Our IKEA Kitchen: One wall opened, another covered

This week was a weird, middle-of-the-week Fourth of July holiday. It was rather strange going to work Monday and Tuesday, having Wednesday off, and then going back to work Thursday and Friday. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it, but I think I liked the Wednesday off thing.

Our power was restored on Monday night, thankfully. It was still crazy hot, from the mid-90s to up over 100 for a few days. I stapled plastic sheeting over the open attic to keep some of the 143 degree heat, up there and out of the kitchen. Yes, it really did get that hot up there. Wednesday, I hitched up the trailer, headed to Menard's, and finally got the drywall. Got that home, and Sarah helped me unload it into the garage. Pretty much too hot to want to do anything else.

About 700lbs of drywall. Go Saturn, go!

New Window

Thursday, I got the call from Rosati windows that our window was in! Picked it up on my lunch, and it looks good. I was hoping to look at our existing Rosati windows to figure out how to install this, but our other windows are double-hung, and this is a picture window, so they frame is constructed considerably different. I emailed our sales guy, and he suggested I call their install department for more information.

So Friday night, still hot, I decided to finally do the big scary part. The cutting of the 2 1/2 sq ft hole in our stucco wall. From the inside, I drilled holes at all 4 corners with a masonry bit, so I could see where I needed to cut. I then used a straight edge and pen to mark between the holes. Kind of like those Lowe's commercials where you draw something and it happens. Except there's a lot more work between drawing on the walls and having it actually happen.

Window goes here.

I put a masonry blade in my circular saw, set it for about 1/4" deep, and started cutting. Safety glasses and a dust mask were definitely required. It made a terrible, terrible mess. Outside, thankfully. And it was loud. Once I did the first pass on all four sides, I set it to cut a little deeper, and made another pass. Kept repeating until the sparks fly, literally, from the masonry blade cutting through the metal stucco lath. Eventually, I cut through the fiberboard sheathing, and I knew I was almost there. The circular saw doesn't cut all the way to the edges, so I needed to chisel a bit, and snip some of the lath as well. And finally, out came the 2 1/2 sq foot chunk of fiberboard and stucco. 1/2" thick fiberboard, 1/2" thick stucco. Weighs 16lb, but it sure feels heavier than that. That puts stucco and fiberboard at about 6.5 lbs per square foot, making stucco houses... really heavy.

I set the window in place, temporarily, to see what it would look like. Quite nice. We're happy with the non-opening picture window decision, rather than a sliding window, or hopper, or whatever else. The frame is only 1 1/2" thick, as opposed to the 3-4" for an opening window. I'll be installing the window and trim soon.

Trim will cover up my shoddy workmanship. :)

Drywall Starting!

Saturday, I got to work on what little bit of drywall I can do right now, because of inspections that are still needed. That would be the south wall, where the new cabinets and counter tops are going. I opened that wall up because of wiring that had to be moved and added.

Before.

I trimmed back the existing drywall to a uniform shape, and half the width of the stud, so I could have a place to fasten the new drywall. I also had a chance to use a tool that I bought back in the late 90s, my trusty Dremel tool. Didn't know when I bought it back then to trim the bodies of my RC cars, that I'd be using it to cut holes in drywall for outlets. Then, I got a chance to use the drywall screw gun my dad let me borrow. I'm pretty sure if I ever have to install drywall again, I will be buying one. It has an adjustable clutch, and you can set it so that when the screw is just deep enough to be below the surface and dimple the paper, the clutch releases and it spins free. It makes screwing drywall down foolproof, and I'm really looking forward to it for the ceiling drywall.

After!

Next drywall step is to tape and mud. That section will be a good test for me, because all the joints will be hidden behind cabinets and tile. I also patched a small section in the mud room, and a former cable TV outlet box that the previous owners installed in a weird place.

This weekend was a big one for me, if not in the work that was done, but in how I feel after. I finally feel like we've turned a corner, and actual progress is being made.

Bonus Cat Pictures!