More dented appliances

We'd been told to open appliances when they arrive, and look for damage. Sure enough, we found a big dent on the range.

Exhibits A and B:

First, we called the store (which connected us to a call center) and were offered a couple measily options (10% off our next purchase... what "next" purchase?). Next, we headed to the store, ready to haggle and show photo-evidence of the damage.

The store employee started talking about replacing the appliance, but I said I'd be happy with a partial refund. He seemed relieved and refunded us about 18% of the purchase price (which was already on a post-holiday sale)! WIN!

The stage is set

This week, the walls were painted, the fridge made its way home, and new cabinets have completely taken over.

Bring on the beige:

The very discounted (and barely dented) refrigerator:

The living room looks like a storage unit:

Next week, the cabinets will be installed and the countertop template can be made. So, roughly, two more weeks of living without a kitchen. Pretty exciting!

Kitchen Floor Finishing

This is where we left off:

With the old floor removed, our good friend and contractor Lee sanded the original fir floor.

Sanding alone was an improvement:

And finally:

This last picture doesn't show much, but the floor looks great. Lee calls it "rustic." It could also be called "way better than what we had before."

Kitchen Demolition

This week, we moved into full cabinet demolition. Sledge hammer, claw hammer, scrapers, heat guns, paint remover, crow bar, pry bar and circular saw all helped us handle this task. Let's just get straight to the pictures.

Last week, we started with paint stripping.

This week, we removed the cabinets. The cabinets were constructed in place, and made of timber- not plywood. The cheap laminate refacing material stripped off easily, as did the plastic trim.

Before:

After:

Did you notice the larder in the picture above? You can see the vents in the wall still.

We did find one piece of an older flooring with what may have been a really nice pattern at some point.

The existing vinyl flooring pulled up without too much effort, the paper backing remained stuck on the floor. To remove that, we had to scrap by hand. Took all day, but we did it.

When we were done, we saw this:

Then, we went to dinner.

Special thanks to Norm (for the haul-off), Jes (for the loaner tools and radio), Ginny (for sharing great adhesive-scraping skills).

Another lesson learned: When you remove a garbage disposer, get ready for a very stinky mess.

Moss killer

Like the rest of the Pacific Northwest, our roof has provided a great a habitat for moss. This does not thrill these home-owners, so out came the moss killer. Not our most exciting project, but still... You know we have way more than just one picture, but let's not go overboard. After all, it's just moss killer.