binets are installed in the Pantry and Mudroom now, with the exception of some hanging cabinets in the mudroom that I can't handle myself. They went in pretty easily in retrospect, but then again I've teethed on all kitchen and bath cabinets with my mentor Brian (the trim carpenter).The mudroom cabinets are positioned in an L shape. The two lower cabinets will be used to support an L-shaped desk made out of formica (yes, our budget is in the rice and beans class now).
Same goes for the pantry. With 25 linear ft of counter tops in the pantry, using cheapo granite @ $50 a sq. ft (from Home Depot or another Chinese rock source) would cost roughly $2500, plus another $1250 for the mudroom. Since both of these rooms have utilitarian purposes (not entertaining), we decide to use wood-trimmed formica, which has lots of new designs and colors since we bought some in 1985. At $2-3 a sq. ft its a pretty good work surface. If James Cameron or another celebrity buys our house when we go to the old folks home, they can upgrade the counters at their expense. Nancy can still have her marble slab in the baking center to roll out those famous pie crusts. I'll just leave a blank spot and find an appropriate remnant at a local fabricator. You can cut marble with a tile saw and polish it with a sander—not rocket science as I like to say.
Looks like the next project will be floor tile, which I have to man-up for. Mostly its a head job, although the 17" x 17" tiles aren't exactly light. Tile is planning and then some more planning. I'll measure out 17" from two walls and snap some chalk lines. Then I'll layout all the uncut tiles and measure up the remainders for cutting. After all the tiles are cut to size and spaced, I'll label the cut ones with tape and dry marker, stack them up in the adjacent space and go at it with my 1/4" x 1/4" trowel (and old friend now). All the books tell you to make the cuts so that you have equal size tiles on opposing walls, but with this room we'll have a desk along two walls and some sort of long bench or seat on the sauna (N) side wall. So the only "open" wall will be the one on the garage side (W), which is where I'll start using a running bond pattern.
