Kitchen Remodeling 2007

Drawer Issue & New Project

2008-08-25T14:29:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, Thursday will not work. Greg can stop by this Friday; I think you will have someone there that day? He said it will take about 1 ½ hrs max to do the work….Let me know what time Leone normally arrives. Greg will be there early. If Leone does not arrive until later morning, if you or Laurie could be there to let him in, that would be appreciated.

Also, Greg relayed info from Laurie concerning the family room. She said you would like to get going on a redesign for this area? I would be available for a late afternoon appointment this Wednesday and then not available until the following Wednesday, September 3rd or Thursday, September 4th.

Let me know what date works for you….

Jill

Sink Issue Resolved

2008-08-25T14:02:00.003-05:00

The people at Artisan are very responsive. I'd recommend them to anyone in a heartbeat!

Matt:

Greg was out this morning and swapped out the strainer assemblies.

He feels the best solution on the glide issue it to swap out the manufacturer supplied glides to an undermount glide, on both roll trays. The undermount will support the weight better and have less play from side to side.

Let me know a few days upcoming that will work for you to have Greg stop by and handle.

Jill

From: Matthew Piette [mailto:mjpiette@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 7:05 PM
To: Jill Doss
Subject: Re: Sink issue

Jill--

When Greg's here can he look at the top shelf below the cooktop. Recall that he was here once to adjust it. I don't think it's robust enough to hold our cookware. It has been sticking for a while and has collapsed a couple of times. I can't use it anymore.

If he could come sooner, I'd appreciate it. Laurie and I can stick around until 8 or so to let him in and show him the issue.

Thanks,

--Matt

That was quick!

2008-08-15T15:48:00.001-05:00

Matt—

Replacement parts are here! Is Wednesday a good day to take care of the swap? (Is that the day your sister-in-law is over?) Let me know….

Jill

P.S. Soft opening party rescheduled to November, look for an invitation in the fall….

Jill--

That was quick. I'm still waiting for the replacement door handle for the 'fridge that was ordered in March.

Leone was just here and will be back 8/29. Can we tentatively plan that?

Glad to hear about the rescheduling. 9/17 didn't work for us..

--Matt

Jill's Response to Sink Issue

2008-08-05T13:03:00.000-05:00

Matt:

Yes, unfortunately, we have not had a good experience with the brand of strainer basket assemblies we used for your sink. We have since switched to another brand I have used previously, with good results. I will have Sandy order the needed parts and, when they arrive, and have Greg or Pat return to take care of the “swap” out.

On a more positive note, we will be having a “by invitation only” Grand, soft, opening on September 17th, a Wednesday, in the evening. You will be receiving an invitation in the mail. There will be cooking demonstrations by a chef employed by Wolf/Subzero along with serving wine. I believe there are also plans for musical accompaniment. Mark your calendar. I hope you and Lori will be able to make it.

I will let you know when the parts arrive. It should be about two weeks.

Regards,

Jill

Sink issue

2008-08-04T13:46:00.002-05:00

Jill--

We get rave reviews from everyone we show the kitchen to and are still having a great time in it.

The metal drains in the main sink are losing their black coating, exposing the bare brass beneath. I understand that those coatings wear with time, but since it's been less than a year, I figure that they coating may have been poorly applied.

See photos of what I'm talking about here.

Thanks for your attention.

--Matt

Electrical Issue II

2008-04-03T11:15:00.002-05:00

Mike from Eric Electric came over yesterday to check out our bulb-failure issue.

He checked all the switches and outlets to see if any of the wires were loose. None were. He checked the voltage and it was a steady 121V. We have good electricity in Milwaukee.

A remaining variable was the bulbs. He replaced all of the standard incandescent floods with halogens. It's a more robust bulb with a longer design (2,500hrs vs 2,000)life. A bad batch of bulbs could have happened, but it is not a satisfying solution to the problem.

Mike was very helpful and resolved a couple other issues I had. We will see what happens.

Hopefully this is the end of it.

Electrical Issue?

2008-04-01T13:13:00.000-05:00

I may have an electrical issue...

Matt—I have forwarded your e-mail to our electrician on the project, along with your phone numbers to get in touch with you…Let me know if you do not hear from him in the next few days. I will also follow up with him….Jill

From: Matthew Piette [mailto:mjpiette@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 9:27 AM
To: Jill Doss
Subject: electrical issue?

Jill--

I have replaced 8 bulbs in the kitchen, one of the small ones above the prep sink, one on the hood, and 5 of the larger ones, one of those twice.

This doesn't seem right to me. I know that an underlying wiring issue could cause bulbs to fail prematurely.

What do you think?

--Matt

Photos For Artisan's Portfolio

2008-03-06T15:47:00.008-06:00

Jill and Sandy were over last week to take photos of our kitchen and their work for them to use in their portfolio.

View them all here.

This one of the cook top, backsplash, and hood turned out quite nice, I think.

I also like this view of the southwest corner showing the two new arched doorways.

This view is looking north into the dining room through the grand, new opening.

Swanstone Sink

2008-02-14T08:57:00.002-06:00

This is the main sink we have.

My brother recommended a rack to go in it. I'll try to find one that fits, although the LHS bowl is only 7" deep and quite convenient for the soapy water side.

C'est tout! C'est bon!

2008-01-23T15:06:00.001-06:00

Well, it's all done now.

We started contacting contractors at the beginning of April 2007 and construction began at the end of August. We ended up about a bit more than 20% over what we had originally estimated, although half of that was two items, the back-splash and the new back door.

We'll do a YouTube tour sometime soon.

More on the Backsplash

2008-01-14T14:19:00.000-06:00

The backsplash will be complete this Friday. The amber glass looks great! It really brings outthe copper in the granite. I'll post pictures soon.

A couple notes from Jill:

Matt-

Grouting was done on the initial tile work today. John wanted to have me let you know to please not touch any of the grouting or calking as it is still setting up (drying or curing—I am not sure). He will return tomorrow to finish the tiling and Friday to do the grouting. It looks just fabulous……Jill

Go Packers J!!

Matt—

I have left a message for John in regards to continuing the tile up the wall behind the hood—I think it will look great and balance off the height and the dark color from the window trim quite nicely.

John will be grouting on Monday and perhaps install the tile that day, too (don’t quote me). I am leaving now for the MBA show but John has my number if he has any questions on the project.

Have a good weekend

Regards,

Jill

Backsplash to be installed tomorrow

2008-01-07T15:28:00.000-06:00

A few correspondences about the backsplash:

Matt—

John is arriving tomorrow, the 8th to apply the tile and is returning on Thursday, the 10th, to do the grouting.

John is aware of the issue with the fireplace; he said he spoke to you about it before you went on your last trip (??). The tile on the fireplace is fairly old and may be a challenge to find a tile that coordinates. We will see what can be done. I will let you know what the best solution may be.

I will plan on stopping by the house tomorrow (I’m nosy about the look of the tile). I will pick up the nail gun then.

Thanks for letting me know.

If you plan on any more home projects for the upcoming year and plan on attending the MBA (Metropolitan Builders Association) show downtown, please stop by our booth. I will be there Friday night, noon-9:00 on Saturday, and 10:00-5:00 on Sunday.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Regards,

Jill

From: Matthew Piette [mailto:mjpiette@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, January 07, 2008 1:43 PM
To: Jill Doss
Subject: Re: Tiling and molding

Jill--

Are we still on track for this Wednesday for the tile? While John is there can you have him take a look at the tile on the right hand side in front of the fireplace in the living room? There are some loose tiles there. Depending on what he thinks, we may want to have that repaired, time permitting.

I see Greg put the molding up on the other cabinet - looks great. he left his nail gun at the house. It's on the dining room table. I can drop it off at the office if you'd like.

--Matt

From: Jill Doss
To: Matthew Piette
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2007 10:44:10 AM
Subject: RE: Tiling and molding

No, just appreciate the great workmanship. But, it will look 100% better once the grout it installed.
Have a good New Years holiday.

From: Matthew Piette [mailto:mjpiette@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2007 10:29 AM
To: Jill Doss
Cc: Laurie Piette
Subject: Re: Tiling and molding

Great! Thanks much.

There's nothing special we will need to do on the 9th, is there?
--Matt

From: Jill Doss
To: Matthew Piette
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2007 10:10:18 AM
Subject: RE: Tiling and molding

Hey Matt—

Tiling has been moved up to the 8th and return on the 10th for grouting. The 14th and `15th were the first two consecutive days that John had available. If you don’t mind the split days, he can be there on the 8th to start.
I have made the date changes.

Jill.

From: Matthew Piette [mailto:mjpiette@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2007 6:50 PM
To: Jill Doss
Subject: Re: Tiling and molding

No objections to the photographer.

14th & 15th? We hoping for the 2nd and 3rd, at least by Jan 12th. Can you move it up a week at least?

--Matt

From: Jill Doss
To: Matthew Piette
Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2007 5:19:25 PM
Subject: Tiling and molding

Matt

Your tile has arrived. I have scheduled the installation on January 14th and 15th. I believe the lock box is still on the door, so John can let himself in.
Greg will come next week and put the two pieces of trim on the sides of the cabinets.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Jill
P.S. I would like to arrange to have photos taken of the kitchen after the tile is installed, we have a photographer that we use for this purpose—would you have any objections?

Backsplash

2007-12-11T16:02:00.000-06:00

Matt:
Attached please find our proposal for tiling the backsplash in the kitchen using the glass and stainless steel mosaic tiles. The lead time for the tile is 3-5 days, as long as the manufacturer has product in stock. We would not have time available for the tile work until the 20th, or after, of December (as of today).

Let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Jill

December 10, 2007

Project Description and Specifications – Custom tile backsplash installation
___________________________________________________________________________

Client: Matthew and Laurie Piette

Address: 2608 LeFeber Avenue, Wauwatosa, WI 53213
.
Phone: 1-414-258-5561
____________________________________________________________________________

Labor Specifications:

Supply labor to install custom tile backsplash in pattern as specified in attached drawing including creation of insert positioned above cook top. Tile shall be installed to the ceiling above the range hood. Application of grout. Pull outlets forward to be flush with new tile.

Material specifications:

Glass Mosaic Dark Brown Tier4 T200G ¾” x ¾” on 12” x 12” mesh
Graffiato brick pattern stainless steel mosaic MBM305 3/5” x 1 1/5” on 12” x 12” mesh
(Note: mesh to be cut in field to a strip of 2 rows of stainless steel mosaic to create insert)
Grout: Lacticrete #03 Silk

Total Cost: $2,211.37

Note: Any changes made to the above specifications after a contract is signed will be addressed with a change order and appropriate charges will be applied to the original contract amount. Items that are not included in this Specification list are not included in quote.

Payable as Follows:
50% due upon signing of contract
50% due upon completion of tile work
Upon signing, this Project Description and Specification List shall become a permanent part of the contract between Matthew and Constance Johnson and Artisan Kitchen and Bath Gallery.

Thank you for allowing Artisan Kitchen & Bath Gallery to provide a proposal for your remodeling project.
Customer Acknowledgment of Description and Specifications:

_______________________________________________________Date_____________
Owner:
______________________________________________________Date_____________
Designer:

Warranty: The contractor grantees the materials and workmanship they provide to be free from defects due to normal usage and conditions for twelve (12) months from the date of completion. Many of the individual materials used carry longer warranties though their respective manufacturers. Warranty information on these materials is available upon request.

Done. (almost)

2007-12-03T16:00:00.000-06:00

For all intents and purposes, the kitchen project is complete. We're still waiting for the replacement top for our triangular kitchen table, a little work on one of the cabinets and an outlet, and we need to get some more organizers.

We do need a backsplash behind the cook top. Jill has picked out a few samples and I think we're going to look at some others as well.

Any thoughts on these?

Getting to the end...

2007-11-14T12:23:00.000-06:00

A note from Jill on some final details:

Matt—

Greg had the exterior door installed when I stopped by. The storm door was going to be installed next. Pat will stop by tomorrow to do finish up painting.

Let me know your thoughts on finishing the basement ceiling that we needed to remove to reinforce the floor below the side door.

Greg will return next week to finish up the pantry shelf/pot rack and switch the outlet and switch placement by the prep sink. He could also work on the basement repair at the time, should you decide to have that area addressed. I have left my drawing of the pot rack at your house; I think you saw the sketch one of the last times I was there, and the hook I will have them use. Please take a look to make sure you approve. I think it will look very nice when it is done.

As I mentioned, Greg will be off on Thursday and Friday for surgery.

Floor people will arrive Saturday between 7:30 and 8:00am. Arrival on Sunday will be around 8:00am. Floor people strongly encourage you to be at home during the refinish/staining process to verify the color application.

Let me know if you have any questions.

The response to my request for a free freezer

2007-11-10T14:46:00.000-06:00

'm sorry A & E can't do time windows. I hope they were there and fixed it this time.

Carrie

-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Piette
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 7:21 PM
To: Carrie Kappel

Subject: Re: door

Well Carrie, of course this is screwed up again.

The people at A & E have scheduled tomorrow's repair for 1-5PM, instead of the 8-12 time we set up last week when they were here with the wrong part.

I must say that the response of Kennedy-Hahn has been abysmal. It seems that neither you nor the company have done nothing whatsoever to try to help solve this problem.

Perhaps the repair guy will be here early and I won't have to re-schedule, but I really doubt that will happen.

At this point I believe you should give us a free freezer. It seems like a discount of less than 5% of the entire spend we had with K-H is the very least that you and your company can do.

Two months to put a handle on a freezer door? And we're far from done yet? Unbelievable.

--Matt Piette

More on the Floor

2007-11-06T11:05:00.000-06:00

Hey Matt—

Darryl feels the solution to your floor situation is complete sand and refinishL. Darryl was extremely apologetic saying he thinks this will be the best solution.

They will do this on their own time using the same products and processes as the very first time.

They will like to handle this on Saturday, November 17th and Sunday, November 18th. I have tentatively booked this time for you. I am hoping the new doors will be installed earlier that week. Please get back to me to confirm that these dates will work for you.

Thank you for your patience.

Jill.

More on the floor

2007-11-02T11:24:00.000-05:00

I am confident the Jill & Ray will resolve the issue to our satisfaction.

Matt—

Ray and I have just returned from looking at the floor we have some definite concerns about the appearance of the floor. We will plan on meeting at your house at 5:00pm on Monday; the floor person will also be in attendance.

Have a good weekend

Jill

From: Matthew Piette [mailto:mjpiette@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 7:52 AM
To: Jill Doss
Subject: Fw: 4 times a charm?

Jill--

I met with the floor guy yesterday and he immediately said that the entire floor had to be redone and he redid it. It needs to be redone again.

The floor has gone from a show piece to something we need to cover up. It used to be indistinguishable from the original wood in the front; now a blind man could tell the difference.

At this point all options are back on the table, including going with a completely different floor, such as tile.

Laurie will be home this afternoon to meet the 'fridge repair guy. Can you and Ray stop by to look at the floor with her and discuss options? It's not just streaks and blotches anymore but globs of excess sealer.

--Matt

Floor Issues

2007-10-31T12:35:00.001-05:00

The plumber put a large scratch in the floor when he moved the freezer, necessitating the entire floor to be redone. The work is not acceptable. Here are the latest correspondences.

Matt--

I have left two messages advising them to hold off on the work scheduled for today. I feel we should schedule a time next week to have all necessary parties available to discuss the next step. I will see what I can arrange and let you know. I am sure that we can have this matter handled satisfactorily J…..I will be in touch.

Jill

Jill--

I don't think a spot repair will suffice. The more that I look at the floor, the less satisfied I am with their fix.

There are light areas by the 'fridge and ovens, by the entrance to the back hall, and near the dining room passage way. The dinnette area has some wide dark and light stripes running parallel to the grain.

The whole floor has a mottled look. I think that the entire floor needs to be redone.

The repair people are coming this Friday to replace the freezer door, so if they can't start today we should wait until next week.

Please call to discuss.

--Matt

----- Original Message ----
From: Jill Doss
To: Matthew Piette
Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 10:09:55 AM
Subject: FW: details

Matt:

The floor technician will return tomorrow to perform a touchup on the area of the floor by the sink. Yes, I could see the area was lighter, as could the floor rep that was at the house with me.

They will tape off the areas in question and heat up the area with a heat gun to lift the polyurethane. The areas will then be restained. Should all be done when you get home tomorrow evening.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Jill

From: Jill Doss
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2007 9:42 AM
To: 'Matthew Piette'
Subject: RE: details

No, I wasn’t able to get into the kitchen when I stopped by, as the floor was still wet. I have contacted the flooring company; I will be meeting with them at 9:00 am tomorrow morning to take a look. I have told them that no one was in the house since they were there on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. I will let you know what I hear.

I hope you had a pleasant trip.

Jill

From: Matthew Piette
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2007 8:55 AM
To: Jill Doss
Subject: Re: details

The tile does look great, but there's a big white spot in front of the main sink. Did you notice that? I think it needs another coat of stain.

----- Original Message ----
From: Jill Doss
To: Matthew Piette
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 3:25:43 PM
Subject: FW: details

Hey Matt:

Here are some updates:

I stopped at the house yesterday—the floor has been refinished and looks great. John completed the tiling and that looks wonderful, also.

The exterior storm door is due the 6th of November. The interior door is due the 16th of November. Both may arrive sooner. We will schedule the installation once both are here. Any final touch up painting can be finished at this time.

I will have my sketch of the pot rack/shelves scanned and e-mailed to you.

Cheerio for now, enjoy you weekend.

Jill

Tiles & Appliances

2007-10-19T11:21:00.000-05:00

The saga of the Freezer Handle continues. A third repair party, A & E, is now involved, the people who handle the warranty work for Dacor. They will not order the parts without seeing the problem and must have someone at the house. Of course they couldn’t make it when we had people working there, nor can they give a time more specific than four hours.

They’re scheduled to come out Tuesday morning, between 8:00AM – 12:00PM. Swell. We’re leaving for London Tuesday and will need to leave the house by 10:00am. I told Carrie K. that if they are not there by the time we leave, the deal is off. I will want the refrigerator removed for a full refund.

I am astounded at how bad the service has been through Kennedy Hahn. Everybody says the right things, but no one can get anything done.

The tile work began today. As he was putting the cement board down John the tile guy noticed that the landing right inside the side door flexed excessively. Upon further investigation they discovered that there were no cross joists under the floor. The tile would crack with that amount of give, and it wasn’t structurally sound.

Greg is there right now adding the joists and replacing the floor.

Funny thing. Now John will be back on Monday. I called A & E and told them about the new time that they could come. Yesterday that slot was available. Now it is not. I asked the person if there was a note on our service order that they had to be there by 10:00. She said that there was not, but would add it. Carrie told me that she had them put that note.

No Tile Today

2007-10-18T10:33:00.001-05:00

Matt

I received a call from our tile setter this morning; he is having some electrical problems at his house, due to last night’s storms. He has an electrician out at his house currently. Consequently, he will not be able to start the tile project today as we had planned. He will arrive tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. and feels he will be able to complete the entire job in one day if he works straight through until around 5:00 or 6:00.

Sorry for the delay. Let me know if you have any questions.

Jill

A Couple More Emails

2007-10-16T15:59:00.001-05:00

Matt--

I will be meeting Greg at your house tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M. and make a decision about the hallway paint for the trim and door.

Greg will bring along necessary shelf clips.

I will take a look at the area above the sink for the pot rack and let you know what I think.

Door will be another couple of weeks (ouch), probably not in before you jet off to London .

Greg will put a sweep on the bottom of the current door to control the critters and air flow.

I am excited to see the kitchen—I haven’t had the opportunity to visit for over a week. I have seen the pictures on the web site, but an in person visit is so much more enjoyable.

Let me know if you have any questions. I will be back with you tomorrow.

Jill.

From: Matthew Piette [mailto:mjpiette@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 10:15 AM
To: Jill Doss
Subject: Re: Punch list stuff

The paint is all in the workroom in the basement. Were we doing a different color than what we had?

The baseboard for the wall by the new radiator is in the pantry - Greg knows this already. If I remember, I'll put it on the counter. The shelf in the lower cupboard on the far right of the main sink still needs a support pin added.

I'm thinking a pot rack will fit. Take a look and let me know.

Any word on the door? I'm not in too much of a hurry there, but Laurie is worried about mice sneaking in through the gap at the bottom of the temp door.

There's an outside chance that the handle will be installed today.

--Matt

A Few Emails...

2007-10-16T10:20:00.000-05:00

HI Matt,

Paul is our third party installer who had installed all of our high end appliances.

I contacted him because American couldn't get there soon enough.

He has screws that he can attach the wall trim piece as well...

Please give him a call 262-555-6737 to get this all handled.

Thanks Carrie

-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Piette [mailto:mjpiette@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 8:05 AM
To: Carrie Kappel
Cc: Jill Doss
Subject: Re: Refrigerator

Carrie--

The oven exhaust vent did arrive yesterday. I spoke with Greg from Artisan K&B and he'll install it. However, it didn't come with the set screws necessary to attach it. I'm assuming that they are nothing special. Can youy get that hardware over to Jill so that they can do that when they're back at the house tomorrow, 10/17?

I spoke w/ American about 1:00PM yesterday. They said that I was scheduled to have the freezer handle installed next week Tuesday. That's not a good day for us and they were able to reschedule for this Friday. "Dan" is who is supposed to be out to do it.

When I got home yesterday I had a message from "Paul" who said he's supposed to be out today. I called him back three times, but never spoke with him.

Any idea what's up?

--Matt

Matt:

I believe miracles can happenJ. So, I will think Friday will be good for the handle. Did you receive the trim piece for under the wall oven?

Greg and/or Pat will be at your home on Wednesday to handle painting matters. Please make sure you have the trim paint out (if you already have some), or provide new paint (if you have none). We want to handle painting before the tile work starts.

Tile has been confirmed for Thursday and Friday.

Ray is checking on the status of the door—I should know something tomorrow.

Floor refinish is scheduled for 24th and 25th of this month (when you are gone).

Have you thought any more about the pot racks? (I don’t think there is enough room to build the item we discussed, as the recessed light is centered above the sink. I will take a look when I am there on Thursday).

All for now—have a good evening.

Jill

More on the punch list

2007-10-10T15:34:00.000-05:00

Hi Matt—

I just spoke to the plumber, they fixed the leak downstairs. Plumber also said the faucet for the prep sink is “fine”. So, I am unsure as to the nature of the problem (having not been there). We will add that issue to Greg’s list of items to look at.

I just spoke to the electrician—work should be happening as we speak.

HVAC tomorrow or Friday (sorry I have not been able to get more specific information). I know with the recent turn of the weather this is an important item to complete asap. Where will they find the foyer radiator?

Door—the pantry door will be installed on Friday. Also on Friday we will be installing the new entry door FRAME and a temporary exterior door. The reason for this is because the actual decorative door is on backorder and will not arrive for approximately another four weeks. The new door needs to be installed before the tile can be put down. So this backorder would delay the installation of the hall way floor tile without this temporary installation measure. When the decorative exterior door arrives it will be a simple matter to swap out the doors. We will wait and install the storm door at that time also. Other items you have listed previously will also be addressed on Friday.

I have received word that the replacement tile is due to arrive next week Tuesday. I have left a message for my tile setter to find out when his soonest installation date will be. I will let you know as soon as he calls me back.

Floor repair work is scheduled for the 24th and 25th of October.

Unfortunately, I have not had any success in finding out anything about your freezer handle either. I know Carrie is on vacation this week. The service department has not been able to provide an answer. I will try reaching her on Saturday when I am in, maybe she will be back. If not, I think the best I can do is to wait until Monday.

I was just on your website—the pictures look great! I have already shown them to another client! They have been very helpful, thank you.

Hope your day is going well. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Jill

Punch List Response From Jill

2007-10-08T19:15:00.000-05:00

Hi Matt:

Update on punch list is as follows:

Plumber is scheduled for call back Tuesday after 2:30

Painting in pantry will be done when doors are installed.

Shelves will be touched up at the same time.

Roll tray under cook top can be adjusted the same time as the touch ups.

Microwave can be taken away at that time.

I will have Greg make sure that he brings along shelf clips.

The handrail leading to the basement is installed.

I am kicking around thoughts about the pot rack—I can fax a drawing over for you to take a look at.

I have sent a list to the electrician of items needing to be addressed. He will get back to me tomorrow with a date to finish up.

Appliances—I called the number you gave me when we spoke this morning. A gentleman answered and identified himself as being from American. I gave him the lock box number so he could get into the house to look at the freezer door handle. I do not know if anything could be done by him. The cook top burner has been repaired.

As you and I discussed this morning, the tile was not able to be installed as scheduled. Our supplier sent incorrect product! I am waiting to hear when the replacement tile will arrive so that portion of the job can be completed.

Ray and I are discussing the door schedule. Hopefully, we can work on this area late this week or early next week and then all of the carpentry related items can be addressed at that time.

So, as I sit here this afternoon I wonder where the day has gone. I look at the list of items above and realize I am waiting for responses from a lot of people. I will get back with definite answers tomorrow.

Regards,

Jill

P.S. Attached you will find a floor care sheet faxed over to me from the refinishing company. You may want to keep a copy in your files for your records.

Punch List Stuff

2007-10-08T08:49:00.000-05:00

Jill--

A few punch list things:

* The prep sink faucet needs to be secured - it rotates
* The baseboards and clothes chute in the pantry need to be painted. I'm assuming you will get to those when you do the door
* The shelves in the pantry need touch-up paint
* The top drawer under the cook top needs adjustment - it doesn't move smoothly
* Please dispose of the old microwave that's on the wood box in the living room
* The top shelf in the lower cupboard to the right of the cook top is missing a support pin
* We would like a hanging pot rack above the window. I'm thinking four hooks that I can hang pans from.
* I'll have a fixture for the front hall for the electrician

It's great. Greg and Pat do excellent work.

--Matt

Wrap up & Service Call

2007-10-05T14:36:00.000-05:00

Matt—

Plumber has finished with the cook top. He also found out that the main garbage disposal was not working because the reset switch needed to be “unset”—all is fine with that item now.

Shelf is installed above the refrigerator.

Appliance note: the front left burner on the cook top needs to be looked at (a service call!). Reason is that the flames on this burner come on extremely high and the flames are somewhat erratic. The igniter also does not shut off (it keeps clicking). All the other burners are fine. Please do not use this burner until it gets looked at. As you can see, I have Cc’d Carrie on this matter for resolution.

Let me know if you have any questions……

Jill

Notes from Jill & Becky

2007-10-05T13:40:00.000-05:00

Hi Matt,

I am sending you a credit for the trash pull out.
Jill shared your website with me and I thought it was great.
I really loved the dish washer picture.
Have a great weekend!

Becky

Matt:

I spoke to Carrie at Kennedy Hahn, she is arranging a service call in regards to the freezer door, and she will be in touch with you. The oven trim piece is enroute, Carrie is checking on they e.t.a. for the piece and will advise what she finds out.

The floor company will send a service person out on Monday to take a look at the mar marks left on the floor from when the plumber rolled the refrigeratorL. They will let us know what it will take to get the marks out of the floor.

The pull out trash (the smallest I could find), will not fit under either of the sink bases. We will issue a credit on your account for the amount of $39.59.

Tile work for the back hall will be done on Monday and Tuesday. Radiators scheduled to be installed Wednesday or Thursday, I am waiting for confirmation.

Plumber is installing cook top as we speak. Greg and Pat are handling cleanup and moving out of their equipment. Greg mentioned you had left a note in regards to some electrical issues. He will be in later today with your note. I will call the electrician and schedule a call back.

Doors have not yet arrived—when they do we will schedule installation ASAP.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Have a great weekend—you can start moving back into the kitchen!

Regards,

Jill

Freezer Door - still an issue

2007-10-04T15:42:00.000-05:00

So.
There have been four emails and ten phone calls over this situation.

The issue with the 'fridge is that there is no set screw on the RHS of the freezer door and Greg of Artisan was unable to get a different screw to tighten.

The problem with the service is that Kennedy - Hahn was just (last week) purchased by American TV, a.k.a. "Crazy TV Lenny" for those of you with a Madison connection.

My info is lost, appointments haven't been recorded, jurisdictional issues between K-H and American are occurring, blah, blah, blah.

As I type, someone from K-H is trying to get my service call to "stick," I'm not sure where, but I am hoping for next Monday.

She's supposed to call back.

Freezer Handle

2007-10-03T13:28:00.000-05:00

Here is my exchange of emails regarding the handle on our freezer. This really grinds my beans.
Carrie called me about an hour after I sent this and said that she can have them there on Friday. That does me no good: no one will be there.

Carrie:

They did contact me. I did not want to sit on hold for 15 minutes, while at work, for a problem with service with your company.

However, I did call back, did sit on hold for fifteen minutes, only to find out that they had no idea of what it was they were coming to fix. I, of course, don't have the model number of the refrigerator on hand and they did not know that Amana makes refrigerators for Dacor.

They can't get people to fix it tomorrow, so I will cancel my Saturday plans to meet them there. They don't know what time, but "Ryan" will call me between 7 - 9AM. He will be coming to put a handle on some Amana refrigerator.

I expected better for $12,000+ worth of appliances.

And I expect that the missing oven piece will be installed no later than Tuesday of next week, which fits within your generous 10 day window from when the problem was discovered.

Regards,

Matt Piette

Carrie Kappel wrote:

Someone will be contacting you.

From: Matthew Piette [mailto:mjpiette@yahoo.com]
To: Carrie Kappel
Subject: RE: Refrigerator

Thanks.

I got a call from "Angela" wanting to schedule a time. I called her back, but the wait-time was very long.

Can you let her know anytime tomorrow,10/4, between 9 - 4?

Carrie Kappel wrote:

Hi Matt,
I will put a call into service for them to come out and attach the handle.

Thanks Carrrie

-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Piette [mailto:mjpiette@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 8:19 AM
To: Carrie Kappel; Jill Doss
Subject: Refrigerator

Jill/Carrie

I assume that you know that the freezer door handle is not attached.

Is this something that will be easily fixed when it is moved tomorrow?

Jill, what's the schedule for today?

Regards,

Matt

Cooking by Tomorrow?

2007-10-03T12:01:00.000-05:00

A note from Jill. She's refering to my email about the freezer handle that needs to be reattached. Good thing I let her know.

Matt—nothing is scheduled for today—we want to make sure the floor is really dry before continuing heavy work.

I have left Carrie a voice mail in regards to your question about the freezer door handle—I was not aware that it was removed during delivery. I will let you know what she says. (I have just spoken with Carrie. She has referred this matter to the service area of her company. Kennedy Hahn was just bought out by American TV and Appliance. A service representative from that company will call you to schedule a time to come by and take care of this matter)

Plumbers are scheduled for arrival tomorrow between 8:30 and 9:30; we will assist in moving the refrigerator into position for the installation of the water line.

Other work tomorrow by our people will include toekick and shoe molding installation, door hardware installation, and work on window trim and staining. We will also want to do the touch up painting of the dining room and hallway walls—do you have the paint we will need for this area? (Please leave the label from the Hallman Lindsey paint can so we can go and get the paint if needed) The area outside the house where the exhaust vent came through needs to be touched up—do you have paint for this area that we can use? (Left over from previous trim or house painting?). We repaired this area with Cedar siding which does not, technically, need to be painted. Painting would only be needed if you wanted this area to match. Ray will address the issue relating to the granite backsplash. Greg will install the blower motor in the hood and installation of the pull out trash container.

Electrical inspection is being set up for tomorrow. Plumbing inspection cannot be requested until plumbing hook up is complete. I will see if we can call late Thursday and request a Friday installation.

John will be in on Monday and Tuesday of next week to take care of the back hallway tile.

Radiators will be reinstalled next week Wednesday or Thursday.

The pantry door and exterior doors will be scheduled for installation when both arrive.

I think that is all for now. You should be able to create a home cooked meal by tomorrow night.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Jill

Parts, Floors, & Radiators

2007-10-02T07:56:00.000-05:00

Hey Matt:

I spoke to Carrie @ Kennedy Hahn today. She e-mailed, and spoke to, the Dacor rep last week Friday concerning the needed trim piece for the wall oven. The piece should be here in 7-10 days.

We are going to wait and have the radiators installed the end of next week—give the finish on the floor a chance to cure before setting the heavy radiator down on top of it. We will roll the refrigerator into place on top of padding and plywood to prevent marring the floor in the kitchen the day of the plumbing installation, on Thursday.

I was reviewing your contract. The countertops have been installed and so a payment of $4767.92 is due. Also, with the completion of finish plumbing and finish electrical on Thursday, the final installment of $2000.00 will be due for that portion of the work.

Let me know if you have any questions. I will be in and out all this week—give me a call before you stop by with the payments. If I will not be here I will let Becky know you are stopping so she can have the paperwork ready.

Jill

Countertops Are In

2007-09-28T15:07:00.000-05:00

A few emails between Jill & me. Artisan K & B is at the NARI home show at State Fair Park this weekend, so we lost a day because they were setting up their booth.

Our refrigerator is in front of the TV, which will be an issue at about noon on Sunday. They're moving it. They will also move our working 'fridge into the dining room so the floor guys will have no issues.

I am anxious to see the sinks and counter tops as Jill mentions below.

Matt--

No, the fridge and dishwasher will be put in place, and hooked up, after the floor is finished. Unfortunately, these appliances will be living in other rooms until next week Thursday, when the finish plumbing is scheduled.

I just stopped by the house, they granite is in and looks great. The black sink looks awesome. Staining is being done on window trim. Greg has the dividers done for above the wall oven. We also have a helper along today who is handling general cleanup duties. They are starting with the decorative hardware installation. Greg’s plan is to have the hood in today, also. The toekick trim work will be done after the floors are finished.

Greg wants to know if you would like him to cut a shelf for the cabinet above the refrigerator. He has shelving material left from making the dividers above the oven.

I will be leaving today at 2:30 today to work at our booth at the NARI show at State Fair Park . Please get back to me about the shelving question today if you can. Thanks.

Jill

From: Matthew Piette
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 7:56 AM
To: Jill Doss
Subject: RE: FW: questions about pantry

Will the fridge and dw be installed today?

Jill Doss wrote:

The wall oven was unpacked, in the delivery truck, before the driver and his helper brought the item into the house. My guess is it may have been left behind in the truck lost among the packaging. Carrie did not indicate the amount of time to get the piece. They want to check the delivery truck before ordering anything. If it does need to be ordered my guess is probably a 10 days to 2 weeks.

The pieces installed look fabulous.

The dishwasher was moved to the dining room. The refrigerator is still living in the family room (blocking the TV—sorry, no placed else to put it)

Jill

Scheduling to the end!

2007-09-27T13:14:00.000-05:00

Matt:

Door bell was installed this morning.

Electricians should be finishing up today (appliance installation).

Granite scheduled for tomorrow.

Floors scheduled for next week Monday and Tuesday. The floor finishers will arrive on Monday between 7:00 am and 7:45 am. I will be there around 8:00am. The first thing that needs to be done is to get an approval on the stain color. I have advised that I would like to have a color that most closely approximates the existing stain color. Please note that exact color match cannot be guaranteed. Because of the nature of wood, the age of your current floors, exposure to sunlight, etc., there may be some color difference. Stain goes down on Monday. If you need to walk across the floors, please use rags or old towels to “glide” across the floors. The reason for this is that the oil based stain that will be used may still be drying; you do not want to transfer the stain to the bottom of your socks or your feet. They will provide some rags for your use. Three coats of polyurethane will be applied on Tuesday. This should be dry by the time you get home that day. Please walk across the floor with socks only while the polyurethane cures completely (for the next couple of days).

Plumber is scheduled for next week Thursday to do finish work (sinks, faucets, garbage disposals, dishwasher, cook top gas line, and refrigerator water line).

The following Monday and Tuesday we will be tiling the back hallway.

Our guys will be around as needed to do any finish up work.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Jill

A Note On Appliances

2007-09-25T13:13:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, Kennedy Hahn did not deliver the appliances yesterday (unclear why). I have spoken with the sales assistant at Kennedy Hahn (Carrie is off until Thursday). The appliances are now scheduled for delivery Wednesday morning. I will be meeting with the electrician Wednesday morning to go over the finish work. Greg let me know that your new hallway fixture is in the family room—can you please put it in the dinette so the electrician can easily locate it? I understand that you also would like to have the outlets and switches in the back hall replaced? Please confirm….thanks!

Greg also let me know the hood installation is a three man job. Greg, Pat and the electrician will be maneuvering the hood into position tomorrow.

All for now, hope your day is going well…….Jill

Floors & Shelves from Jill

2007-09-24T13:37:00.000-05:00

Matt:

I have reviewed the question you had about refinishing the floor in the pantry. The sole work we had planned for the pantry was the removal and installation of the shelving. We had not originally planned on removing the flooring. Flooring removal for the back hall area was limited to removing the flooring for anticipation of the tile work. Unfortunately, we are not able to absorb the cost of the additional work for refinishing the pantry.

The additional cost for refinishing the pantry and front foyer is $376.00.

Also, the refinishers would like to know if you would want to have them use a new, “dust-free”, option they are now offering. This is something that needs to be planned for in advance as it uses a different work crew and truck. The additional cost for this service, for the kitchen, pantry, and front foyer is $193.00.

As an additional piece of information, if you are interested in the price of refinishing the dining room and living room, while they are there (yes, I know you said you would pass as this time) the price would be $1582.00. Add an extra $340.00 for the “dust-free” option.

Greg has a question about the pantry shelving. I had originally suggested wrapping the shelves around all three walls. He was wondering if you would like to forego the shelves to the right as you enter the pantry. The reason is that you may want this wall left free for hooks for brooms, mops, etc. I suggested you may want to hang these items on the back door of the pantry. Please let me know…..

The dividers we are installing above the oven will have the vertical dividers on the left and the horizontal on the right….Please get back to me if the arrangement is not correct.

Jill

End of Week Four

2007-09-22T10:21:00.000-05:00

Has it been four weeks already? This is going fast.

They made a lot of visible progress this week. They installed the floor and cabinets. The cabinet above the ovens will be divided in half with one side further divided for storage of cookie sheets and cutting boards. The trim around the drawers under the cook top still needs to be installed. We’re not having doors there and right now it looks like a cabinet that is missing its doors.

Yesterday they cut the templates for the counter tops and those will be installed next week Friday. The ledge between the kitchen and dining room will be 11½” wide: 2 inches overhang on the kitchen side, 4½” for the wall, and 5” overhang on the dining room side. That’s not all that wide but it’s wide enough to put snacks etc there.

I picked up a plain light fixture from Home Despot for the hall. I also need to get a door bell. A door bell? What’s up with that? Who buys door bells? I looked at them and have no idea what to choose.

The remainder of the appliances will be delivered on Monday. Jill didn’t say if they’ll be installed next week but I am assuming that they will be.

Everything is still moving along swimmingly. We should be knocking out punch list stuff by the week after next.

All this eating out has not been good for me. I've gained 5 lbs since this project began.

More Details from Jill

2007-09-21T15:09:00.000-05:00

Matt—

Thank you for the update.

I have mentioned to Ray that you do not want to consider refinished the floors in the living room and dining room at this time.

Checking on the floor refinishing for foyer and pantry.

Radiators—we do not have access to people who do sand blasting of old finishes on radiators. We will check with the HVAC people, maybe they will have some suggestions.

Schedule for the upcoming week:

Monday—miscellaneous carpentry work (molding, hardware, painting, etc.)

Tuesday—same as above

Wednesday—Electrical finish (including installation of appliances). Subject to confirmation with electrician. Please make sure new hallway light is on site by this time.

Thursday—No work today for our people, show move in for us at State Fair Park (setting up displays).

Friday—countertop installation. I will be out of the office on this day. I will be working at the NARI Fall Remodeling Show at State Fair Park.

Change order—Materials, as needed, are being ordered. Also, the exterior and storm door are non-standard sizes (surprise!). This accounts for price and also lead time—3 weeks to receive…we cannot schedule this portion until we have and ETA on the doors. I will advise.

All for now, have a great weekend!

Jill

A Note From Jill

2007-09-20T11:17:00.000-05:00

Hi Matt:

I took a look at the basement area in question. Yes, the electrical area needs to remain open per code. We were not planning on reinstallating the area where materials were removed for plumber access. We can cut, and install, OSB (oriented strand board) in the area above the washing machine and dryer if you would like.

I can have the electrician look over the light fixture in question when finish electrical is done.

The cabinet installation began today. My design had mentioned the creation of a divided cabinet above either the refrigerator or the wall oven to hold trays and platters. Would you like that item installed above the fridge or oven? My plan was to divide the chosen area in half vertically, than one of the two halves in half again (creating a space for cookie sheets, trays, etc). The remaining half was to be divided in half horizontally (to hold bowls or small appliances). What do you think? Please let me know…..

Attached you will find our change order(s) for the additional work you have inquired about, and also those additional items you have requested be done. Those items that are done and completed have been noted. Please review and advise how you would like to move forward on the other items. Point #10 and #11 refer to the new side entry door you are interested in replacing. Please refer to www.simpsondoor.com to review the two doors mentioned. Give me or Ray a call with any questions you may have.

The kitchen is looking fabulous!

Regards,

Jill

Views & News

2007-09-18T07:34:00.000-05:00

I added chronological photos of the north, south, and east views from the other albums. I thought about this too late and therefore do not have the exact same shots throughout. Still, you can get a good perspective of the progress.

They completed the painting yesterday. The lighting in the pics makes it look more yellow than it really is. It turned out well.

They will start on the floor today, I think, and will also begin installing the cabinets this week. They’ll get the templates made for the countertops and then begin cutting the granite. The photo of the granite didn’t turn out too well

The hood will be delivered Wednesday and the remaining appliances will be delivered at the beginning of next week.

I’m not quite sure what they’re going to do with the hardwood floors in the pantry and the front hall. They need to be redone and it should happen now. The tile in the back hall will be one of the last things that they’ll do.

So far, so good.

Paint Choice

2007-09-15T12:23:00.000-05:00

We got our paint today. The walls will be Sherwin Williams 6379, "Jersey Cream" and the ceiling SW 7012, "Creamy".

Paint is expensive - $30/gallon and we needed three of each.

Week Three Is Over

2007-09-14T14:48:00.000-05:00

Week three is over and we’re still on track and happy with the progress.

This morning the dry wallers arrived before 7:00AM so I was able to talk with them (although their English was not too good). They are on their last day, fixing a few more spots, smoothing some patches, and then spraying everything. They were quite proud of their chamfering. It was the first time that they had done it. Fortunately they had all our other passageways to use as a guide.

We need to choose our colors this weekend. We’re having some difficulty with this. It’s completely beyond me, so Laurie will have to do the heavy lifting here. We want something that will complement the copper flecks that are throughout the granite. The ceiling and back entrance will probably be different colors than the kitchen and each other.

Our tile plans have changed. The maple in the pantry is nice so we’ll keep that and have it refinished. There is oak under the vinyl in the front hall and, from what we could see under the area they pulled up, it appears to be in pretty good shape. Unless areas further in are in very bad condition, a possibility, we’ll keep that as well.

We need to make an interesting choice about the trim around the two windows. We were originally going to go with a maple to match the cabinets. That seemed easy. However, we saved the wood trim around the door in the dining room and front hall. It’s in excellent condition and matches the trim around all the other windows. There’s just enough to do both of the kitchen windows. Do we have the windows match the new kitchen wood, or do we save part of the original house, and match the existing windows? I don’t know. Suggestions?

All appliances, except the hood, are here and will be delivered next week. The hood is supposed to arrive no later than the 20th. The cabinets are all in and will be delivered next week also. See the schedule in the following posting.

Paint , Schedule, & Appliances

2007-09-14T10:04:00.000-05:00

From Jill:

I have had an opportunity to review the paint colors, here is my suggestions:

Warm tones:
Glidden Cozy light 50yy 79/205
Coast light 50yy 83/171

Cool tones (from what I had to choose from):
Vermeer’s Pearl 49gg 83/012
White Lagoon 41bg 76/025

Laurie is not too keen on these colors & she's the decider.

Schedule for Friday—spray sand texture and primer

Monday—touch up plaster and texture in front hallway and dining room. (We may also possibly be able to paint kitchen and dinette ceiling on this day. Please have paint ready)

Tuesday—finish painting walls

Wednesday—Begin floor installation.

Thursday—Begin cabinet installation.

Friday—Cabinet installation.

Also on Monday we will deliver cabinets. Please plan on a payment of $9535.84 plus change order of $725.00 for a total of $10,260.84…..I will be here after 5:00 on Monday for a client meeting, you can plan on stopping by to take care of this.

Jill.

From Carrie:

Hi Matt

The Hood is shipping from Texas to mpls tomorrow. I am getting clarification on when it will be here.

I was told we could deliver the hood the 20th. Possibly earlier.

I will give Jill a call.

Thanks Carrie

Details

2007-09-12T13:44:00.000-05:00

The drywall is up, mud in the seams. The drywaller will be back today to spray on the final finish.

We met with Ray and Jill to discuss a few details:
• New pantry door will be painted
• New back door will be painted and have a light
• Put new drywall sanded spray coating throughout the back hall and down basement stairs
• Remove basement stair carpet and paint stairs
• Replace radiator in dinette
• Paint all of back hall
• A bunch of details about trim, bases, shoes, and knobs
• Replace wood around vent discharge
• Get quotation on tiling front entrance

We will probably do that last one. We need too and I was holding off because of “project creep,” but since we’re living in chaos now, we may as well get it over with. In for a penny, in for a pound.

We still need to choose the paint color. We will go with an off white for the ceiling and probably a pale burnt yellow in the kitchen. We’ll have to have the rest of the downstairs painted next year.

We’re still moving along well. Cabinets will be delivered next week. The hood should be in next Tuesday.

Ray just called me. He said that the floor underneath the linoleum in the pantry is maple and in good condition. They are checking to see how much there is maple. We may not need tile in back at all.

Another Email from Jill

2007-09-10T15:01:00.000-05:00

Matt,

I will check to see when we can arrange for delivery of the cabinets to the garage; do you prefer one side of the garage over another? Is there a key to get in? If so, can you place it in the lock box?

I will let the drywallers (who are working at your house today) know that you would like to have the corners of the new opening “chamfered” (I will go with it being a word).

Electrical—our work order with you specified your supplying the light fixture for the pantry—my understanding from your information is that the electrician is now supplying the light? Let me know if my understanding is correct.

Plumbing—the ball valve installed on the prep sink line was put there for the convenience of the plumbers while they were doing their work. All new shut off valves will be installed upstairs, below the sinks and next to the dishwasher when the finish plumbing is done. The refrigerator water line will be run and installed during finish plumbing. The finish flooring will be in place as well as the refrigerator. The plumbers will only need to drill one hole leading to the basement. Also, if the water supply line is run now, it will get in the way during the floor installation.

The Wauwatosa building inspector was scheduled to be at your home today at 2:30 for another inspection. We let the drywall crew know not to touch the exterior wall until the inspector gave his blessing…….

Jill

4 Emails from Jill

2007-09-10T14:04:00.000-05:00

Matt
We received an “ok” from the building inspector for the work to date. He wants to come back and approve the insulation installation that we did (the insulation was not in place when he was first out at your home). We are trying to get in touch with him to schedule the inspection. He is in his office from 8:00-9:00 am and 1:00-1:30 am to take calls to schedule inspections. We are going to try and get in touch with him today during his office hours.

Jill

Matt—you also requested that the new arched doorways be “chamfered” like the other doorways—the additional cost for that work will be $725.00. Please let me know if you wish to proceed with this additional work.

Jill

I will check with Ray today (he is not in right now). We should be ok.

I will also see if we can get some firm numbers together for the additional work you requested last week (pantry door, electrical work to install new hallway fixture, additional painting for the back hallway, tiling the pantry, and new back interior and exterior doors).

Have you selected a fixture for the pantry and will you be supplying the fixture for the back hallway?

Jill

The cabinets arrived last week Wednesday. There is not much room to store the cabinets—is there space in the garage? Otherwise, we will hold off delivering the cabinets until the drywall is installed and the room is ready.

The electrical inspector and the plumbing inspector approved the work that was done in your house. I will check with Ray as to the schedule for the rest of the work and see if we can get it finalized.

Jill

Granite and Inspectors

2007-09-06T11:02:00.000-05:00

We’re nearing the end of week two and the project is about where expected.

Last week the water was roughed in. The plumbers need to redo the water lines to the main sink, though. They connected them to the old galvanized lines behind where a cabinet will be. That’s an obvious potential leak source (galvanic corrosion) so they will run new copper all the way to the new copper in the basement. They also haven’t run the water to the refrigerator, but both of those issues, as well as the city inspection, should be complete today.

The electrical is done, at least as much as can be at this stage. All the old wiring was ripped out, the boxes for the devices and the cans for the lights are in place and wired, and a new panel is installed in the basement. The electrical inspector should be there today as well.

You can see our clothes chute. That 45° bend has caused us a lot of grief. Once we had a pair of jeans stuck in there and it was hooked on something on the inside. I had to lower our Wolski’s bottle opener down on a string and Laurie tied it to the pants so that I could pull them up. Someone probably got fired over this when the house was built in 1929.

Once both inspections are done, Greg and Pat will start putting up the drywall. They cut in the arches around the openings and those look good. It will be interesting to see them when they are complete, but they appear to have matched the arc well.

Yesterday (9/6) we met with Jill to select our specific granite and very nearly succeeded. The granite we choose, Black Galaxy, is a very homogeneous black with copper flecks. Still, we wanted to see ours. When we got there she said that she didn’t have anyone to move it. That’ll be ok, but disappointing. I’ll probably go back.

A note from Jill

2007-08-31T15:31:00.000-05:00

Matt:

I stopped by this morning to speak with the electrician and get things in order with him—all seems to be going just fine. The electrician is scheduled to be back on Tuesday to finish all of the rough work. The old Romex will be removed, to the extent that it can, and be replaced with all new wiring. It will be much safer.

The cutout that Greg and Pat made in the wall going to the dining room looks great; it really opens up the space! Also, the complete removal of the support header leading to the dinette area also makes the space seem so much bigger. The header was replaced with the doubled up joists you see when you look up at the ceiling.

Looking at the plumbing and electrical contact I see that a 25% payment on the $8000.00 contracted amount is due on Tuesday (upon completion of rough pluming and rough electrical). Would you want to stop by and drop off a check? The amount due is $2000.00

Walls cannot be closed up until the electrical and plumbing inspections have taken place. The plumbing inspection is scheduled for Tuesday, September 4th. The plumbing inspection is tentatively set up for Wednesday

Our carpenters will be back on Wednesday to complete the doorway framing and complete any other items prior to the arrival of the drywallers

Ray will also meeting with the drywall company, at your house, on Wednesday. The next phase of the project is drywall installation, priming and painting. You should go out this weekend and look at paint colors for the kitchen and dinette area. We will need the paint after next week. Let me know if you would like assistance with your final paint color choice.

Have a great weekend!

Best Regards,
Jill Doss

Shaka, when the walls fell

2007-08-31T14:57:00.000-05:00

That's from one of my favorite TNG episodes.

The dining room wall came down Wednesday (pics here). I had been having some difficulty picturing how it would look. Intellectually, it made sense and I thought it would be good, but I couldn’t really “see” it in my mind’s eye. A left-brain limitation, I suppose. It look greats, however. It really opens up that half of the house.

Yesterday (8/30) the plumber did most of what he needed to do, viz., ran the water and drain lines to the prep sink area. He did not run water to the refrigerator location. I am assuming that he is planning on it, but I’ll remind Ray nevertheless.

Today I met with the electrician. We discussed switch and outlet (electricians refer to those as “devices”) locations, light placement, etc. He’s replacing our circa 1960 circuit breaker box and bringing all that up to code. He is also putting a cable connection in the dining room for a computer or TV hookup. All in all, the electrical is fairly straight forward.

Next week Wednesday we're meeting with Jill to choose our specific granite.

Everything should be back on for the weekend. I’ll be working Saturday (mostly for moral support. I'm coming in late - 8:00. My guys are coming in late as well - 6:00) and Laurie is going to St Francis Days.

Complications, but not too bad

2007-08-29T08:17:00.001-05:00

We had two complications (photos here) with the demolition yesterday.

The transitional opening between the kitchen and the eating area was always a concern. There was a soffit there that seemed larger than necessary. When it was opened up it was apparent that the lintel was structural. That certainly complicated things because that ceiling height was to be the same and there is going to be a cabinet there.

Ray believes that we can remove the lintel and support the upstairs by doubling up on the joists – basically adding 4 more twenty foot long 2”*10”s and adding altering and adding cross members as necessary. That sounded reasonable to me, but I’m a chemical engineer, not a structural.

That will also require replacing the ceiling in the dining area, which we hadn’t intended but should do anyway.

The floor had an interesting, undocumented feature. You can see the top of the block wall on the north side of the laundry room. That doesn’t appear to be an issue although we will most likely require a transition piece between the kitchen and dining room floors.

It was very hot and miserable yesterday. We will be delighted when the demolition phase is over.

A Note From Our Designer

2007-08-28T18:42:00.000-05:00

Matt:

The work in the pantry was limited to removing and replacing the shelving and running new electrical to install a light fixture (supplied by you). We had not planned on removing or replacing the flooring in this area. Should you wish to replace the floor, I would suggest that tile be used. It would be continuous in look with the back hall area. Please advise if you would like to proceed with this. I would need to explore costs.

We are bringing in approx. 6 slabs of Black Galaxy, for you and other customers. If you would like, you could come in and take a look at what we have and tag the pieces with your name. This is not a requirement and you know I will make sure I pick out the best materials for you.

Demolition continued today—there was (3) layers of wood floor underlayment below the carpet and padding and vinyl tile! Wow! (A lot more than is usually found).

There will be final demolition tomorrow and the door framing will start taking place. The plumbers are schedule for Thursday and Friday. The electricians are scheduled for Friday and the following Tuesday (no work on Monday). Once we are past the initial “grunt” work and the area has been cleared of debris, a firm schedule can be put into place for all of the work remaining.

The dumpster will be picked up on Wednesday—we will use trash containers to haul away debris after Wednesday. This should make it easier for you to park your cars!

Ray will be calling you yet this afternoon. He would like to meet with you tomorrow morning to discuss some construction related issues that need to be decided upon in order to continue moving forward. I will not be able to be there, as I have an appointment first thing in Menomonee Falls . Ray will fill me in.

After next week, walls will be getting closed up and the kitchen will start to take shape! I will be in touch with Carrie at Kennedy Hahn in regards to appliance delivery.

We continue to move forward in a positive way…..

Regards,

Jill

Week 1: Demolition

2007-08-28T08:14:00.000-05:00

Our project started on time and on schedule. When I got home Monday night the guys, Greg and Pat, were just cleaning up. In the driveway was a fifteen yard dumpster, filled to capacity with what used to be our kitchen.

They had almost everything completely out – walls and ceiling down to studs, electrical and plumbing off, soffits gone, appliances either moved (microwave and refrigerator) or tossed (everything else), carpet ripped out.

Today they will remove the floor and the ceiling in the eating area (our first bit of project creep), the insulation and some dead wiring. The electrician and plumber should start tomorrow.

Last night we made hamburgers, figuring that they’d be easy to prepare. I suppose they were easier than paella, but still too much work considering the status of the rest of the house. I believe we’ll stick with sandwiches, cereal and take out for a while.

Greg told us that they are figuring on five weeks for completion. That puts us at October 1st, 2007. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

Packing, 5Sing, Elvis, and Banks

2007-08-24T08:50:00.000-05:00

We’re starting on Monday. Hard to believe. It’s taken 5 months to get to this point.

Last night I moved a lot of furniture, packed up a bunch of things, took down most of the art, and rolled up the rugs. Laurie was out with friends seeing Elvis.
She’s taking today off to do a lot more packing. I suggested the heuristics she uses when packing are:
• If you don’t think we’ll need it in the next six weeks, we wont: pack it.
• If you don’t think we’ll need it at all, we won’t: toss it.
• If you don’t remember it: toss it.

I believe it was Brother Dan who suggested moving every five years just so that you can purge your stuff. We’ve been in the house 14 years now…ouch. My niece Madeline is supposed to stop by this weekend to pick up a computer. We’ll make her carry boxes.

I spoke with our back about shifting our home equity credit to a loan. Their interest rate is 7.55%. I also went through Lending Tree. Within 10 minutes of submitting my application I started getting phone calls: pretty efficient. The lowest rate I got from them was 7.29%. That’s not much and I’d rather stick with my bank. However, I’ll wait till the projects complete in the hopes that Bernanke caves on interest rates. I suspect that M&I will match the rate I got through Lending Tree.

Anyway, we’re preparing to eat off paper plates, cook with a microwave, grill out everything (wonder what will happen to bacon), and eat out a lot.
Demolition photos next week.

A Note From Our Designer

2007-08-21T12:37:00.001-05:00

This is from our designer regarding our schedule. Demolition begins in six days.

Matt:

Yes, we are scheduled to start next week Monday at 8:00am. I have arranged for the dumpster to be delivered on that day (I assumed you would not want it delivered on Friday, blocking access to the garage over the weekend). Waste Management is not giving me a delivery time, just in the morning. We will start demo, if the dumpster is not delivered until later in the morning we will put cabinets, etc outside. The dumpster is 8 feet wide (the same width as your driveway). I want one of my guys there to direct the delivery.

Ray and I have the schedule 99% complete—we were waiting on ETA of the cabinets and windows—we received that info this morning and will complete the scheduling today. I will have something for you tomorrow.

You and Lori (sic) should begin boxing up all excess kitchen products and have the kitchen cleared out for Monday. Keep out just those items you will need to have access to for the next month. Plan on paper plates, using the microwave and take out/eat out for the next several weeks. Determine where you would like the refrigerator and microwave moved to (the family room and dining room?). Also, the dining room table and chairs should be moved out of the dining room or moved to the side and covered with plastic drapes for protection. Please remove all art work from walls and pack away any breakable items (remodeling often creates vibrations; we would not want to be responsible for any valuable items falling and breaking). We will put up plastic drapes over the doorways to help contain the dust.

In the next week/10 days you will need to plan on visiting Wisconsin Stone Design (a granite wholesaler here in Milwaukee ) to select the (2) slabs of Black Galaxy to be used for your countertops. The material has very little color or pattern variation. Should you prefer, I can visit them myself and select your granite slabs for you? Please let me know your thoughts on this matter. If you would like to select you material, I will provide you with the address and phone number of the facility and you can make an appointment to visit them.

Please feel free to contact me should you have any additional questions. We look forward to a successful project!

Regards,

Jill Doss
Kitchen and Bath Designer
Artisan Kitchen and Bath Gallery/Granite Surfaces International

And a note on the appliances:

Jill said tentative delivery 9-10.

1/2 of the items are in now. Ventahood is on order.

We should be good.

Carrie

More on Hoods

2007-08-09T13:56:00.000-05:00

Who’d have thought that a hood would be the most complicated issue? I guess that makes sense: moving air is much more complicated than one would imagine.

Several people, my sis-in-law Doreen included, have recommended the 30” height above the cook top. We do make a lot of stock pot type things (stock, fried chicked) so that made a lot of sense.

I called Ventahood to ask if the hood spec’ed out by Kennedy-Hahn would work at that height. They asked about the cook top we’re getting and immediately said that that hood SLDH14136SS is the wrong hood. With the BTU output of our cook top, we’d need a 18” high hood, the SEPH18236SS, not the 14”.

I spoke with Carrie at K-H and she changed to the larger hood.

Links

2007-08-09T12:03:00.000-05:00

I’ve added links to our existing kitchen and drawings of our design. I have a layout drawing, but it’s a ‘.kit’ file that I can’t open. I will post that when I get it figured out. I will continue to post links to photos as the job progresses.

Jill was over last Friday with the guy who will be building the two new windows. She’s coming back tomorrow to put a lock box on our door, drop off a sample of our counter tops, and to match some colors.

They will be putting a dump box in our driveway. That will be interesting; I’m sure it will have to be a small one. It’s only 9’ from our hour to our neighbor’s house, a fact I need to deal with every winter when I need a place to put snow. Typical Wauwatosa.

The cabinets, still our critical path, should be done sometime the week of September 9^th. That give us two solid weeks of demolition and prep work.

Complication

2007-08-07T11:01:00.000-05:00

We’ve hit a small complication regarding our hood. For some reason I thought that we were going with the Dacor hood, but Carrie at Kennedy Hahn and Laurie tell me that it is actually a different Ventahood model. I must cracking up, but that’s not the complication.

Counter top height is 36” above the floor and that’s where the cook top will be. The hood sits 24” above that and is 14” high. A six inch duct is covered by a 10*10” square duct cover that is 22” long, making a full 96” or 8ft. Our ceilings are 101”, so we’re off by five inches.

We have three options: raise the hood, increase the length of the cover, or build something around the last 5” to meet with the stainless duct.

I don’t want to raise the hood because it would affect performance. I’m told that the lead time on the custom cover is 4-6 weeks. That’s ridiculous. I am waiting to hear more about the third option. That may the easiest but I am concerned that it will just look like the duct cover is too short.

Update

2007-08-03T07:46:00.000-05:00

All things considered, I wish that they'd start. But we have a lot of things to do in the next three weeks, so I guess it's good we have the time. We gutsily made plans for 8/24 (dinner at Whole Foods with Amy & Sara) and already have plans for 8/18 (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), so we need to get cracking.

This weekend we will begin packing up stuff we won't be using and hopefully 5S-ing a lot of it. We've been collecting boxes and our friend Pat W. has a bunch from his company for us.

Jill is stopping by today (Leone, Laurie's sister, will be there) with the guy who is making the windows to get some measurements.

The test on the sample of our old flooring came back negative for asbestos, so there will be no delay there.

We plan on getting new dishes and flatware. Hopefully we can get it on line, but Laurie may insist on going to look.

Appliances III

2007-07-30T12:55:00.000-05:00

We put the 25% down on our appliances Saturday. We went with all the selections mentioned in a previous post, with the exception of a Dacor hood instead of the Ventalux and a right hinged refrigerator instead of the French doors.

The rule I heard was that you should have 100 scfm airflow from a hood for every 10,000 BTUs that the cooktop has. The sales rep said that the Dacor hood with one blower has 300 scfm but that it's "equivalent to 450 in other hoods." That sounded like a sales pitch to me - 300 scfm is 300 scfm. We got the two blower hood.

The appliances are not on the critical path.

Sandbagged

2007-07-27T13:41:00.000-05:00

I received the quotations from the two contractors that I had bid on the electrical work. One was $5,400. and the other was $5,130. The allowance that Artisan gave me was $4,500.

I had suspected that they would sandbag on that amount and it seems like they did. I imagine that they did the same on the $3,500 plumbing allowance.

I guess I'll use their contractors.

Pow!

2007-07-27T07:52:00.000-05:00

We agreed on our project yesterday.

I had them pull out the electrical and plumbing until I decide if we want to go with my guys or theirs. I suspect that we’ll go with my electrical and their plumber.

We were there late last night and Jill was unable to process our home equity card, so I need to stop by today to put down the deposit (50%). At that time she’ll have the amended contract.

She expects that they will start on or about august 20^th and it will take six to eight weeks. Ray, the owner, thought it would take about five. I will press them for a Gantt chart. I am hoping for our first entertaining meal on October 7^th.

Tomorrow we need to go and put some geeters down on the appliances, so that they can "release the specs” to Artisan, as though we need to keep that info out of the hands of Al Qaeda. We’ll go with the Dacor cooktop, warming drawer, oven, and oven/micro. We need to press them on the refrigerator and the dishwasher, but that shouldn’t be an issue.

I have never done anything like this before and am unsure how to feel about it. I’m pretty excited to see the final result, but my Appleton upbringing comes back to haunt me…”Gosh! Why would you spend that kind of money? Don’t your cabinets work right now?”

I will begin a web album shortly.

Electrical Subcontractor

2007-07-24T07:35:00.001-05:00

This morning we met with an electrical contractor. I have used his company a lot professionally and, although they only do industrial and commercial work, they will do residential work for customers.

Tony checked out every thing, noted the areas of concern, and will be sending me a quotation in the next couple of days. He asked how I wanted it quoted, as a proposal from his company, or as a side-job by one of his guys. He said there would be about a 30% difference in cost. They are a union shop and side jobs are not allowed. However, a wink is as good as a nod to a blind man.

Our kitchen designer said that their electrician said that our current 100 amp service is adequate. Tony said it may or may not be. Upgrading to 200 A will be about $250. Now is the time.

Jim Krzewinski, the brother of my long time friend Joe, took over his dad's electrical business and will be coming out Friday to give me another quotation.

I called WE Energies to see what all would be involved to upgrade our service. The wait on their customer service line was 9 - 14 minutes. They have a very nice feature where you can enter a call back number and, when your turn gets close, they call you back. You don't lose your place in line. That was convenient.

I told the guy what I wanted to do and he asked my name, address, and phone. Then he said "Are you still employed with We Energies?" I told him that my spouse was.

I find it very interesting that their customer service people would have a cross referenced list of employees and customers. I hope that means we get extra special service.

Proposal Review II

2007-07-20T09:02:00.000-05:00

I met again with our designer, Jill, and Ray, the owner of Artisan K & B. Laurie was unable to attend because of a tragic incident.

They included the omissions from before, the painting, water to the refrigerator, and estimates on the floor underlayment and baseboard repair. They hadn’t thought about the radiators and that may be problematic.

We discussed changing to cast iron sinks instead of stainless and they had the fixture they are recommending. I’m not sold on it, but it’s growing on me. That’s a detail.

They broke out the electrical ($4,500) and plumbing ($3,500), and again tried to dissuade me from using someone other than their contractors. I’ve called a couple of electrical contractors I know for an estimate and will probably call a plumber as well. We haven’t decided if we want to manage that or not, but we’ll probably save $2-3K if we do.

They did not include the front or back halls and are putting together some numbers on that. Both should be about $1,000.

The estimate rose to $43.7K w/o appliances.

The latest issue of Consumer Reports features kitchen remodeling and appliance reviews. We’ll probably go with their dishwasher recommendation (a Kenmore) but they don’t review the Dacor stuff.

They are sending out a sample of our flooring to see if it contains asbestos. If it does, well need to handle that.

Now we need to decide to pull the trigger. That’s the hard part. For me, at least. Laurie is full speed ahead!

Proposal Review

2007-07-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

We met with our contractor yesterday. Our potential contractor, I should say.

We discussed sinks, stainless v enameled cast iron, single v double bowl, colors of granite, handles on cabinets, 1hp v 3/4hp etc, etc.

Then we went through their proposal. It was pretty comprehensive but had some things in it I didn’t like.

Although they were no longer going to move the south wall, they still were going to remove the clothes chute. We scratched that.
“Customer is responsible for priming and painting of repaired drywall.” What? We’re having all this work done but they’re not going to paint the walls? Jill said that some people like to do their own painting. We eaplained that we are not some of those people (have you met us?!?).
They are subcontracting the electrical and plumbing work. I asked to have those two items listed separately. We may want to choose our own contractors. They didn’t seem too keen on this, but is worth exploring.
They did not include water to the refrigerator
“Does not include any underlayment materials or labor to install…” I need an estimate of this cost.
110V plug for the microwave. This will probably have to be hard wired.
Nothing is proposed for either the front or back entrance.
Nothing is proposed for the radiators in the kitchen.

We’re not really that far apart, but these details need to be worked out. We’re meeting again this Thursday to discuss further.

More On Appliances

2007-07-10T07:47:00.001-05:00

Dacor has some promotions going on where they are offering specials on bundled products. One, a six piece package, has a refrigerator, dishwasher, cooktop, oven, microwave, and warming drawer. we will be getting all six of those pieces.

Unfortunately the cook top is one step down than the one we choose. It does not have as low simmer settings, which doesn't bother me, but it also tops out at 14kBTU/hr instead of 18kBTU/hr. I need to think about that.

Actually, I'm just guessing about those units. Burners are described as "14,000 BTU" or "18,000 BTU," but that has to be a rate and needs a time unit in the denominator. Hours seems the only reasonable choice. Perhaps other knowledgeable people can clarify.

The microwave is also a step down. It is just a microwave, no convection component.

The cost difference is $4,000 below what we picked, but only $540 below what they are originally.

We're still thinking.

Estimate

2007-07-06T13:31:00.000-05:00

Our contractor called with an estimate - $41K w/o the appliances. That is much more in line with what we were anticipating.

We're meeting her next week Thursday, 7/12, to start working out the details. I think we'll go with this design. Hopefully we can begin the project within a few weeks.

If all this clean living pays off, we'll be done by Labor Day.

No Estimate Yet

2007-07-03T16:16:00.000-05:00

I talked with our designer Jill today. She tells me that they have the electrical and plumbing quotations and will have our complete estimate on Thursday, 7/5.

She already had the list of appliances that we picked out (they're in cahoots! Cahoots!!) and I told her the options that we're tentatively choosing. It all depends on her estimate.

Appliances II

2007-06-28T16:18:00.000-05:00

Guyer's prices were identical to Kennedy Hahn. So is every place on the web. Those appliance people have their act together. We have a few options (warming drawer or no, French door or RHS swing refrigerator, etc.) but we like the stuff that we picked out.

If we buy online, we'll save the 5% sales tax...hmmm. Is it worth the hassle?

We will meet with our designer sometime next week for their estimate. If that's a go, we could be started in a few weeks. Their timeline was about five weeks.

After our bathroom delays, we can hold our breath that long.

Appliances

2007-06-25T18:28:00.000-05:00

We went to look at appliances this weekend. These are the ones we’re considering:

EF36BNDFSS Dacor French Door REFRIG BTM MT CAB 20 STAINLESS REFRIG 36" SS

PGM365-1S/NG Dacor COOKTOP GAS 36 STAINSTEEL COOKTOP SS

ECS130SCH Dacor BI OVEN SINGLE 30 SS/CHROME OVEN SGL 30 SS

DCM24S Dacor MICRO COUNTERTOP CONVECTION ST MICRO SS

EWO30SCH Dacor WARM DRW 30 SS/CHROME WARMING DRAWER SS

D3232XLSS Asko DW BUILT IN 24" SS Cup Handle

SEPH18236SS Ventahood Chimey Emerald HOOD 36 SS

We got a quotation from Kennedy-Hahn appliance in Wauwatosa. I'll get another from Guyer's.

Soffits

2007-06-25T08:13:00.000-05:00

Soffits

We have soffits in our kitchen. In fact, there are 12 separate vertical faces. Any time I see a soffit I always think that it is there for a reason, especially in someplace like a kitchen. Why lose the space if they aren’t hiding something? So, the soffits in our kitchen are cause for concern.

Last Friday Jill and Ray (the owner of Artisan Kitchen) stopped by to see what is behind them. The drilled 4” holes in them to see what they could see. Bupkis. No steam pipes, no plumbing, a little bit of electrical cable & doorbell wiring, but that’s it. That was encouraging.

We will be meeting with them again sometime next week to get their quotation. I hope that I’m not shocked again.

Actually, the events of the past week have made me want to loosen the purse strings. I’ll probably get over that, but that’s what I’m thinking now.

Artisan Kitchen & Bath

2007-06-21T12:51:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, June 19^th , we met with another designer, Jill, from Artisan Kitchen and bath. We first met with her at our house on June 7^th. She had two designs for us, one removing part of the dining room wall, and one not.

We’re leaning toward having that wall removed. The windows on the north wall of the dining room will really let a lot of light in.

Her design takes about one foot from the pantry, moving the south wall back that amount. The door from the back hall stays the same. The refrigerator is on the west end of the south wall and cabinets are on its right.

Directly across from the ‘fridge is the wall oven, or ovens – we haven’t decided yet. To its right will be a countertop and prep sink with drawers below: no cabinets since that wall will be gone.

The east wall will be similar to what we have. The main sink will stay where it is and we’ll put a 36” gas cook top where the oven is.

They’re over at the house as I write this looking at structural, electrical, and plumbing issues.

The next step will be to meet week after next to discuss costs. I like this outfit. They are considerably smaller than Wisconsin Kitchen Mart and I like that. It all depends on the money now.

Temporary Rookie

2007-05-31T20:27:00.000-05:00

We bought a temporary refrigerator at Lowe's tonight. Unfortunately the ones that we wanted are all 34" - 36" or more and the space that we have is only 32".

So we got a 18 cu ft Frigidaire for $450. We'll use it for the months that we need it and then move it into the basement for find a home for it. I have a scheme...

Fate Plays A Card

2007-05-31T15:50:00.001-05:00

We’ve decided that $80K is too much to spend on a kitchen. I called our designer and told her that and told her to eliminate the prep area on the south wall and add a prep sink on the east wall, on the opposite end from the oven.

When we got back from Boston I had a message from her. She said that that change, along with the change in the cabinets we requested, and eliminating the granite counter tops (which we did not request), dropped the cost to $55k. That’s still a lot.

Our refrigerator has been failing for a while. Now it can keep ice in the freezer, but cannot get the ‘fridge below 60F. I’m pretty sure that it is a Freon issue. We were hoping that it will last until we get one with this whole project, but now it looks like we’ll have to buy one now. We’re going to look at them tonight.

Today I called another design place, Artisan Kitchen & Bath, and we will be meeting with them next week Thursday for another design.

Design Meeting

2007-05-16T10:21:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was our kitchen design meeting with Janell at Wisconsin Kitchen Mart. Despite the rain, we both arrived exactly on time at 5:00PM. Janell was waiting for us. She explained that she first wanted to go over the design, then look at the specifics and consider options.

When you enter our house by the driveway door you are walking north. Immediately inside there is a small landing, about three feet, with a wall on the right and the stairs to the basement on the left. Up two stairs on the right, there is a small pantry with the clothes chute, and the door to the kitchen is straight ahead. The wall on the right has hooks for coats and a shelf for hats & gloves.

The door leading into the kitchen proper, which currently faces north, would be moved 90 degrees and open to the east, facing the direction of our TV room. Immediately to the right of that entrance we currently have a small dining table. That wall would have a small prep sink with cabinets and counter tops on either side. The prep sink would be a black enameled cast iron Kohler sink, with disposal, and the counter tops would be black granite. The TV room would not change except for a small wall on the right hand side of the cabinets to frame the space.

To the right of the new kitchen entrance, on the wall where or stove and sink are, would be a double Dacor over, the refrigerator with a right hand side hinge, and counter tops and cabinets extending to the dining room wall. The cabinet enclosing the oven would not reach to the ceiling so that we could store pots up there.

The wall separating the dining room and kitchen would be removed. Along that wall, where our current refrigerator is, would be the main sink, again black enamel, and counter tops. There would be another counter top behind, raised about four inches so that people could be on bar stools in the dining room and still converse with those in the kitchen.

Opposite that, where the Tupperware cupboard is, would be the cook top, again a Dacor, with cupboards on either side, drawers below and an open pot storage directly beneath the cook top.

The floors would be oak hardwood and would extend into the front hall. The cabinets would be either maple or birch with a light stain to contrast with the dark counter tops. There would be under cabinet lighting throughout and canned lighting on the ceiling.

We will probably need to upgrade our electrical to 150 amps. 200 would be more than we need, but the incremental cost would be small.

After the meeting we were both pretty overwhelmed. There were a lot of details and it was difficult to get our heads around the change in layout.

We’re mulling it over now and need to make the critical decision: do we really want to spend $80,000?

The Next Meeting

2007-05-09T14:08:00.000-05:00

I called Janell (our designer) yesterday to find out the status our drawings. She said that they will be complete by the end of this week. We scheduled an appointment for next Tuesday 5/15/07 at 5:00PM to review them and choose the specifics. She said to plan on three hours for that meeting. I hope that they’ll have snacks.

The Boys' Room

2007-05-02T16:10:00.000-05:00

We finally have the middle bedroom, aka The Boys' Room, ready for occupancy.

We 5S'd it, cleaned it top-to-bottom, and bought a bed. We even put one of our Persian carpets in there. Laurie did nearly all of the work. It still needs to be painted and have some other remedial work done on it, but this is the Year OF The kitchen and we're not going to do much more than we already have.

Still, it's ready for guests as on 10 May 2007.

The Bank

2007-04-26T08:07:00.000-05:00

I went to Marshall & Ilsley to talk to our banker. The interest rate on our remaining house loan is 5.5% and the rate on our home equity line is at Prime, 7.25% I think.

I told her what we’re doing and about how much we’ll be putting on our line. I will want to lock that new loan in at some interest rate – either combining it with our existing note or having a separate one.

If we combine the two, we lose the low rate on the existing but get a lower rate on the new quantity. Or, we keep what we have and take the higher rate on the new amount.

That’s not a decision. The math will work out the way it will work out. The color of the granite is a much tougher problem to solve.

Looking At Display Kitchens

2007-04-25T12:44:00.000-05:00

On 4/24/07 we went down to meet with our designer again and look at some display kitchens in order to come up with a close-to-complete design.

The Sub-Zero refrigerators, although fabulous looking and made right here in Wisconsin, seemed too big. We don’t need something like that for the two of us. However, the dishwashing drawers seemed too small and we opted for a full size DW. We’ll probably go with middle of the road quality for both of those; something like a GE or Jenn-Air. We do like the French doors on the ‘fridge.

I very much liked the five burner Dacor cook top. It’s arranged three in back, two in front with the five controls in the spot where a sixth burner would be. The Dacor is a professional grade, up there with Viking. They also make ovens and we’ll probably go with two of those.

The granite counter tops look great but we didn’t really see a color that we liked. We’ll have to go to the granite supply place and have a look around. Never thought I’d be doing something like that.

We are torn on the flooring between vinyl “tiles” and cork. They’re about the same cost, both look good and are easy on the feet. We’ll need to see some final designs in order to choose.

We’re leaning for fairly traditional birch cabinets. The counter tops will most likely be dark and will therefore go with a lighter stain. The hinges will be visible. We are pro-hinge.

Our choice or two sinks, one large single compartment one small, both enameled cast iron with a single handle faucet is still our preference.

The next step will be for our designer to make the design and get it to their art department to make up the final drawings. This should take about two weeks. Our timeline for completion is August.

Meeting With A Designer

2007-04-19T15:17:00.001-05:00

We met with a designer from Wisconsin Kitchen-Mart on Wednesday April 18^th. This is the largest project that we have ever had done by far and had as many questions as answers. We told her some general things about us and what we were looking for; a kitchen designed for people who like to cook, a general budget range, and some ideas so that she could get the general feel of our limits.

She then asked us a series of questions in order to put together the pieces of the design:

Countertops? They don’t recommend concrete as a work surface – granite is better.
Six burner cook top with some high BTU burners.
Double oven
Cabinets? We’re not sure. Frosted glass? Paint? We’ll need to look.
I want a rack to hang pots and pans.
Refrigerator? We don’t know. French doors maybe? No wood, however.
Dishwasher – would a dish drawer work for us?
Cooking hood – we want stainless
Floor – hardwood to match
Tile behind the counters
Sink? Prep sink and main, enameled cast iron.
Two garbage disposals
Single handle faucets with a hot water tap and a dish soap dispenser.
Perhaps an under-counter wine cooler

We want to use the back hall pantry as much as possible. We’ll loose the clothes shoot, but gain quite a bit of square footage.

She also asked about opening the north wall, where the existing refrigerator is, to the dining room and putting barstools on the dining room side. We would have never though of that and told her to put it in the design.

She took a whole mess of measurements and said that it would be about 10 days to put a design together. Saturday we need to go to their show room to make some choices.

Contacting Contractors

2007-04-05T16:16:00.000-05:00

We have been planning on remodling our kitchen for some time now. We just had our main bathroom done and it turned out great (I'll post pictures somewhere). Sure, there were some issues with our contractor and timing, but all in all it went well.

Our kitchen will be a much larger project. We need to re-do the entire room along with the back den and the back hallway and pantry.

I started contacting contractors this week. We plan to sit down with a couple of designers the week of April 16th, 2007.