Now that the old cabinets have been completely removed, we did some patching and spackling of the sheet rock. I am comfortable with spackle, even filling quite large areas (where the old back splash tore the facing of the sheet rock away) is no problem with my trusty “5-in-1” painters tool but patching the sheet rock with tape and mud was new and a little intimidating to me at first. Good thing that all the areas that we patched will be hidden either by cabinets or the tile back splash we will put in. I first used self sticking mesh type sheet rock tape, covering holes too big for spackle. Then you put a thin layer of sheet rock (s/r) mud over the mesh tape pressing it in to just fill in the mesh. Let that dry over night and sand smooth. (I didn’t use it but there is also a fast or “hot” mud that dries in 20, 45 and 90 minutes if you like.)

Then you put another thin layer over the patch, this time wider and feathering the edges, making sure to not allow any of the tape to show. Wait over night and sand again, trying not to expose the mesh like tape underneath this time. Now for the final coat of mud, this time using an even wider “knife” and feathering the edges of the mud thinner so when it is sanded and painted it won’t show.

 

 

Before the new cabinets were installed, we thought it would be a good idea to paint the areas that would show first, avoiding a possible mess taping and painting the brand new cabinets. Boy are we glad we did! The installers only scuffed a tiny 1 inch area that had to be touched-up after they were through. We also wanted new moulding around the windows and door going into the laundry area, and so I removed the moulding above the sink window before they installed the cabinets so I didn’t risk whacking and scratching the new cabinets with my pry bar. The other moulding will be swapped out later, as it isn’t near the cabinets.

 

Here are the new cabinets just after being installed.

 

 

After the cabinets were installed, the electrician came and finished installing the under cabinet lighting, replacing the outlet cover plates, and the county inspector was already by to approve it all. And the counter top people were by to do their final measurements and should be ready to install next week. It was very reminiscent of the movie “Money Pit” (Tom Hanks, Shelly Long) here yesterday with different people coming in and out.

I have now competed putting on the new moulding around the sink window, installing the new microwave oven-hood above the stove area, and installed a new light over the sink. My wife put her new curtains over the competed sink window and she says it is shaping up very nicely!