New skin for an old funeral - our home's renovation(s)

Snav · 10-27-2011, 10:30 PM

Thank you.

As usually I'm rethinking my clear-finish choice (which was lacquer) due to the potential flammability hazards . . . I started a thread to prod questions on this subject Adequate ventilation and returning to non-flammable status If you have any input on that I'll be happy to hear it

SeeDBee · 10-27-2011, 11:37 PM

Suggest using a water based sanding sealer. Sand that with 160 grit, then use water based polyurethane -- . I've used this combo on cabinets several times and it's almost foolproof. Can get polyurethane in satin, semi-gloss or gloss. Use 220 grit as a final.

iminaquagmire · 10-28-2011, 01:17 AM

I would suggest Waterlox. They have a lot of info if you want to read up on it on their website at waterlox.com. Its mineral spirits based so its not nearly as flammable as lacquer and much easier to work with. It self levels nicely and is very forgiving. I personally prefer 5-6 wiped-on coats but it brushes out very nice as well.

Snav · 10-28-2011, 11:21 AM

Thanks for the input - I'm now leaning towards a wipe-on waterbased poly . . . there are several brands to choose from - Zar, Waterlox and Minwax (and so forth) . . .eenie meenie minie moe

I'm staining away:

Snav · 10-28-2011, 04:53 PM

Ok - well since i waited 'til the last minute to ponder over this - my local stores don't carry water based anything or Zar or Waterlox and polycrylics can't be applied over red mahogany. . . and I don't have time to order something - it must be done asap.

So I bought some cans of wipe on poly and a few nice quality applicator pads. It was either this or traditional fast-drying brush on poly which is cheaper but takes slightly longer to dry. They didn't have natural-bristle brushes and those foam things are a waste of time, as well - since mineral spirits quickly dissolve the adhesive on them. . . and I figured that the cost of buying a huge stash of the foam brushes would cost just as much as buying some cans of the wipe on.

LOL - don't I know how to piddle over something or don't I know?!

So anyway! Moving forward - if I just wipe it on in the morning it'll be dry in a few hours and that leaves me 4-5 hours to ventilate the vapor out of the house - During which I can build the lower cabinets in the carport. . . and repeat the next day. . . and so on so forth - everyone's happy.

In the future a bit of better planning will go a long way.

Snav · 10-31-2011, 12:16 PM

I've started applying the poly - the cloths I chose created problems with some lint - so I'm going to use lambswool for the rest of it. Not too bad though. Took less time than a brush-on poly would, though.

Snav · 11-03-2011, 03:12 PM

I had to take a day off of the kitchen work to remove and replace the sink faucet in the kid's bathroom - I ended up having to remove the whole pedestal sink and address a small bit of water damage to the floor as well . . . but back on task - working on finishing the upper cabinets and constructing more lower cabinets.

Two lower cabinet carcasses. The left one will be for pot/pan storage with large drawers (and will have a matching unit) - I need to put a few lateral drawer supports in before it's truly finished. The one on the right is the sink cabinet (32.5" wide).

SeeDBee · 11-03-2011, 09:55 PM

You're amazing

Snav · 11-04-2011, 10:27 PM

Thank you.

I've reconsidered the design on the narrow pull-out shelf . . . I don't like the crudeness of the 'all-wood' look and the heaviness of it will be a potential problem. So I'm disassembling the shelf and I'm going to craft a light-weight metal shelf and attach that to the pull-out base instead. This will be more visually appealing but just as sturdy and functional. I can probably buy one that's made for use in a bathroom and it'll work just fine with just a little bit of modification.

Ironlight · 11-05-2011, 08:34 AM

Snav, take a look at the Ikea pull-out hardware. And the soft-close door hinges as well. It is all good stuff, and one thing I like about the Ikea drawers is that they wear extremely well. Wooden drawer bottoms get scratched and worn pretty quickly, particularly if you have kids.

Here's an example:

Snav · 11-05-2011, 04:22 PM

Ironlight: Thanks for the feedback on that - I'm not thrilled with choice of drawer-glides right now but money became the issue. Going with these right now I figured in the future I can swap them out for better ones without it holding my progress back at all - so I'll definitely keep that in mind when that time comes.

I finished the carcass for the last cabinet! . . took it's twin outside to make sure they were identical. . . .I had to move my entire setup to the deck in the backyard because my neighbors across the street were having a yard sale. . . I didn't want to be rude by being loud with my saw and music.

So - now it's doing some drawers and installing these last cabinets - and so forth.

Crazy, hunh? In the end: the carcasses for the cabinets used a lot less wood than i thought - overall - I bought 9 sheets of ply expecting to need to run out and buy more - but I ended up using just those 9 and I have quite a bit of usable scrap. . .my hutch-like pantry might not be impossible to do right now!

Snav · 11-08-2011, 02:05 PM

So - I've now installed the lower cabinets. There's a bit more unevenness of the floor than I'd like to deal with in some areas but that's not too bad compared to how it was before and the limitations we had to work with when raising and reinforcing the floor area. I'll level the more noticeable areas out when I come to doing the flooring.

Wall-A: After installing these two they had more wiggle to them than I could tolerate - unlike the sink cabinet because it's larger and also attached to a neighboring cabinet. . . So I added in a boxed-support at the top which helped to stabilize it all quite a bit.

Wall-D:
As you can see in this photo I attached these two together before installing them - making it a bit easier to deal with. I also did away entirely with the pull-out shelf idea. I tinkered and piddled and didn't like any of my solutions. So it will be a series of 4 shallow drawers. While narrow - they will still be usable for certain items like silverware (if I make my own silverware drawer insert), dishtowels and boxes of foil and saran wrap (etc etc).

Here - I tried to get a photo of the gloss finish. I'm not thrilled with the gloss as it highlights imperfections ,I think. But my husband's happy with it so that's ok.

Snav · 11-09-2011, 10:26 AM

Ok - now that I'm nearing the end I need to pick up the pace. I spent weeks doing just cabinetry - other things have to be done, too - and now I'm tighter on time.

I have 9 days before my self-made deadly - can I finish it in time?

List - in order (should be) of what to do:

Lower cabinet work left:
1: Install end for dishwasher cabinet
2: Skin them with 1/4" birch ply
3: Build face-frame
4: Stain
5: Finish - 2 coats of gloss, no semi-gloss this time since I changed things up
6: Cut and install counter tops - cut opening for sink as well.
7: Touch up wall-paint where necessary.
8: Install flooring under fridge, stove, dishwasher area - to put appliances in place and free up the floor space where they're sitting now
9: Level main area of floor
10: Apply remaining kitchen flooring
11: Build drawers - stain/finish - install
12: Build doors - stain/finish - install

This - all in 9 days? Maybe . . . if I stay focused and don't slack like I am right now when typing this post.

The trim will wait until I get the dining-room done. That will be faster and easier - just mud, prime, paint, floor - one new window install that doesn't require I chip out brick, thank heavens!

Ironlight · 11-09-2011, 04:54 PM

I think if you get through #10 in nine days you're doing real well

You are a total inspiration. I'm still marveling at the results you achieved using a circular saw and no table saw. It's nothing short of remarkable. Can't wait to see the finished installation!

Snav · 11-09-2011, 07:20 PM

Today I built the end-cabinet for the dishwasher and did almost all the birch skin - tomorrow I'll finish the birch skin which should only take an hour or so and then I'll do the face frame. . . I'd like to at least get that done by evening - then I'll wash, grain and sand the cabinets so I can stain the next day.

If time is too tight I'll do the flooring last - and make the drawers priority over that so I can actually fully USE the kitchen area. I'm so very tired of paper plates . . . then I'll take a few days to do the floor. The doors will be last since they will be a bit of a challenge and I don't want focusing on that to make more delays like building the cabinets presented.