Friday, August 17, 2007

GETTING STONED

Getting stoned was an inexpensive proposition when all you needed to buy was a little bag of weed...or perhaps some (gag) Boone’s Farm wine.

But when the stone in question consists of several slabs of polished granite collectively weighing close to one short ton, it’s like a cat pissing in the cash register: It starts to run into the money.

And that’s perfectly OK, because the Good Things in life are worth splurging for. In our case, the Good Things include new granite kitchen countertops and a new gas cooktop. A new dishwasher and stacked set of ovens will follow shortly. Perfect for preparing the cat food and beans that’ll be all our budget will allow us after we pay for alla this stuff.

Here’s a visual Progress Report. There’s still plenty of work to be done over the next few days, so what you are looking at is far from complete...but at least you will get the flavor of what we’re trying to do.

Clear the Decks
The calm before the storm.

All of the crap has been moved away and shoved unceremoniously in the dining room, leaving a clear field of action.

New Desk
Emerald Pearl looks a damn sight better than that old white Formica.

Step 1
The old electric cooktop has been pulled out of the island.

Step 2
Off goes the Formica.

Step 3
The rest of the Formica countertop is gone and the backsplash has been stripped away.

Step 4
The granite is in place, sans cooktop and sink.

Step 5
Sink and cooktop are in place.

That’s one day’s work. Plenty more to come: installing the backsplashes; framing up the undermount sink (currently supported by clamps); hooking up the cooktop vent and running a line to the natural gas supply; installing the faucet and related Sinky Plumbing.

You better believe there will be some Celebratory Drinkage when this job is done.

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