Renovation progress report May 2008
Since putting the kitchen together, I've been wrestling with finishing issues such as what type of sinks & countertops to use, paint colors etc.. I've finally decided that it made no sense to go much further, and that these final decisions should be made by the eventual buyer. There are still some construction details left to be done, including a few more new cabinet doors, some hardware, shelving, & refinishing of the new tile floor, but the installation of the new sinks and countertops & final paint can easily be finished within any reasonable contract period.
As the Real Estate market in the Phoenix Scottsdale area has been so dreadfully slow during the last two years, I obviously have not been in any rush to finish this project, however here are some new shots of the kitchen which you can compare to those in the previous renovation progress report.
In the photo below, the open space in the lower cabinets is for a pull-out trash bin.
In this photo you can see the new Thermador "Professional Series" stainless steel double ovens.
The countertops seen in these photos consist of a double layer of 3/4" plywood glued & screwed & painted in a slate grey enamel to help potential buyers visualize what the finished kitchen might look like. These plywood tops are a necessary base for whatever granite, slate or tile countertop material the buyer may eventually choose.
As you can see in the photo below, the new A/C vents & lighting are in, and the walls & ceiling are spackled & sanded & ready for paint.
The new main sink is to be centered in front of the window. A simple base-board moulding will be installed around the base of the center island after the tile flooring is refinished. The unfinished tiles in the center were installed over the space where the old wall, between the original kitchen & laundry room was removed.
A new deep "pot sink" will be installed opposite the new Thermador "Professional Series" 48" stainless steel cooktop-grill seen here in the center island. The sink currently in place is the utility sink from the old laundry room, and has been left there temporarily to ease the construction process. A matching free hanging stainless vent hood will go over the cooktop. The vent through the roof above the ceiling is already in place.
The door seen here leads to the new laundry room which occupies the old storage closet in the back of the attached garage. The tiling for the new laundry room has not been finished but the materials are already on hand.
There will be shelving mounted on the wall to the right and left of the sink in front of the window. The co-ax connection for the kitchen TV is just above where the current TV is sitting.
The pass through seen to the left of the new 48" Sub-Zero refrigerator, allows someone entering the house from the garage to put shopping bags etc, right on the kitchen counter without having to walk all the way around (see floor plan).
There will be shelving between the wall cabinets below which go to the corner, over the pass through, and up to the refrigerator. A valence will be built to conceal the top of the refrigerator, with curved corner shelves, as well as a small valence under the wall mounted cabinets for recessed lighting.
While the kitchen clearly looks unfinished, all the heavy work as been done, & there really isn't much left to be done in terms of both time & money.
More photos will be added to this update as the work progresses. Thank you for your interest.
