After the refrigerator water filter failed and an insurance check in hand, The Family, thought this was an opportune time to try their luck in DIY and use the money saved to replace the appliances and counter top. On the positive side, Dad was very confident he could perform the mold remediation and rebuild the cabinets as at this current stage he was getting quite fond of cabinet making and he was becoming more confident in his staining abilities.
Remediation
The musky smell in the pantry cabinet proves that there must be mold growing underneath from sitting in months of water. Dad removes the countertop, removes the pantry cabinet and half of the cooktop, and opens up the walls to check for mold. After the wall has been dried, the wall studs and floor plate sanded to wood, Dad doused all the wood in bleach and closed up the wall.
The wall was then re-drywalled, jointed, textured and painted. At the same time, the cabinet was unassembled and the panels that had expressed water damage was removed and replaced with 3/4″ AA oak plywood. The outward facing sides were veneered with oak and all sides were stained with cherry.
Remodel
After a quick trip to Lowe’s, which they had a financial plan and a sale on appliances, a new range and counter tops were purchased. Mom had originally wanted a new refrigerator but the counter top was a little more pricier than expected. The range came the next day and fit perfectly in the new spot that Dad created.
After the Stone Systems fabricator came and template the future counter top, the family went down to the warehouse and picked out a slab. The next week, Dad scheduled the installer to come that next weekend and begins the race to get the rest of the kitchen ready for new counter top. Dad quickly got the supports installed but when the installer came in they found out one of the pieces was cut wrong. The Family had to wait for another surveyor to come in and template again and a couple days later, Stone Systems called again to reschedule the install. The installers came back the second time and this time noticed the cabinets are not flat. Only Dad was there at the time and so when they mentioned the options of leveling based on one side or the other side, he picked the sink to be the point of contact and they installed it as such.
After Mom came home, she sat at the bar and within minutes asked if the counter tops were level. After measuring with a level, it was quite not level! (3/4″ over 16′) unhappy with the installation, we asked for someone to come out and see if this is considered not level. The regional manager came out only to mention it is not level but only 1/8″ over 4′ which is very typical. Unable to articulate our concerns and understanding the risk it would be to attempt to remove the stone, Dad let them out the door with nothing done.
A couple weeks later, The Family hires Mike, the Sanchez’s brother-in-law, to look at our kitchen and quote us a back splash. They went to Mike’s tile supplier and picked out some Marble basket weave tile and in just two days, Mike was able to put up the tile and here’s the new back splash.
Ultimately, the colors from the new counter top suits well with the white and stainless steel appliances and the back splash gives a distinct texture that trims the stone from the drywall well. Next phase, removing the old oven to restore cabinet space!
Wall Oven Reclamation
Kitchen Cabinet lighting
New refrigerator and new lights were added
