Kitchen Re-Do: Who needs a laser when I have a yardstick?

My husband assigned me the task of measuring a piece of wall covering for inside a kitchen closet. He gave me the dimensions and provided the most up to date measuring devices we have here at Federal

I can get down on the floor but can i get up???

Hill Farm: a yardstick from a hardware store that went out of business in 1979, a retractable tape measure and a pencil.

The picture shows me hunkered down on the floor performing my assignment. I learned two things from this experience:

Number 1: at my age, getting down on the floor is easier than getting up. As I measured and drew the lines using my trusty yardstick, my knees locked. In order to get up, I had to roll to my side and pull myself up using a nearby chair as ballast.

Number 2: I need to get to the gym if my ass is REALLY as big as it appears in the photo.

The construction crew uses a more modern technique to measure and draw a level line. They use a

Using a laser to mark an even line.

laser beam. This technique offers the advantage of allowing you to stand upright.

It was not a laser but a tape measure in the skilled hands of our countertop expert John from Countertop Solutions who detected a design mis-calculation. A 3/4 inch difference between two surfaces made it impossible for the stone countertop to lay even. Thirty years ago a layer of plywood evened the two surfaces but for some engineering reason I truly do not understand (I was a liberal arts major), this same solution would not work given the new countertop material. As John intoned, “There is no give in stone.”

Ron, John and Austin from Clean Cut Construction whipped out their tape measures and old-fashioned levels to devise a solution. They decided to cut down the higher side of the surface, carefully working around electrical outlets, the central vac apparatus and a phone jack. Disaster averted.

Lesson learned from this episode? When it comes to kitchen remodeling, success can be measured in inches.

The new countertops successfully overcome design challenges.

Kitchen Re-Do: The new tile is on the floor and my husband is in the sink

The biggest upgrade in our kitchen re-do is replacing the floor.

Our current floor covering (the brick pattern) dates back to 1983 and the turquoise speckled covering was installed by Ron’s parents in the 1950’s. The subflooring goes back even further. Our house was built in the 1860’s by

Layers of flooring from years past

George Eichelberger who happened to be the foreman in the trial of John Brown.

The kitchen was built separately from the house as was the style in that era. Separation afforded the main house some protection in case of a kitchen fire. Ron’s family enclosed the gap between the kitchen and main house when Ron was a boy.

As you know by now, kitchen décor is not my thing so I relied on my friend/designer Leanne Cobb to pick the flooring that matched my two design criteria: warm color, easy to clean. I also did not want anything in the Country Kitchen motif. I did that for 30 years and I wanted something more modern.

The crew from C.T. Walls & Floors, led by Julio, spent hours and hours over three days to install the tile. The tile can be seen in the picture below.

Ron, intent on repainting the kitchen, did not let a crew of three working in the kitchen,

cutting, fitting tile and moving kitchen appliances to interfere with his task. He avoided the floor installation by standing in the cabinet base for the sink as he paints.

Ron continues painting, despite a crew of three laying tile around him

Our kitchen re-do is about halfway finished. My days of washing dishes in the tub are almost over.

Kitchen Re-Do: Ron ages 20 years in one day

Ron has been working side by side with the two wonderful young men from Clean Cut Construction to remove cabinetry, install wainscoting and repair the subflooring. After two straight 10 hour days,

Clean Cut team confers with the old guy

one of the young men asked Ron, “How old are you?” Ron responded, “How old do you think I am?”

Ron is 71 but he was so flattered by the question he figured they would say 57 or 58. After all, he was working just as hard and just as long as the two much younger fellows.

“Are you 78?” asked the 26 year old.

Ron was stunned. He went from feeling 58 to being judged as 78. Twenty years gone.

The good news is that young people must have a very positive impression of old folk and our energy levels. The bad news is they have a very encouraging impression of old folk and our energy levels. This does not bode well if we want young ‘uns to take care of us as we age. Instead of hearing “Let me help you” we might be hearing “Do it yourself.”

I hope cleaning the wooden cabinets we are keeping does not negatively affect Ron’s aging process. We ordered some highly recommended cabinet cleaner. It arrived with -–I kid you not—12 pages of Safety Data recommendations. Sections include first aid measures, fire-fighting measures, accidental release measures and exposure controls and personal protection. I guess putting ingredients like butanone, acetone, xylene and asphaltum in a cleaning solvent poses some risks.

Ron applied the Restor-A-Finish to cabinet doors-- outside as recommended (even though the temperature at the time was 35 degrees) and sporting plastic gloves to avoid the potential for mild skin irritation. I told Ron to be careful so Restor-A-Finish does not become Lose-A-Spouse.

My job while Ron cleaned cabinets was to do dishes. In the tub. I have not used paper plates because I want to save the environment from too much waste (this is rather ironic since Ron was outside slathering on a cleaning product laden with toxins). It is my commitment to the environment that prevented me from helping Ron clean cabinet doors. That’s my story and I am sticking with it.

Our 35 year old cabinets that we kept do look renewed and refreshed. Ron is still alive. And after hauling dirty dishes up a flight of stairs to the nearest water source I have compromised my environmental principles. We are now eating off paper plates.