Start a kitchen remodel right before a pandemic starts.

[Riverbound]

We had scrounged our pennies together for a long time and had finally decided to pull the trigger on building our dream kitchen. As luck would have it...right after demo started. This covid nightmare started.

Oh well. We will push through. And chronicle this shit show. Lol.

This is what we started with. The previous owners of our home did some weird shit and walled off the house from the og floor plan. When we bought our house it was “nice enough” but we entertain and this set up was not conducive to that.

Here’s the before.

We have a very typical mission viejo floor plan. And wanted to open things up. Had a structural engineer look at the house and laid out what we wanted. And removing the walls was no problem. We had a living room , kitchen and dining room all divided by walls and small doorways.

 

[Riverbound]

Demo started. And basic layout drawn out.

 

[Riverbound]

Ideas as to what we will ultimately have.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

That will be a really nice space when those walls come down. So weird why they walled the dining area part off.

 

[Riverbound]

Here is where we are at today. The whole world took a big kick to the nuts but we are still plugging along.

 

[Riverbound]

Our contractor came up with a really cool idea. He said while the walls were open we should do a time capsule. Walls are getting drywall’s tomorrow. So we threw some things in there with a note for whoever finds this down the road.

 

[Riverbound]

That will be a really nice space when those walls come down. So weird why they walled the dining area part off.

It has completely changed the house. We are 1400 ish sq ft. And this makes the house seem so much larger.

 

[Riverbound]

Kitchen will have a 10’ island with seating all around. Was able to work in a wet bar area with a 48 bottle wine cooler.

36” Viking stove. (Mom is upgrading her stove in pismo so I saved $10k)

 

[Done-it-again]

Damn. I thought putting a deposit on flooring before this whole mess was bad. Thanks for making me feel better.

nothing like having a functional kitchen.

 

[whiteworks]

This microwave is the shit, WW approved. New kitchens are good

 

[JB in so cal]

Your timing is as good as mine in trying to sell a boat! Good luck!

 

[Riverbound]

This microwave is the shit, WW approved. New kitchens are good View attachment 859490

F-that. Budget got blown when I said go. We are sticking with old trusty. and having cabinets built around that bad boy. My wife has quickly realized she should’ve have married an Arabian prince with a fat wallet, not a broke ass AC contractor with a big dick.

 

[Riverbound]

Your timing is as good as mine in trying to sell a boat! Good luck!

It went from a weird flu in China and packing up the kitchen to pandemic and kitchen demo in moments.

 

[Riverbound]

Representing @whiteworks im the time capsule.

 

[Backlash]

Now law against the claw!

 

[boatnam2]

Joanna Ganies special......Knock down them walls and add a big island countertop.

 

[NicPaus]

F-that. Budget got blown when I said go. We are sticking with old trusty. and having cabinets built around that bad boy. My wife has quickly realized she should’ve have married an Arabian prince with a fat wallet, not a broke ass AC contractor with a big dick.
View attachment 859504

See if they sell a trim kit for that micro. Nice budget friendly option for a built in microwave than the true built ins. Usually $250-300 for nice counter top micro and $150-200 for the trim. Compared to $1200-1800 for built in. I get that on the regular when they price the built ins.

 

[whiteworks]

F-that. Budget got blown when I said go. We are sticking with old trusty. and having cabinets built around that bad boy. My wife has quickly realized she should’ve have married an Arabian prince with a fat wallet, not a broke ass AC contractor with a big dick.
View attachment 859504

I like how you slipped that big dick part in I just have a fancy microwave

 

[Riverbound]

Joanna Ganies special......Knock down them walls and add a big island countertop.

I love to cook and throw Parties. With our old set up if I was cooking I was segregated by the walls. And then even if people did come in to hang out, there was no where to sit. Everything we did was for what we wanted and not for what was popular or in. Build our dream kitchen and make our house what we want. Resale of popularity doesn’t matter much as we don’t anticipate every selling this house.

 

[boatnam2]

Make it happen!

 

[Riverbound]

I like how you slipped that big dick part in I just have a fancy microwave

take every opportunity

 

[Meaney77]

Gonna be nice when its done. We did a similar remodel a few years ago and removed all walls downstairs to give that open flowing floor plan. We entertain a bunch too and it made a huge difference,. Kind of makes you wonder what home builders/designers were thinking back in the day.

 

[SoCalDave]

Cool, I love home projects.
Opened up our galley kitchen about 5 years ago.

 

[beaverretriever]

Beautiful man! Kitchens are so important in the house.

Don't feel bad about the project; we will all be back to normal soon. Man, we are in the process of having a new home built, moving acroass state, I'm starting a new career. This shit stressed me out for a but but I'm over it now as what the hell can I do?

 

[RaceTec]

Let me know when to bring booze over to help you break it in!

 

[Riverbound]

Let me know when to bring booze over to help you break it in!

as soon as this virus stuff has settled down Im throwing a party.

 

[getoffmylawn]

Put on your river hat. All that’s needed:
Bbq
Ice chest...........

 

[ChumpChange]

I got you beat. I got my kids a drum set two days before the quarantine. Guess how that's going. I was supposed to be at the office.

 

[DrunkenSailor]

I got you beat. I got my kids a drum set two days before the quarantine. Guess how that's going. I was supposed to be at the office.

One of the first things I did when I started working from home was bought pads for the drums.

 

[oldschool]

That will look awesome!

 

[beaverretriever]

I got you beat. I got my kids a drum set two days before the quarantine. Guess how that's going. I was supposed to be at the office.

 

[drew_built]

Kitchen remodels are fun but expensive heres a rental dad and I upgraded

 

[Riverbound]

Kitchen remodels are fun but expensive heres a rental dad and I upgraded View attachment 859597 View attachment 859598 View attachment 859599

Tell me about it....plumber starters relocating the water heater today. Guess who’s now getting a repipe?

The copper is so bad I’m surprised we didn’t have leaks already.

 

[NicPaus]

Kitchen remodels are fun but expensive heres a rental dad and I upgraded View attachment 859597 View attachment 859598 View attachment 859599

Been a minute. Hope all is good with the family.

 

[NicPaus]

Tell me about it....plumber starters relocating the water heater today. Guess who’s now getting a repipe?

The copper is so bad I’m surprised we didn’t have leaks already.

I just went through the same at river pad. Repiped it last week. My crawl suit was brand new lol. I was just glad the rattlers were not out yet. It was pvc, poly, galvanized and copper flare. Tore it all out and copper with uponor pex underneath.

 

[HNL2LHC]

That is great progress!!! We moved the microwave in the island to keep the counters clutter free. It is one of the best things that we did. Keep the pictures coming!!!

 

[Riverbound]

That is great progress!!! We moved the microwave in the island to keep the counters clutter free. It is one of the best things that we did. Keep the pictures coming!!!

I was torn on doing that, but felt it made for a much cleaner layout in the kitchen.

 

[drew_built]

Been a minute. Hope all is good with the family.

Sure has, Everyone is good thanks, hope we can all have some beers at the river soon, take care through all this mess

 

[DC-88]

Riverbound, that is going to come out great and be a huge improvement. Just to give a review, We just finished up a house this week that was the second this year for me with one of these little drawer Thermador microwaves . I had a couple of final inspections first thing in the morning multiple days and nuked some coffee’s in it and would highly recommend its power. Ours at home I built into the island with a trim kit and is on the second one, but whenever it breaks I’m going to definitely replace it with one of these things. FWIW the time capsule it great, and many contractors have been leaving F-Obummer and now Pro MAGA type time capsules since 08’ in our county -

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[Riverbound]

Plumber came in over the weekend and did me a solid. He did all the repipimg that needed drywall to be opened up and patched. This way the dry wall isn’t further delayed. This being stuck at hole and not having half our home is getting real old. Lol.

Repipe was not in the budget.

 

[Riverbound]

Riverbound, that is going to come out great and be a huge improvement. Just to give a review, We just finished up a house this week that was the second this year for me with one of these little drawer Thermador microwaves . I had a couple of final inspections first thing in the morning multiple days and nuked some coffee’s in it and would highly recommend its power. Ours at home I built into the island with a trim kit and is on the second one, but whenever it breaks I’m going to definitely replace it with one of these things. FWIW the time capsule it great, and many contractors have been leaving F-Obummer and now Pro MAGA type time capsules since 08’ in our county -
View attachment 859774
View attachment 859775


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They are definitely nice but I had to stop the money spending somewhere.

 

[scottchbrite]

I

This microwave is the shit, WW approved. New kitchens are good View attachment 859490

I have this microwave and it’s nice. I even bought one for my parents.

 

[Motor Boater]

What’s going on in that last picture? Looks like you have a new wall going in front of an old wall that will leave a void in between. R u going to open the wall on the other side hopefully?

 

[whiteworks]

I

I have this microwave and it’s nice. I even bought one for my parents.

Having a top load microwave in a lower cabinet is a game changer in a kitchen, write the check Bildo and quite being a cheap ass.

as the saying goes, long after the price is forgotten, the quality remains. Besides with your jacked up back, do you really want to be bending over and crawling around on the floor with a front load microwave?

 

[Rondog4405]

Ideas as to what we will ultimately have.
View attachment 859468 View attachment 859469 View attachment 859470
View attachment 859471

Diggin that island setup!!

 

[Taboma]

Having a top load microwave in a lower cabinet is a game changer in a kitchen, write the check Bildo and quite being a cheap ass.

as the saying goes, long after the price is forgotten, the quality remains. Besides with your jacked up back, do you really want to be bending over and crawling around on the floor with a front load microwave?

Not to be a dick, but just fair warning when it comes to "Quality and Bosch/Thermador" being used in the same sentence. Please, whatever you do, buy the super duper extended warranty !!!
With the exception of our Bosch dishwasher, our Bosch cooking appliances have been the most unreliable appliances I've owned, ever. I'm talking Induction cooktop, two different microwaves and the oven --- all having required either repairs or replacement. Most of the Thermador brand, which served my parents rock solid for over 30 years is now mostly re-badged Bosch, with maybe an extra bell or whistle. If you look on the Bosch site, you'll see that almost exact same drawer microwave as an example, but for a couple of hundred less.
The real pisser was when the 2nd microwave magnetron blew as part of a combo and both the microwave and combo were no longer available, the extended warranty company paid us for the difference between what we'd paid for our couple of year old one vs. a new model. OK, that's reasonable ---- except, the new model (All the new models) were a different size and required that my almost new fuckin cabinets be re-worked to accommodate them --- of course that cost wasn't included.

On the oven and cooktop repair, the clueless tech the warranty company uses ( Lowest bid rates to the warranty company) required ME showing HIM how to make the repairs, because within 30 seconds he'd thrown up his arms and was going to walk out leaving us hanging ---- Sorry, I've got some pent up anger towards Bosch

I get it, all the modern appliances are junk, so maybe Bosch / Thermador isn't any worse that the competition, I dunno, but they're not getting any more of my money.


What we did was buy a damned $ 99 Panasonic from Costco and it's the most dependable appliance we've purchased. The 3rd Bosch Micro never gets used, because I don't want to have to pay for yet another cabinet remodel.

I think the smart choice is that Sharp drawer micro --- now those are damned good microwaves !!!

 

[Riverbound]

What’s going on in that last picture? Looks like you have a new wall going in front of an old wall that will leave a void in between. R u going to open the wall on the other side hopefully?

Yes, on the opposite side of that wall is the master bath, later (much later now) we will be blowing that wall out to build a bigger master bath. I will gain a little over 16" in depth in the bathroom.

 

[Riverbound]

Diggin that island setup!!

we wanted to get rid of a dining room table and utilize our island as the table with plenty of seating.....IT might work out great or might be a big blunder...lol

 

[Riverbound]

Having a top load microwave in a lower cabinet is a game changer in a kitchen, write the check Bildo and quite being a cheap ass.

as the saying goes, long after the price is forgotten, the quality remains. Besides with your jacked up back, do you really want to be bending over and crawling around on the floor with a front load microwave?

My Bday is coming up.....you need any gift ideas? lol

 

[whiteworks]

Not to be a dick, but just fair warning when it comes to "Quality and Bosch/Thermador" being used in the same sentence. Please, whatever you do, buy the super duper extended warranty !!!
With the exception of our Bosch dishwasher, our Bosch cooking appliances have been the most unreliable appliances I've owned, ever. I'm talking Induction cooktop, two different microwaves and the oven --- all having required either repairs or replacement. Most of the Thermador brand, which served my parents rock solid for over 30 years is now mostly re-badged Bosch, with maybe an extra bell or whistle. If you look on the Bosch site, you'll see that almost exact same drawer microwave as an example, but for a couple of hundred less.
The real pisser was when the 2nd microwave magnetron blew as part of a combo and both the microwave and combo were no longer available, the extended warranty company paid us for the difference between what we'd paid for our couple of year old one vs. a new model. OK, that's reasonable ---- except, the new model (All the new models) were a different size and required that my almost new fuckin cabinets be re-worked to accommodate them --- of course that cost wasn't included.

On the oven and cooktop repair, the clueless tech the warranty company uses ( Lowest bid rates to the warranty company) required ME showing HIM how to make the repairs, because within 30 seconds he'd thrown up his arms and was going to walk out leaving us hanging ---- Sorry, I've got some pent up anger towards Bosch

I get it, all the modern appliances are junk, so maybe Bosch / Thermador isn't any worse that the competition, I dunno, but they're not getting any more of my money.


What we did was buy a damned $ 99 Panasonic from Costco and it's the most dependable appliance we've purchased. The 3rd Bosch Micro never gets used, because I don't want to have to pay for yet another cabinet remodel.

I think the smart choice is that Sharp drawer micro --- now those are damned good microwaves !!!

Not being a dick at all, I put the Sharp in my new kitchen, I think it was like $1200. or so.

At this stage in my home remodeling experiences I am 100% against high end/custom appliances. Viking, subzero all that stuff is more trouble than it’s worth, when you have to have a guy that comes out and tunes your appliances you done fucked up.

I prefer the higher end consumer grade appliances that come in standard sizes. The reason is simple, when it shits the bed, you pop it out, go to depot or the likes, pick up a new one and you’re back in business.
I cannot count how many subzero built ins I’ve had to go out and rebuild kitchen cabinets around because it died and they don’t make that size any more LOL

keep it simple and functional, if your wife demands red knobs on the new range, you got bigger problems than an oven LOL

the range/oven below is a good example of value engineering a kitchen build. It’s like a counter top range but is just a regular oven/range. Fits in a standard hole with a trim kit for back edge or you can leave the countertop edge proud in the rear and it will tuck under the range trim. To pull off this look can get very expensive in appliances and also cause issues down the road when said expensive appliances die and same sizes are longer available, you know because it’s custom n shit LOL