Vacating For Vacation

Tomorrow I will be embarking on my first cruise. Its probably a vacation way way long overdue. It's a repositioning cruise, so I will be simply cruising from Vancouver to LA, stopping at Astoria and San Francisco on the way.

The kitchen reno is dragging on and on. Life gets busy and you begin to lose steam at the end. However, I did get some great items for the kitchen which are being shipped as i typed this. And I'm very excited about it.

So to all those following my kitchen blog, I will be incognito for about 10 days. See you back again on October 11th (unless there is a way I can find internet offshore if I have something to publish)

EUREKA! I've Figured Out My Splash Wall

So if you recall, I have been struggling with trying to do something unique with my splash wall.  Basically I want to turn it into message board where I can hang up stuff like a calendar, or notes to myself, or a recipe I want to try.

A picture I saw in a magazine gave me the idea. They use burlap here as a covering

Well I searched around and burlap is so ridiculously cheap. But I researched into the properties and nothing assures me that this could be free from bacteria or odors. So that was out the window.

Then I came across marmoleum.

You can buy them full wall size and they are both tackable and self-healing. It also has anti-bacterial properties and can be cleaned when needed. But when I saw the $2600 price tag on that, that was out the window too.

I honestly was thinking, maybe this is something that cannot be done. Maybe that's why no one has it.

Then I came across a product called MagTack from Fabricmate.com in California.

I talked to a sales rep named Ed who promptly sent me a sample of the material. It's thin, it's light, and uses magnets to hold stuff up, although I need to get rare earth magnets to make sure it's strong enough. No problem! I headed to one of my favorite places on the net, DealExtreme.com and bought myself a bunch in a few sizes!

But I still was left with the problem of the covering. Afterall, I didn't want to put the MagTack up as is... it just looks like a big magnetic sheet. The splash wall is where I insert my creativity, my character, my style!

Then Solomon our contractor, in one quick second, offered a solution -- WALLPAPER!

Why didn't I think of that!? Brilliant! I have emailed Ed to get his opinion on how wallpaper would hold up on MagTack. My suspicion is that it will be just fine.

I promptly went researching different kinds of wall paper, and found some that are both meant for the kitchen (washable and durable) AND some that even look kind of like tile! I have ordered some samples from Graham & Brown and am excited to see the possibilities.

Here's what I chose:

And how about this neat idea from Home Depot!

I could paper over the MagTack with this and then paint it the same colour as the original wall colour! How cool is that!

I am genuinely hoping this is going to work. If it does, I will be so excited!

I am also planning to put the MagTack directly on the side of the pantry. And that I can definintely cover with fabric since it is far enough away from the food preparation area.

Just imagine. A floor-to-ceiling "wall" that is fully magnetic to post up pictures, notes, maybe some proverb to remind me to be happy, or pictures... the list is endless!

So I guess it's time to visit the local fabric store to see what the have! So excited!!!

Oh and the total cost to buy 24 feet of this MagTack in rolls... around $156 USD. Very affordable.

Ladies and gentleman, I think we have a winner!!

Getting Grout Done

Yes it's true! The grout was done today. Solomon our contractor came by and grouted the floor with my brother. Yes, our first tiling experience means some of the tiling is less than perfect.

But the grouting definitely lessens the flaws.

Thing is, I think the grout ended up being slighting whiter than what my brother expected. But you know what? I'm okay with it!

What's left for construction?

Solomon installed the sink and the dishwasher today (both big problems for us as a result of the cabinet company we used. More on that later.)

So now the next step will be for us to do another cleaning of the haze of grout still left on the tiles, some sealer to protect it from liquids, and the baseboards.

I will need to do some wall touch up after but really not that much.

Oh and pendant light outlets in the ceiling have to be placed in the right spots and the ceiling re-boarded with drywall.

Oh, and the exhaust duct from the hood fan still needs to be installed.

Then after that, the appliances move in! No, wait...

I have to get the splash wall done behind the sink before we can start using water. The last thing I want is water rolling down the cabinets where I can't wipe them!

Arg, which means I have to go pick out 4-inch high splash tile to so along the wall where it meets the counter.

Oh and there's no exit piping yet from the sink. Peter the pipe fitter is coming back to install that part.

And I still have to cut the cork to fit the cupboards as a non-slip surface since I don't want to bother with contact paper.

My head is spinning... so many little things here and there still to do... important things. So important that they have to be done before I start cooking in the kitchen!

I had hoped we could get this kitchen done by last Thursday, but this is how it is just as I was made aware of from the beginning. Always delays....ALWAYS. The sad thing is, by the time the kitchen is set up and everything is wiped down and all the kitchen items (plates, cups, utensils) have been thoroughly washed, I will be leaving on my cruise to California (I leave this Sunday). So I will have to enjoy the kitchen when I get back.

Oh the Mortar and the Moaning

It is Wednesday, September 18th (I think)

Next step is the part I was dreading the most. Mortaring the floor tiles.

A friend loaned us his tile cutter, probably one of the lower end models that cost around $50 or so. My brother struggled with it to try and make it work with our unusual-sized 13-inch tiles, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not get a straight cut all the way to the other side. So we decided, we need to invest in one of our own knowing that we had other renovation plans in the wait.

We went to Home Depot and bought this Ryobi wet saw tile cutter for $240. Since the box was clearly opened, they agreed to take off $40 from the price for us.

The first thing right away that gave my brother a sigh of relief was that he no longer had to be hunch on the ground. This came with a stand! Second was that nice straight cut was almost effortless with the way the machine was designed. This is why being under-budget is so awesome -- so we can buy new toys for future renos!  Yippeeee!

And so the tiling began.

We started with the portions that took full tiles. The picture is deceiving since we decided to lay the tiles diagonally.

My brother and I tried our best to mix the mortar to its proper consistency and kinda failed the first time. It was way too goopy and lost its shape after the serrated part of the trowel went over it. What ended up happening was the tiles would move after they were placed down. So we had no choice but to pull up all the tiles we laid (about 7-10 of them) and start again.

WARNING #1

Here's the thing with placing down tile that you have to pull up later. The tiles are not malleable so picking it up in its stiff form with goopy wet mortar is kind of like trying to pull a massive suction cup off a smooth surface. It definitely worked out my arms and back -- not that I cared for it much. So don't go too far or you will have lots of hard pulling to do.

And in the darkness of the back patio, I was spraying water over the tiles to remove as much mortar as possible, while my brother mixed a better batch of mortar. Boy, did I wish it was a hot summer day!

WARNING #2

So when my brother and I finally put enough powdered mortar to get a nice stiff paste, we ended up with a massive bucket of mortar. This meant, we had to keep going until the mortar was done. The clock struck 10pm, and we were still going. It would have been nice if we could have mixed a little mortar at the beginning to test it out, since we were complete noobs to this process.

Well, the nice thing about laying a good portion of the full tiles the night before is that it is strong enough the next day to walk on and makes it a lot easier to measure the cut pieces along the edges.

And this is where finally my forte was... or at least I thought. Not as easy as it looks.

 There are three things that made our tiling work that much harder:

1. The tiles were of an unusual size and of pretty substantial thickness (good enough to use in outdoor patios). So we were working with big dense piece of porcelain.
   
   
   
2. Because of the cork underlay, we were instructed to install the cabinets first before laying the cork and tile down. This meant having to cut very unusual pieces to fit around the various parts of the cabinetry.
   
   
   
   
   
   If we were allowed to place the tile down first, we would have ended up with just a bunch of small triangles to fill in all the edges.
   
   
3. Our choice to use a diagonal layout to hide the flawed perpendicular angles of the walls (which I still agree with despite the extra work) meant we were doing way, way more cuts.
   
   
   

But ya know, sometimes taking the harder road means not having to be reminded that you took the shortcut every time you look down at a flawed floor. I am pleased with the final result.

With my other brother visiting us from LA during the tiling process, we of course had to enlist him to help out. Why? Because apparently I'm still too much of a wimp for this kind of intense and continuous manual labour. And an interesting comment popped up as I moaned and groaned and verbally cursed and despised the kitchen I was building while I was pushing the mortared tiles down to try and get it flush with the tile beside it:

Brother #1: Clearly Somi has never gone tree planting. (a BC summer job to help re-forest our greatest natural commodity).

Brother #2: Oh that's right. If you have tree planted, this work would seem easy compared to that.

Somi: What do you mean?

Brother #2: The first year planters, sometimes you had complainers, and because the work is so hard and the environment is so rugged and unforgiving, you stay away from anyone complaining because the last thing you need while you're working is to be reminded how freaking hard it is.

Somi: Oh I see. (Let's out a big *SIGH/MOAN*)

Brother #2: Like that, that's what I mean.

Wow, standards are high! But it was a little wake up call to how my demeanor could make the job much harder to accomplish.

What ended up happening is I measured and penciled the cuts that had to be made, numbering each one to a place on the floor where it belonged -- by myself. Then my two brothers (God bless them!) took it on themselves to do the cutting and mortaring.

Did I mention that I think my brothers are the greatest brothers in the world? I mean it!

Cork Underlayment

So now, I'll back track a bit to show you what onerous and tiresome work my brother and I have been doing the last week. It is time to put down the cork underlayment.

My brother and I had struggled over how to deal with the moisture barrier. In the end, we did notice that none was used previous to us, and yet the old linoleum seemed to hold up fine. So we decided to take Stephanie's advice at Cancork and use special fortified mortar that has some water sealant protection.

Honestly, as the renovation goes on and my brother and I get more tired, we are being less and less picky about things that would have mattered to us at the beginning.

OUR NEW MOTTO: "We'll fix it later with mortar." hehe

My brother drew these clever little lines in the mats so that when we pulled them up to mortar we would remember where they went. I'm sure glad I was addicted to puzzles as a kid... well still am, but that's a different story.

Had to make a little pathway so that we didn't dent the mortar underneath.

then we started laying out tile just to check out the configuration and get some of the cut tiles done right. The gap markers are not installed right in this picture. Originally I didn't like how wide the gaps were so we thought about using them this way instead. But in the end, we felt that there's a reason why the gap had to be larger and so we used them the proper way..

Finally the Flooring

So far to date, the biggest pain in the reno process was dealing with the floor. Albeit I'll say that we certainly didn't make it easy for ourselves. Going tile changed everything about the flooring, and I mean everything!

First it was pulling off the linoleum and scraping 30+ years and two layers of linoleum glue. (3-4 days)

Then it was experimenting for the first time with self-leveling cement (3 days) and then deciding we needed to do it again (another 3 days)

Then my brother and I went back and forth in our decision about what to do with the underlayment (ongoing!) and finally landed on using cork underlayment and hoping for the best. We acclimatized the cork and laid it with fortified mortar as the moisture barrier (4 days)

We started mortaring down the tiles, only to find that it is back breaking, messy work!

And then I brought out my anal side and started to measure the angled tiles for my brother to cut with the wet saw. Every couple of hours, my brain stops calculating numbers. It feels like Math finals all over again! aaaaaahhhh!!!!

(note to self, always take pictures with natural daylight... no more night pics)

My brother wants to mortar the remaining pieces of tile tonight to let it sit overnight. Then tomorrow we can grout the tile and allow it to be ready for Friday. Solomon will come tomorrow and install the sink and finish off the cosmetic construction.

My remaining homework:

1. Finish measuring the remaining tiles (about 10-12 more left to go)
2. Choose and buy a garburator.
3. Go shopping for pendant lights.
4. Pick up bar chairs (found some on Craigslist)

More details about these steps in following posts. Just wanted to catch you up on where we are in the reno.

My head and body are SO tired!

Hooray for the Hood Fan!

My brother and I installed the hood fan today. We still need to connect it to the duct to blow the air outside. But at least it's in!

Moving to Marmoleum

With a FB response in mind concerning the health risk that may be carried with the use of fabric on the backsplash, I decided I would survey other options. While I understand that burlap has its benefits being rot and fire-resistant It is certainly not clear of other issues:

Back when I hand-made favour boxes by scoring and slicing cardboard by hand, I used what was called a self-healing mat. This mat could literally be cut nearly half (in fact, a friend cut it almost down to the bottom) and over time it will heal itself. To this day, I can't find the thousands and thousands of incisions I've made in it over the last eight years!

I suspected that something like this could be used for pin-ups walls too, and then I discovered Marmoleum. Forbo is one of only three European factories left who manufacture this, and coined the term which comes from "Marbled-Linoleum."

This material is commonly used as flooring in schools because of its versatility of uses and its ability to stand up to heavy use in high traffic areas with minimum work to keep clean. While its main use is for flooring, it is also manufactured as bulletin board material which -- get this -- SELF-HEALS. In addition, it carries great qualities like being:

• eco-friendly (uses renewable resources or plant waste)
• anti-static (repels dust and dirt, making clean up very easy)
• bacteriostatic (doesn't harbour micro-organisms such as dust mite or MRSA bacteria - the kind that mutate over time to become immune to current vaccines).

Download a brochure from Farbo on Bulletin Board Marmoleum. Other brochures also exist about other forms of marmoleum for other uses such as flooring and other surfaces.

So I've contact GreenWorks here in Vancouver and am waiting for a reply back with a quote on the beige coloured bulletin board marmoleum. Measuring out the portion of the kitchen where it will be installed, I will be needing at least 22.5 sqft. However since it comes in rolls that are 122cm wide, I would need a 14.5 foot roll (approx 4.39m). I'm at the edge of my seat waiting for the reply!

SOURCES USED:
Green Works, Vancouver B.C. http://www.greenworksbuildingsupply.com/linoleumflooring.html
Farbo Flooring Systems, Hazelton, PA http://www.forboflooringna.com/Surface-Solutions/Products/Bulletin-Board/
How Stuff Works, Atlanta, GA http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/construction/materials/marmoleum.htm
The Natural Abode, Moscow, ID http://www.thenaturalabode.com/green_home/marmoleum_natural_linoleum.htm

I Found a Console Table To Make!

So for those of you not aware of Ana White's Webpage, it is especially designed for women who want to learn how to build their own furniture, and it is seriously cool! I'm totally revved up for trying some of the plans, and even coming up with my own. I always have very specific ideas of what I'd like to make for unique places in my home and it's nice to finally own a place where I can freely install those unique items for myself!

So if you recall, there is one portion of the kitchen that I did not have Vancouver Cabinets installed, mostly because we thought we would need the keep the costs down, and also, because my idea of what to do there is so specific that it would be better if I built what I needed.

It an extra workspace/bench along the east side of the kitchen.

My plan is to create an extra workspace where I can store my various recycle boxes and trash can underneath. Here in BC, many cites, especially the larger cities, are requiring citizens to recycle. If recyclables are found in the regular trash, it doesn't get picked up. This is fine with me since I have always been an advocate for recycling more than just soda cans and bottles for a refund. Containers and paper trash is mostly accumulated in the kitchen, so that's where I prefer the bins to be.

Today I was sent this in my email from AnaWhite.com:

and I thought HOW PERFECT! I can make this! I will just not include the middle shelf, or as my brother suggested, remove the middle shelf from just one side. It will fit my recycling bins perfectly! Can't wait until the kitchen reno is done so I can get to all the goody crafts like this one! (I'm in desperate need of a spice rack with this new kitchen arrangement.)

Unpacking and Getting the Floor Ready For Tiling

Well before I go on, I didn't show you the front view of the kitchen which includes an unfinished raised eating area in front of the sink:

So the counters that are being installed will be two levels in the sink area. I decided that it was worth it to splurge an extra grand on having this because it's nice to have a kind of shelf in front of the sink  and it also helps hide the mess of dirty dishes or other clutter when looking from the rec room.

My youngest brother came into town today from LA for a visit. So while my other brother picked him up and visited my mom, I unpacked as much kitchen stuff as possible and I laid down the cork underlayment.

It was like Christmas all over again. After 10 months of using my brother's kitchen materials, I had forgotten a lot of the kitchen items that I had carefully chosen. It was much more of a delight than I expected.

But this is also when I realized how little cupboard space I had. There are no wide drawers at all. So I am limited in what I can put in each. The cupboards, which are very high thanks to the removal of the bulkheads, are just that -- very, VERY high. The bottom two shelves, no problem. But because there are no wide shelves, it will be necessary to put some regularly needed items high enough that I will need a foot stool to reach them. 

Ultimately, this is considered a "secondary kitchen" -- one used to store stuff to entertain in the rec room, or a kitchen built for a downstairs tenant. And since I'm just one person, all my items will find a place to go, regardless of the slight awkwardness I am experiencing at the moment.

I will probably do an overview of the cabinets in another post, since this one is getting long. There is lots to review about the good and the not-so-good.

When I cut the cork underlayment for the floor, I was careful to leave around 1/2" on the borders as directed by the sales lady at the cork store. This allows for possible expansion of the cork.

When you step on the cork, it is as warm as a heated floor. I could hardly believe it! I expected it to be a sort of neutral temperature, but it was actually warming my feet! It makes me wonder if I would have gotten a similar sensation with the cork flooring. But I digress... 

Unfortunately, that warm doesn't translate through the tile. Porcelain, as expected will always be cold to the touch. The difference however, is that it is no longer bone-chilling cold going through my legs as it did when I stood directly on the cement. It's a "nice cold" the kind you want to feel when it's blazing hot outside. I can live with that!

Two tips we were given about the tiling. 

1. Solomon our contractor suggested that we start the tiles from the middle of the room and fan out. The reason for this is because even if a corner may look like a right-angle, there's a 99.9% chance it isn't. Thus if you attempt to start tiling from one wall to the other, you may end up with a trail of squares that eventually lay crooked rather than a straight parallel line to the walls in the rest of the kitchen.
2. A friend of my brother, who lend us his tile cutter after tiling his bathrooms, suggested considering some pattern other than straight up and down. This is for the same reason Solomon suggested, that even if we start the tiles from the middle they will eventually reach the edge of the "not right-angled" wall, and resulting in the line of the tiles laying slanted next to the baseboards. This makes it obvious that the room is not a perfect rectangular. So my brother suggested a diamond layout as it will appear less "flawed" at a glance.

Solomon suggested to us to lay out the tiles on top of the underlayment to get a sense of where each tile will be. It also gives us the ability to play out how we will cut the remaining tiles and distribute it in the remaining spots. Of course, when we begin tiling, we will still start from the middle, but it takes the guesswork out of how many tiles we will need, and what it will look like in the end.

Again, you can't tell from the picture, but wow, the colour of the tile matches all the kitchen decor. We REALLY lucked out on that sale!!

Oh and just in case you were wondering how the patch job went with the light switch, here's what it looks like now.

NOTE TO SELF: Stop taking pictures at night!  (sorry for the poor colour)

The Next Update on Budget

So here's where we stand so far in our budget:

Still lookin good!

Things still left to purchase:

1. Garburator
2. two Pendant Lights
3. Backsplash wall materials (stainless steel, burlap, frame and pinnable foam)
4. Remaining contracting work (finishing walls and trim, and installing sink)

My brother has requested a turkey dinner as the inaugural feast cooked in the kitchen. I was thinking just ramen and rice. Let's see what we end up with!  

P.S.  If you are wondering what will happen to this blog after the renovation is over, I'll let you in on the plan. I will adjust the title of the blog, but the address somiskitchen.blogspot.com will remain the same. I will blog about the features in the new kitchen, including new appliances and kitchen products that I purchase(d). As well, I hope to post some cooking tips and recipes,as I have always wanted to do. Maybe I'll throw in some tips for living and eating healthy, something that I need to get back on board with now that the major trauma in my life is slowly coming to an end. Our family grew up with a Mom who was fierce about nutrition and whole/healthy foods. Can't stop being my mother's daughter! Time to remove this depression weight and get back to real life!