Skwerl's new cabin

[skwerl]

This morning I made myself a list for the day.
1. Skim coat kitchen drywall
2. Grade out the dirt in the back yard.
3. Final coat of paint in the bathroom (where I skimmed over some bad spots).

By 10:30 I finished 2 of the three. Should be able to paint the bathroom as well as sand and paint the kitchen this afternoon.

All that crap on the back porch will eventually go in the garage once I finish the dividing wall. I need to get on that soon as well, probably right after I finish the kitchen.

 

[skwerl]

Finished painting the bathroom (finally) and got two coats of paint in the kitchen (except the soffits) so I decided to begin setting some of the cabinets in place. Next thing I know it's 9pm and I haven't eaten dinner but I figured out my shimming and attachments for the base cabinets. The corner piece was a pain because it takes up a 36"x36" corner but it's only 28.5" deep. I had to space it out with some 2x8 lumber.

 

[ksack]

Nice progress. Glad the lists are helping you out!

 

[Taxman]

I've been off the forum for awhile now. I came back just to take a peek at this thread. You've made great progress man.

 

[skwerl]

Thank you, Jaye. Good to see you around, your absence from the forum has been noticeable. I keep checking the other forum but it's fucking dead over there.

 

[skwerl]

Tonight I started putting up the upper cabinets. I stole Gabe's idea for a jig/stand to set the cabinets in place. Got three cabinets up but nothing is going easy. Nothing is lining up well, wall studs are never in the right place, on the current cabinet there's no stud because the electrical breaker box is on the other side of the wall.

Quitting for the night. I'll try again when I'm fresh.

 

[AndrewNagle]

Looking good

 

[Wicked GT]

May not be the optimum solution but in my garage I ran 1/2" plywood behind the cabinets. Screwed the plywood in to the studs and the cabinets in to the plywood. You unfortunately have to add a half inch to each end of the cabinets in your measurements...

 

[skwerl]

That won't work with the soffit. Good idea, though.

I have some wall anchors I bought for hanging pictures. One package is some plastic screw in anchors that hold up to 40 lbs each. You screw them in the wall and then run a screw into them. I'm thinking I can run some screws through the cabinet into the wall, then remove the cabinet and run those anchors into the screw holes. Reset the cabinet and run the screws back in. That will hold the cabinet tight to the wall and I can run a couple more screws through the top into the soffit to carry the big weight.

 

[Wicked GT]

Sounds like you have it figured out! Good to hear, keep the updates coming.

 

[skwerl]

Been a tough week. Busy at work plus my lung infection has returned. Been too tired to do much. I did get that stupid corner cabinet hung but still lacking a few more uppers. I need to return the 36" upper for a 30" plus a 4" spacer. They don't make a 33". I need to set that cabinet to see what my spacing is on the window so I can install the rest of the uppers on the other side of the window to match.

I tried to get a picture of the wall texture and what I had to do to smooth it out. I am no drywall finisher and it took me a looooong time to get the walls to an acceptable finish.

And I treated myself to a new bed this week. My last bed was very nice and fairly pricey but it was simply too hard for me. I've suffered with it for 7 years and finally gave up. I bought a 13" memory foam mattress off Amazon and tonight will be my first night sleeping on it. Hopefully no more pinched nerves from pressure points.

Amazon.com - Brentwood Home 13-Inch Gel HD Memory Foam Mattress, Made in USA, CertiPUR-US, 25 Year Warranty, Natural Wool Sleep Surface and Bamboo Cover, King -@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qq3Nr60SL.@@AMEPARAM@@51qq3Nr60SL

 

[07TR]

I just recently started reading some of this so forgive me but where you trying to get a textured finish on your walls or no

 

[cop on my back]

I would not trust those wall anhors to hold that cupboard once it is full of dishes or glasses. Make sure you screw to the adjacent cabinets and catch a 2x4 in the upper soffit.

 

[skwerl]

I just recently started reading some of this so forgive me but where you trying to get a textured finish on your walls or no

No, the walls were all textured and it looked terrible. It would have been easier to rip out all the drywall and replace it, but I didn't realize it could be so much work making a wall smooth.

I would not trust those wall anhors to hold that cupboard once it is full of dishes or glasses. Make sure you screw to the adjacent cabinets and catch a 2x4 in the upper soffit.

I did, believe me. The wall anchors were just to get it up into place and keep it tight against the drywall. All the cabinets are connected to each other and anchored into the soffit.

I stopped by HD today and discovered they only have 3" spacers and if I want to fill in the gap at the bottom I will have to manufacture something myself. I also discovered that even though the 36" cabinet is an 'in stock' item they will charge me a 15% restocking fee if I return it. I'd rather cut it up for filler pieces and throw the rest out in the trash. Looks like I'm getting my counter tops at Lowe's.

 

[walker2t]

looking good!

 

[07TR]

Have you thought about trying to remove the rest of the texture to the walls and are you still trying to remove it

 

[skwerl]

The rest is going to be behind the cabinets. I only dressed and painted what will be visible after the cabinets are up.

Did some minor things today and I'm happy about it. I got my dryer exhaust duct work in place with the exhaust dumping outside the garage. I got my water line/ice maker from the refrigerator hooked up. The valve was leaking once I turned it on so I bought another valve and swapped out the guts. I also painted the bottom of the sink cabinet with Plasti-Dip so any future leaks won't soak into the particleboard.

 

[07TR]

Good deal man I was gonna offer you some advice if you had more to do

 

[skwerl]

Oh heck, offer away! I still have three bedrooms and a garage to finish at some point.

Here's another shot from a different angle. This is next to the kitchen window so only about 1-2" of wall will be exposed once the cabinets are up. Heavy texture is tolerable if it's uniform throughout but I had way too many patches and wasn't in the mood to match up ugly texture. I simply don't care for the look.

 

[skwerl]

Yesterday I got my proposed property tax schedule for 2015 and was a bit surprised. I called and spoke with the property appraiser for my area and she asked if I had any pictures showing how the property looked when I bought it. Thanks to the time I put in documenting everything for this thread I had all the pictures in one Photobucket folder. Hopefully I can get my assessment reduced, they appraised my house for almost $20K more than I paid for it.

While looking through the pictures I realized I never posted a picture of my completed office area or bedroom. The bedroom is a mess and I never make my bed so that's not happening but here's what my office corner looks like. Still getting lots of dust from the kitchen drywall but that will be done soon.