weinoo

Never plan on selling (why would we leave NYC, with everything we need minutes away (walking or ordered in) and our own little NORC?), so we plan on enjoying it in situ. The bench is constructed of Durock, sealed with some stuff that's used on the lining of pools, and covered with big sheets of the same tile used on the floor, with the edge eased. Originally, the plan was to do a floating, wall-mounted bench, but the wall wasn't going to have anything to do with that! I should say the bench is framed in wood, constructed of Durock, etc. etc.

For the shower/bathroom floor, we used this...Opus tile, 2" x 2". The shower surround is Cumulus stack tile, 3/8" x 2". The design is stacked, to go along with the stacked subway tiles (4.25" x 12.75") in the rest of the bathroom. And the grout lines line up pretty well all the way through. Kitchen subway is 4.25" x 8.5".

Thanks. It was all about the storage, because I have what some might think is too much stuff! The flooring in the shower does look great - and this evening I will take my first shower in there! It's the same as what is used to cover the bench and the threshold, except in 2x2 mosaic. The mosaic on the shower walls drove the tile guys nuts. They must've done certain areas 4 times over...I imagine the prep of the walls was less than perfect, but in the end, even that looks good.

Thank you. I use both mineral oil and the combo product when I feel it needs it - I actually warm the beeswax stuff up first before applying it. It's actually a Kitchen Aid and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We had an Amana for a dozen years or so, and it never let me down, so I stuck with that line. Significant Eater does not cook. She boils water. Sometimes.

So you're glad I didn't opt for the blue ones .

Because once cooks started to think they were rock stars, they got way too inked. They're not rock stars; they're fucking cooks. Whether or not you can stomach Sarah or Ming isn't the point; they knew how to cook, and weren't involved in food fights.

Gimme a David Rosengarten, Sarah Moulton (who learned at the hands of the master), Ming, any day. And obviously Jacques and Julia. Funny how they could cook without tattoos. I stopped watching Food network a very long time ago.

Some more pix. LED track lights. My pegboard (stainless steel) corner. Designer kept trying to talk me out of pegboard. I found this company online, ordered it, and guess what - he actually likes it (like I care if he likes something or not). Walk in shower. Temporary vanity, only standing on legs, not attached to wall. Dimmable lights; here my designer did a good job by finding these. Custom floating wood shelves. All kitchen stuff, packed into our bedroom (which we are moving back into tonight). Obligatory range shot. Shelf to be added as soon as I can get all that damn protective covering off the riser.

Thanks - please show us that forum.

Thank you! I think the thing about designing a kitchen is that it's very personal, certainly based on the way one cooks. I tend to cook alone, so this works nicely for me. The kitchen is almost 14' long by about 7'6"...we picked up a little space by moving the doorway to the middle, and also when we knocked down the wet wall it was rebuilt adding about 2" width. The cabinets are actually a light grey, and the counter top is Caesarstone's raw concrete, a nice matte. I'll take some bathroom pictures this afternoon; I'm attempting to at least clean enough for us to be able to move back in, though I'm sure the place will get messy when the contractors come back to finish working. At which point I'll really take some pix!

Thanks. I think I did a halfway decent job on the design of the kitchen, especially for its utility. The designers certainly worked their magic with the lighting.

The "still-to-do" list is long, with things like finishing the kitchen tile/grout, fixing the smallish hole in our bedroom wall, which I hadn't noticed until yesterday (it came from the installation of the shower door - the walls in our building suck) and restoring the electricity that somehow got cut-off where it feeds to my desk/office area, but we are finally able to move back into our apartment over the next few days (as it was promised to me by Christmas). So while we won't be totally finished by year-end, which was my goal, we'll be damn close. The punch list (one or two cabinet panels, touch up paint, floor molding, final finish on the kitchen floor, mounting hanging rails, etc.) is what I'd normally expect a punch list to be. By the way, if I ever do this again, shoot me. You'd think one would learn after doing this once with our full-gut reno of an apartment in DC, but it's amazing what contractors can come up with to give you agita (like how do you lose the Franke stopper for the Franke drain for the Franke sink? Morons.) The vanity/washbasin nightmare that exists in our bathroom (vanity arrived damaged from Germany, after waiting for it for 10 weeks) has been temporarily solved, as we got a floor model loaner from the plumbing supply store (and it actually looks ok). The last few days have been crazy; the cabinet/drawer fronts and panels arrived Tuesday, and were installed by Wednesday evening, since no one plans to be here today or during the week between Christmas and New Year's Day (though the electrician may come by on Friday). We still owe a fair chunk of change to our contractors (over 30% of the cost) and "project managers," which won't get paid till the job is done to my satisfaction, so at least I have that going for me - they'll all come back. And I think it will have been worth the wait. Or at least I hope it will have... The perspective of the sink in the top picture is interesting, as the sink is actually quite a bit larger than our old one. And all the LED overhead lights have not yet been installed, nor have they been adjusted to the right locations. That's my trusty 15-year old Miele vacuum, which I think will see a lot of use this weekend. That custom-made 9' wooden shelf in the second picture is gorgeous; it has dimmable LED lighting in a channel underneath, and it will get a hanging rail on the wall underneath it as well. I'm using the Rösle open kitchen rail system, mostly just with hooks. Oh - two things: 1. If I never see a contractor again (at least not once the job is finished), I won't be upset. 2. Wouldn't it be nice if ceilings, floors and walls in NYC buildings were actually square and level? They're not. Merry Christmas!

It had definitely been ground to flour.

Not that this helps answer the question much, but I sometimes shop in a Russian supermarket out in Coney Island. Their bread selection is quite amazing, and the last time I was there, a woman was offering samples and selling bread made with sprouted grains. Took some home, and toasted it was really great.

I actually will not cut/chop much, if at all, on the butcher block - I have a beautiful, end grain, thick cutting board for that, from the Boardsmith in Pennsylvania. And for real chopping, such as hacking up a chicken, I pull out an old wood or plastic board and a heavy Chinese cleaver, and go to town!

This arrived, and is being given some extra tlc before I let it get installed. It's from a woodworking company in Massachusetts, called Sprague Woodworking. Maple, beautiful job they did. Got it when they said I would, just 2 weeks from the date of order until delivery. Quite reasonable. What does everyone think - can you over-oil a board?

I think my copper pipes touched each other inappropriately. This sucks, and so sorry to hear. From everything I've ever read, sell the house as-is. Some minor cosmetic freshen-up might not be a terrible idea, but most people, when they buy a house or apartment, want to do it in their own inimitable style.

Didn't we already discuss this once? Life o' the party, eh?

It's a really nice light, right?! And what's going on right now in Cali really didn't have anything to do with my delays. I think product comes from Germany and other unknown locales, maybe ending up in Carpinteria, before perhaps being shipped to the end user. And they're claiming they're having trouble with LEDs. So who knows? In any event, a pain in the ass. Basically because had someone said 4 weeks ago they were having these issues, I could've solved stuff another way.

We did our renovation in DC in 2009. Massive snow. Columbia Road basically impassable. My contractor was aggravated. I was the project manager. It got done in under 3 months. Using stuff from Home Depot, etc. This job is a little more high end. And I wasn't, at least until now, the project manager. At this point, I plan on being in everyone's face on a daily basis. What's with people not wanting to do the best job they can?

And @dcarch - those religious holidays were 2 months ago! Around here, in a coop with 1,700+ apartments, you start as soon as everyone says you can start!

Yeah - the tiles are only available from the manufacturer. I think the problem with the bathroom light is that the light we ordered is a complete unit, with the housing an integral part of it. I suppose it could be done, but it would probably mean cutting through that ceiling again. Bega 55926_Sub.pdf

A job like that here, with these same conditions, would probably take 5 years. At the beginning, I was quoted 3 months, but with a wink I was told they could be done "much quicker." Turns out there were no tiles to be found anywhere in any warehouses here. They are special ordered from the main supply place in Texas. I asked how much it would be to get them here quickly, like in 2 or 3 days, and was told $495 for that expedited shipping. I didn't think that was a great bargain for $100 worth of tiles, so they'll be here when they get here. And my inexpensive light for the ceiling in the bathroom, which is nowhere near as nice as the one originally ordered, was delivered today...it'll have to do, I suppose. Once the bathroom is completed, and the kitchen is put together except for the missing tiles, we can actually move back in. Still shooting for prior to year end. And yes, everyone is still owed a lot of money, as one of the payments is due when tiling is complete, and another payment is due when cabinetry is complete. The final payment, 15%, is when the whole damn job is done

Well, when you think about it, these problems are really nothing compared to the world's, or even our little portion of it writ large! The backsplash tiles are fortunately in stock in Nemo's warehouse in Jamaica, Queens. I'll pick up the bloody tiles today myself. I'm less aggravated with the contractors than I am with a few vendors and our architect/designer/project manager team - all one and the same. They did a a great job with drawings, the DoB, etc., but they're, in my opinion, not great project managers.

As I mentioned on September 7th...and here's an update: Today is the 3-month anniversary of the start of our reno. Things are moving along slowly, as contractors (and owners) were waiting for a couple of things to arrive from far away (a really cool bathroom shower ceiling light, and the bathroom vanity/sink combo from Duravit). Also, there were at least 10 week days on which our buildings allowed no work to be done because of various holidays - and I think one elevator emergency, which forced work to be cancelled. And no work is allowed on weekends. The vanity/sink finally arrived 11 weeks after the order was placed - and it was damaged somewhere along the way, so it cannot be accepted for delivery. The vendor has found a very similar unit in Georgia - hopefully, that unit will arrive next week in perfect condition. It's slightly larger (2" width), but it still fits into the design. The ceiling light, ordered about 8 weeks ago (from a company called Bega), has not arrived. We are being told there are production issues, which is probably a polite way to say something is screwed up somewhere along the supply chain. I've ordered a different ceiling light for the shower, which will arrive today, and we're just going to use it, as no one can say when the production issues on the Bega will be solved. Due to unforeseen circumstances (or just a screw-up in ordering), they ran out of kitchen backsplash tiles, before finishing the kitchen backsplash. Hopefully, these tiles are in stock and can be picked up today. The custom cabinet and drawer fronts are in an expedited order status, and we will have them "soon." Everything that I ordered personally (butcher block for a portion of my counter, stainless shelves, rail system from Rosle, stainless pegboard, etc. etc.) is here and just waiting to be installed. Memo to self - I'm a better project manager than the project manager who is being paid. We can move back in once we have a functioning bathroom if all we're waiting for is cab fronts. Still keeping fingers crossed to be done by year-end.