New Dresser and Unpacking

This weekend was dedicated to rearranging the boxes and mayhem of this house such that at least the bedroom could start to feel like my bedroom. In that process I purchased a dresser to match my bedroom furniture and unpacked a bunch of my clothes and stuff. I moved to the garage all boxes that are not immediately necessary, since it already has some boxes and is not yet for my car. My bedroom still needs the crown moulding area touched up in order to be complete, but that will happen gradually over this week.

Tile Install Complete

Now that the tile is fully installed, I can start to use my kitchen! Well not quite. I am missing some pieces to really finalize the room - four doors for the uppers over the microwave and over the refrigerator, plus a finishing panel for the side of the pantry. In addition, there is one major project that needs to be completed in order to mount the pantry to the wall, and move the refrigerator back into the room - the drywall patch where the access panel had been. Still a couple weeks from a finished kitchen. This type of delay is one of the many problems with do it yourself. But if you enjoy the process and want to save the money, it's totally worth it.

Tile Sealer

The final step to a newly tiled kitchen is sealing the grout. This highly toxic substance (it says do not ingest in multiple places - how would one ingest this?) should help the tile grout from absorbing all the dirt and grime during continued use. The bottle allows for a simple application process. Let it sit, rub off the excess, second coat and wait 2-3 hours. A one beer project on the how-many-beers-do-I-need-during-this-project difficulty scale.

Grouting

The second to last step for the kitchen tiles is adding grout to our 1/8" seams. This is a fairly easy, but quite a tedious step. We chose Delorean Grey for the grout color, mainly to match the grey tile, but also because of the name. Great Scott!! The process is to scoop out the grout with your finger and force it into the gap by moving your finger back and forth perpendicular to the gap. After 3' - 4' of grouting, you need to switch to cleaning up the grout, so it doesn't dry on the tile. The cleaning up process starts with a grout sponge and again rubbing in a perpendicular motion to the gap. The sponge needs to be a little wet to get up the grout on the tile. Not all of it will come up, but a paper towel should get the rest, even up close to the grout line. Once it's clean, then it's time to repeat with the next section.

Caulking

Even with our excellent cutting and installation, the imperfections in the ceiling and wall usually cause some visible gaps. The solution is called caulk and is rather difficult to say without causing offense or giggles. In this case white caulk, which we apply lightly along the seem and then press in tight against the gap. Don't worry about the excess that stays on the wall, touching up the paint after this step is a must. We use the caulk remaining on the finger after a swipe to fill in the finishing nail holes along the moulding. For the corners, extra caulk is necessary to fill the gap, but the same principle applies.

Laying Tile

Another trip to Home Depot south results in a tile saw and the addition of another helper - Jon King. Unfortunately after a few cuts, and at least one broken tile, we decide that the dullness of this blade is not going to cut it (get it?). So Ben and Jon head back to Home Depot to exchange for a better saw, Nate heads home, and I continue to lay tile. The suction cup tool is by far the best tool I purchased over this whole project. It is relatively cheap (like $8) and it is extremely useful. I mean, carrying and placing these huge tiles would be a nightmare without this tool. Plus the cool factor.

Ben and Jon arrive back just as I reach the point where I cannot continue without cut pieces. Timing. So we jump back into it with our own system. Ben and I tag team the mortar, tile laying and the measuring for cut pieces while Jon cuts the necessary pieces. After our earlier noise complaint and a late night issue with cutting tile for a patio project at my Hornblend property, I was very cautious about being loud to late. Each row requires a few cuts and some of the pieces near the door are quite complicated, so we are up against the clock. Luckily our system works well and we put in the last tile before 9pm. After a 24 hour settling period the mortar should be fully set and ready to walk on.

A Slow Tile Morning

Saturday night was a fun night, but the 15 hour days with the late night partying was finally catching up. Ben and Melissa slept in while I prepped for the day. I installed shelves in the cabinets and researched tile - the days main event. Finally I convinced them to get up by offering to go to Einstein's to get coffee and bagels.

Nate arrived just after breakfast and we headed off to Home Depot to buy some tiling equipment. We chose a simpl-ish grey porcelain tile that is 20" x 20". We also purchased the mortar, grout, sponge, mortar trowel, sealer, and plastic pieces to separate the tiles at exactly 1/8".

When we arrived home and unpacked the gear, we checked how the tile looked against the white cabinets. Glorious! Then we spent time preparing the room. We installed the range and dishwasher as well as ripped out all of the baseboards in the kitchen so that the pantry would get a nice flush fit against the wall.

Upper Cabinet Mounting

It is time to start mounting the uppers. The ones over the counter are relatively easy. We simply find the stud and then put in a cabinet screw. They each only need two or so cabinet screws because they are all mounted together by screws as well. So as a unit there only six of the massive cabinet screws holding it up. Then the microwave is hanging from the middle upper by some bolts as well as resting on a metal frame that is mounted to the wall. This installation is tricky with two people, because we have to get the power cord up through the hole in the bottom of the upper. Ya know, so the microwave will work.

The upper that goes over the refrigerator is a whole different beast. Not only is this thing 36" wide and 24" in depth, making it very heavy, but the studs in this area are a bit shady. A stud would exist in a test spot, but not in the same lateral spot a foot down where we need it. We kept getting so frustrated that we had to stop and start multiple times. Every time we missed the stud, the screw was effectively stuck because there was nothing to pull against to remove it. Eventually Ben gave up. When I was about to give up as well, I tried one more with only 3 screws remaining and hit stud gold. As you can see, we are left with a messy line of screws. Luckily this can be covered with a white finishing panel.

Avian Intrusion

We are standing outside looking at the house without the ivy when a bird flies through the front door. Poor little guy got stuck in the big window in the kitchen. He was convinced this was the exit. Eventually we had to capture him in order to get him out of the house. He flew away to safety, seemingly unharmed.

Goodbye Ivy

While waiting for lunch to return and without anything pressing to work on, Nate and I decide to pull at the Ivy and see how hard the removal will be. A little back story, I received a letter from Farmers saying my policy was being cancelled because the house is uninsurable. After getting over the shock, I read a little deeper and discover that it is simply due to the ivy. I had already planned to remove the ivy due to its destructive power when it comes to house frames, chimneys, etc. This just moves up my timeline. As it turns out, the ivy is not too difficult to remove, once you accept that it will dominate the paint - there is no way around that.

After the lunch break, Melissa courageously volunteers to climb to the roof and attack the ivy at the roof line and on the top of the chimney. Meanwhile, Nate is at ground level pulling down the ivy in big chunks. In many cases it pulls off like a giant blanket. Other areas take more effort, but after an hour or so they have successfully removed 95% of the ivy. The remaining bits are at the perfect height near the apex of the house where it is too low for Melissa and too high for Nate to reach. I will need to purchase a ladder to finish up this job, but having a ladder around is a very good idea.

Cement Board

The layer below tile is called cement board and it comes in 3' by 5' sheets. It is a combination of cement and reinforcing fibers and has the added advantage of being mildew resistant. It can be nailed or screwed to the floor. Since I have an abundance of drywall screws, we opt to screw the sheets down. Because of the application, each screw needs to be countersunk, which means the top of the screw head is below the top of the sheet rock. Since we are going install tile over this, we don't want little bumps or uneven tile as a result of the screws. We are liberal with the screws, especially compared to those overzealous installers of the previous cement board.

Electrical Outlet Repair

Doing electrical work while sleep deprived is probably not optimal, which is why when we installed the new outlet two days ago, we connected power to a light in the family room. What we forgot is that there is no direct power at the light and we simply tapped into that circuit. What does this mean? Well, when we turned out the family room lights for nite nite time, we also turned off the outlet (and didn't charge my iPhone). Anyone who knows me knows a low battery iPhone is not OK.


The correct solution is to disconnect power to the light and run that line to the light switch in the bedroom. The light switch has direct power and gives you the option to make the outlet always on or tied to the switch (you can also make one always on and one on the switch by breaking the tab connecting top and bottom outlets). So back into the attic space we go - soccer shin guards as knee pads again. We are lucky that the line for power to the switch is in a relatively large opening and we force the romex down the same path. Wire it up and now the new outlet is truly functional.

Dumping Materials

 On our way back to HD to return all the rented tools and call it a night, we search for an unlocked dumpster to get rid of some boxes and boards. Not entirely legit, but it works. We find a spot and reduce the debris in my back yard substantially. The photo of the pile on the left is actually the left behind materials that we didn't fit in the truck bed.

A few days of non stop work deserves some rewards. To start with, we go to The Chicken Pie Shop for some home style cooking. Then Ben's friends Melissa and Peter meet us to go out for some drinks and let loose a bit. Tomorrow it will be back to the grindstone.

Miter Saw and Crown Moulding

Another trip to HD off Imperial Ave yields the return of the sawzall, a free extension of the nail gun based on the jamming issue, and the rental of a miter saw (crazy cool tool). Back at the house we do a few practice cuts to make sure we get the corners correct. I won't go into the angle details, but you the cut to be at two separate angles at the same time. If you are interested in what I mean, you can ask me for details or just watch some youtube videos. It's really easy with a miter saw because all of the necessary settings are clearly marked. Each piece of crown moulding needs a precise cut at each end for all the corners to match up. Hanging the first moulding with the nail gun is no problem and the moment of truth comes with the second piece. The cuts are all well done and our corners look as they should. Hang crown moulding - check!

Sink and Pinensula

After some morning coffee and a little necessary work time we are back at the base cabinets. Building the sink and 36" peninsula base cabinets is no trouble after learning the process yesterday. The much more challenging part of this day is removing the old cabinets and placing support beams. The technique for raising a cabinet to the correct height is called shimming. This involves placing a small wedge shaped piece of wood (a shim) under the cabinet with the skinny end first and then hammering it towards the cabinet. As the thicker part of the shim enters under the cabinet, the whole thing raises up. We use this same technique to raise the cabinets off of the old counters with the the two-by-fours. With the sawzall's help, we can remove the old sink cabinet and the granite stays up on the support beams.

At this point it is a matter of sliding the new cabinets into place while removing support beams. The key is to have some support beams placed outside of the space of the new cabinets. The sink cabinet takes a bit of effort, but nothing compared to the peninsula. This piece of granite is a separate piece, and at one point we have it held up by nothing but support beams. It is a delicate balancing act with brutal repercussions for a mistake. Luckily, even with some close calls, we are able to install the peninsula cabinet and remove all extraneous support beams. The shimming of the cabinets to the correct height becomes a very stressful process as every added shim changes some other unintended aspect of the counter. Eventually we are successful and ready to mount all of the base cabinets to the walls.

Multitasking: Cabinets and Crown Moulding

Thankfully Jen and Dana come over again to help out. I task them to pain the newly purchased crown moulding for my bedroom so it can dry in time for hanging while we still have the nail gun. I set them up in the garage next to our cabinet building station.






We build the 12" base cabinet for between the range/oven and the dishwasher. This will be the easiest cabinet install by far and we figure easy is a good place to start. We also build the 18" base cabinet for the other side of the range/oven next to the wall. The building is a pretty simple process starting with a cam system similar to Ikea products. In addition we use some wood glue and the nail gun with finishing nails to hold everything together. Using our counter height (34.5") two-by-fours as support we remove the previous cabinets via the sawzall and some "just pull"-ing. Sliding the two finished cabinet frames into place, we are well on our way! The final touches for these cabinets is to build and install the drawers and doors.

Cabinets and Tools

Stop number 3 on our trip is the Estes Freight Terminal in Chula Vista where we pick up the pallet full of ready to build cabinet materials. Even though they were late on the delivery, I'm guessing it was mostly error from the cabinetry company, because they seem to have everything in order. We arrive, show ID, and a fork lift deposits the pallet behind our truck. On to stop number 4 - Home Depot off of Imperial Ave. This is the only HD that rents tools and we are in the market for a compressor, nail gun, and sawzall. Back at my house we organize the boxes in the garage.

Eeny Meeny, miny, moe. We start in on one of the cabinets and upon shooting the first nail, we realize something is very wrong. This is an angled nail gun and unfortunately the incompetent, albeit very nice, gentlemen provided us with straight nails. The gun is jammed with the straight nails. We are both extremely frustrated at being a day behind and travel to the nearer HD to get the gun unjammed and buy the correct nails. Finally we are back home and ready to build some cabinets.

Reno Update

Just wanted to let everyone that the blogging will be on a small hiatus while my brother Ben and I work 24/7 on the house. I am taking pictures galore, so once he leaves on Monday I will put up a lot of posts about all of our progress. Wish us luck!

All that tile, mortar and cement board can fill a truck bed. Especially when you throw in some left behind furniture and overgrown plant life. We set out on a mission with 4  major stops. The first stop is the Miramar Landfill. It costs $50 to dump a truck full of building materials. The whole process is very organized and it is amazing how many trucks full of garbage are being deposited by citizens in addition to the huge city garbage trucks. We pull up and back into a spot like we are going to the fairgrounds or tailgating. It doesn't take very long to drop the tailgate and sweep out all of the demolition debris. Then we are back on the road for stop number 2 - Subway!

Tile Demolition

The remainder of the morning is focused on demo of the tile. This is a loud and difficult process involving switching the hammer to opposite hands and switching functions between brothers. One is hammering while the other is sweeping up the pieces. Under the tile is cement board, which is the standard practice for tiling. The cement board is covered in the mortar that holds the tile in place. Once the cement board is up, we see that the flooring of choice before terracotta was linoleum. Under that linoleum is yet another layer of linoleum followed by the subfloor. 

The most frustrating part of the process was getting up all of the nails after removing the tile and cement board. Whoever installed the cement board went absolutely nuts with nails. There were so many of them - often 5 or 6 in a square foot and sometimes in extremely close proximity to each other. In fact, one pair of nails were actually touching! Come on now! Excessive! Once all the layers are up, we sweep to prepare the linoleum for new cement board and tile. (We considered pulling up the linoleum layers, but it was coming up in extremely small pieces, likely because it was glued down.)

Unplanned Plumbing

Whenever taking on a large project, you need to be prepared for the unexpected and allot time for such distractions. The first occurrence of this in the kitchen was a plumbing problem. Before removing the dishwasher, we of course turned off the hot water valve under the sink. Once it is off, we run the hot water in the sink to make sure it's off and to drain any hot water left in the pipe. However, the hot water just kept coming. The valve was completely hosed (pun intended).

So during our next trip to Home Depot we consulted the experts to find our solution. There are quarter turn valves and multi-turn valves available. The quarter turn valve is longer lasting but requires and extra piece to get the desired split. The combination is the same price as the less durable multi-turn valves. A no-brainer and a cheap solution - a nice change of pace.

Installation is the next step and requires quite a bit of effort due to the tightness of the seal and the awkwardness of accessing the old valve under the sink. When working with plumbing, especially in the kitchen and double especially in an old house, it is important to be cognizant of the nearby electrical. In this case there are two outlets directly under the sink pipes and they do not have GFIs. Now it is possible that one of the GFI outlets in the kitchen is correctly wired as the one nearest the breaker and protects against these outlets as well. Either way we covered the outlets in plastic bags and put a bowl under the sink in case something goes horrible wrong, as is often the case with plumbing. We turned off the new valve and tried the water: no more hot water. Success!


All that just to pull out the dishwasher in preparation for the cabinet swap. Still waiting on the plumbing fail, it comes later in the day when we realize that although there is no more hot water going to the faucet, when cold water is on and the faucet handle is moved up for hot water, this opens a valve in the faucet and the cold water goes down the pipe for hot. This is a result of no hot water to the faucet combined with it being a single handle faucet. I didn't like that cabinet anyway...

Noise Complaint

Meeting the neighbors can be a fun part of moving into a new home as long as it is on your terms. Having the police called on you because of noise is probably not the best first impression...

So we are in the kitchen hammering away at the tile, which is extremely loud. The room is very dusty so we open the windows and front door to get a cross breeze. We are so in the zone of hammering, sweeping, and alternating that we don't pay attention to the time or the noise.

All the sudden there are people at the front door yelling to get our attention over the noise of demolition and manliness. When I get to the door I realize it is two police officers. "There have been multiple noise complaints," they say. "I have no idea why," I respond coyly. They are pretty cool and seem surprised that we are apologetic and willing to cease all demo for the night. Then they add, "plus it's 1 AM and might be a good time to stop for the night."

We had no idea how late it was and didn't really think about the noise. The moral of the story is two fold. First, you are about to be neighbors with these folks for who knows how long, so be considerate if you don't want to make enemies. You may need a specific tool or a cup of sugar some time. At least that's what happens on sitcoms. Two, prioritize the loud demolition first while it's reasonable early and save the nearly silent work, such as electrical in the bedroom that we did in the early evening, for the night hours.

The police were not willing to pose for a photograph...

Adding An Outlet

We decide to get started on adding an outlet in my bedroom before getting to demolition. This is the first real project of the weekend. In order to do this we estimate the desired location of the outlet. Then we have to access the attic in order to find the desired location. I only have a step stool so we move the refrigerator under the attic access and use the step ladder to get on to the fridge. Attics are quite uncomfortable and require knees on wood beams the entire time to avoid falling through the drywall. Soccer shin guards are a huge comfort increase for this project. Ben is the first in the attic for this project.


 
We use landmarks that exist above and below the ceiling to measure distances to the new outlet location. A good example is a ceiling light fixture. We used a sealed access panel in the bedroom closet since it was close to the wall. The measurements give us an agreed upon location to begin cutting. One cut is in the drywall where the Romex power line will be dropped. The tool for this is called a drywall saw and is a pretty cheap and useful tool. The other cut is with a 1" drill bit to go through the cross beam two-by-four over the wall studs. In this case we had to go through two separate two-by-fours to get into the wall.

We were very lucky with these cuts. Usually studs are place every 16" but in these older houses there is sometimes inconsistencies. The cuts we made were between two studs that were only 5" apart. Luckily when we dropped the Romex from the attic it showed up in our drywall hole and we were able to pull it out.





The next step on both ends of the Romex is to do the wiring. We had to find the correct breaker since the electrical box did not have labels. Guess and check presented the correct breaker, which we promptly labeled. The wiring to the new outlet is fairly simple. Black goes into the colored screw side of the outlet and white goes into the other side. In the attic we need to connect off of existing power. We choose a light from the family room and add the wires to the existing fixture.

Now there is power to the outlet. The white Romex is the new one coming from the wall. The yellow ones are the existing power to the outlet. While up here we take an interest in the technique to get the large rounded wall to ceiling connections in the family room. As expected the house is mostly plaster, which involves wood slats across the studs and then applying the plaster by hand with a trowel. This technique has mostly been replaced by drywall or sheetrock.