Two Weeks Of Countertops

When reading this post, you might think that this looked like we did it all in one really long day. Oh, how wrong you are. This post covers almost a two week time frame..starting with removing the sink on day two, and replacing it with a new one on day twelve. What did we do for eleven days without our kitchen sink? Well, you will just have to read on to find out (unless, of course, you are a dedicated follower, then you already know!)

If your just joining us, here is the link to the previous photo bomb post about painting and raising the cabinets.

Also, just for a refresher, here is the before picture taken just after we moved in and our two inspiration photos...

So here we go! We chose butcher block for our countertops for a couple of reasons. First, we really like the look. Second and most important, they were affordable. We got quotes for all the other types of countertops...granite, marble, corian, laminate...everything was over $2,000. We bought our counters (12ft and 8ft) from Lumber Liquidators for $750 in cherry (plus $14 cash back from Ebates...love Ebates!). I thought for sure we were going to stain them before sealing, but the Husband (who comes from a family of woodworkers) claims that it's a sin to stain cherry. I wasn't too sure about that, then we applied the first coat of sealer and they already looked so much better.  This is us doing the first coat on the underside using Waterlox.   

Your going to notice in these pictures that 1) I'm not in any of them and 2) all the men in them look kinda alike. Well, I had to be on toddler duty and work the camera. Plus, this task was pretty much mans work and super pregnant ladies just don't make the cut. And all the men look alike because it's the Husband and two of his brothers. Here his Adam and is older brother Keith making the very first cut. 

Inside, Taylor (younger brother) and I started demo. While removing the backsplash we noticed some pretty funky stuff happening behind them. 

And here we go, with the removal of the sink. Oh gosh, I hated that sink.

Then the rest was removed (drink in hand, I might add).

The next step was the cutting the hole for the undermount sink. I was told that this was a huge pain because we didn't have the correct tools.

What they ended up doing was taping the template to a 3/4 inch sheet of plywood and cutting that out first.

Then they used that template to cut out the hole using what tools we had.

After much cutting, routing, and sanding...we have a sink hole!

On the underside of our 45 degree joint they added these brackets...cause we like our stuff sturdy!

Here is the countertops all installed without any sealant. We ended up doing five coats of Waterlox (applied with a foam brush) and letting each coat dry for 24 hours. Before the final coat we sanded with 400 grit sandpaper and its smooth as silk!

While this was happening, I was doing dishes and all other kitchen sink activities in....

the bathtub!

After our final coat of Waterlox was dried it was really REALLY time for the sink. I only have one picture of the process because I was at a bible study for the rest. Usually you would install the sink before the counter is installed, but because of the size and angle of ours, we installed the counters first. I was told this made for a very difficult sink installation. Sometimes its nice to be a girl :)

I do, however, have pictures of the finished product!

The next step is the beadboard backsplash and open shelving. We also need to finish up some things we missed along the way - like that crooked drawer and the toekick for example.

As for the countertop on the bar area, we aren't quite sure what to do. We've though about having it wrapped in stainless steel or seeing if we can get some scrap granite (since the Husband works for a construction company). We are up for something a little funky as well, if anyone has a suggestion!

And now, ladies and gentleman - the price breakdown. Since I forgot this part in the last kitchen post, we'll start there. 

Blue/gray Duration form Sherwin Williams - $35 on sale (only used about 1/4 of the gallon)

Quart white Duration paint, also from SW - $15

New hinges - $50

Plywood for shelves in lower cabinets - $20

Butcher block countertops (including shipping and tax) - $750

Stainless sink - $145

Delta Leland faucet in stainless - $190

Quart of Waterlox - $30

Extras such as foam brushes, caulk, brackets, shelf clips, sandpaper, etc - $45

Total so far - $ 1,280

Not bad, if I may say so myself. The beadboard shouldn't be very expensive and I'm sure we can finish the whole thing for under $2000 (including lighting, shelving, new trim, everything). I think that would make for a successful budget kitchen remodel!

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