a photoblog of what i did today.....

[Gravdigr]

Nothing wrong with fucking up occasionally. Most of our greatest inventions were fuck-ups.

[Lamplighter]

... as was the best selling blue pill of all time.

[chrisinhouston]

More like the last 3 weeks. I started building my new upper kitchen cabinets out in my shop. I started with the one over the stove so it sort of has 3 sections with the area where the vent hood will go.

Next was one cabinet which will mostly hold dishes and other china. Then one that goes above the refrigerator and one near the sink. There was also a tricky one that will go over a work island and eventually have glass doors on both sides so it had no back panel. It will be for wine glasses and some crystal vases.

The wood is all birch. Birch ply is so easy to work with and fairly cheep for the boxes so I decided to just use solid birch for the face frames. The door will be of a Shaker style and will be made later as I have to retool several machines for those. Still have to stain and varnish. The cabinets shown here are upside down for storage until I start staining. So the top rail is 4 inches and the stiles and bottom rails are around 2 inches.

I would have gotten more done but my wife had to go and have that darn stroke in the middle of it!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Nice job. I hope you reprimanded her for holding you up.

[chrisinhouston]

Just an update. I got all the cabinets and adjustable shelves stained and have applied 2-3 coats of gel urathane finish. I like the gel as you brush it on with a foam brush and then just rub it smooth to take away the brush marks but leave a slightly wet look which dries with an increasing satin finish. The stain and finish are really bringing out the textures of the grain in the wood.

FYI, the cabinets shown here are upside down, the header at the top is 4 inches and the other parts of the face frame are around 1 1/2 inches. I'm working on them this way because the tops won't be finished but the bottoms will be.

Hope to be done this weekend and hanging them after that. Only 3 1/2 years in the planning and getting them this far along!

[Griff]

Nice work Chris! Some projects need fermentation time.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Yes, think of all the mistakes you've eliminated during the gestation period. Nice job.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Griff

Some projects need fermentation time.

Some of my projects get that fermentation time whether they need it or not.

[chrisinhouston]

Yesterday I turned 59 and celebrated by installing the upper cabinets in my kitchen. My remodeling project has taken 2 1/2 years so far because daily life just gets in the way! After tearing out all the old site built plywood cabinets installed when the home was built in 1984 I had removed most of the drywall since changes needed to be made to the plumbing, electrical and AC duct work. Eventually all the new drywall went up, recessed LED lighting was installed and the new tile floor went in. All these parts of the project take time when you are doing most of the work on you own although my son helped when I needed a helper.

We painted the walls with a new color except where the cabinets and back splash would go, makes it easier to see where the wall studs are. The design of the cabinets took a while to complete, I do it the old fashioned way with a large sketch pad, pencil and ruler. As I mentioned earlier I had planned to make the boxes for the cabinets from birch ply as it is a good material, fairly cost effective and easy to work with. Then I just decided to do everything in birch, even the face frames and eventually the doors. That meant purchasing solid birch stock, ripping it in the shop, milling edges and a lot of sanding.

I should explain I built temporary lower cabinets from scrap lumber and some old white Formica'd counter top and put them all on wheels so I have a place to cook but can move things when necessary. Also, we have our stove on an island but it eventually be on the wall and the island will be a work/prep area. There is a cabinet above the island that will have glass doors on both sides and be a place for crystal and wine glasses, it is lit inside and underneath.

So here they are installed. First shot is just to show my idea for installation. As the boxes are large and bulky to get level and fitted I mounted small brackets I whipped up in the shop on to the wall, then just set the cabinet in place where I wanted it to go and attached it to the wall. Eventually a tile back splash will go up and hide any holes from these brackets but it made leveling and screwing them to the wall where I wanted them easy.

[fargon]

Looks good, I can't wait to see when you get it done.

[Griff]

Looks sweet Chris. Think I'll work on my perpetual barn project today.

[glatt]

Very nicely done!

[xoxoxoBruce]

You out Ikeaed, Ikea. Flat pack crap? Pshaw, lumber baby. Only thing after that is felling trees and making cabinets from them. Excellent design, first class construction, something to be very proud of.

One suggestion though, instead of "my kitchen" use "our kitchen", for extra brownie points.

[chrisinhouston]

It's been a bit like Christmas as I up pack the boxes of our better dishes and glassware and get them on my new shelves. These have been packed away for almost 3 years now, we got by with just some basic stuff when the kitchen was all torn up. It's been slow at times as I decided to run a lot of the glass ware through the dishwasher. The cabinet for our crystal and other nice glasses will get a glass shelf but I need to have a glass shop make it up.

I also realized I need to make 3 more shelves for the cabinet where plates and other serving dishes go.

[glatt]

Looking good, Chris!