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Kitchen remodel

866K views 251 replies 17 participants last post by  DoyleSumrall 
#1 ·
I am about to begin a diy kitchen remodel and...well heres the ugly kitchen i have to work with...
along with the beautiful new slabs of wood i just bought to start on the island.
 

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#3 ·
I am new to carpentry and I've only built a few things before so this remodel should be interesting..
if all goes well I will end up with a rustic, cottage style country kitchen.
will post pics as i go but, the real reason i started a thread is to get all the advice everyones willing to give..
thanks ahead for all your help!:thumbsup:
 

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#4 · (Edited)
ugly..the kitchen that is, not my Chloe!!
so now i need to seal and stain? (not sure).. these slabs. but with what and what to fill the holes in with. epoxy? the guy who sold me the slabs said tongue oil instead of stain, and my genius local (to the site) mentor, cocobolo is going to let me know what he thinks once he finds out the type of wood i'm using here
...which is yellow poplar btw:)
 

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#5 ·
Hi there...figured I better drop by and say hello at least.

I just posted a reply - of sorts - on my thread, so you might want to read that first. I'll be happy to walk you through any questions on your thread...it's what we do here.

I must say again how much I really do like those slabs. :thumbup:

Can I ask you how thick they are, and the width and length? Thanks.
 
#6 · (Edited)
oops ..i just posted a reply on your thread because i checked it first.. i wasnt sure if youd come to my party lol :wink:
the slabs..all four..are 2 1/2 in thick..5 feet long..and 32 in wide together at the widest part. they weigh about 50-60 lb apiece, each set has two pieces. ill use one set for a table and one for the island.
I will keep my rambling on this thread now that i know your visiting, i promise !
 
#12 ·
Of course I'll come to your party! :)

You don't have a big budget for the kitchen, but it should be adequate given that you are going to do the work yourself. The two most expensive rooms in any house are always the kitchen and the bathroom...and you have picked the most expensive of the two!

Is it possible to find out when these trees were cut down that the slabs come from, and can you check the present moisture content?

One thing I might suggest is that you get the slabs inside the house (preferably in the kitchen) so that they become acclimatized to the inside environment.

Here's another suggestion. Weigh each of the slabs on your bathroom scale and keep a note of the weight. Perhaps attach a piece of paper to the back of each slab. Check the weight every two weeks or so to see if they are getting lighter.

You don't want to be getting the wood sealed prematurely, it needs to be dry first.
 
#7 ·
Good luck!

I gutted my kitchen 2 weeks ago. I'm doing wood countertops, just regular butcherblock ones though. I'm treating them w/ Waterlox in my basement right now, hopefully I can get coat #4 on by Thursday night so I can install them this weekend.

Looking forward to some updates!
 
#8 ·
I was gonna go with butcherblock but my budget for this entire kitchen is 2000.00 ! so i guess i'm stuck making them myself...it will be awhile for those though..i gotta get the island and lower cabinets built..then the scary task of finishing the slab..hope i dont mess THAT up!
 
#9 · (Edited)
Before i continue, I guess some may want to know a little about me so I'm not a blank....
I'm a 35 year old mom of three boys, three cats, two dogs, and 2 turtles, and a fiancee.
I'm a dog groomer by trade, and a carpenter by the skin of my teeth. I wish i knew more about it.
I paint canvas and murals, play guitar, and i love my gardens and yardwork.
I'm taking on this project because feeding five people in that horrid kitchen has become unbearable...even my shoddy cabinetmaking would be better, not that i've ever made a cabinet mind you..
I will have no helpers above 13 years old and the only thing ive ever built so far is my sons bed frame.
So...like i said. this should be interesting :yes:
 

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#10 · (Edited)
I admire you taking on this task. Where is your fridge, and is your
fiancee handy? I hope so. :) what are your plans for table legs?
(or are you using your current table base?)
and the Island bottom?

Your table looks nice, does it have a leaf? If you put in the leaf,
wouldn't that be big enough for five people?
you also could pick up 2 more chairs...I picked up great looking
chairs at our local good-will store.
 
#11 · (Edited)
right now my fridge is in the dining room..it will go in the corner where the kitchen table is after we cut that doorway out 36 in wider.
I plan to make a simple base like the one in this pic for the island.
together the slabs only weigh about 110 lb
unfortunately..my fiancee is either out of town or he's working on our basement remodel...which i will post pics of when we start on it again
 

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#13 · (Edited)
gotcha..i put the wood in the kitchen..i'll call the guy and ask how long they've been cut and drying for. im just gonna sand on it for awhile while i concentrate on building the base.
what do you think about varnishing the underside so i can attach it to the base while i work on the top side? i really have nowhere else to work on it but the floor, ..thats not an option with all these kids and animals here!
Ill have ahell of a time too if i varnish the top 'cause of the dust from the woodburner in here, and the hair flying around!
i like the way you attached the legs to your slab table...do you think i could get the same effect by gluing two 2x4's together and attaching them to the top 2x4 support like so...

i hope its clear enough to see..slab seller just called me back. wood has been cut for two years ..dried in his kiln for four months
 

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#14 ·
You could attach them like that, but use a single 4 x 4, or 3 x 3 rather than two 2 x 4's...it will look much better.

And if it is possible to get some poplar which roughly matches your slabs it will look better yet.

You could also use metal brackets to attach the legs instead of using 2 x 4's for that underside frame. That way you wouldn't see the attachment system, and you wouldn't lose any legroom below the table top.

No varnishing yet until you find out about the moisture content, please.
 
#16 ·
DDude.. I checked out snavs thread and she is awesome.
Hopefully she wont mind if I copy some of her ideas cause lord knows i got no idea whatsoever how to build a cabinet!:confused1:
But now I do!! I love this chatroom...It has already helped me beyond belief. thank you:)
 
#23 ·
Ok enough of that artsy fartsy crap!
Getting down to buisiness....
have to take down the uppers so i built temporary shelves so i'd have a place for all the stuff...now the nasty buisiness of removing the upper cabinets with a thirteen year old helping....is it even worth it?
we shall see.........
 

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#25 ·
Actually my helper was my 12 year old and he was a great worker! he said he wants to keep helping...whew..he's as big as me so thats good.
He unscrewed all the flathead screws for me HA! :whistling2:.....hate those

Anyways, the uppers are down..and the tile is getting massacred next.. i love this project!!
now what to do with this awful hood cabinet....hood from 1960
 

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#27 ·
What's this I see?

A young man actually helping his mom? No baseball cap on backwards? No long unkempt hair? And a smile on his face!? Wow! He's a keeper, better not let him go anytime soon! Good looking young man too! :thumbsup:

Between you and me, I think Bud might have seen your thread already, just don't tell him I said that.
 
#26 ·
last post tonight i am beat...
now if someone (bud) would just tell me if i have to kill myself scraping ALL this glue off or if i can put a new backsplash on right over it...please say right over it :)

...also if by some miracle bud or another tile guy finds this post....can you tell me if i can tile over the vinyl floor thats already there. boy does it look like it will be tough to remove
 

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#28 ·
Im up to page 166 or so on your thread and i LOVE the decorative windows...insanely beautiful.
To be honest he just got it cut ..it was unruly not two days ago ;P
I hope bud tells me what to do, i have no idea at all. Who takes on a project they know nothing about...? ME

another painting you will like...may be blurred. i do not have a good camera.. well heres a couple..
 

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#32 ·
12 or 13 is a fine age to start. I started playing around in the shop with my grandfather when I was 8 or so and I was out there with him a week before he passed back in 99. He is the reason I take on projects here 24 years later. It's a great foundation for the future. I have a white collar job and I never get sick of the odd looks of people's faces when they see me with paint all over my cut up hands Monday morning.

How many floors are there? Is it just the one? I took 2 out of my kitchen 2 weeks ago, not really a lot of skill and special tools involved, just a LOT of elbow grease.
 
#33 ·
well pete...my issue with the floor is that its laid over top of another vinyl floor thats been there since the house was built in 1960...while the 1960 glue may be hardened and easy to get off (havent tried yet
)..the "newer" vinyl is laid with EXtremely sticky glue that leaves a really sticky residue when you pull it off. I'll have to wait and see what people say before i start on that i guess.
Wish i could just lay down a new subfloor over all of it and go from there but if i do that, my back door wont be able to open...and believe me, getting the old man to re-hang the door will be next to impossible
:(

Thanks DDude for adjusting my picture..i'll try it again.​
 

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#40 ·
Wish i could just lay down a new subfloor over all of it and go from there but if i do that, my back door wont be able to open
Same exact problem I was facing. I had:
- Diagonal 1x6 boards
- 5/8" subfloor
- Sweet dark green sheet vinyl from 1930
- 1/8" plywood
- Crappy sheet vinyl from 2005 or 2006

I had literally 1/16" of clearance under my back door and it annoyed me that I couldn't put a mat there.

Problem was that the old floor was more than likely glued down w/ asbestos or contained asbestos - hence the motivation to remove the entire "package" as one - subfloor, glue, sheet vinyl - without taking it apart or scraping. Like I said...... lots of elbow grease, but I feel it was worth it for peace of mind to use a little extra muscle and buy 4 new sheets of wood for the subfloor. Not sure if this is an option for you.
 
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