Kitchen Cabinets Part 1

The space is really looking like a kitchen now! Day 1 of Kitchen Cabinet installation.

delivery of cabinets

First piece of the puzzle

Bases for the cabinets

Much levelling required

First cabinet comes in

these bench tops are only temporary

there was a delay in getting the laminate I ordered

the handles were made in Belgium, and the cabinets were painted to match

End of Day 1

Kitchen Refresher

Just a reminder of how far we've come with the kitchen.

You think this looks bad? We had already painted the walls in this photo!

Ground zero!!

New floor - first step to a new kitchen.

New walls, electricity & plumbing in place.

Stay tuned.

Kitchen ceiling

The ceilings in the kitchen are made of baltic pine. At some stage they had been whitewashed, then someone else painted shellac with a dark brown stain on top of that. That made the room very oppresive. To remove all the previous layers would need lots and lots of paint stripper - not practical, so we decided to paint them white, after putting a special undercoat on that would stop the stain bleeding through. Added to that issue, is the fact that the old, old ceiling boards had big gaps between them, allowing 100 year old dust to invade the house with every movement . . . have to wear a hat on windy days . . . inside !!

starting with first coat of undercoat - notice that it all has to be done by brush,

believe it or not, quicker and more accurate than a paint roller.

looks much better, even with just the first coat of undercoat!

now you can see all the gaps between the boards

and . . . after using "No More Gaps" !!

(a silicone based sealer)

And then, of course, we had to put up another Kookaburra Air Vent.

Kitchen cornice

Once the walls were replastered, it was time to get the cornice up. We are using the same cornice throughout the house, and we discovered when doing the bathroom that it's not really a job for one person. So John was bought in to help. Each length of cornice is 3.6m long, and it weighs 2.03kg per metre. For those without a calculator, that's 7.308kg per length! It is made of plaster, and can't be lifted flat : the pattern has to lie vertical. So first you draw a line 130mm down the wall from the ceiling, and tack in nails to rest the cornice on. Once it's lifted into place (with cornice cement on it's back) its then screwed into place. 50mm long screws are used, as they have to go through cornice, plasterboard and into wood behind. It took 2 men 5hrs to do the kitchen area. Then you need to go around, remove the nails and patch all the screw holes and where the pieces of cornice join.

Robert & John cutting cornice with a mitre box.

Be aware that the pattern repeats only every 250mm, and it has to be continuous right around the room, so each piece has to be cut so it matches with the previous piece, so the pattern flows naturally.

The first piece goes up - in the old pantry area.

Two full lengths were not quite long enough to meet at a corner

- a little piece will need to be cut to join them up.

Fitting in at corners - some filling required.

The pattern repeat is 250mm - but every now and then, we discover a little worm crawling along a twig!

It is not on every 3.6m length, so perhaps the factory has 2 moulds?

A little mystery !!

Kitchen walls

Once the kitchen space was guttered, we had to get the electrician and plumber in to reposition services. Then the walls were replaced with plasterboard.

First the old pantry area

Then over the fireplace

and around the corner

onto the kitchen/office wall

and to the back wall

It's all beginning to take form now.

Next step is to finish off the plaster joins & corners.

Kitchen being guttered

We have now moved - seriously - into the space known loosely as the kitchen.
The masonite walls are coming off in readiness for the plumber & electricians to do miracles.

Do you believe in miracles?

This wall is holding itself up!!

New studs will need to go into the wall to support what these don't!!

Bathroom at Night

Some photos of the bathroom at night.

The green takes on a whole new dimension!

Do you think the burgandy towels add warmth?

July at Birch Cottage

Construction of the small dividing wall to separate fridge from passage.

Construction of the small wall for an overhead kitchen cupboard to be attached.

An indication of the overnight temperature at present.

We left a 2L icecream container of water outside overnight.

This was lifted off the top in the morning.

This photo was taken at midday!!