gypsum board with about 1/4 inch of plaster and 1/8 inch of Spackle. What a heavy mess this made as I cut it down and bagged it up. I could have gotten away with 2 bags it it were just Sheetrock but not that lucky.

Just one of the last remaining plaster/Sheet rock piles left to bag

See that haze in the air that the camera picked up. Ya that's demo dust what a mess I made today.

So here is a picture of the finished demo. I cut off all the sheet rock on the living room side of the wall because I did not want to have to match the weird thickness when I put new sheet rock up. Now its just short of 1 panel and I am done. I love when a plan works out like that. You can also see my cut bench in the picture. Used two of the junk cabinets as saw horses worked quite well. Just the right height.

The Scrap wood pile. Its not to big at this time but I have no idea what I am going to do with it. Going to have to cut it up into 4 foot lengths and put it in my escape and find a place to throw it away.
Wow good thing I was wearing those gloves when the Sawzall caught a nail and kicked back. My thumb got smashed and I took a good whack on the finger with the blade. Safety first.

Here is a picture of me starting to build our base cabinet enclosure. The space in the Kitchen is tight it only allows for 12 inch deep cabinets on the wall adjoining the living room. So we are building in a 30 inch long 24 inch deep cabinet.

So here is a picture of our counter support/cabinet enclosure. The kitchen had no space for a cabinet with a drawer so we decided to put a big cabinet in and build a wall around it. It keeps the flow of the wall and also most important important it is going to be the support for the counter. We are doing a dark ubatuba granite for counter tops and that stuff is heavy. You also cant have an over hang of more than 12 inches of granite because it gets to weak and could break. So this encasement is going to allow us to put in triangle braces for the counter.

This Picture here shows the over hang of the said granite to the wall. It is a 3 foot gap from the end of the granite to the wall. The Granite will also overhang into the living room about 12 inches giving us a good size bar/ table to eat at.

Here is a Picture of the encasement from the kitchen. The 30x24x35 base cabinet will slide in and the counter will rest on it all with triangle supports.

Like all good home improvement worker the end of the day finishes with a thorough clean up of the work site. Nothing gonna be happening the next few days got to work to pay for this all.

Tuesday

So Tuesday June 3 Starts off very slowly with not much to do until I can barrow tools from my friend Mike. All my tools were sent away to storage when I moved into the Bronx to my Mom's and Dad's. Luckily Mike offered his services and Wednesday I will be getting down and dirty with this hear kitchen.

I did manage to turn the electrical panel so it now faces into the Kitchen and not into the living room. Seemed pretty weird that when I was looking at the box and all the wires they were all twisted up and I could not see why. So I used a sawzall blade and cut the Sheetrock from around the box by hand to get a better look at what the deal was. It seems that some where down the line the box was spun around to the living room from the Kitchen so I spun it back. I am going to hide it with a cabinet and no one will see it unlike when it was facing the Living room.
Here is a picture of the counter removed and the Cabinets and the moulding. Ready for Demo Tomorrow.
Stove with out the hood.
Stove with out the cabinet. Had to take it down because they had this hideous ugly pink Formica backing there and it needed to go. When I pulled it down it took allot of plaster with it so I had to patch the whole wall from just below the wires to about a foot under the stove. What a pain these Spackle walls are.
Last but not least before I ran off to work the night shift I changed the locks on the door, so we don't have anyone try and steal Katie as she sleeps. Tomorrow there will be mayhem and destruction.

Monday

So monday came and I started to do some demo of the kitchen while I wait to find out what I can and cant do from the supper without board approval. I started by taking the cabinites and the couter off the wall that ajoins the Living Room, pulling the molding around the pass though and disconnect the dishwasher.

Picture of the Kitchen with no haging cabinets and the back of the Electrical Pannel.
Dishwasher and Cabinets and in the Background you can see I removed the moulding.
Another picture of the Living Room with no moulding
Good Picture of the wall before I get my hands on a Sawzall.
Bed Room with out any moulding.

I spent the rest of the day patching cracks in the plaster and holes in the wall. The previous owners put about 50 .5 in holes in the walls trying to hang things. They were not to handy.
Monday comes to a close with Katie stopping by to see the place all a mess. She took the train from Hell to get home. Wires down and a 30 min ride turns into a 1 hour 30 min ride.

Weekend

So the weekend came and went with not much happening on the appartment. Co-Op rules say no work can be done on the weekend or holidays and can only be done from 8am to 5pm durring the week. So we are at an impass till Monday. To fill everyone in we sent plans to an architect to draw up plans for some of the work we want to do. Again Co-Op rules state need plans for any major work that is going on. Katie has some really good ideas I just hope we can get them all done before the end of June when we have to move in.
List of things we want changed.
1.) The Kitchen is going to change. We at first wanted to take all the walls down that seperate the foyer/living room/kitchen but cant do that because of the electrical box and the hassel and cost of moving the main line. To make our lives easier we decided to open the pass though up floor to celing as big as we could till we hit the electrical box. Second we are going to have white cabinites with a dark ubatuba granite counter. Get a microwave oven vent for above the stove and get a new full size dishwasher.
2.) We would like to close off the current door to the bed room move the closets to that wall and put in french doors that would open to the living room.
We hope we can get this all done but it depends on how quickly we can get the plans from the architect, get it approved from the board, and get permits from the town. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Hope it all works out.