During the install of these cabinets, Ken was able to get to know  the homeowner.  Turns out she’s the general manager for a large family owned company in Jax.  It just so happens that Ken did a bunch of transomes, arches, and custom doors for the owner of this company, and then duplicated what he’d done for a replica play house on a smaller scale a number of years ago.  I remember that job well because the man was duplicating a plantation home in Miss. and while he had some floor plans of the original house, Ken pretty much had to go by pictures of it to make his portion of the job.  Anyway, back to the homeowner.   She has this house that is about 20 years old and it was ready for an update.  Chuck from ArtStones  called Ken and said she had picked out some premade “flatpack” cabinets, and would he assemble them and paint them for him.    Oover the course of 2 weeks, we had LOTS of cabinet parts laid out in the spray room.  Once dry, they were then assembled and delivered to the site.  Ken  was asked to install them, which really works out well for us. That way, he knows how to handle them, and can make minor and sometimes tricky adjustments himself. (Not all walls are plumb or floors level.) When the job is done, he can then be confident that not only are the cabinets made and finished to the customers satisfaction and Ken’s own standard, but they are installed properly as well.  Peggy chose tile backspashes and a dark granite for the tops.  Under counter lighting was added as per Ken’s recommendation.   It’s a nice looking kitchen, without changing the footprint,  knocking out walls and within the confines of a modest budget.

Last spring I entered a short post about a kitchen I was contracted to redo.  The owner had added a 1000 sq.ft addition onto his home and needed a new kitchen layout.  The existing cabinets were in good structural shape but the finish was of very poor quality.  A decorator was brought in for ideas and the result was to refinish as many of the existing cabinets using the same color but putting them in a different layout.  Then for a contrast, several more cabinets would be added in a darker shade along with a custom island.  Granite  was chosen for the main counter top and the island would be installed with an oiled hard-rock maple top.

Repairing the finish on the old doors, adding top coats, and resizing turned out to be a involved project.   Matching the color was the most challenging as it was by experimentation that I was finally able to get the right mix.    The solid new color was the glaze put on the old doors and then added a gloss finish. The oven/stove is incorporated in the island.  I was initially unsure how I would like the look of cabinets in two colors in the same space, but I am pleased with this fresh and different look.  You have probably noticed that if you look at any home improvement magazines that a very popular current trend is to mix and match finishes and in some cases use several in the same room.  Overall this was a project I learned a-lot from and am very pleased with the end results.

One of our favorite customers has been doing alot of remodeling in their home and I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to do all of the cabinetry for them.   One of the last things they wanted changed is the fireplace surround in the family room.  Their new decor is much more modern and”woody” and the present surround just wasn’t working well with the furniture and style of the adjoining kitchen.  This was my solution to this problem and the owners are delighted and very pleased with the outcome.  Now the flat screen TV is included in the overall design instead of being a separate entity hanging on the wall.  There are 4 glass shelves for artwork.

This is the “before” photo of the kitchen before demolition.   Looking at it, you might think that there  is nothing wrong with this layout/cabinetry aside from the fact that it is a small kitchen.  The truth here is that the cabinets were of very poor quality.  The owner had to pull out the drawers on each side of the stove when she wanted to use the oven as the heat was melting the white vinyl coating.  The cabinets were not securely fastened to the walls, and the pantry closet was a huge waste of space.  The bar was a “catch-all”  and had too shallow of knee space for the stools to be comfortably used.  This would probably be enough cabinetry for a “too busy to cook” person, but for a mom of 2 small children who loves to cook everything from scratch, it just wasn’t working efficiently.

This young mother happens to be the daughter of Mastercraftsman Ken, so it was Daddy to the rescue.

The pantry was completely removed as well as all the other cabinets.  The refrigerator was then put in the corner allowing for 8 ft. of counter space.  A flannel grey solid surface top was added, 4 large 6″ deep drawers, and ample top and lower space was then gained. Notice that the new cabinets went all the way to the ceiling giving even more storage space.   White beadboard was used for the backsplash.  The bar was reconfigured by adding a taller 4′ wide cabinet and was installed facing the living room…a great space for her many cookbooks and nicer serving dishes.  Then the remaining former bar space was lowered to the normal counter height and makes a peninsula that easily fits two lower stools.  This counter continues around the sink and over to the stove.  It is white solid surface with a grey flannel inset stripe to tie it to the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen.   All the interiors of the cabinets are white laminate over wood.  A high gloss finish was used because this is an interior room with no direct window light.  Euro hinges were used on face frames,  and the doors are a traditional raised panel style.  Brushed pewter knobs and new faucet were chosen and these really compliment the grey detail in the counter.  Additional repair included a small amount of drywall patching, addition of a few more pieces of ceramic tile, and a little paint touch-up.  The install took 2.5 days with 3 helpers ( daughter, son in law, and wife) working alongside the “Mastercraftsman”.

Punch list day.  This was the day (actually I spent nearly 2 full days) I focused on getting as many of the little details wrapped up.  The gas line has been installed and tested as has the electrical/plumbing systems.   The smoke detector and fire extinguisher are in there proper places.  Chris made a shower curtain to fit the tub (challenging because of the double curves to work around), and the step and bumper got a coat of paint.  The new sky lites are installed, the floor is mopped and the owner has a new coffee maker ready to go.   This has been a fun but challenging project and all and all it went really well.  So well in fact, I wouldn’t mind doing another RV.  The owner came out today to take it on it’s first weekend out and I am eager to know how well he and the trailer do this first time.  I spoke to him shortly after he left to see how it was handling on the road and he gave a good report

.

The holding tank finally arrived and today after making two custom brackets, I got it attached to the underside of the RV.  Don’t you just love projects you have to do on your back underneath something?   Getting it in place allowed me to finally set the toilet and finish all the work in the lavatory area.  Chris spent a good part of the day sewing curtains for all the windows  and a privacy curtain for the lavatory area.   I finished the repair and refinishing on the couch frame and underneath storage after discovering some of the parts were missing.  I couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t going back in like it should when I realized some key pieces were not there, so I had to make  some parts to replace those.  I took apart the folding table and found it was not repairable, so built a new improved model.  This folds up and slides in a tidy pocket alongside the couch.  The mattress arrived for the bed, as did one of the sky lites.  We are down to the final punch list and the owner and I are getting excited to see it all done and ready to go.

Wow, the list is getting shorter as we complete each task for the renovation and repair of this RV.  Painting is coming to a completion with the inside of the closets and cabinets now finished.  The woodwork around the toilet is in place, primed, sanded and painted.  The service doors are in place and remaining woodwork has been put up on the bench for repair and refinishing. You can see from the second photo how rough the finish is on the couch frame/cabinet.  I’ll need to reinforce some of the structure on this piece, then sand, stain, seal, and top coat the wood.

I’m working again today on the woodwork around the toilet, repairing the bottoms of the upper cabinets while Chris begins priming the remaining areas that need to be painted.  The woodwork requires alot  tedious cutting and fitting as each piece is different. The new gas tanks are here as well as some additional fixtures the owner brought over.  We find it challenging to work in such  a small space without getting into each others way.  I’ve also been busy with the caulking gun, sealing up any cracks and joints that may be a problem for moisture.  I always caulk any edges where water may seep in or cracks where dirt can be a problem.  For any beginners with using caulk, use a wet rag to wipe it down, the caulk will stay in the crack, but be removed from the adjoining surfaces leaving a nice clean sealed joint.

Now on the final stretch to finish this RV before Friday afternoon, this is the day for plumbing and wiring.  This is challenging work because of the tight spaces everything has to fit into.  I serviced the ac unit and put that back in place and also installed a nice light above the mirror above the toilet.  I straightened up the wiring harness for an outlet and switch  by the door, and installed new locks in the hatches and entry door.  Everything electrical is working properly once again.  The owner has just informed me that the holding tank he ordered will not arrive until Mon. of next week so much to his disappointment, he will not be taking the trailer on Fri.  This is not so good for him, but good for us as it gives us more time to address some of the problems that would have had to wait until later.  Onward.

This is the last day I will be working on the RV until next week.  I want to be able to have all the holes closed up so that in the event it rains while I’m away from this project, I won’t have to worry about leaks.  I installed the new hot water heater today, worked on the bumper area some, and put in the trim around the wheel wells.  The counter for the sink is built, sink set in place with the new faucet.  The refrigerator has arrived and is in place with the wooden end panel and cabinet doors below the sink refinished and hung.  Patches have been made to cover unneeded service ports and additional damaged partitions.  Urethane has been applied to the vanity top and shelf above the couch.  The owner has been by and is pleased with the progress thus far.