Category Tools

After finally getting back from an awesome holiday vacation in Vegas, Palm Springs, Anaheim, and LA, it was time to finish the countertop install.

Now that the cabinets were level, the installers came back. They used a counter joining tool that pressure sealed the two pieces together with glue in between.

After the glue set, the counters were good to go!

The next day, I reconnected all of the plumbing and installed new fixtures, along with a new garbage disposal.

After that was complete, it was time to move onto the new tile backsplash.

Yesterday was supposed to be the day to complete the countertops, but unfortunately we only got part of it done. We ran into a cabinet leveling issue that ultimately had to be corrected before the seam on the main counter could be joined. Before that though, I had to completely clear off the old counters.

After that, the installers removed the old countertops.

The installers then placed the new countertops on top of the cabinets.

At that point, they realized that the cabinets were too far away from level (over an inch) for them to correct with shims, so they had to stop and leave the countertops in place.

At that point, I had to call in a favor from a friend who runs an awesome cabinetry and construction company, who came and helped me level everything the next day.

I also had to replace some valves under the sink that had worn out and were leaking from the removal of the previous sink.

Once that was done, we set the countertops back in place and I placed everything back on the counters for now, although that will have to come off again in early January when we finish joining the counters.

One of my in-between-project projects was to reorganize my tools, which had gotten out of control due to all of the projects split between the two houses. I setup a staging ground in the lake house, and piled all of the tools and building supplies into categories before organizing them.

After that was done, I purchased and assembled some additional storage cabinets, as well as clearing space in existing cabinetry and adding some shelving.

After that, I placed all of the tools in their place, in a logical order, and labeled all of the cabinets, shelves, and drawers with a label maker so that I can easily find things in the future and not constantly re-buy building supplies that I already have.

After everything, both garages, plus the guest house, were completely clean and clear of piles of tools.

Since it’s winter and I’ve been laid up recovering from hernia surgery, I’ve been getting a bunch of small projects around the house done that don’t seem like much but add up to a lot of improvement. Here is a list of what I’ve done so far:

• Living Room Rug
• Replace Kitchen Desk Chair
• Organize Small Hand Tools
• Lake House Kitchen Rug
• Refrigerator Water Dispenser Repair
• Get Fireplace Fixed
• New Kitchen Faucet
• Fix Kitchen Light Switch
• Water Softener Salt
• New Lampshades for Living Room
• Replace Lightbulbs
• Key Rack

Most recently I purchased the new rug for the living room and the new kitchen desk chair, which I’m very happy with.

The chair is much more solid than the last one, and less likely to be destroyed by the cats and/or my wife.

The task I’m currently working on is organizing all of my tools, which have been scattered across a variety of tool boxes and tool bags after all of my fall and summer construction projects. I’m using the guest house living room as a staging area, and grouping tools by genre until I have everything organized enough to start putting away.