Philadelphia Pre-Pope Week (#6)
Last week was week #5, despite my title describing it as #4.
Four guys were here all day. It's been a day of trim (interior & exterior window/door), trim priming, and crown molding. Crown won't be completely finished today (the top, ornamental part isn't installed) but it's starting to come together.
Fabricators are coming for template tomorrow, as is the KD, since I went through her for my quartz. Also, electrician's helper is supposed to be here tomorrow. Electrician's helper was supposed to be here today, too, but he wasn't... GC texted lead electrician (who is on vacation) to find out what's up. Electrician, apparently, was surprised that his guy didn't show, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. It would be really nice to get the electricity working so the fridge could get out of the the LR & I could give away my old microwave.
Contractor & his guys will be gone for another week after today - they're juggling a couple other jobs, but it also makes sense to stay out of the way tomorrow, assuming both template folks and electrician are here. Also, it's the beginning of Pope-mageddon (aka Popeocalypse) and already things are getting crazy - streets blocked off, large trucks delivering porta-potties, etc. Now that the end is in sight, though, I really, really want people here working.
Fishcow (et al) - contractor showed up with Redgard for the shower. I did a few searches using keywords combos including: "Gardenweb, wonderboard, shower, Redgard" and all I saw seem to indicate we're heading in the right direction for sound waterproofing.
Over the weekend, I pulled my little dishwasher out of its spot and put it on its side (as per manual) to raise the feet. It worked! I raised them most of the way up - they can probably still go up another 1/4 inch or so. When contractor arrived, he said that DW height was "just about right" the way I had it. *whew*
Hardware is on except for one of the sink base cabinets - I decided to go with the medium size and had only one sample here, the other is on order & will arrive by next week.
Oh, and contractor said I could put stuff in all the uppers & in the pantry cabinet. Yay!
Comments (79)
Carrie B
8 years ago
tmy_jax
8 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (6)lainey_6b_va - you need to get that pre-m down fast. You may miss the weed prevention window and have to control weeds the rest of the summer if you don't act quickly. Any pre-m will work now...doesn't have to be Halt's, but if you can find it, fine. I get mine at Lesco, HD, home and garden/nurseries, etc. Also, if you can only find it with a fertilizer combo, that will work too, but is has to have "crabgrass preventer" or something similar on the bag (ex: Dimension/Balan/Team Pro). Also if you have fescue or bluegrass and can only find the weed and feed combo, I wouldn't do it but one time...it's getting a little late now for fertilizing. NCSU recommends not fertiling after March 15. arjo_reich - you say Tupersan comes in liquid form now? I bet that stuff cost you a bundle. I used it before, but it only lasted about 4 weeks....See MorePhiladelphia?
Comments (16)If you're a museum goer and want to save money -- join a museum that participates in reciprocal programs. So, if you've got a membership to the Boston Museum of Science, you can come down to the Academy of Natural Sciences (aka Philly's dinosaur museum) and the Franklin Institute for FREE. If you are a member of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, you can get free admission through your reciprocating program with the Academy of FIne Arts in Philly. Also, lots of places have AAA discounts on admission. If you tell us what your kids are into, maybe people have ideas. My 16 year old son is really into cars and there is an amazing car museum called the Simeone Foundation, very little known place. If your kids like sports, maybe you can get them to a game. There are segway tours on Philly. Also, there are half price theatre tix on Philly Fun -- like Bostix in Boston. You can get tickets thru them up to a week in advance, half price. The Society Hill neighborhood is a lot like Beacon Hill, cute to walk around in. South Street is funky touristy kitschy -- can't think of a Boston equivalent. The waterfront in Philly isn't as pretty as Boston Harbor, Penn's Landing is no Rowe's Wharf. But there are boat tours. There are also boat tours along the Schulkill. If you contact the National Park Service at Independence Park you can find all kinds of great history programming, tours, etc. Definitely go to Independence Hall. And make sure EVERYONE watches National Treasure (the movie w/Nicholas Cage BEFORE you go. It is a great pre-Philly trip film (along with Rocky). Along the lines of "only in Philly," is the Mummers Museum. Team that up with a trip to Pat's or Geno's for cheese steaks. Yum. Lots to do, lots to see. Great town and YES it will be at least 3 weeks ahead of Boston weatherwise. I lived there for 15 years (now I live here) so I can vouch for that!...See MoreIceberg vs. Pope John Paul II
Comments (26)I've just started posting after lurking for many years. I've harrased my family and friends with flower pics for long enough, I thought I would go global. ;) Thank you so much for your sweet comments! Seil & jjpeace, I grew up in Michigan in zone 5 (at the time). I know exactly how hard growing roses there is! I remember my mom thought our roses were coming down with a dread disease that turned all our roses, one by one, year after year, into single dark red roses. I only discovered who the good Dr.Huey was after extensive research at the library (pre-Internet days). Where I am now, you don't have to be a great gardener to grow reasonable healthy roses. I will say though, there is nothing as beautiful as Michigan in the summer, all those lush green rolling hills, long days and colorful sunsets. :) Jjpeace, I'll post a pic of iceberg in spring if I can find one....See MoreWill this look too odd, island design?
Comments (41)Thanks, Lisa. I do plan on going over all the sizes with her. Mostly to make sure my pot and pans will fit. The rest is all gravy, really. Here is my old layout Starting at the fridge. 2 20 in uppers. I only used the bottom shelves for baking supplies, flour sugar, baking soda, etc. I'm not tall. 2 lowers with 8 inch pullouts and drawers. One drawer was for junk, the other had my measuring cups and spoons. The pullouts were useless. I ended up removing one and putting my Panini press in there sideways, because it wouldn't fit in the pantry nicely. The other I kept the hand mixer, bread pans, flour sifter, etc. This was my baking area, where it says "hole in wall". Next was 2 30 in pullouts. That held all my plastic storage, mixing bowls, glass cookware. I've gotten rid of most of the plastic and traded it for glass. I don't have close to the amount of storage containers that I had when this started. Next is the corner cabinet and lazy susan. Used neither. The corner upper cabinet was too deep, stuff would get shoved back and I couldn't reach it. I hate lazy susans. It held 2 jars of peanut butter, seriously. 30 inch upper that held all our dishes and glasses on the 2 lower shelves. The lower is a drawer base. It holds towels, foil, ziplocks, etc. Dishwasher and 20 inch upper. The upper was protein mixes on lower shelf. 5.5 inch open lower cabinet for cookie sheets. sink A divided 30 inch lower with 2 12 in drawers and 2 12 inch pullouts. Pans on the bottom shelf and one pullout. Lids on the other pullout. Utensils and knives in one drawer. Spices in the other range 2 oddly shaped cabinets, upper and lower. Upper was too small to put anything in. Lower was used for grill stuff. Pantry was also problematic. Small appliances top shelf. Pastas, pasta sauces, a few canned goods, popcorn, oatmeal, steel oats, etc. In conclusion (lol), I don't have a lot of fancy kitchen stuff to store. And, much of my old kitchen was a waste of space. I'm pretty sure that I've accounted for everything in the new kitchen, plus some. But, again, I'll go over everything with her. And, I'm sure she will tell me if something is screwed up. When I first went in there with my rough draft, she thought I wanted floating shelving surrounding the refrigerator. She came right out and said it was a stupid idea and it wouldn't work as a pantry. Then, we both realized we were misunderstanding each other and got on the same page. She won't pull any punches....See MoreCarrie B
8 years agoTwo amusing unpacking-related discoveries.
A half a dozen years or so ago, I hosted a gathering for fellow bloggers. One of my guests, during party prep, noted my pathetic collection of glasses & decided that the occasion warranted *real* drink glasses. We took a trip to Philly Aids Thrift and bought a whole bunch of party glasses. Those glasses have been wrapped up for years. I finally decided it was time for them to come out. I hardly drink at all, so am bemused at how much of my cabinets space is taken up by alcohol vessels.
I still have a box of 8 wine glasses to unpack... Some of these may go back into storage/get donated back, depending on my cabinet capacity. In principle, I can think of no better use for new cabinetry than storage of wine glasses, but for a woman who lives alone and drinks far less than she thinks she ought... ;-)
As I started to unpack water/juice glasses (and that other box of wine glasses (I have wayyyy to many for a person who lives alone) I noticed that quite a few are quite filthy. Even though most are wrapped in newspaper, years of basement crud found its way in. I was debating whether to wash them now, in the basement utility sink, or wait a couple of weeks and just wash them in my new kitchen sink. Then, I had an epiphany - I have a dishwasher now! In two-ish weeks, it will be perfectly functional. Why hand wash them now, and why hand wash them later. I have a dishwasher!!!
Got a text from GC that electrician will be here at 11/11:30. So, that and template today.atmoscat
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoTemplating is done, and went smoothly. Everything I asked of the templater - flush mount sink, sink as close to front as possible, eased edge & gentle DW corner, etc., he wrote down & said that would be fine.
KD was here & brought the panels to cover the venting over the microwave, and the shelf for both the open cabinet (which had been left out) and the one for over the sink. She forgot to bring the 90-degree stops for the cabinet doors that would otherwise hit walls or panels and will bring that when she's here for templating.
I asked her about the possibility of running the 4" top piece of crown (not yet installed on cabinets) across the top of the wall over the window, and she said that was a possibility, though she seemed to think I should also include the larger piece (which I don't want.) I won't know how I want to do it until that piece of crown is up on the cabinets. Then, KD mentioned running the crown all along the back wall, between the cabinets & above the transom. Again, not sure what I want to do there.
I showed KD the 18" DW & told her about the moment of panic when we realized that it was way shorter than standard, and then I told her about the adjustable feet. I showed her how the bottom didn't line up with the cabinetry, and that it didn't really bother me. She told me that she could get a piece of filler to Velcro to the DW, to match the cabinet toekicks (though the bottom of the DW still won't line up w/ cabinetry.) I asked her how much that piece would be, thinking I'd only go for it if it was really cheap, since it really is unlikely to bother me anyway. She said she wouldn't charge me for it, so I said yes!
Oh, and my second medium pull came in today (pictured above). I only ordered it Sunday night, so I'm amazed that it came so quickly. The guys had drilled the holes yesterday, so it was nothing to screw it in myself. I have to say that I'm really oddly pleased that I got to do that myself. I've really enjoyed all the planning (you know, when I wasn't stressed out and hating it) but I've done none of the actual physical work myself. Screwing in that one pull (even if the holes were pre-drilled for me) felt almost embarrassingly good.
bpath
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agoBpathome - I'm actually on the phone (on hold) with Whirlpool customer service about the oven drawer. There seems like a big gap between the top of the drawer and the bottom of the oven door. It might be normal, but it might not be... We're trying to figure out if this is normal:
bpath
8 years agoblfenton
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agodcward89
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years ago
cpartist
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoYesterday, electrician's helper came to put in the new electrical panel. His drill wouldn't work on my concrete basement walls, so not a lot happened that was obvious to me, though he was here a few hours. Today, he came back and put in the panel (not so exciting for me, but I know it's important:)
What was exciting for me is that the fridge is no longer in the living room! The fridge needs some adjusting - my floors & walls are all uneven, so there's been fancy footwork all along to get everything to line up. I'm going to wait on putting the toekick on the fridge until contractor's guys are back.
And here's me standing all the way near the front door. First time in forever there hasn't been a fridge in the way!
The main electrician may be coming tomorrow, but with Pope craziness heating up, I kind of doubt he will - besides that, we're done here for the week. I'd love for the new microwave to be hooked up so I can give away my old one, but already my house feels sooo much bigger!
bpath
8 years agomarann01
8 years agoblfenton
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agomgmum
8 years ago
funkycamper
8 years agolyfia
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agobpath
8 years agoTexas_Gem
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agonancyjwb
8 years agodcward89
8 years agopractigal
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoPractigal - I don't intend to put a shade of any kind back there. I won't get direct hot sun streaming in, due to the house across the way and the tree back there, and there's no privacy issue unless someone sneaks into my yard - so, open door it is.
This morning:
atmoscat
8 years agobpath
8 years agofunkycamper
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agoNot too much of interest happened today. Electrician came around noon & got my power back in the living & guest room. He did hook up the new microwave and put covers on the 4/5 recessed lights - excluding the one that had to be moved & spackled & still needs painting around.
So, not so much interesting to report, I'll give away the old microwave, so it'll be nice to have that out of the way.
Photo added because, well, what's an update post without photos? Plus, this blue electrical cord to the DW wasn't here before today.
funkycamper
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoFunkycamper - you know, when the can lights were first put in several weeks ago, I definitely turned them on and off quite a bit. At that point, only the outlet by the back door was working, and there's no dimmer on that switch. For some reason, though, I didn't do that earlier today. Just now, though, I went over to the switch that's just on the LR side of the steps (the one with the dimmer) and had fun moving that little sliding knob up and down.
I haven't used the microwave yet, but I did go over to it (again, just a bit ago.) I was going to set the clock up - but it looks like electrician already set up the time. I did turn the under-microwave light on and off a bunch of times, and it has a bright and a lower setting, so I got to play with that, too.
Oh, I did put a night light in one of the kitchen outlets earlier today, and fridge is working great in its new home!
Here's a photo taken just now, with dimmed can lights, bright under-micro light, and nightlight in the front:
bpath
8 years agoAnnKH
8 years agopractigal
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
momof2princesses
8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agodcward89
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoCarrie B
8 years agomomof2princesses
8 years ago
bpath