Projects

[piqaboo]

We're taking down the Altoid's closet doors and replacing with curtains. OT mounted the hardware this weekend (I purchased it a while back).
Now I've got to hem the curtains so we can finish the job. When I get the sewing machine up, I'll probably hem the other curtains in the house too. (The previous owners put a gingham checked border on perfectly fine maroon curtains. It was about the first thing I did, unpicking that damn checked fabric. Gingham ICK!)

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

I ordered a special sewing machine foot, designed for sewing curved seams easily. It arrived some time ago and the first thing I did was snap the low-shank to snap-on adapter. It was plastic. Eck.

Actually, the foot looks like it should work for me. Sometime during the night, I ordered a metal snap-on adapter foot. Gonna give those curved seams another try.

[barfle]

The laundry room saga continues.

A while back, I promised a narrative on the counter top. Here goes. I just hope I can get it done before my lunch hour is over. Early in November, we went to our local Lowe's to order a counter top. Keeping in mind this is the laundry room, we didn't feel we needed a particularly fancy counter top, so we ordered a formica laminate top. I had measurements for the top, and my wife picked out a formica style and a nose. The salesman told us it would be delivered on a Saturday morning about two weeks afterward. They gave me a drawing of the profile of the counter top, and I set to work building the cabinets so the top would line up with the top of the washer and dryer.

I had to build the cabinets in place, since they occupy the end of the room and attach to three walls. A fair amount of trimming, but the cabinets are in, and the sump is no longer visible, although it is accessible if need be.

Saturday morning came and went, so I called Lowe's and asked for the salesman's extension. The phone rang for about three or four minutes, and then I was put on hold without so much as a "*@&% you," where I languished for another five minutes before I decided to call the manager.

The "manager" was only of moderate help. It seems that Lowe's doesn't really handle counter tops. The whole thing is contracted out, and he couldn't contact the contractor on Saturday. He said he would call me on Monday, and he did, telling me that the contractor needed to order some parts (it's particle board and formica, and they're a formica dealer?). He said the counter top could be delivered the morning of the day after Thanksgiving, another three weeks delay (which is not a day off for me, but I was going to take a vacation day anyway), but he said he would knock off $100 for my trouble, so I agreed that would be OK.

So that morning came and went, too, and when I called the "manager," I got someone different, who said that my counter top was in the store, he had no idea why it was delivered to the store instead of directly to me, and that he would deliver it the following day.

So that day the counter top arrived, and while the formica was what we wanted, and it was the size we told them to make it, the profile was considerably different than had been shown me. The nose had a 3/4" cleat behind it that was about four inches wide, as well as several other 3/4" cleats around the outside edge of the top, which raised the top to the point that it would have looked just plain stupid next to the appliances.

As you might imagine, by this time I figured I had had enough screwing around with Lowe's on this project (two missed deliveries as well as the top being built wrong), so I called them and told them it was wrong, and that I did not want the top, that they could come and get it, and refund my money. They said they would come the next day to pick it up (Sunday), but I think you can figure out whether or not I saw a Lowe's truck, in spite of a wasted Sunday waiting for them.

So Monday I called them again, and said one more time that I did not want the top, that it was not made the way I was told it would be, and that they had one more chance to come and get it. They said they would pick it up on Wednesday. I said I would not be home on Wednesday, they said to leave it outside where they could pick it up, and that my refund would be processed when the top was in the store. Wednesday was rainy, but I left it out in the rain so they could at least pick it up. I had no confidence at all by this time, but really didn't give a rat's rear if they got it or if someone with a pickup truck and a greedy eye got it.

The top was gone when I got home.

We checked out credit card balance a few weeks later, and there was no refund from Lowe's on it, so we disputed the charge.

As I noted late last year, we suspended all construction activity for the holidays. But the holidays are over, so last weekend we went to an independent kitchen and bath remodeling/ cabinet/ counter top store who had done our neighbor's kitchen, and did a very nice job. We brought our dimensions and color samples, and went to select a counter top. When he quoted us the price, it was about $200 less than Lowe's had quoted us, and then sold my wife on the idea of a Corian counter top for about $100 more than the laminate quote from Lowe's. (Did I mention that this is the LAUNDRY ROOM?)

Friday, a guy came in to measure the space (it does go against three walls and everything is not all that square - my wall is vertical, but it's in the same orientation the original one was) so the top would fit properly. A few hours after he left, we got a call from the store that the salesman had quoted us a price for a "standard depth" counter top, and that with the additional material, the top would be over a grand. <<Ed: Did you mention that you brought dimensions with you?>> So we decided against the Corian top, and would go with a laminate top, and we would be in on Saturday to select a color, which we did.

Yesterday was a federal holiday, so I spent the day at the sawdust factory finishing off the doors (not quite, but getting closer). While I was gone, my wife got a call from the installers who said our Corian top was ready and could they install it on Tuesday? She told them we had cancelled that order and opted for laminate, and they said they would call the salesman. The salesman called back and said that since the top was built, we could have it for the quoted price, and could they install it on Tuesday? Since we both had to go to work (ahh, those four-day weekends must come to an end eventually), they should call me and set up an appointment for installation.

They did, and supposedly it will be installed tomorrow.

[piqaboo]

Good luck, sincerely.

That sounds like my round of fun and games at Lowes. They dont get my money any more. I'll have to type out the bathroom vanity tale sometime... it predates OT, so he is more forgiving of them.

[treebeau]

Wow! I will only settle for in-stock countertops from now on. That's all I have ever bought.

Alternatively, you could have guilt one yourself with plywood, cement backer board, tiles, and grout. Could have made it match the floor.

Regards,
Tim B.

[treebeau]

Check my blog for what's going on around my place. I'm working on a drill press table and a space saving router table. The shop has been cleaned and organized (for now). Lots of projects coming up.

Regards,
Tim B.

[barfle]

Originally posted by treebeau:
Wow! I will only settle for in-stock countertops from now on. That's all I have ever bought.

Alternatively, you could have guilt one yourself with plywood, cement backer board, tiles, and grout. Could have made it match the floor.

The cabinets have the requirement of covering the sump, which made them fairly deep, since I really don't want to move it. I doubt if there is an in-stock top that would do. Certainly, I can cut one down, but you can't cut it off longer than it already is.

The tiles on the floor are rather thick, which would require a fairly hefty board under it, which would, in turn, make the top pretty thick. Then there's the issue of the nose, just like there was for the baseboards. :p

[barfle]

Tim, what purpose is the fence on the drill press table? Will you be routing or milling on it?

My drill press is pretty rudimentary. The base is bolted to my bench, then there's a piece of conduit coming vertically out of it to mount a holder for my drill motor. I bought it at Sears close to thirty years ago. If I need to hold my work, it has the slots for drill press clamps in it. So far it's been adequate for my needs.

[treebeau]

Hey, if I had known that THAT was your drill press, I would have given you a benchtop drill press that I gave to someone else when I got my floor model.

You're going to instantly perk up when I tell you why one needs a fence on a drill press table. In a word...SHELVES !! Ok, calm down.

This is just one example. You are familiar, of course with how some bookcases have adjustable height shelves. Sometimes this consists of 1/4 inch holes drilled an inch or so apart along the sides of the bookcase. And to look good, those holes are drilled an inch or two in from the front and back edges of the side. Well, when one has a fence, that distance in can be set up to be automatic. Set the fence back from the bit the desired amount and every hole is automatically the correct distance in from the edge.

Another reason is for "repeatable" drilling. Sometimes one wants to drill a hole in the exact same spot on a number of boards. You can mark one of the boards, then set up the fence and a "length stop" for that first piece. Then, you just butt each successive board against the fence and stop and drill away...no measuring each piece.


My fence is coming along. I should be using it by the weekend. And I do need to drill 100 holes that are a certain distance in from the edge of a piece. It will come in REAL handy.

Regards,
Tim B.

[dai bread]

Barfle, as soon as you said you'd started building without waiting for the top to arrive, I knew you;d be in trouble! It's a law of nature, an instance of Murphy's Law, I think.

[barfle]

Ahhh, I see why you have the fence now. I have a portable jig for making those holes. I used it in the pantry to locate the holes for the drawer slides, since, being metric, they did not line up with the 1" pegboard pattern. They are spaced integral inches vertically, but horizontally it's the manufacturer's call.

When I get around to building my floor to ceiling bookcases in the basement library, I'll use my jig again.

BTW, the installers for the Corian counter top are here, and it fits! Whew!

Pictures coming, I promise.

[barfle]

Originally posted by dai bread:
Barfle, as soon as you said you'd started building without waiting for the top to arrive, I knew you;d be in trouble! It's a law of nature, an instance of Murphy's Law, I think.

Live and learn, I guess.

The corollary of Murphy's law is, of course, "things that can't go wrong will, too."

[piqaboo]

and of course, if you had waited for the top to arrive, it would have been the exact dimensions they'd given you, with no surprises, but you wouldnt have had the cabinets built yet.

[barfle]

I told you it was beautiful!



Unfortunately, the sawdust factory's wide planer is out of commission, so most of the doors are on hold until it gets fixed.

<small>[ 01-19-2006, 12:04 PM: Message edited by: barfle ]</small>

[OperaTenor]

Barfle and Tim,

I bow to your superior project conduct.

I'm still in the process of cleaning up the flotsam from the attempt on the Grundig(it's still sitting on by bench mostly assembled). However, we now have ~1/3 of our garage floor visible, so there's room to move around in there.

Three hottest projects pending*:
1) Rewire and paint deck railing(before Altoid decides to fall through the hole in the wire)
2) Fight back more ice plant(think of it as "California Kudzu")
3) Clear out and possibly dismantle ground level planter boxes(possible future site for portable spa?)


*All subject to concurrence from Piq, of course.

[barfle]

Originally posted by OperaTenor:
Barfle and Tim,

I bow to your superior project conduct.

At this point, I just want the damned thing DONE! I am seriously tired of working on this room. I've been at it for about twenty months now.


I'm even willing to take a mental health day for it.


I am fairly proud of what I've accomplished so far, and these days the progress does show in the room (not like rearranging the plumbing, then covering it up with drywall and cupboards), but this simply must stop sometime. I'm not as young as I was when I started it.

[piqaboo]

Im with ya.
The deck scares me - its so old, the peeling paint may well be leaded (unlikely. Its brown.)

Insert between 1 and 3: sand and seal deck itself.

2 is ongoing, and great way to both work off frustration and pull muscles in one's lower back.
Perhaps on Saturday we shall issue clippers, and co-erce teh randomizers to help us assault the stuff.

barfle, it is indeed a thing of beauty! Why paint clothes rod? Why not naked wood or use a metal one? Im curious.

[barfle]

Originally posted by piqaboo:
Im with ya.
The deck scares me - its so old, the peeling paint may well be leaded (unlikely. Its brown.)

Insert between 1 and 3: sand and seal deck itself.

2 is ongoing, and great way to both work off frustration and pull muscles in one's lower back.
Perhaps on Saturday we shall issue clippers, and co-erce teh randomizers to help us assault the stuff.

barfle, it is indeed a thing of beauty! Why paint clothes rod? Why not naked wood or use a metal one? Im curious.

Deck? Deck? I have one that needs to be torn out, and I have yet to address that in any way whatsoever, except to curse when it gets wet and slimy and I land on a body part not intended for transport. We had thought about sanding and sealing it, but my dear landscape architect wife now has other ideas...

BTW, we finished the headboard and installed it before I had a chance to take pictures of the backside. It looks pretty good, and it's comfortable to lean against. All I have to do is keep the cats away from it. I figure it'll take about two weeks before one of us leaves the door open.

<small>[ 01-19-2006, 03:33 PM: Message edited by: barfle ]</small>

[BigJon@Work]

Originally posted by piqaboo:
Insert between 1 and 3: sand and seal deck itself.

Sand a Deck! Piffle! Get a manly, high-performance pressure washer and blast that crap off of there. It's actually safer since you won't be sending lung-sized particles into the air you breath.

[OperaTenor]

There's almost no paint left on the deck itself, and the boards have that worn smooth texture, so I don't think we need to actually sand it. Just go around with a scraper and get the few scraps of paint up prior to sealing.

I think threatening Random with group ice plant abatement is a good way to cancel the event.