Kitchen Nightmares: Somerville Edition

Yesterday was the TripAdvisor/Smarter Travel Media holiday party so I didn’t have a chance to post.  The best thing about yesterday was that the electrical and building inspections were crossed off the long list of visits required by the City of Somerville.  That cleared the way for installation of insulation today and - hooray! - walls early next week.

The room looks very pink now:

Pink insulation in the outside wall

The insulation in the roof had to be replaced because the previous stuff didn’t meet building code for cathedral ceilings.  Apparently what we needed was “R30″ insulation.  That means nothing to me, but it’s there now.

R30 insulation in the upper ceiling

All of this happened just in time for the first big snowstorm of the season.  It’s been pretty cold in the house lately, with the kitchen completely un-insulated.  Now we should be warm and toasty like we were before.

Another new touch that was added today is a directional piece on the light fixture at the back of the room.  Now the light points straight down, rather than into the room at the angle of the ceiling.  It’s much brighter and (I think) means that we don’t have to move the light farther back in the ceiling.  Here’s a closeup:

Pointed downward, not inward

Less glamorous but still exciting is that the gas line for the cooktop was installed yesterday.  There’s a short back story on it: apparently the gas line that we had running to the old stove was too small to provide enough gas to the new cooktop.  The plumber had to run a larger line off our furnace in the basement to fuel the five 15,000 BTU burners and one 9,000 BTU burner that are part of the one we’re having installed.  I don’t know how much a BTU is, but that sounds like a lot of them.

Endless BTUs

Lastly, I couldn’t resist posting this picture of nasty red goop that’s sealing the base of each basement penetration along the wall:

Red goop

I’m assuming this is to keep cold air from the basement from flowing up into the kitchen walls.  This in particular is around one of the drain vent pipes.  Yuck!

The next thing to do is to put the walls up and plaster them.  No more open walls!

Got take out from Cambridge Common for dinner tonight.  I was there for a couple of beers after work.  They have a southern fried chicken dish with biscuits and mashed potatoes that is really excellent, even after a short drive through the snow.  Still very little momentum for cooking at home, though Anne’s been eating microwaveable macaroni and cheese this past week.  That and coffee are just about it.

Uncategorized construction, inspections, insulation, lighting, open walls, plumbing, stove

Last night I wrote that if all goes well our tile order will be complete by noon today.  This morning, the installer almost doubled his labor cost, so we canned it.  We would rather be without tile for a while than to allow the cost of this project to increase any more.  So now we’re not sure when, or if, we’ll have a tile backsplash, which is too bad but I think the right decision.

We’ll be looking at quotes from other installers, but I’m not optimistic.  If anyone knows a good, inexpensive tile installer, please let us know.

Uncategorized extra cost, tile

In the most visible progress since the framing was mostly finished, our kitchen now has working lights!  We came home today and six 4″ recessed light fixtures had been installed and wired to the wall switch.  This is very exciting, as it’s the first time since demolition day that we’ve been able to see in there at night after work without a flashlight.  Makes it start to feel more like a part of our house again rather than just a construction site.

All of the photos in this post were taken without flash - all lit by the new lights.  Here’s how the room looks:

Looking into the kitchen from the hallway

Three lights in the upper ceiling

The upper ceiling above has only three lights because the fourth corner will have a pendant lamp hanging down over the sink.  The electrical box is there now, but the lamp won’t be installed until near the end of the project.  We have to pick it out and buy it first…

Three lights in the lower ceiling (one without a bulb)

Because of the angled corner between the kitchen and dining room, the lights were arranged in a triangle in the lower ceiling.

It’s hard to tell how the lighting will look once the walls are up.  With the dark exposed wood it feels a little dim, but white walls and a white ceiling will reflect a lot more of that light into the room.  I am a little concerned, now that the lighting is installed, that the back of the room is a bit dim.  I’m planning to talk to George tomorrow morning about whether we should move one of the lights in the upper ceiling back toward the rear wall to help fill in some of that light.  Hopefully that’s not a big deal.  Should just be a matter of moving the fixture from one set of ceiling straps to the next.

Maybe a little dark in the back. The light in the right corner may need to move one block backward.

Also today, the electrician finished up almost everything needed for the electrical inspection.  The outlet and wall switch wiring was finalized, the 240-volt line for the ovens was run, and the line for the outdoor outlet (which we found out the other day is required by code) was run through the outer wall.  Everything’s looking pretty good inside the walls and ceiling.

In other news, George scheduled the appliance delivery for January 2.  So when we get back from New Year’s, we’ll almost have a refrigerator again.  Countertop planning also moved forward, with a new, cheaper quote from another company.  It’s rare that anything on this project gets less expensive, so it’s welcome news when it does happen.

Lastly, tomorrow morning we may actually get to place our tile order.  After the whole tile choice saga, and more recently the review by the tile installer to figure out how much extra tile we need to order to be safe, it feels like this process has been going on forever.  If all goes well, everything will be set by noon tomorrow.

Tonight’s dinner came from one of our favorite Somerville establishments, Cafe Rossini.  We order from them all the time.  They have great sandwiches and pizza, and they’re just around the corner so delivery comes fast.  I think sometimes they walk it over, probably thinking all the way that we could have just walked over and picked it up ourselves.  Yes, we could, but we don’t.

Uncategorized electrical, lighting, open walls

No workmen came today so it’s an ideal time for a bonus blog from Anne.

Because we don’t have children, we have to take pride in our two “fur-kid” cats, Ruskin (11) and Clyde (5). One of the things I’m most proud of is Ruskin’s success as an undefeated, multiple-time world champion at refrigerator breaks. I’m not talking about the kind you enjoy when there’s a boring singer on American Idol, but the actual break-in kind… the kind that involves messy spills, raw meat contamination, and doors open so long they can air condition a large apartment building in August.

Over the years, he’s broken and entered four different refrigerator models (from dorm style to the more challenging 20+ cubic feet) and has scored everything from pizza slices to large pieces of poultry. One fridge in my old Cambridge apartment was so battered by Ruskin’s sheer dedication to his sport that the landlord at the time had to physically replace it.

Over the course of 11 years, I’ve gone through about 15 different child locks and at least two rolls of duct tape in my attempts to keep Ruskin at bay. He probably thinks I’m his coach trying to push him to his limit. It was almost a relief when we learned we’d only have the capacity for a small dorm fridge while the kitchen project was underway. It was filled with too little food for Ruskin to concern himself with it. (After all, he already won an Olympic gold medal when he got the Thanksgiving turkey back in ‘06.) Or was it?

Going for turkey #2 of 2006

Right before demo day, we were trying to consume everything in sight to avoid wasting the wonderful local and CSA-quality food I’d purchased on my many farmers’ market forays over the summer and fall. The only thing left to eat was a package of two breasts of organic chicken - too high-quality to throw away, so into the dorm fridge they went. We figured we’d cook them on the grill out back and have one last home-cooked meal before it was all Anna’s burritos and pizza. We were looking forward to it. But unfortunately, so was someone else…

Now, you would think, with continuous months (sometimes years) of failed kitchen break-in attempts (yes, the duct tape sometimes worked), that Ruskin would have given up… hung up his skates, so to speak (sorry, I only understand figure skating sports analogies). Maybe that’s true for dogs or underachieving athletes… but cats are much less obedient and defeatist and far more clever and determined. Our boy is no choker. On demo eve, while everyone was nestled all snug in their beds, Ruskin apparently was having visions of chicken breasts dancing in his head. When down in the dining room there arose such a clatter… well, you get the idea. The next time I went to the fridge, I found our chicken, raw and half-eaten on the floor.

I couldn’t bear the thought of wasting such expensive food (hello, Whole Paycheck?), so Jack grilled the remaining un-gnawed chicken for cat consumption. Never has Jack cooked such a perfect anything. So good that I started to question who was the true chef of the relationship. It was wonderfully moist with an amazing crispy skin (how does one even do that on a grill?). Apparently, Murphy’s Law for cats works in the opposite direction. Maybe that’s why the highly evolved ancient Egyptians worshiped them so. What did Jack and I eat? We promptly resurfaced those greasy take-out menus.

The good news is we think we finally outsmarted Mister Paws by buying a new fridge that has a freezer drawer on the bottom instead of doors. However, one thing I’ve learned is that you can never underestimate Ruskin. After all, he’s a creature that comes fully loaded with GPS, night vision, a precise accelerometer, and utter perseverance. I’m half suspecting he’s got a hidden bucket of tools, blowtorches, and pry bars stowed in some undisclosed cozy nook of the house.

If you’ve ever wondered why Jack was so particular about the electrical work, it’s because we didn’t want to admit to George that we intend to install a cat surveillance system in the kitchen. Just don’t give Ruskin the skinny. I really think it’s time he gave up the sport. I mean, what’s left for him to achieve? The dry-aged beef locker at Smith & Wollensky? Then again, nothing would surprise us.

[Editor's Note: Since writing this blog, Ruskin has broken into the fridge yet again (despite several rounds of tape) and has completely devoured my leftover chicken from Craigie on Main. At least I got to eat most of that dish.]

Uncategorized cats, commentary, food

Today’s most visible bit of progress is the new duct running from the future vent hood to the eventual outside vent:

Duct for vent hood running next to the support beam

As soon as the outdoor vent cap arrives, we’ll have a hole cut in our outside wall and siding and the duct covered on the outside.  Then we can redirect all of the smoke and steam from the cooktop to the outside.  Hopefully not the aroma of what’s cooking though.  No need to share too much with the squirrels.

The duct was installed by Mike the carpenter, who also finished up the ceiling frames and marked up the electrical changes that will be made in the next couple of days.  That’s maybe the most significant bit of progress today: I spent some time this morning with George and Mike ironing out all of the outstanding questions about lighting and wiring.  The electrician will be back tomorrow and/or Wednesday to finish things up, with an electrical inspection to follow by the end of the week.  Having all of that resolved is a huge relief.

Markup on ceiling straps for lighting installation

There’s a ton to do in the next few days: finishing up electrical work and the electrical inspection; building inspection for all the new framing; drywall and plaster installation and inspection for that; and finalizing details on tile and installation for that.  We also need to make sure we’re on track for countertop templating and delivery once the cabinets are in.

Speaking of which, the cabinets arrive a week from today!  Ruskin tells me that we’re just about ready for them.

What are all these weird markings on the floor?

Anne and I had a nice dinner at Temple Bar tonight.  Last night was pizza and wings from Andrea’s in Somerville.  Seriously, if I come out of this project under 300 pounds, it will be a major accomplishment.

Uncategorized construction, framing, inspections, lighting, open walls