Kitchen Remodeling II

Well the cabinets arrived today! Tomorrow the installer will give them a look over for damage, if they are correct etc. They were a day early in getting here so that gives us plenty of time to tear out the old cabinets and prep. The electrician is coming Monday to move a few outlets around, add some new switches and such for the under cabinet lighting etc. A plumber is coming Wednesday to install a gas line for the new stove.

After they were unloaded, the installer came over the next day to check them out for damage. Everything is good to go, just one little minor thing to be replaced (a drawer front that screws on) that won’t hinder installation.

 

And so begins the tear out. These are old built-in cabinets, and the fellow who built them left a note scribed to one of the boards in the upper cabinet for posterity. It reads “Cabinets built by Sam Hollander, Sept 11 1962. Wages $4.00 per hour, My age is 35″…

These are “Before” shots”

 

 

The counter tops are glued down and nailed so my son and I are using a car jack from my Jeep to slowly “pry” up the tops. Normally you would just use a sledge hammer and not care, but I am practicing on these to eventually remove the bathroom counter top with out damaging the cabinets because in the bathroom we are keeping the 8ft. cabinet and just replacing the counter top.

 

 

First getting out the base cabinets seemed to be the right thing to do, and not having to bend over to get the top cabinets out. The base cabinet came out in one piece, the upper cabinets had to be dismantled to remove them. After all has been removed, I did some sanding and spackling. So much for day one.

 

 

Kitchen Remodeling I

My wife and I are currently planning a kitchen (and bathroom) remodel. We have been to Lowe’s for the cabinets and (believe it or not) got a pretty good deal. We are choosing the KraftMaid brand. They seem to be well built, stylish good selection of accessories.

 

I have been toiling over the idea of installing them myself. Our kitchen isn’t large just a 10×10 square with the cabinets running down the two sides.

Our existing layout has the stove right next to the refrigerator YUK! I have always hated that. Now there is a nice “Island” between the stove and refrigerator. We are also getting new appliances, refrigerator, over the stove microwave/hood, and I got to pick out a new stove/oven.

I have wanted a gas stove for a long time, after having one in my “first” apartment years ago (26 years), I liked the way the heat was instant on and better yet, instant off or down if something is scorching, and better control of the heat in general. We have been watching Food Network a lot lately and 98% of the chefs use gas stoves.

Cheryl “get’s” a new refrigerator. She hates my old “side-by-side”. We are getting one of those kind with the freezer on the bottom so you don’t have to bend over as much. We are also getting a newer microwave/hood as the old one has the handle duct taped to it.

The main feature of the new cabinets I have always wanted is slide out drawers for the food cupboard and a special heavy duty drawers for the pots and pans. No more climbing on the floor to reach a frying pan deep in the cupboard.

Yreka Western Railroad

We recently took a day trip and rode on the Yreka Western Railroad steam excursion train that goes from Yreka, CA to Montague, CA and back. The YWRR is a short line working railroad as well as a tourist line. It serves (lately) only two mills, taking plywood veneer, wood chips and landscape bark to Montague for drop off and pick up by the Central Oregon and Pacific RR, CORP, located along the famous (former) Southern Pacific RR Siskiyou Line. It used to serve several mills along the line until recent mill closures reduced it’s revenue.

The railroad had recently fallen into financial problems, the steam engine needed repairs, the track needed repairs and to top it all off, the Main line served by CORP had been closed for almost 2 years due to a fire and collapse of Tunnel 13 on the Siskiyou Line. Only southbound loads were taken. But now things look good for the line, slowly gaining revenue and tourists, now that the #19 is back in working order

(click thumbs)

We started our journey at the YWRR Depot / Yard here is the #19 waiting to pull forward and hook up to the excursion train.

You can wander around the yard and explore if you’re careful.

The #19 was the star in the movie “Emperor of the North (Pole)” staring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine and more about depression era bum’s hitching rides on a train that was guarded by an almost evil conductor (Ernest Borgnine) and was filmed in Cottage Grove OR

The trip is about 7 miles long but takes about an hour and a half because the train moves very slow due to poor track conditions. Be prepared to sit back, enjoy the scenery, watch wildlife and relax!

In Montague we had lunch at the “Dutchman” and it was wonderful. Clean decor, great food. We then walked up to the old Montague Depot, now a museum that houses almost exact replicas of how life was for the station master and his family, who lived upstairs. Afterward we walked down the street to a “tea room” and got drinks and cookies for the ride back. The people in this town sure depend on the tourists, and were almost devastated when the excursion train wasn’t operating.

If you’re ever in the area, be sure to stop in Yreka CA, explore the old historic mining district, eat at one of several great restaurants and ride the train!