Remodel - First Floor Almost Finished!

[rjboch]

It has been a busy year. Back in January, I started a gut remodel of my kitchen, one family room, and master bathroom. In addition, my project included repainting the entire interior (2,500 sqft), replacing all floors (500 sqft of large format tile + 2,000 sqft of engineered hardwood), and refacing the stairway. We purchased home in 2018 and home was built in 1998. It was mostly comprised of aging builder-grade finishes, and it was in desperate need of an update. Since the first floor sits on a post-tension slab, we did not have ability to move plumbing, so we kept mostly to the original layout. To date, I have just about finished the first floor and only have a few items left including a couple trim pieces (e.g., above kitchen cabinets) and duct covers. I also finished the gut remodel of the master bath. During this time, I also had a plumber re-pipe the house with new copper, had the HVAC replaced, added a tankless water heater, and added a whole house water softner, replaced half the windows, and added solar. While the walls were open, I reinsulated with Rockwool, sealed all gaps, and applied boric acid to all framing (e.g., termites).

I started building all my cabinets last fall, and aside from my Sawstop table-saw, everything was built with Festool products, including my trusty TS55, assortment of guiderails, and Conturo edge bander. I did all the work except for the plumbing, new HVAC, electrical, and solar. I start installing the second floor hardwood and painting the second-floor rooms next week. So close to finishing and planning on never doing this again (said that for my last two homes too).

I hope you enjoy the attached pics. I will post more pics in the future, including the master bathroom and stairway. After I discovered this site over 3 years ago, it really inspired me to get back into woodworking, improving my home, and rediscovering my love of working with my hands. So, thanks for being there!

Cheers!

 

[nclemmons]

Beautiful work.  Really like your choice of finishes.  Definitely a more contemporary feel.  The light fixtures over the dining table look like they might be from Design Within Reach - one of my favorite stores.  I have them in my home.

I like the lighter floors and how they compliment both the white and what looks like white oak on the cabinets.  And all baltic birch in the drawers.  You spared no expense or detail!

You have a nice eye for detail and an excellent skill in building all those cabinets and doing the remodel!

What is the finish on the white cabinets?  I assume they are just spray painted?  Did you do that as well?

Excellent work! Thanks for sharing.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Wow! Great work, looks fantastic!

 

[rjboch]

Thanks! I luckily purchased all the baltic birch and Blum slides last summer right before prices went nuts. I used my HVLP setup to spray the doors with SW Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel. Applied three coats and really happy with how it turned out. I was concerned about finish and did a few tests (compared with BM, top coating with poly, and Emtech), including trying to stain with wine, ketchup, and other products.

 

[rjboch]

Also, yes, rift cut white oak and finished with Rubio Monocoat (Smoke 5%). I milled up the same oak to trim out the top of the cabinets, but have not had time to install yet.

 

[peter halle]

Stunning!  I am jealous of both the workmanship and detail as well as your energy!  Can't wait to see the bathroom... and then the rest of your home in the future.

Peter

 

[Jasmin]

Very impressive!

I am going through a similar process and don't get that level of finish for frameless cabinets. I am close now but something always doesn't satisfy me. The reveals are not perfect, there are just too many parts in the shop and something gets dinged etc. The good thing is that most people don't see that.  [big grin]
Here is the only picture I posted:https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/...tertop-scribe-to-wall-or-backsplash-moulding/

Anyways, all that makes me appreciate your work even more!

 

[woodbutcherbower]

That all looks fantastic. Really nice workmanship, lovely finishes, and understated-but-classy design. As I’ve said before on a similar post, the amount of money you must have saved compared to having all of this done by a contractor is huge. Great job.

 

[4nthony]

I really like the edging detail on your drawer fronts. And the box joints are a nice touch. Bravo!

 

[Mortiser]

I'm with [member=75283]4nthony[/member] , really like the drawer front details. Very clean, contemporary look and like your choice of the rift sawn oak.
Nice job, all of it!

 

[tjskinny]

Really nice work ! 

What HVLP setup did you use to spray the doors with SW Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel with?  And did you need to thin it ?

Thanks

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I really like that drawer front detail too. It's like a modernized version of what they used to call cock-bead.

Can't wait to see more.

 

[Cheese]

Wow...there's alot to like here.  [big grin]  I like the colors, finishes and materials used. The light wood floor is nice as are the trimless windows and the knock-down finish on the walls. Did you do the knock-down as well?

The details on the kitchen drawer fronts is outstanding and the Wolf appliances...so what's not to like?

There's a 3-switch wall plate in one room and it appears to be labeled under each switch. Did you do that or is that a commercially available item?  I'm waiting for the next series of photos.  [big grin]  [not worthy]

 

[rjboch]

Thanks again! Originally I was going to sub out demo, drywall, texture, painting, floors, etc. Basically all non-thrilling hard labor. However, labor rates in SoCal are obscene so I dusted off my old skills and did it myself. For example, kept getting quotes ~$4k to paint our great room (20' ceiling). Thought it was nuts and bought a 16' foot pole from Home Depot for $50 and painted it myself over a few days. Not fun on the shoulders and neck, but kept reminding myself that I was saving thousands. Also, 5/8" drywall is a lot lighter when you are a teenager vs. mid-40's. For most, it was same story, I thought most quotes were outrageous (verge of gouging) and just did it myself. At end of day I saved $$$, knew it was done right, and lost about 15 pounds of weight. In addition, I was fortunate, that I was able to take some time off from my real job to focus on remodel. Building cabinets is easy to do on weekend, but living with no kitchen and half the house demo'ed is not so much fun with the wife and kids.

Good catch on the switch labels. Long story short, but got tired of my wife always forgetting which switch did what and hitting every switch each morning. It was a simple way to improve the marriage

My HVLP is the Earlex HV6003 that I picked up on sale at Rockler. I thinned out the SW Emerald with ~5% water.

 

[Muttley000]

Excellent work!  I hope to start a large remodel next year.  I redid every room in this house between 32 and 25 years ago.  It will be much more physically challenging this time!