Dave the Cook's Kitchen Reno On the Cheap

[Marlene]

And the grits.

[marie-louise]

My new mantra:  never again buy a fixer upper.  Do not buy a house on a dim, dark December day.  Oh, wait, I'm never moving again.

←

Keep saying that

←

Or as my husband of 25 years likes to put it, I will buy another fixer-upper with my next husband.

PS It IS nice to live in a new house.

Edited November 17, 2004 by marie-louise (log)

[snowangel]

So, our hero:  Are you any closer to having a new stove by Thanksgiving?  You don't need an oven to cook a turkey, but it sure helps with the green bean casserole and the pies.

←

Smoked green bean casserole?

[Dave the Cook]

The walls are painted.  They are beautiful.  I have replaced the outlets, switches and covers.  This is the good news.

The bad news is that this has made the ceilings look even worse.  Sort of a dark brown color.  They are so bad that they detract from the hideousness of the awful cigarette burned harvest gold vinyl floor.

I'm going to find out just how much it would cost to have them sprayed with more popcorn before I just bite the bullet and do it myself.  I have ruled out removing the popcorn.  My neighbor did this, and the ceiling will need to be taped and mudded, and it makes me dizzy to work over my head for the amount of time that would be necessary.

My new mantra:  never again buy a fixer upper.  Do not buy a house on a dim, dark December day.  Oh, wait, I'm never moving again.

And, with that happy thought, I'm off to a spaghetti dinner at Peter's elementary school.

←

Susan, you make me feel lazy.

On the ceiling, did I miss something? Why not give it a couple of spray coats of primer to cover, and one or two coats of a final color? For that matter, if you're considering professional help to re-do the popcorn, why not just hire a painter to do the overhead work? Or one of fifi's dreamy professional muck suckers?

Never say never. My first house was a fixer-upper, and until two months ago, I was sure I had gotten that out of my system at a relatively young age.

Are you any closer to having a new stove by Thanksgiving? You don't need an oven to cook a turkey, but it sure helps with the green bean casserole and the pies.

A brand new KitchenAid is on the way (this one, in white). For the first time in my life, insurance paid off. My out-of-pocket is $677.80, including tax and delivery.

No one makes grits for Thanksgiving dinner, Marlene. But thanks for the idea.

[lovebenton0]

The walls are painted.  They are beautiful.  I have replaced the outlets, switches and covers.  This is the good news.

The bad news is that this has made the ceilings look even worse.  Sort of a dark brown color.  They are so bad that they detract from the hideousness of the awful cigarette burned harvest gold vinyl floor.

I'm going to find out just how much it would cost to have them sprayed with more popcorn before I just bite the bullet and do it myself.  I have ruled out removing the popcorn.  My neighbor did this, and the ceiling will need to be taped and mudded, and it makes me dizzy to work over my head for the amount of time that would be necessary.

My new mantra:  never again buy a fixer upper.  Do not buy a house on a dim, dark December day.  Oh, wait, I'm never moving again.

And, with that happy thought, I'm off to a spaghetti dinner at Peter's elementary school.

←

Great news, Susan. And ceilings are always a pain in the neck! I've painted too many! Now that has to be done by someone else -- anyone else. Not sorry to give up that one particularly unpleasant chore.

Susan, you make me feel lazy.

On the ceiling, did I miss something? Why not give it a couple of spray coats of primer to cover, and one or two coats of a final color? For that matter, if you're considering professional help to re-do the popcorn, why not just hire a painter to do the overhead work? Or one of fifi's dreamy professional muck suckers?

Never say never. My first house was a fixer-upper, and until two months ago, I was sure I had gotten that out of my system at a relatively young age.

A brand new KitchenAid is on the way (this one, in white). For the first time in my life, insurance paid off. My out-of-pocket is $677.80, including tax and delivery.

No one makes grits for Thanksgiving dinner, Marlene. But thanks for the idea.

←

Good going on the stove, Dave! Great when that works out, isn't it? Now if I could only figure a way to get the house insurance to cover my new cooktop.

Now you can do your grits in the oven.

[Marlene]

No one makes grits for Thanksgiving dinner, Marlene. But thanks for the idea.

←

One more thing to be thankful for.

[trillium]

A brand new KitchenAid is on the way (this one, in white). For the first time in my life, insurance paid off. My out-of-pocket is $677.80, including tax and delivery.

No one makes grits for Thanksgiving dinner, Marlene. But thanks for the idea.

←

Woo-hoo! Not bad for a fancy schmancy range! So what made our intrepid hero of the budget remodel pick this particular one over all the other contenders? Did you really take a roasting pan and a beach ball to the store?

regards,

trillium

Edited November 17, 2004 by trillium (log)

[snowangel]

On the ceiling, did I miss something? Why not give it a couple of spray coats of primer to cover, and one or two coats of a final color? For that matter, if you're considering professional help to re-do the popcorn, why not just hire a painter to do the overhead work? Or one of fifi's dreamy professional muck suckers?

←

I'm just whining about the ceiling. Dave, I am exhausted. We moved at the end of March, and I have done a ton of landscaping (dug/picked out 2 trailer loads of river rock, trimmed trees, planted plants, etc.) What I want for the ceilings is something that won't cost a lot of money nor take much of my time. Plus, there are a couple of places where the popcorn has cracked (a review up in the crawl space indicates that it is just the popcorn). Perhaps I should fill those in and try painting that area alone to see if it takes care of the problem, and if it does, prime and paint it myself? (After plying friends with smoked meat and beer to help prep the space.) Thoughts?

Like I said, I'm wiped out. And, I still have a 20 x 20 room in the basement to frame, insulate, drywall and trim out. Doesn't help that Princess Heidi has taken to waking at 2:30 every morning.

[snowangel]

The rusty, dark brown heat registers and cold air return in the kitchen have been sanded and spray painted. They are beautiful. They are also an odd size, so this was preferable (my pocketbook, but not my hands) say.

My family is starting to complain about the meals. What's to complain about with masaman curry and stirfried chinese broccoli with jasmine rice? Little do they know that tomorrow night they are heading to pizza flame (great pizza).

Little does Paul know (but I'm sure he suspects), but next fall when he is deer hunting, the carpet is coming up. Remember, I'm the queen of taking it to the point of no return while the cat is away.

Kitchen floor after Thanksgiving. Before the ceiling, me does think.

[Marlene]

Yay Susan. Ok now, take a deep breath, fix yourself your favourite drink and repeat after me.

I will not worry about the ceiling until after Thanksgiving. I will not worry about the ceiling until after Thanksgiving. .......drink and repeat until you really don't care anymore

[snowangel]

Yay Susan.  Ok now, take a deep breath, fix yourself your favourite drink and repeat after me.

I will not worry about the ceiling until after Thanksgiving.  I will not worry about the ceiling until after Thanksgiving. .......drink and repeat until you really don't care anymore

←

As I prep for this series of luncheons for my mom's 70th birthday, and Paul caught me washing trash cans, he poured me a nice stiff Shaker's on the rocks.

Time to take a break.

[fifi]

Kitchen floor after Thanksgiving.  Before the ceiling, me does think.

←

Maybe by that time I will have invented the muck sucker that I dreamed about, have become a popcorn ceiling removal empressario, and will have made enough millions that I would be happy to have "my people" come up and remove it for you.

I can't wait to see what you come up with for the floor.

[Priscilla]

I think the sideboard might need a lick of paint.  White paint, red knobs.  It would give it a sweet French Country look and still match the cabinets. Of course, the Martha in me is considering red and white check door fronts (use blue painter's tape to frisket) or: we know you can draw. Freehand cherries?

Are you wedded to the idea of a new top?  If you install one, you'll lose that charming curvey bit.  Practically speaking, a new top (my choice is marble if you were on a fat budget, because it would look cool and French, but hey, a well made laminate slab would be fine) might give you more workspace.  But what about simply situating a big, good-looking board and a trivet?

←

Is this item purchased and owned already?

I so agree with MtheC about the white paint job, and even the cherries, because it reminds me of how Sir Terence Conran would sometimes drop those red-cherry-and-checked patterned linens and porcelain pieces into his modern kitchen spaces. Agree also with preserving of the curvyness, both the top itself and the waterfall front ... but what about that backstop?

Very nice that the KA fits neatly in the lower cab. I understand, as a counterspace-challenged person, if it must be stored, but moving my KA5 here and there is kind of a drag. Not the biggest drag in the world -- naggingly annoying, say.

Also, might be worth a check to see if your Home Depot puts contractor markdowns out at ungodly early hours for otherworldly low prices. Like when they open at 6 a.m. or whenever it is. I lived in ignorance of this Home Depot Shadow World, until a contractor neighbor rehabbing somebody's powder room showed me a bath vanity complete with sink and hardware he scored for $5.

[maggiethecat]

This thread has morphed into a cliff-hanging serial. I check in, biting my nails:

Will Dave get his beautiful new range in time to cook Thanksgiving dinner? Has someone snapped up the sideboard while he was pondering? Will he ever move the Metro-like shelving in from the carport?

Will Susan self-destruct? There's griping at dinnertime. Not only is she severely sleep deprived, but she has galas to plan for her Mom, Thanksgiving on the horizon, and she's actually fretting about framing and drywalling a whole new room. She really needs to enjoy girlfriend weekend to the fullest.

Like the sands of the hourglass....

[Dave the Cook]

I'm just whining about the ceiling.  Dave, I am exhausted.  We moved at the end of March, and I have done a ton of landscaping (dug/picked out 2 trailer loads of river rock, trimmed trees, planted plants, etc.)  What I want for the ceilings is something that won't cost a lot of money nor take much of my time.  Plus, there are a couple of places where the popcorn has cracked (a review up in the crawl space indicates that it is just the popcorn).  Perhaps I should fill those in and try painting that area alone to see if it takes care of the problem, and if it does, prime and paint it myself?  (After plying friends with smoked meat and beer to help prep the space.)  Thoughts?

Like I said, I'm wiped out.  And, I still have a 20 x 20 room in the basement to frame, insulate, drywall and trim out.  Doesn't help that Princess Heidi has taken to waking at 2:30 every morning.

Now I really feel lazy!

If I can make alternate suggestion, why not prime the crowd with pork, and have a frame-and-drywall party? (Save the beer for afterwards.) This is a much bigger job than painting a kitchen ceiling. Do your patch/test work ahead of time, and if they still have energy, enlist them in prepping the kitchen, which will take almost as long as the painting, if you have to do it yourself. Once the prep work is done, the psinting isn't too bad.

Woo-hoo! Not bad for a fancy schmancy range! So what made our intrepid hero of the budget remodel pick this particular one over all the other contenders? Did you really take a roasting pan and a beach ball to the store?

Actually, it was the notion you posted elsewhere that having an oven that could go really low and steady (was it salami, or something like that?) could be very useful. Down here, with air conditioning and all, finding a place for dehydration or bread rising can be difficult. That, plus the reputation of KA as being a serious range (see "yuppie kitchen sculpture," above), kept it in my mind.

Then it became a matter of, as my friend Varmint says, marginal costs. Here's how that stacked up:

As of Sunday afternoon, there were three choices, plus an unknown: 1) the cosmetically damaged KA ($989); 2) the Frigidaire ($979); 3) the Kenmore ($790). The Frigidaire was eliminated when, upon careful comparison, it was revealed to be the same range as the Kenmore, less the nice warming drawer. I checked the list price on each -- KA: $1649, Kenmore: $1249.

At this point, my cost (less the insurance money of $375)

for the KA would be $614 + $50 (delivery) + $37 (tax) = $656;

for the Kenmore -- $415 + $50 + $25 = $490.

The insurance company had offered access to their discount price list, but based on the differential between the estimated cost to fix the current range ($450) and their cash offer ($375), I figured the discount was going to be about 15%, and that meant that the KA and the Kenmore I had seen at the outlet were going to be my best bets.

But!

Just to be able to say that I'd done my due diligence, I called the insurance company to get their prices. Needless to say, they didn't carry Kenmore. Neither did they carry Frigidaire. They carried Whirlpool, GE, and KitchenAid. Whirlpool, being part of the same conglomerate as Frigidaire, has a range that seemed to be similar to the Frigidaire, but their site is so bereft of details that I decided I didn't want to encourage them. Again, in the name of due diligence, I checked out the applicable GE models, and found them to be overpriced compared to KA, let alone Kenmore. To my considerable surprise, the delivered price on the KA, including tax, was not $1649 less 15%, plus delivery, which would have been somewhere in the neighborhood of $1540 (after delivery and tax), but $1043. When I subtracted the $375, I came to $668 -- $12 more than the damaged unit I had seen on Saturday, for a perfect new range. So the the choice was between it and the Kenmore.

I went back to check the specs on the two ovens. True convection, check; two dual-sized burners, check; warming drawer, check; wait -- what the price on the KA again? $1999? When did that happen? Apparently about the time they added an integrated temperature probe, closed-door broiling, warming drawer pans and a second oven light. In other words, sometime between Saturday morning and Monday afternoon. KA also has a better warranty. All those things, plus the stuff I mentioned above (not to mention the almost visceral appeal of getting $2000 range for 600 bucks) tilted me toward the KitchenAid. C'est tout. They haven't promised pre-T-day delivery, so everyone please cross your fingers.

Yes, Priscilla, the sideboard is a done deal; it's being delivered on Friday. I'm tending towards Marlene's "screw a butcher block on top" plan, but it won't cost me anything to try it Maggie's way for a while and see if it's workable. I can always get someone in an Ikea-equipped city to send me one of their six-foot birch countertops. As for the cherries -- well, I have another idea. If it works, there will be pictures. But to start with, white, per Brooks' instructions, with a red kickboard, and red knobs and handles.

[Priscilla]

Yes, Priscilla, the sideboard is a done deal; it's being delivered on Friday. I'm tending towards Marlene's "screw a butcher block on top" plan, but it won't cost me anything to try it Maggie's way for a while and see if it's workable. I can always get someone in an Ikea-equipped city to send me one of their six-foot birch countertops. As for the cherries -- well, I have another idea. If it works, there will be pictures. But to start with, white, per Brooks' instructions, with a red kickboard, and red knobs and handles.

←

Yes, I'll be interested to see how it would work in its present interesting shape, after painting. And I'm fascinated pondering your design embellishment ... show show show! I think I would vote for white on the kickboard, unless red there is sensibly integrated into the design.

If you do end up bolting some larger rectangle onto the top, we'll all just try very hard to pretend that waterfalled front edge is just not there.

[andiesenji]

Regarding the sideboard. I lived with one with a similar top for a few years but finally said bye-bye to it after the fourth time a large footed chafer was moved and a foot slipped over the edge of the top platform and slid off the top dropping the contents onto my antique Sarouk rug. Having a top with a level surface from front to back is much more practical and safe.

I could have bought two new sideboards for the amount I spent on having the Sarouk taken up and cleaned four times.

[Dave the Cook]

So do I level the top, or just keep expensive rugs out of the kitchen? The latter is far easier for me!

[snowangel]

Nice choice on the stove, Dave. I had what looks to be the former version in my previous house and I loved it.

I have a real thing against Whirlpool appliances. Our old house was filled with them, and they all crapped at the same time. And, before they crapped, they were unreliable.

[trillium]

Woo-hoo! Not bad for a fancy schmancy range! So what made our intrepid hero of the budget remodel pick this particular one over all the other contenders? Did you really take a roasting pan and a beach ball to the store?

Actually, it was the notion you posted elsewhere that having an oven that could go really low and steady (was it salami, or something like that?) could be very useful. Down here, with air conditioning and all, finding a place for dehydration or bread rising can be difficult. That, plus the reputation of KA as being a serious range (see "yuppie kitchen sculpture," above), kept it in my mind.

Right. That was me lusting after the duel-fuel Bosch range in a PM. With my luck the stupid, ugly and smelly ceramic disc range from the 70's in my soon-to-be new house won't crap out as readily as yours did and will wait until 1 day after the new home warranty is expired! One of the justifications for the Bosch was that it could go really low and steady and that range is perfect for the beginning of making salami. Or proofing bread or dehydrating the 5 lbs of chanterelles I had to buy because they were such a good deal at the farmer's market. And then, you know, it could be a bad sign that Sears bought K-mart, right? Guilt by association and all that... so obviously, that rules out the more economical Kenmore....

the neighborhood of $1540 (after delivery and tax), but $1043. When I subtracted the $375, I came to $668 -- $12 more than the damaged unit I had seen on Saturday, for a perfect new range. So the the choice was between it and the Kenmore.

I went back to check the specs on the two ovens. True convection, check; two dual-sized burners, check; warming drawer, check; wait -- what the price on the KA again? $1999? When did that happen? Apparently about the time they added an integrated temperature probe, closed-door broiling, warming drawer pans and a second oven light. In other words, sometime between Saturday morning and Monday afternoon. KA also has a better warranty. All those things, plus the stuff I mentioned above (not to mention the almost visceral appeal of getting $2000 range for 600 bucks) tilted me toward the KitchenAid. C'est tout. They haven't promised pre-T-day delivery, so everyone please cross your fingers.

Very cool! Isn't it nice when all that due diligence crap actually pays off? I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a pre-T-day delivery, and waiting to see how you like your new range. Please say a prayer to the patron saints of new home owners that my nasty range will follow yours to the grave.

regards,

trillium

[andiesenji]

So do I level the top, or just keep expensive rugs out of the kitchen? The latter is far easier for me!

←

Well, mine was in the dining room, but while it was esthetically attractive because of the design, it was impractical because the entire top was not one level. Mine also had a bolt-on upper unit of staggered shelves with a mirror back of the serving level which we removed soon after we purchased it. We sold it along with the "upper story" to someone who wanted it only for a back bar for which it was suitable.

You will have to use it for a while to see if it works for you as is. If so you are a lucky man, if not, you will know how to make it work by then.

On mine, the top slab was marble but the wood beneath it was not finished with the veneer of the fall front so leaving the marble off was not an option.

[Rachel Perlow]

Sounds like, whatever surface you choose for the top of the peninsula, you should hold off (screwing it down) for a week or more until you are sure that it is right. That way you don't ruin the top for naught.

(Edit, oops)

Edited November 19, 2004 by Rachel Perlow (log)

[Dave the Cook]

I figure Thanksgiving will give me a very good idea about whether or not it's going to work. In fact, doing all that prep in a short period might give me some specific ideas about modifications, in addition to just helping me decide whether or not I can live with it as is.

[Dave the Cook]

The range is being delivered on Monday!

[andiesenji]

The range is being delivered on Monday!

←

Mazeltov!! You must live right.......