The End Result

As kitchen remodels go, I think mine was pretty painless.  The worst inconvenience was being without a sink for a month - from the stories I've heard, that was nothing to complain about.  I had some pretty wonderful contractors; most of them friends.  I haven't always had the best experience working with friends, this time was different.

Peter Jansema - Cabinet Artist
Peter made my bathroom cabinets several years ago.  When I originally asked Peter to do my kitchen, he informed me he was retired.  I asked him for a reference, the cabinet maker he recommended wouldn't give me a quote.  So I went back to Peter and asked him for another name, he gave me his.  Peter has done an outstanding job, giving me whatever I asked for, and making excellent recommendations like the pullout pantry, drawer for the garbage pail and special cabinet for cookie sheets.  It's too bad Peter is retired, the world could use more artisans like Peter that are so kind, humble and agreeable.



Dustin Laemmlen - Man of Steel
  I had one wall of cabinets removed in early July, but the real mess didn't start until the beginning of August when Dustin, one of my favorite people with a remarkable work ethic, demoed my cabinets.  Then after I posted my request for help for the floors, he came and helped me finish that job.  Dustin did both horribly difficult and dirty jobs with his usual "no problem" attitude.






Brian Harris - Tile Professional, Painter, Electrician, Problem Solver
Brian's specialty is tile, but that doesn't mean it's his only talent.  Brian's first appearance in my kitchen was to relocate the wires for under-cabinet lighting from one wall to another.  A couple weeks later he returned to paint the dining and den area, then finished up by installing the back splash.  He also fixed the doors on my laundry area - I haven't been able to close one of them for 6 years.  Brian cheerfully worked long hours and always left my home cleaner than he found it.

Pirch
This is a wonderful store.  The first thing you encounter when you walk in the store is the espresso bar and the cheery staff that will make you your favorite espresso, tea or water.  Try their ginger mint water, it's delicious.   They have chefs giving cooking demonstrations and the friendliest team to assist you in selecting appliances.  With the high-class atmosphere and outstanding customer service, you'd think the prices would be sky-high, but they are equal to or better than big-box stores.  Not only were the sales and support staff - Alex, Sarah and Marissa wonderful, but the installers - Todd, Moises and their backup were delightful as well.  It was such a good experience it makes me want to remodel something else so I have a reason to shop there.

Dakota Plumbing - I can highly recommend Dakota Plumbing and will definitely call them for future plumbing needs.

Garvin Pederson - My Dad
Leaving the best for last - my dad helped me with some of the tedious electrical work, including the under-cabinet lighting and replacing my old fashioned can lights with eco-friendly LED can lights and helping me replace switches and plugs with prettier ones.  He also directed me towards the porcelain tile for my flooring and helped me make the right technical selections.





A special shout-out goes to Ann Lombardo and my mom, Florence Pederson, 2 women whose eye for design I respect, opinion I value and advice I sought frequently.  Thanks for helping me make good decisions.

But here's what you are really interested in, the finished product

 

Quartz counter-top

The sink has a removable tray for draining items.  Thanks Mom for finding this sink at Pirch.

I get excited about the little things, like that the amount of time left in the cycle of the dishwasher displays on the floor.  

A Request for Help

I am a girl - and proud of it. I have intentionally not developed upper body strength because I like having men do things for me. I am remodeling my kitchen and have hired out many tasks, but took on the role of general contractor, something that requires no physical strength and employs my talent for project management.  My cabinet maker Peter, came out of retirement to build them.  My dad and a few friends have helped with some of the tasks for which I don't have the strength or experience.  After the cabinets were removed and prep work done, Peter let me know that we needed to have all the tile on the floor removed from the kitchen area.  The entire downstairs is about 700 sq ft, the kitchen is 1/3 of that.  The tile contractor wasn't due for another 2 weeks, this meant I'd either need to do it myself, or hire someone else for demo work.

I am an IT geek, I drew my own diagram using Visio.

Let us digress for a moment to tell a backstory.  I have a job that I love, the large part of it is solving problems, attempting to make people happy. Many of the issues I solve are legitimate, but there are a few that make me want to exclaim "What a whiner!"  I often work 12 hour days.  At the end of the day, I have a boss that appreciates me, many colleagues that appreciate me, but there are a few (those whiners), that never will be happy.  All this to say, I need a release.  Usually it's walking or running, but lately, I am leaving after dark, so that hasn't been happening.

Back to the kitchen.  Because I am a girl, I have girl tools - 2 hammers, a few screwdrivers, some wrenches, and thanks to my dad, a power drill (that I employ as a power screwdriver because I am after all, a girl).  I also have 2 crowbars my dad left in my garage after using them to remove boulders from my backyard when we put that in.  When Peter asked to have the tile removed, it was at the end of a 12 hour day, I led a Lean Six-Sigma kaizen session and was mentally and emotionally spent.  So I took one of my hammers and a screwdriver and started pounding and chipping away.  It was very cathartic, I loved it.  The picture below shows about an hours worth of work.  I didn't get too far, but thought, I can do this.  

The next night, I discovered early on that if I hammered the screwdriver under the tile, then hammered a 2 foot crowbar under the same tile, I could remove 2 - 3 tiles all at once mostly all in one piece.  So much easier - and tidier too.  At the end of the second night, after working for 1.5 hours,  I had cleared out all of the kitchen area.  2 days later, I have cleared out as much as I can until the cabinets are installed and stuff is put back in them.  I let the tile contractor know he can take the demo activity off the quote, that'll save me $1000.

 

I am not any less girly, I do wear gloves while doing this; I am sure most men would be appalled to watch me and would shake their head in disbelief because I look so pathetic.  If you are one of those men, live in or near South Orange County and are thinking, "Karen, I would love to help you retain your girliness. I'll help you remove the rest of your downstairs tile, and with something more effective than a screwdriver, hammer and crowbar", let me know.  I'll feed you while you're working, I'll even bake for you once my kitchen is operational.  It is actually pretty fun and a great stress relief.  If you can help the weekend of August 17, message me through Facebook, or if you have my mobile number, you can send me a text.  Thanks