Thursday

Today, I made some headway in ordering materials. I had applied for
the iFloor credit card to take advantage of the one-day no interest
for 36 months deal. Once that was processed, I called to place the
order. The fellow I spoke couldn't find the draft order from when I
can called on Tuesday, but it turned out to be a good thing, because
in recreating the order we discovered that the underlayment had been
left off. (More cost creep.)

While at the office I reasoned through the lighting plan I had
developed, and realized that I forgot about the circuiting of the
lighting that I wanted to do. So, I need I add one more transformer,
but I also reduced the fixture count by one. (I was able find the
lighting specs online and ensure that the spacing wouldn't result in
dark spots on the countertop.) I called and placed the order. Because
one the transformers could be reduced in capacity, everyhing ended up
being in stock. I can pick it up whenever.

I also went online to order the plug strips which we'll use in lieu of
outlets on the backsplash. I love McMaster-Carr.

I worked hard to clear out the kitchen, and it is mostly finished,
except for the debris which remains whenever you pack up a room. Oh,
and rest of the house is a disaster, since I haven't had a spare
moment for any other routine maintenance. At about 11pm, I stretched
out to rest a few moments... and predictably, I woke up at 2am with
all of the lights on. It was a very college moment.

I have most everything set for our makeshift kitchen. Cereal bowls,
utensils, coffee beans, instant oatmeal, etc. (Oh, and the liquor
cabinet.) It'll be kind of like camping.

Lights, Cabinets, Action

I woke up early to take a Zipcar down to UHaul to get more boxes, but of course I forgot more tape.

After my 9:15 podiatrist appointment, I walked to Evergreen Oak Lighting, conveniently located a couple blocks away. I got a helpful fellow who helped me reason through my plan and pick out all the components I need for the undercabinet lighting. I just need to confirm the layout and fixture count, and I can place the order. The best news is that I'm only $41 over budget!!



Today, Ikea kitchens called to confirm my order for the missing faux drawers at the sink. They really were missing from the order, and no one knows why. The good news is that they'll be shipped to us directly, not requiring an extra trip to Ikea.



In the evening, Evelyn came over to help with base cabinets. We finished the remainder of the bases with ease. We really had done all of the difficult ones on Sunday. Drawers still need to be assembled, and slide-rails attached, but these are things that aren't necessary for a while.



Tomorrow, I need to seriously get things moved out of the kitchen.

Bare cupboards

Monday


This was not such a great day. In the morning we got the revised quote from the contractor. Based on our mis-read of the original and some further definition of scope, the number jumped up significantly. The numbers all seemed defensible, though.

Plodding on, I contacted iFloor to inquire about our flooring choice. The fellow I talked to seemed very knowledgable. As it turns out they have one of their weekly "limited time only" specials on Thursday (no interest for 36 months). So, on Thursday I'll place the draft order he created for me and we'll go pick up the stuff when it comes in. The jury is still out on whether we can get a better deal if iFloor does the install... but, if so, I think it will slow down the project by a couple days.

Next, I called Ikea about our damaged pieces, a door that just didn't look right, and a missing part that wasn't in the original order. After two attempts at navigating the phone system, on the third I finally talked to a person, but only after waiting a full fifteen minutes--no exaggeration, I timed it. And then, she told me should couldn't help me because I didn't have some code that was printed on our original receipt, and I only had with me the order number. I convinced her to take down the damage report for saving in our profile, but was told I would have to call back to have it processed.


I spent the evening completing our 'real' budget. Ouch. Freaked out by the total, I proceeded to check the cash flow situation, based on the multiple financing deals from different suppliers. I found it to still be very doable, but payments would linger on longer than I'd prefer.



Tuesday

Sleepy from having stayed up late working on the spreadsheet and still feeling dumb from the cash flow results, I made my way to a construction site at a private school on the Northside. When I walked into the building and put my hard hat on, I was tranformed. Suddenly, someone else was the owner and I would not directly bear the consequences of any of the problems. It felt so good to work on somebody else's project.



On the train to the office after the visit, I re-looked at the spreadsheet on my phone. (Yes, Excel spreadsheets that are attached to an email can be viewed on the iPhone.) Somehow, the numbers didn't make sense. I pulled my laptop out of my bag, checked the spreadsheet, and realized that I had been double-paying one of the line items. Ah! While the total number didn't come down, the duration of our payments shortened by nine months, or thereabout.



In the afternoon, a cheerful, competent woman from Ikea called. She had looked up my missing number and was ready to process my claim and re-order. I was able to ask her about one of the large drawer-fronts that didn't match our expectations--it doesn't have the texture of the rest of the cabinet doors as expected. She will research, and then call to confirm. I aslo left a message in the Ikea kitchen sales department to order the missing false drawer-fronts for at the sink. We'll see how that is handled...



The rest of the work day was fairly kitchen free. In the evening, I packed a few more boxes and cleaned up the kitchen a bit.


I did, finally, meet up with David and Eric upstairs to see their project and to talk about our presumed contractor. (What is it that they call McCain? Presumptive candidate?) They are nearly complete, just awaiting appliances and some punchlist suff. They offered good advice, such as (1) watch out for the electrical guys and their placement of devices (2) get the installation from ABT and not the contractor-proposed installation--due to ABTwarranty issues and a comparable cost, and (3) the countertop number I've been carrying in my own estimate is probably pretty close--they ended up with Zodiaq like us after some unexpected sink-related change which obviated using Silestone, as they had intended. I had intended to ask them what their total payment to the contractor would be, but forgot that their proejct included some second bathroom work, as well. Instead we talke about a few line items. Our electrical is marginally lower, as is our drywall and framing work. Too many variables. But I'm pretty confident that we're not getting taken for a ride.

Easter with frozen food

When one gets a new kitchen, there is a phase where one has no kitchen. While we're not quite there yet, even Easter dinner was not an occasion which warranted buying any food. Today, I cobbled together two decent meals out of the remaining fresh vegetables and the freezer provisions.

We really started the move out of the kitchen and the den today: TV was moved to the bedroom, sofa moved to the living room, and kitchen cabinets begun to be cleared out. Also, a blitz on laundry was in order.

Part of my own anxiety, is the unknown. I'm not sure when work will start. So, I have a hard time prioritizing my panic.

Brian, within his 16 hours at home between Seattle and Frankfurt/Bucharest, opened all the Ikea boxes to check for damage. We have couple small issues to address with Ikea on Monday. Brian also brought back some cork flooring samples from iFloor in Seattle. We have settled on having our contractor remove our existing flooring and install new floating cork panels. This is in lieu of the full-service, but very expensive, quote from the place whom I spoke to last week.

In the evening, Evelyn arrived to assist in assembling cabinets. We tackled the two tallest cabinets first to make room for the rest. The big cabinets were daunting maneuvers and by the time we got in our groove, it was getting late. We completed five cabinets, leaving eleven more for another night this week. We also figured out the drawing mechanisms, while will save some time for later. Evelyn has volunteered again for Tuesday.

We've decided that by vacating the back half of the apartment that we've now downsized to a New York-sized space with a Chicago-quantity of furniture. It's a little cluttered.

This week is sure to be an adventure.

Prologue

It was a year ago, that I chronicled our 8-day trip to England on a blog. We're now on another journey--a kitchen renovation.

From our first visit to this apartment, it was clear that someday we would renovate the kitchen. It wasn't that the kitchen was not functional or distasteful, it was just that it was the most obvious remnant of the 1980's renovation and conversion.

After moving in in August 2006 and a quick replacement of the cabinet pulls and painting the backsplash a bold blue color, we enjoyed the kitchen heartily. However, by December Brian was brainstorming about something new. Byron began drawing. In late January 2007 on a trip to Seattle, we met with a custom cabinet maker. The quote doused our project with ice cold water and we slowed down... for a few months.

By October, we had settled on using Ikea cabinets, to reconcile our tastes with our budget. Brian converted our "custom" ideas into Ikea standards, preserving our intent of increasing countertop space and opening up the room to the Den and its windows. In November, Byron began drawing again. A trip to ABT Electronics got us dreaming about cooktops and exhaust hoods. By mid-December, the ideas had crystallized and someone's bonus gave the project the green light. By Christmas, our appliances were provisionally ordered, to avoid the 2008 price increases

January and February flew by, Byron capturing any available time to complete the drawings--including demolition, cabinets, flooring and utilities (including electrical). By the end of February, the design had settled long enough to our satisfaction, that it was time to take the plunge. We spent a long Saturday at Ikea getting the cabinet order placed. An IT glitch caused us great delay and frustration, though. It wasn't until the following Thursday that we finalized the order.

The next week, our neighbors David and Eric began their kitchen renovation. It made sense to solicit a bid from their contractor, since we would have the opportunity to review their work and to have someone who was already familiar with the building. An appointment was made for the following Thursday, and Byron raced to the finish with the drawings.

On that Thursday, we had little construction parade. The Ikea cabinets arrived, our buildings' storm window project was completing, and I was meeting our contractor and a flooring installer.

By Easter Saturday, we had a preliminary price. And when Brian returned home from a trip to Seattle, we began dismantling the kitchen and den for our project.