A Baby and a Backsplash

So it's been awhile since the last post. Over a year actually. And that's because our son was born just 5 days later. So understandably we've been a bit busy and house projects/blogging have been on hold. And that time has gone by incredibly fast.

But at last the backsplash is finished,  thanks to long winter holiday weekends and super helpful grandparents (who recently moved across the country to be near their grand baby). And yes the backsplash has been done for 9 months and I'm just now posting this entry.

First there was the prep work. This included scraping all the old adhesive off the wall, filling holes made while demolishing the old backsplash, and sanding to make sure the surface was smooth.

We laid out the full pieces to make sure we had more than enough to cover the space and to see how well they lined up at the corner and our planned edges, just in case we could make any adjustments that might make it easier to install/reduce the number of tile cuts.

After making slight adjustments, we settled on a starting place that both looked natural and provided very clean lines at the window and at the corner. We selected a matching stainless steel tile edge piece to create a nice transition, and of course to hide the tile pieces we had to shorten to create a straight edge. 

We did a "dry run" on the layout, keeping the protective cover on the tile sheets and taping them up. 

This was another project that Nick owned. Here he is after cutting a bunch of tile pieces. He used a metal-cutting disc on the Dremel. Starting at the side shown up above, he cut as he went. This was probably the most time consuming of the entire process. 

Once all of the pieces were cut and laid out, all fitting correctly, it was time to take them down and actually attach. Nick selected mastic to adhere the tile to the wall. We debated about whether or not we should screw down a thin backer board first, then set the tile on that, but decided against it. We read that was mainly used as a moisture barrier, and wouldn't really be necessary in the kitchen. There's only one thin section behind the sink where there might be some occasional splashing. We just gave the grout on that section an additional layer of sealant.  

Below you can see the progress of the first section, adhering a section at a time. We kept the tile attached whenever possible, which made it easier to line up. 

Below is that first section again, after the mastic but before the grout. It also shows another one of Nick's improvements: he upgraded this outlet box. It's the only outlet located along the counter, so now we have double the outlet capacity!

Above and Below: Nick applies the grout, which is a dark gray like the grout we used on the floor. Much better to avoid stains, and it really helps define the tiles and show off the brightness.

After drying, it was time to wipe the grout haze off of the tile and clean up the counter:

Next post will be a comparison: old kitchen to new!

New Countertop Installation!

This post is long overdue, as we've had out new counter top for about two months already. Several weeks after the template was made, the old counter was removed and the new one installed, along with the new sink and faucet!

Removal took just a few minutes:

Then the two guys brought in the new counter top. There are 2 pieces so just one seam.

IT'S SO SHINY

Once the two pieces were in place, they had to secure them, seal the seam, caulk around the underside where it meets with the cabinets, and of course seal in the under-mount sink.

Once done with all of that, they removed all their equipment and cleaned up.

We saved almost $500 on the installation cost because Nick could unhook the pipes and water lines from the sink and reattach them once they were finished. Seriously. That's all he had to do. Then because of the drying time needed to make sure the sink attached securely, we couldn't run the water for 24 hours.

Here's a close up shot of the new sink:

Love, love, love the under mount sink. And the new faucet with integrated sprayer is perfect.   

And of course here is a before shot to compare:

Old sink and faucet

Old counter top

Close up of the counter over the dishwasher, compared to the old counter length seen above:

New counter top

Original kitchen

And this is the backsplash we've picked out:

Building the Dishwasher Platform and Cabinet

Before counter top installation day, we had to build in the new dishwasher cabinet since that was going to provide support to a larger section of a much heavier counter material. This was a Nick project, though we collaborated on the best way to go about doing it.

A few months ago we cut out the end cabinet space and set the dishwasher in place, though not secured to anything. We did use it a few times, but had to be careful while loading because it was prone to tipping forward. Not a problem now that it's entirely built in.

Here's where we left off after the cabinet removal to make space for the dishwasher:

First we created a base. The floor where the cabinet was removed from was slightly lower than the tile surrounding it, so we evened that out by screwing down a thin piece of MDF board. On top of that Nick screwed down plywood to provide some height and an attachment point for the support frame.

Dishwasher fits on the plywood base, which overlaps onto the tile. Now it sits level.

In preparation for the dishwasher installation, we had to do some electrical work. We had a friend's stepdad, who is a contractor, help with this. Nick assisted so he could learn more about it as well. That project didn't really warrant its own post, but makes sense to mention it here.

The large range outlet to the right in the photo below used to be where the silver box on the lower left is, which is where the dishwasher would go. In order to get it out of the way and keep it more accessible, we moved it over about a foot to the right. The white cord with the yellow cap that's tucked into the wall above the silver box is the newly-installed direct power supply line to the dishwasher. You can see it in the photo above after the dishwasher has been hooked up. We left the cord long so we can pull out the dishwasher pretty far if we need to. 

Because this electrical work included sawing out parts of the drywall, we had to repair it. I spackled the area, but it still needs to be painted. I'm planning to do that before the end panel is secured in place. 

Now back to the dishwasher cabinet. Nick continued building what was basically a very sturdy frame,

Nick used the original counter top and a level to make sure the upper frame was flat so there wouldn't be any gaps or slanting when they set the new counter top. We were working with precise measurements, since we wanted to have a nearly seamless transition from the counter to the range, with little to no gap between the dishwasher cabinet end and the oven. Nick did a really fantastic job on this. Now that it's installed, the side edge of the new counter top and the dishwasher cabinet line up perfectly.

We still need to stain and finish the visible areas of the frame so it matches the rest of the cabinetry. Once that is done we can actually secure the dishwasher to the upper and side frame pieces with screws using the available anchoring holes.

Just about done

After all that, we'll be securing a detachable end piece in case we need to access anything back there in the future. We're also going to include a sound-muffling layer to make the dishwasher quieter.

Finally, here's a look at the entire kitchen with the new dishwasher cabinet frame in place. Next post will be about the counter top installation and finally some pictures of what it looks like now, which is absolutely stunning!

Ready for the new counter top to be installed

Chicken Coop - Final Improvements

Way back in January I first posted about the improvements we began on the chicken coop that came with the house. That weekend we cleared the run of blackberry brambles, made some small improvements to the access panel to the coop, and painted a single coat.

Now, nearly 6 months later, we've completed the rest of the improvements we planned to make and finally have chickens. Here are the rest of the coop updates we made before bringing them home:

Nick cut a new door out of plywood, which was much more sturdy that the original. This new door also includes new hinges, a bolt that secures it shut at night, and a metal hook and screw eye to hold the door open during the daytime. When I went over the entire coop with a second coat of new paint, I also painted the new door:

New chicken feeder and fount

Nick did the same for the access door to the nesting box at the back of the coop. It didn't need to be a thicker wood so we re-used the existing door, but we did add hinges. Before it was just screwed in and you pushed it aside to gain access, with no way to lock it. Like the coop door above, there's a new bolt mechanism to keep this side more secure as well.

I painted this as well. You can see how well it blends in below. 

Now at quick look at the inside:

The inside was pretty dirty, with chicken droppings and old shavings on the floor and nesting box. I swept out all of the shavings and removed the existing cloth ceiling from the top of the nesting box, replacing it with plywood. After the floor was clear, I pulled out the linoleum lining the coop and hosed it down outside. Once dry and placed back in the coop, I put a layer of fresh shavings down.

While I worked on cleaning and painting, Nick focused on outer security. There were some areas that weren't as secure as we'd like, including the door to the run. The door was surprisingly wobbly at the top and bottom and had only one bolt closure in the middle. To strengthen the door, Nick reenforced it by screwing lengths of wood around the entire perimeter. No more wobbly door. He also added a second bolt closure and changed the location of the original, so now there's one down lower and one near the top.

One all the door reinforcements were added, I painted it and the frame of the roof. We also added a door handle. In addition to the door, we did some spot securing of the wire around the run. This was an incredibly well made run and coop. The wire edging was dug down into the ground at least 6-8 inches. The chickens have dug down about that far in a couple areas and the wire continues even deeper.

I also cleaned the run and coop roofs by hosing them down, removing all the leaves and gunk build up with a power wash. That was around the time I added the new and extended gutter and added rain barrel.

Ready for chickens

And the before shot:

Backyard Before and After: Part 1

The yard is still a work in progress and there will probably end up being like 30 before and after entries, but this is the first one complete right now: the southwest corner where you enter the backyard when following the sidewalk around the garage. 

This is what the area looked like when we walked into the backyard on a visit at the end of May 2013:

May 2013

I used some of these photos on a 'before and after' post last year to show how fast things grow in Portland in the spring, since it was only a month between the shots above and below.

Besides filling with weeds, this area became overgrown with the blackberry plants that were there, and all the offshoots that grew from them over the time the house was vacant. There were also about a dozen small cherry trees growing here. We assumed they popped up from birds dropping seeds from cherries picked off a neighbor's tree next door. While we'd like a cherry tree, that neighbor's tree is full-sized. A dwarf cherry variety would be a must for our yard space, so these trees had to go.

April 2013

During some of our summer visits and soon after we moved, we started clearing this area. I took down the chicken wire fencing between the wood fence and around the clothesline. I cut down the cherry trees to dry for firewood and pulled out the roots. We never figured out what the plant shown below was since we never saw it flower or fruit, so we pulled it out and removed the wooden box and trellis.

April 2013

Over the winter I cleared out remaining fence scraps, concrete blocks and other debris, pulled weeds, and tilled the area along the fence, as seen below.

January 2014 

While the blackberries were still dormant, I transplanted them. Added trellises, pulled weeds, tilled the entire area and spread grass seed once it started getting warmer. And here is what it looks like now:

June 2014

Yeah. HUGE difference.

In the earlier photos you could barely see that there were pear trees in there. Nick did a lot of pruning since they'd been neglected for so long, so they are all nicely-shaped now and all growing an incredible amount of fruit.

We definitely wanted to keep the blackberries, just a little more controlled and deliberately placed. Fortunately the main plant was already in a great location next to the clothesline, so we kept it there, just adding a trellis so we could train the branches to grow up instead of out. It looks much cleaner, takes up less space, and the berries will be more easily accessible for picking from any side.

I wanted to keep a few of the smaller blackberry offshoots as well to increase the fruit yield, so I made a plan to transplant them while still dormant to a new location along the fence, selecting the largest of the offshoot systems and composting the rest. I attached the trellises along the fence area between the two pear trees and transplanted those root systems. These trellises and the trellis attached to the clothesline we found in other areas of the yard, so those were existing. We always try to reuse or re-purpose existing items for projects before buying anything new.

As you can see below the newer plants are still fairly small, but should get bigger and bigger every year, each eventually getting as big as the mother system above. Like our other fruits and berries, I'd like to have enough blackberries to eat some from the bush, use some fresh picked for baking, some to freeze, and some to can as a compote, probably making a plum/blackberry mix to make them go further. We're really looking forward to being able to add stuff we grew ourselves to our meals year-round!

And here's another view of the same area, before and after:

May 2013

June 2014