Another kitchen bites the dust ...

[Swingman]

This was a small, in-house, job to refresh an older (1945/1990/remod) home, taken in on a trade for a new home, before putting it back on the market.

The kitchen was part of a 3 bath/kitchen remodel, and the idea was to be "inexpensive", but not cheap (To be honest, I was perfectly happy with the old kitchen, but the preponderance of estrogen involved weighed in said to "just shut up and do it!").

Including the appliances, I did more recycling of kitchen parts in this one job than I've ever done in any building project ... stuff that normally goes into the dumpster, went right back into the kitchen.

Because of being an older home, that was remodeled (badly) in 1990, there were a lot of "gotcha's" and necessary "making of lemonade",

(including the difference in floor height between the kitchen and living room that was previously hidden by a 16' long "L" shaped peninsula (not shown) which, and until we removed it, its sole purpose was apparently to hide that heretofore hidden "feature"

... you never know what your are going to uncover. NEVER :)

Anyway, somehow managed to tie the old and new in the kitchen together in a tolerable manner (Thanks to SketchUP) ... and let's hope a prospective buyer thinks so:

the bathrooms are stunning, except I don't get turned on by bathrooms ...)

[Pat Barber]

Nice refurb....

Gel stain on cabinets ???

[Leon]

Its about time we team up on a job again. ;~))

Lets build storage for sheds! ;~)

The link wanted me to sign in..

Like you I hate remodels, I have done 3~4 by my self including the counter tops and cabinet plumbing. You are dead on concerning never knowing what to expect.

[Leon]

Well like normal, mention that something does not work and it fixes it's self with my help....

Key words... Sign in. DOH

[Swingman]

>>>> Nice refurb....

Thanks ...

A brown mahogany, oil based stain, and toner in the lacquer topcoat "to even it out and match the colors in the granite, tile and hardwood floor" ... none of which I'm remotely responsible for. (I build'em, someone else colors'em ... my wife).

Strangely enough, you open up a lot of kitchen books and catalogs (even Ethan Allen furnishings) just in the past few months and this "splotchy maple look" is what's hot/selling.

Go figure ...

That said, the cell phone camera flash unnaturally enhances the look. In person it looks more like a nicely figured pecan or hickory ... I've gotten used to it.

[Swingman]

We could add a small kitchen in your new storage shed, to complement my loft bed, with the Ashley Judd pictures, you built for me, you reckon?

It was all Butch's fault! Language barriers made it worse ... two times!

:)

[Richard]

We just bought an older house and want to do some kitchen renovation.

One thing is to remove the dishwasher and install a cabinet there. I've found a source for a matching unfinished cabinet, and I'm wondering how to match the finish.

My best guess is sand them all back to bare wood and finish all together.

Is that about right?

[Swingman]

Pretty darned close, Richard. And, depending upon the wood, almost always the best guarantee of "matching" success for anyone but the most experienced of finishers.

IME, some wood finishes used on wood like oak are relatively easy to match for an experienced finisher; others like maple and cherry, as these maple cabinets were, usually requires a lot more experience and work to match old to new, mainly because of the effect of light in "aging" the wood/finish.

(can't tell you how glad I was to see that a bit of "blotchy" is "in" right now, because the budget I had to work within would not have allowed too much wiggle room in refinishing these solid maple cabinets)

[Robatoy]

have to use the old stuff. Well done! And, yes, I used to hate those kinds of remodels, because You do NOT know whay you will find. One job I took on, I found that the kitchen was site-built and the 'carpenter' had used 4 x 4 beams as kicks which he skilfully had nailed with 10" spikes to the joists below. (Ever see a bent Wonderbar?) What a nightmare. (Ended up cutting either side of the spikes with a SawAll=99 then with a metal blade flush with the floor. Day gone.

[Swingman]

Timber frame kitchen, eh? ... you must of lifted the foundation, to bend a Wonderbar!

[Richard]

Copy that, Swing.

Thanks - I guess... :)

[Swingman]

Dave Balderstone is one of the experts in matching finishes, maybe he will chime in, or you can ping him here.

[Dave Balderstone]

A lot of it is just eyeball... I've worked with color for several decades in publishing, so know how to judge what may be missing/needed... more red, less blue, needs yellow, etc.

One of my tools to get into the zone fairly quickly is General Finishes RTM formula system, and then testing on a sample of the same wood as the project. The RTM samples are oak and maple, but can certainly be used with other woods.

Richard, check with General Finishes for a dealer in your area and ask if they know someone using the system.

I've also done test strips with multiple coats of various shellacs, from ultra blond through dark garnet and orange until I find what I'm after.

But it's test, test, test unless you know what the existing finish is. As always, if you aren't testing on scraps, you're testing on your project...

[Leon]

There is always paint . ;~0

[Leon]

I was going to put a coffee maker out there,,,,or was that the garage??? LOL

[Puckdropper]

Leon wrote in news: [e-mail]:

If you paint in one location, put it in the other. *g*

Puckdropper

[Richard]

Thanks, Dave. I'll dig around. I'm sure it's around here somewhere (Dallas).

But the old cabinets will look pretty shabby compared to the new one so I've already resigned to sand/varnish.

I did all the mahogany is my boat last summer. It took a while but came out ok. I'm not a pro. But I do try to make it look good.

[Richard]

Copy that.

And if I screw up the varnish, there's always paint...