Eastern Utah
EMAIL ME AT: mgypsy97 at aol dot com

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Giving up on power tools

I tried once more to use my power drill to attach the cabinet hardware, but the drill bit was too large. The other Philips bit I found didn't seem much smaller, so I just decided to do it the old fashioned way, by hand. I'm just giving up on power tools altogether.

Here are three of the cabinets that are finished. I think they look pretty nice, although that white is going to show every little spot or scratch. Because of the rain I haven't been able to take the other 4 cabinet fronts outside to clean them for painting, but I did get all the hardware off and it's now soaking in Pine Sol/Dawn solution.



Once in a while I watch HGTV House Hunters or Property Virgins, and always laugh about the young people sniffing in disgust at a kitchen with laminate countertops, or painted cabinets, or appliances in anything other than stainless steel. Where do these folks come from that they expect their first house to have it all. What is there left to achieve? I think wooden cabinets are truly lovely and rich looking, but I'm sort of enjoying the retro look of my place. Good thing I'm enjoying it because I sure couldn't afford much else. One thing I do look forward to getting in a few months is new countertop and stainless steel sinks. The porcelain sinks are so pitted and crappy that I can never get them to look or feel clean. The countertop is in bad shape as well, especially the burn spot next to the stove. According to Yvonne, her son fried everything he ate, and it looks like he spilled hot grease which bubbled up the countertop.

I really feel terrible, although I'm able to do a little at a time. I just hope the cough goes away so that I don't have to see a doctor.

A couple of readers have asked about the leaks, and I've been checking the areas where rain always caused drips inside. It looks like there hasn't been any water dripping, but I'll keep looking now and then. Yesterday's rain was really heavy, and today it is raining off and on. It's too overcast for me to be able to work though. You can see the hardware on the cabinets is dark, and trying to find match the screw to the screwdriver is like working in Braille. I just have to tell by how it feels. I'm not sure that problem with my eyes will ever get any better. I need lots of light, preferably sunlight, in order to see small details. Could it be old age creeping up? I'll have to write it down so I remember to ask the surgeon when I see him on the 26th of this month.

I went back a couple of hours after I wrote the first part of my blog and checked the windowsill for leaks. It isn't dripping, but there is definitely moisture on the lower right still. It's not dripping from above as it did before, but is from another source. I'm not sure what I can do about it, and it is probably not from the roof this time.

14 comments:

  1. Those are beautiful! Like you, i redid all the cabinets, put new hardware on, tho, then the counter tops and sinks. And NOT granite either!! lololol. I don't think i would even like granite. Would break everything.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really like the looks of your cabinets and hardware. Do you suppose we have a generation of spoiled children out there? I would say we do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You did a good job. My wife painted chickens and chicks on on the cabinet doors on our old house. Brightened up the kitchen.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The kitchen looks lovely!
    I have a quick connect on my drill/driver, so I can change to a different size bit, or a drill, in a moment.
    Happy tails, and Trails, Penny, TX

    ReplyDelete
  5. I haven't had cable TV for several years, but I used to watch those shows and think the same thing. Your kitchen is looking very nice and you can feel proud because you are doing it yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gypsy, have you ever thought of getting yourself a headlamp? The kind that rock climbers use! My eyesight is not the best & I use mine all the time when working in and around the house. Besides making me feel "rugged & athletic"(!!)..it makes it possible for me to see all those tiny screw heads,the cutting lines for my jigsaw, etc. REI carries them..check them out here........
    http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/headlamp.html............
    I have the Petzl Tikka headlamp.
    Renee

    ReplyDelete
  7. The kitchen is looking good. The yellow is such a pretty shade. Not deep. Is it a pastel?
    Well at least the roof isn't leaking now.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thought that color combination in the kitchen looked great. Good for you in getting that all accomplised.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the kitchen cabinet hardware. I sympathize with the eye problem. I didn't even have surgery and I need very bright light to see little details as well as magnifying glasses. I can see me, glasses on, headlamp on....boy how much worse is it going to get???

    ReplyDelete
  10. love it...it looks great...I used to paint my kitchen cupboards every couple of years...thats the beauty of paint versus wood..you can change your look...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love the airy, bright colors... white and yellow -- my kind of colors...

    Looking good!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good Job!!!

    I had painted cabinets in my house in Green Bay. Hint--- keep a baby food jar of extra paint on hand for touchups for knicks in the paint. But store the jar UPSIDE DOWN... the air never gets in through the threads, and never gets a film on top or dries out.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  13. I laugh at those people too. They whine "but it doesn't have stainless or granite" boo hoo hoo & since when is a 4 bedroom home too small for a family of three? They are the "must have it yesterday" generation.

    I have a GREAT useful tip for your burned counter top. My Mom did the same thing. My dad went to the hardware store and bought a piece of butcher block [probably an inch thick] and cut the linoleum out around the burn. He made it rectangular. Then he cut the butcher block to fit, secured it in the whole with a stainless steal rim going all along the edges in one continuous piece. Viola - no more burn mark and an always handy cutting board right next to the stove. It was super easy too, I helped - and it only took an afternoon. I wish I had a pic', but I hope you get the idea. It really is the perfect solution if you don't/can't change the counter top. And we didn't lose the drawer below it either.

    You should be very proud of how bright and fresh your kitchen looks. I did my very first kitchen cabinets with a sponge painted look and was flattered when three of my neighbors copied it in their homes. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete