400 Screws later

No kidding, 400 screws and a quart of glue used to assemble just the cases.  Many more will be used on the face frames.

Trimming the back corner of the two upper corner cabinets.

I now know why cabinet makers use 1/2" ply or particle board and assemble cases using just nail guns.  It took me all day today to assemble these (most likely over built) cases.  But since all joints are dadoed, glued and screwed together the case squares itself during assemble.  It also makes for a seriously strong cabinet, but they are freaking heavy.

Days 2 and 3

Another great day in the shop.  To ensure accuracy and repeatability of same size parts i cut broke the full sheets down yesterday about 1" oversize.  Today I was able to setup the tablesaw and cut all cabinet case parts square and to their final size.  Labeling all parts is key to keeping track of what has been cut, what parts are cut to the same size and not losing or missing anything.  Here's pics from the corners of the shop at the end of day 2.

Since I can't simply buy something that I could make, I'm making the turntables for the lazy susan rather than buy the cheezy plastic ones.  Cutting out a 32" perfect circle calls for a router and trammel.

Maureen also came out to the shop for a while today.  She was awesome help, and stoked to use a drill for the first time.  She pre-drilled holes in all the dados and rabbits to screw the cases together when assembled.

And of course some goofball time.

First cabinet case assembled. By "THIS GUY"

One happy side affect, Maureen no longer asks why I need so many clamps.

Cabinet Build Day 1

Finally took the bull by the horns and started making sawdust today.  It's honestly a little more intimidating than I thought it would be.  Planning and building 14 cabinets that all link together and have to be flush and plumb, (around 2 corners) is more difficult than the other furniture that I've built.  It might not actually be harder but it is an unknown.  So I took the plans, made up a cut list and headed to to Shurway to get plywood to make the cases.  I'm building the boxes out of 3/4" pre-finished birch ply.  It's easy to work with, and has a factory applied finish that is great for kitchen use, durable and easy to clean.

Under estimated number of sheets needed.  This is the first 10, had to go back and buy 7 more.  At the end of the day this is what I had.   

Went to work on my full sheet cutting table outside the shop.  The weather cooperated awesome today and let me work outside.  Working full sheets in my small shop is a pain so today was great.

$700 worth of small plywood pieces, sure hope I didn't screw up.  My favorite new tool, and possibly favorite tool ever is my festool track saw.  I've been wanting one for years, this project was the justification I needed to finally buy one.  It made this so easy.

Here's a pic of our floor tile and a couple options for our counter top on the sink wall.  Opinions?

Choices, choices, choices....

By far, the one thing I was looking forward to the most was picking out the tile, cabinet style, countertops, sink, faucet, under-cabinet lighting, and light fixtures.  I was wrong....

You think you have an idea of what you want, but when you actually start shopping for the items, you quickly realize you have NO idea what you want.

For example, a week ago, Chris and I went to the Ferguson showroom in NW Portland to look at sinks and faucets.  The sales lady that helped us was fantastic.  She sent us home with some specs on a couple faucets and sinks we were interested in as well as a catalog of just sinks and faucets.

Ok.  Let's think about this for a second.  A catalog of just sinks and faucets!  That's 187 pages of sinks and faucets!

Let's talk about sink options.  Overmount or undermount?  Enameled cast iron, stainless steel, bronze?  Color?  How many holes for your faucet fixture?  Single or double basin?  Equal or different size basins?  How deep of a basin do you want?  Do you want farm style?  Apron front? 

Help.......   

Thank goodness we already knew what faucet we wanted - The Delta Touch kitchen faucet with ONE handle for hot and cold.

"Do you want a soap dispenser?"

Uh, sure.

"What color faucet do you want?" 

Silver.

"Stainless or chrome?"

Stainless, I guess.

"We have polished stainless, brushed stainless, or vibrant stainless."

Bang!  Bang!  Bang!  Did you hear that?  That was the sound of my head banging against the wall.

Now I see why people hire interior decorators.




On to countertops.  Half our countertops will be butcher block (that's a whole post for another day) and the other half will be laminate.  I wanted something in the slate or gray family, so we ordered some samples.  They are pictured to the right:







I'll have to see them next to the butcher block and tile when we get that far.  In the meantime, here are some pictures of Chris working hard designing our cabinets.

And this, my friends, is why I let the one with the engineering degree figure this sh** out.

Do you think this is how professional cabinet makers end their day?

   

"I like this one, mommy.  I can still lick food off it, right?"

In the meantime, maybe I'll let my cat make these decisions for me.

 

The Beginning

Welcome to our kitchen blog.  Chris and I created this blog for our family and friends that contributed to our kitchen remodel for our wedding.  Here we will post updates and pictures as we build cabinets, tear out the kitchen and start from scratch. 

One step in the process has been completed.  We've purchased all of our appliances.  The new refrigerator has been installed, but the stove, microwave, and dishwasher are down in the basement in boxes just waiting to make their debut.

First, we would like to thank our friends and family for making our dream a reality.  We truly could not have done this without your help.  We are so excited to begin this project and share it with you.  Check back often for updates!

And now, a picture of the before....