Kitchen cabinets are getting installed

 After a small delay (from Monday to Thursday) the day for the kitchen cabinet installation finally arrived  Troy from Abbington Cabinets and his crew - Bruce, Mike and Mitch - arrived bright and early (despite trying to drive on Hwy 101 from 394 to Minnetonka Blvd! Yep we forgot to tell them that the road will be closed for the next year)  to get started converting this:

Space ready for cabinets

to a warm and welcoming place that will become the heartbeat of our new home. 

The obvious first step was unloading all the boxes, pieces, parts and tools from the truck.  Four strong guys working with Mark and I looking over their shoulders should be easy, right???  First they had to protect the newly installed wood floors with cardboard and "white styrofoam wrap" so they wouldn't get dented and scratched.  Then the unloading process began.  It was incredible how much there was to unload and some of the cabinets were very big and heavy.

Bruce and Mike needing to catch their breaths after carrying in the custom Oven/Microwave Floor to Ceiling unit

And they weren't done after this one.  A pantry cabinet that is similar in size came in next. When the four guys weren't working together on one big piece they were making trip after trip to unload the rest of the truck.  The base cabinets were set into place as they brought them into the house.  The rest was staged in the library and living room.

Drawers, cabinet fronts and our microwave unloaded into the library (the area next to the living room)

Island base cabinets and perimeter wall cabinets waiting in the living room

After setting the Microwave/Oven cabinet in place, they got to work installing the base cabinet next to the refrigerator followed by the corner drawers, recycling center and then the sink base.  It was a bit tricky getting the sink base in.  First, they had to cut out for the drain pipe, then drill holes for the water lines and make a cutout for the heat vent.

Sink base with holes for plumbing and heat vent

I was quite pleased when they took the time to vacuum up the saw dust mess before placing the cabinet. 

Bruce cleaning the mess

It took three guys and more than one attempt to get the cabinet in. The hole wasn't big enough for the drain pipe and Bruce really didn't want to make a bigger opening so he asked Mark if it was ok to cut the pipe off to get the jigsaw puzzle to go together.  A quick cut with the jig saw and they were back in business of setting the cabinet.

Mitch, Bruce and Mike lifting and shifting the cabinet to get it into place

Mark and I left for lunch and then ran some errands.  When we got back they were done and cleaned up for the day.  Here's what it looks like now.

We call this area our buffet wall. The pantry cabinet is at the end

Refrigerator cabinet with one upper cabinet still to be installed

Corner drawers, recycling center and sink base

Space for the dishwasher and another set of corner drawers

Lots of space to store all of my precious kitchen stuff. These two cabinets are between the corner drawers and the Oven/Microwave cabinet

The next cabinet was custom-made for our microwave to be built into it.  We wanted a microwave that was the same width as the oven below it.  Most people would buy a combination oven/microwave unit in that case but not us!  We didn't like the microwaves in them and they are crazy expensive compared to the two standalone units.  Troy said "no problem, I can build that".  A special channel had to be put in the top so that the unit with the cord sticking out could be inserted into the close-fitting space.

Channel for microwave cord

Microwave installed and channel covered up so no one is the wiser (except for all of you reading this)

Oven cavity ready for the oven

Island Cabinets

Cooktop cabinet flanked with spice pullouts

Backside of island

Emily came home while the installers were finishing up. Shortly after they left we returned home and Emily said "Mom, the refrigerator isn't working. The light is not on".  Sure enough there was no power to it.  "Oh they must have mistakenly unplugged it." We pushed the fridge out (no easy task, it is a really tight fit) and saw that it WAS plugged in so we pushed it back in.  So off to check the circuit breakers.  Yep it was tripped. Not only did the refrigerator come on, so did the installer's radio.  That was helpful as Emily knew it was on when she got home (3:00) but it wasn't when the guys left (4:00) so something happened at the very end of their day.  We reset the breaker and it seemed to be fine.  Until Emily and I came back from dinner (about 40 minutes later), that is.  It was tripped again. Mark was out having beers with his friend, Art, so I called him to let him know the refrigerator was out again.  I reset it and left to walk Dixie.  When we got back the radio was off.  Perhaps I was trying to prove Einstein's definition of insanity (doing the same thing and expecting different results!)

Urrrgggghhhhh So does it have something to do with the outlet they pulled out in the buffet wall, one of the two wall cabinets installed near the refrigerator, or is the refrigerator overheating because the cabinet is too close?  I opted to stay out of the refrigerator and wait till Mark got home to figure it out.  Mark having a couple of beers wasn't conducive to solving this problem so we pulled the fridge out, plugged it into an extension cord, plugged the cord into another circuit and went to bed.  

I got up around midnight and checked to make sure the fridge was still running.  Yep. Mark got up sometime in the wee hours of the morning and again it was still running.  Must not be the overheating option.

As soon as we got up we looked around where the screws were driven and at the wiring in the laundry room (nice that it is the one place that is not sheet rocked yet).  Mark decide it must be the screw in the upper left corner of the refrigerator cabinet.  He took it out.  After talking with Troy today, I learned it was the only 4" screw they used.  All the rest were 3" or smaller.  

The offending screw

We continued our investigation.  I got a thin wire and put it through the screw hole while Mark reached up through the wall in the laundry room to figure out where it came out and thus the likely path of the screw.  When he felt the wires, it seemed that there might be a small place where the screw was touching a wire.  With the screw removed and the refrigerator plugged back into the original circuit, it has been successfully running all day.  We found the answer.  Now we just have to decide with the cabinet guys on Monday how to remedy the situation. 

I spent parts of yesterday and today walking around the kitchen imagining how it will be to have all the pieces in place.  I imagined cooking on the new cooktop.  As I stood there something just seemed off.  It took me a minute to figure it out.  It's the island lighting.  It's in the wrong place.  There was a discussion during the island installation where we discussed exactly where the island should be.  I said "6 feet off the wall behind the sink".  The plans had 42" out from the cabinet.  That seemed fine so we went with it.  But it's not.  They will move the island over 6" on Monday so that we get the lights centered up.  

I also imagined what it would be like to do dishes in the new kitchen.  This will be my new view:

Looking out the window over the sink

It sure beats this view that I have had since May 21st:

View in the bathroom mirror while washing dishes without a kitchen

All in all, it was a very successful first day of cabinet installation. Can't wait to see what Monday brings.  (The guys didn't come today - Friday - because they tend to avoid coming down to the "cities" on Fridays and they have some doors, end panels and molding to finish for our project.)

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading.