Even The Kitchen Sink

While I was working on the stairs I finally had had enough of this situation.

 

 

Yep, that's two buckets under the sink. On the left we have a garbage disposal with a crack in the housing, and on the right the sink strainer was so stripped that it would not attach to the drain pipes. The bottom of the cabinet had pretty much disintegrated from water damage. At this point I had cleaned out the remaining cabinet floor and created some support for a new sheet of plywood. Oh, and don't worry about water damage. I didn't use the water for a couple of days and it was bone dry.

 

Sadly the sink cabinet wasn't the only one needing a little work. When we removed the old flooring in the kitchen (before we even moved in) there was this nasty commercial carpet attached to the toe kicks. When we pulled it off some of the toe kicks came with it. Right now they are blocked off with some wood, but I plan on painting some 1/4" plywood so it looks like the rest of the cabinets. No more lost kitty toys, well in the kitchen at least.

 

 

As boring as toe kicks and under the sink messes are, they were a way of preparing for new countertops! Smell ya later leaky sink.

 

 

We went with a company called Granite Direct because we had heard from a few friends that they were the least expensive in town. Part of that reduced rate was having to remove the exsisting countertops, and installing the sink. Since I like doing what I can, I didn't have a problem with that at all.

 

 

These little water droplets were quite the victory! It took me about 3 1/2 hours to get the sink installed. It was a totally new experience for me. On the front side of the sink I only had an inch gap to get the little sink clips attached, and I dropped a screwdriver on my face. All while crammed into a sink cabinet. Now that I've done it, here are a few things I would do differently: get as much of the water lines connected first, and put the little screw parts of the clips in place before dropping the sink into the countertop.

 

 

The countertops are great and all, but they need a backsplash. We picked out a simple beveled edge subway tile, and I set to install them yesterday afternoon.

 

 

I've got it almost finished.

 

 

I still have a partial row under the cabinets and the area under the microwave.

 

 

And I have to do this on the other side of the window. It's two rows of tile, metered corners, and all topped off with a schluter strip.

 

 

I think I'll link up to Sara's Dueling DIY post, you know, since I'm kicking this kitchen's ass.

Things left in the kitchen before we list the house:

• Finish installing backsplash tile and grout
• Paint and install toe kicks
• Touch up cabinet paint
• Replace outlets and switches
• Replace main light fixture

I'm trying to focus my attentions on one room at a time in an effort to get the house ready to sell. That way I don't have a million little finishing touches left at the end.

 

Nikki Kelly