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TALES FROM A KITCHEN Did about 1/3 of a kitchen last week - Joanne says I should share. It's a tale without much sound or fury, but maybe a few lessons. Task was one wall of cabinets (over and under), a countertop, and formica covering on the wall behind the counter. Electric and light service, but happily no plumbing. Bought "Harford" style cabinets, and supposedly-compatable countertops, at the Despot. No real choice - wanted to match other 2/3rds, recently done in this style. The tale of the buying: Was told I had to see a "designer"; after 45 or so minutes such a person acted like they were doing me a great personal favor by talking to me. (apparently one is supposed to get an appointment well in advance). Took another 1/2 hour to "design" what I knew I wanted in the first place, but at least I got a nifty parts list printed out. Went home. Decided I wanted a tall skinny cabinet to store cutting boards; called to change order. Called again, Called somemore. Finally talked to someone who said they would call back. Called again a few days later when they didnt. Went in, begged the favor of an audience with a designer, changed plans, paid. Waited two weeks for "custom" part (the skinny one). It came. Went back, "custom" part of order (two things) was waiting on cart, everything else was find-it-yourself. Excellent non-designer despot employee named "Fred" very helpful. Puzzled 300+# of chipboard into 81 Citation, to amazement of Despot staff. Springs held. Lesson: if you must deal with the Despot (the Somerville one in particular), nab catalog, and a xeroxed sheet of what is IN STOCK, from designers - figure out what you want from that list (9" wide skinnies are available, thought not the 6" ones) and get Fred to load it on the cart for you. Easy workaround, will save multiple hours labor and weeks of clocktime... The assembly: surprisingly easy to put things together, and except for the material (chipboard with real but thin veneer) quality pretty good. One part mis-drilled, but a few minutes work with a drill fixed that and bad holes didnt show; a few missing parts from some kits matched by a few extras in others. Only problem was "premium" custom skinny cabinet, which came pre-assembled - very poorly so. (and it was glued, so unfixable) Gappy and skewed, would have been a real problem if it was a full sized cabinet. Lesson: HD "premium" (you can "upgrade" any of the standard cabinets for $) should probably be avioded. Sticking it all on the house: Again surprisingly easy, although in contrast to the explicit directions for assembly, you are on your own as to how to mount it (except for a warning for stupid people that if you do it wrong the cabinets will fall down...). A few lag screws into studs, and a few short ones holding the cabinets to each other, proved more than adequate. House squarer than I thought; a few shims were all that was needed. Lots of iterative optimization with level and square still required to find best match though. Studs found with gizmo; two very close together investigated by drilling and found to be a stud and a metal pipe (?!). Reverse engineering the pipe led to the conclusion it was for the pre- doorbell speaking tube system, some of which still works. Obvious lesson: beware, lest your stud prove to be a gas, electric, or steam pipe. Also, interestingly, studs in non-structural wall proved to be "true" 2x2's (not 2x4); shorter mounting hardware purchased as a consequence. More annoying problem was countertop, which didn't really go with the cabinets under it in any mechanical way. Two funny little mounting frobs supplied with cabinets useless, but provided a key hint - they were 3/4" thick. Covered cabinets with scraps of "one-inch" (i.e. 3/4") lumber, plopped down countertop, perfect. Guess you are just supposed to know that. (Fred probably does, not sure about the designers....) Grumbling about the designers again 'cause unpacking the cabinet doors proves the one thing I thought was a benefit from them, the parts list, wasn't. They dont fit. In fact, they are not even remotely the right kind. Back, swap them, pay more $. See workaround above. Stumped by upper cabinets, which were mercilessly heavy, until I mounted 2x4's to the wall just below were the cabinets were going. Helper could then stabilize cabinets, with weight on 2x4, while mounting. Damaged wall covered with formica anyway. Another thing you are just supposed to know, I guess. Other misc. lessons: Predrill everything with a bigger hole than you imagine could possibly be necessary. Chipboard dies if you dont; 90 year old studs grab big lag screws and snap them like toothpicks if you dont. Don't move services if you can possibly avoid it. Had do move an electric outlet 1/2" to get it clear of the new countertop - took the better part of a day (the usual horror story - box not really mounted to anything, no slack in the (mercifully recent) BX...). After that experience, bagged plans for more in-the-wall service and mounted both lights and a plug rail under the cabinets, then hid them with a skirt moulding. Looks and works fine. Big lesson: generally handy but no specific skills person (me) can do pretty nice job in two (long) weekend days and a week and a bit of evenings, working mostly with a good collection of screwdrivers and a small power drill, with no more than the occasional "3rd hand" help. Given the tale of the mad carpenters related just previous, I'm glad I did... -h |
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