Tile Patterns

We are tiling the kitchen. Here are three tile patterns we are considering.

#1 - This is our first choice. We have 12" and 6" tiles for this pattern. The concern is that it'll be too busy.
#2 - Simple but a good look.

#3 - Simplest look. It works but it's kinda boring. It IS a classic look though.

I'd love to hear comments.

Kitchen Remodel - Day 3

Kitchen Remodel - Day 3, originally uploaded by TNVWBOY.

We didn't get as much done tonight, but it was only a couple of hours. Dean came over again to help me move the final cabinets into the kitchen. So all base cabinets are up, but not secured.

I had to drill and run lines for the dishwasher, only to realize the water line and drain lines were both too short. Back to Home Depot!

Tonight (Day 4) I'm going to run the water line for the refrigerator. I forgot about it and had already set the corner base cabinet so I'll have to unsecure it and drill for the line.

Hopefully on Wednesday we can get the final measurements for the counter tops. Wonder how long it'll take? Two weeks probably. Good thing I have some closet doors that would make good temporary counter tops. Too bad we wont have a sink though.

Kitchen Design

KitchenDesign, originally uploaded by TNVWBOY.

This is what our wall of cabinets will kinda look like when we are done, at least in terms of design. The colors are a bit off.

Kitchen Remodel - Day 2

Day two started with floors. My childhood best friend came over to help early and we put in the 1/4" WonderBoard floor. This took longer than expected. There were a lot of screws to put in. We ran out of board and screws with only a small piece left to fill. Still need to get to the store and get more. Maybe at lunch today.

Once we got the floor in we started bringing up the wall cabinets. We put 2x4s up on the wall to help us hold the cabinets in place. We are putting up a tile back splash later so the holes were not an issue. The first cabinet, in the corner, is the most critical and we had a little trouble getting it right but we did eventually. Dean had to run out for a bit but another mutual friend of ours, Chad, came over and gave me a hand too. We got more of the wall cabinets up and before long Dean was back. It was slower going than expected. Cutting holes for the microwave and making sure all the cabinets lined up right takes time. They started going up quicker though. Once you get that corner right things line up nicely. Then it was just clamp, drill, counter sink and screw together.

After a bit Chad had to go. Before he did he helped Dean and I move the pantry in (2x2x8). It was a beast but it's going to be really nice. We also got the corner base cabinet in. That was tricky. The door was barely large enough.

Dean and I really were only able to get the corner and the sink base in before he needed to head home. That sink base was a pain. Making sure all the holes lined up right with the plumbing was difficult. The worst part was that the water shut-offs come UP from below, not out of the back, so getting the cabinet in while getting the pipes in the right holes was a trick. I ended up having to cut bigger holes than I really wanted to, but it was either that or do some plumbing, which I really didn't want to do. Been there done that. That would have taken a couple hours easily for minimal gain.

Melody and I got one more small base cabinet in before cleaning up. That was a 10 hour day and I was pooped! I wanted to have all the cabinets in but no dice. I need to rent a table saw too so I can rip some spacers for a couple of spots. Maybe that'll be day 3.

Lunch: Godfathers Pizza. Dinner: Cold Godfathers Pizza. (I don't have the microwave up yet.)

Kitchen Remodel - Day 1

My Uncle Henry came over and lent me his back and his muscles tearing out the old kitchen. It was more work than you'd expect, but the worst was the floor. Since we are doing tile we needed to get down to the sub floor. Well they had glued and nailed (a lot of nails) 1/4 inch sheets of board down. It was a serious pain to rip it all up.

So after day one, all the dishes and food are on shelves in the den (to the left of this picture) along with the appliances. That refrigerator was a lot heavier than some I've had the displeasure of moving.

Jimmy Johns for lunch and Arbys for dinner.