Lacanche is in the house!

This Lacanche Chagny range was born in Lacanche, France on June 3, 2015. It slowly made it's way to Canada and came to rest in our garage until today. Here's a photo record of the last leg of the journey to its home in our new kitchen.

It was all even floors from the garage to the kitchen except for these stairs that lead from the Costco room to the laundry room. Matt and Mike D. fashioned a ramp to get past this one obstacle.

I suspect Matt has a sore back now. That's an 800 lb stove.

Matt and Mike inspecting the attachments and seeing what needs to go where before they get the stove off the dolly.

It's all about leverage really or, as my dear friend Erin would say - It's a very physical thing.

Everything's lined up. Ready to slide it into place.

The star of the renovation - Home Sweet Home.

Ups and Downs - Feb. 9, 2016

This week (and it's only Tuesday) has been a roller coaster. Maybe it's because of the never-ending delays that each set-back seems that much more disheartening. Whatever the reason - it seems that we're destined to continue going two feet ahead and one back with this project.  Here are just a few of the "ahead" and "back" moments we've encountered lately.

This is what's left of the giant puddle of water that resulted from the snow melting off the Range Rover Friday night (this picture was taken Monday morning so a lot of the water had evaporated). There is a floor drain in the garage (directly under the truck) but we've discovered that the cement wasn't poured properly and the floor actually tilts away from the drain instead of toward it. We've contacted the contractor to see what can be done. I suspect the only answer will be to install another drain in this area of the floor. It just happened that we noticed it in time to move a china cabinet (still in it's cardboard crate) out of harm's way before it was water damaged.

We love our new outdoor lights that were destined for the pergola. Our electricians have informed us that there are actually two types of "outdoor" lights. One is this type that is designed to be outdoors but under a roof (say on a porch or veranda) - the type we bought. Then there is the other type that is capable of being directly exposed to rain (the type we need for under our pergola) - the type we should have bought. We had no idea there was a difference - we foolishly assumed "outdoor" light meant a light that could be installed outdoors. How silly. And, of course, we purchased them from Direct Buy so there is no returning them (we have two) since there's nothing wrong with them. There is some talk of perhaps fashioning a small little roof to go over each one. We'll have to see how creative the contractor can be or what the electricians will allow.

This is our new, shiny brass, kitchen faucet. Looks great...until you look a little closer (see below).

This is the left side of the faucet. That little crescent of space you see on the left shouldn't be there.

Likewise, on the right side of the faucet, this little crescent shouldn't be here either. Typically, these faucet holes would be drilled in a stone counter top at about 8 inches apart. However, our faucets were imported from England where the typical distance is actually 7 7/8 inches apart. We were very diligent and made sure the stone cutters were aware of this difference and watched them put the 7 7/8 inch measurement into the template. However, the holes were drilled on-site, after the counter top was installed and, for whatever reason, was drilled with the holes too far apart. They're close - dare I say 1/8 of an inch - but far enough apart that if we forced the faucets they would leak or if we left it as it is, there would be a place for water to leak around the base of the faucets. Plus you would still be able to see the mistake. We should also point out that these imported brass faucets cost almost as much as the counter top. I think our friends at Jade Stone Halifax were aware of that and have offered to replace the entire counter top. So, whatever they lacked in hole-cutting they made up for in customer service. It's great that we'll have the properly drilled counter top but frustrating that we have to wait another week for the new one to be fabricated and then they'll be here another day removing the old one and installing the new one.

On a brighter note - the area where the stove will eventually live is beginning to really come together. The addition of the counter tops and the corbels and the valance really have made a amazing looking custom feature of the kitchen. The outlined centers of those corbels are actually cupboards that you simply push and they slide out to reveal spices or oils or whatever we decide to store in there. You can also note the difference in the back splash now that the marble tiles have been grouted.

From a bit further back you can see the exposed ventilation pipe at the top of the valance. Once all the electrical is completed the valance will be closed in right up to the ceiling. The pot filler will be installed in the next couple of days and then we should be just about ready to finally bring the stove in from the garage and put it in it's final resting place. It's seen sitting in that garage for six months so it'll be fantastic to (a) finally have a stove in the kitchen and (b) finally have that section of the garage back so I'll be able to park my car in there.

February 7 Update

Yesterday, Saturday, was a big day. The counter tops arrived and our odd looking room has finally begun to look like a kitchen. The delays have been unbelievable so the fact that it's finally beginning to shape up has us really excited and we're daring to hope that this might all be over soon. Here are some pictures to explain the latest developments.

Here's a view of the kitchen with the counters in place. No cupboards yet in this picture.

The island without cupboards or drawers or butcher block but, again, starting to look like a kitchen finally.

The custom made butcher block. Some things are worth the wait. Not all. But some.

The marble back splash in place. This isn't grouted yet. It looks very different now with the grout in place. The hole in the center is where the pot-filler fixture will go.

Showing some of the great detail of the counters and the farm house sink sitting in place (no plumbed in yet).

The cupboards are in place. They protrude out beyond the dining room door and make it inset which is really neat look.

With so much attention on the kitchen we forget about the other parts of the house. Here is where the 100 year old radiator finally gave out. I had to refinish the floor where the old rad had been and tried to match the finish as closely as possible. Hopefully it will not be too noticeable once the new radiator is in place. We removed it and our heating guy found one to replace it. We had it painted to match the trim and he'll hopefully get around to installing it soon. It's February and we miss that part of the house being heated.

The new counter tops arrived.

Andrew and Gordon - our counter top guys - skillfully put them in place and start cementing things together.

Meanwhile in the laundry room - it was a big day for counter tops in the laundry room too on Saturday. Mike DeLuca came over to be on hand in case the stone counter top guys needed some direction. They were pretty good on their own so Mike went to work putting the counter tops on the laundry room counter and island.

The second counter top goes into place.

The counter tops on the island and counter in the laundry room. The rooms are actually beginning to look like what they are supposed to look like finally. Still lots of clutter that will eventually find it's way to the empty cupboards and drawers. Mike and Rio are heading into the kitchen to check things out there.

The island counter top finally installed. They're made of a quartz composite - 97% stone aggregate and 3% resin. They won't stain and never need to be sealed or treated. Maintenance free. The hole in the center is where an electrical outlet will go. It's a little pop-up box that sits flush until you need it. Then you just give it a push and the receptacle pops up. Very cool.

The other counter top. We put the faucets in for effect but they're not hooked up yet. Someone asked Mike if the cupboard door on the right was going to hit the counter when it was opened. All the cupboard doors only open to about 90 degrees. It was the same in the old kitchen. I'm assuming that's the same with all hidden hinges. You can also see that the solid walnut floating shelves have been installed. They'll be the home to some cookbooks (the ones that don't fit on the main cookbook shelf) and some nice pottery and other objets d'art.