We will actually do it this time?

Well, I have studied our costs and have some more data.

The expected cost is roughly $45k and our budget was $3ok.

The three other times that we killed the kitchen project was when the magic spreadsheet was way over $30k (see post "Prologue and History").


I posted earlier about the scope creep, and I can claim approx $13k from items that were not in our original plan or things that we upgraded.

We have three options
- Do it at the full cost and realize that we want those items for personal satisfaction that we will be living here for a while (we think)
- Do it at the reduced cost and reduced satisfaction. Still an upgrade but not our first choice on some items.
- Kill it again and probably never do it!

We are leaning toward doing it, but there will be more to follow.

The numbers are scary

I just ran some numbers in Excel on this project, and the numbers are larger than we orginally thought for this little project.

We were targeting $30k. Now we are in the $40's, but we have approx $4,500 on things where we increased scope (e.g., better range, speed cook oven, etc.).

We have too many cabinents!

I hope I am looking at this information wrong!

Kitchen Design Pictures

I have scanned our kitchen layout design plans. These are not the latest revision, because they do not have the pantry and fridge cabinets.

Click here for the design images (or paste this link in your browser, www.flickr.com/photos/38642159@N00/sets/72157594179784069/)

Online shopping - Sink and Faucet

We have not ordered anything yet, but we are definately going to online order our sink and faucet.

The big three seem to be:

• Home Click
• Home Center
• Home Annex
  

A co-worker has ordered from the first two with good results. Apparently one word of advice is to not be in too much of a hurry. Order plenty in advance, and you will be fine. The prices are great.

We are going to buy our sink (Franke Orca single bowl) and faucet (Danze Parma with pullout spray) for sure.

An interesting note is the same co-worker turned me on to two savings opportunities that I am passing on as hearsay only.

• Home Click has sales (8% - 10%) offered on the homepage during the weekend. This past weekend it was 10% off.
• If you link into the sites from eBates, you can earn a quarterly cash-back dividend. Sounds worth a shot.
  

It ain't scope creep when you are writing the check

We have added / upgraded some things in this project because we want to. We accept the budget increases because they make sense and we would kill ourself if we did not take the opportunity. They are considerable when you look at them in a list (may be missing some).

• Professional range style from regular GE Profile / Kenmore Elite type
• Tearing out paneling and sheetrocking half of the kitchen
• Adding two additional HVAC vents in the kitchen in the peninsula (summertime has made it hot in the kitchen)
• Adding a vent in the adjacent study addition, which is not currently ventilated - added square footage
• Relocating electrical panel, which means
• Adding a pantry and fridge top cabinets
• Seating at the peninsula, instead of just a cooking prep surface

I am sure I am forgetting some, but you get the idea. I think it is a sound investment. We looked at current realty listings in our area. There is nothing that I would trade our house for, even houses that cost $30k-$50k more than ours did.

The pantry shall be mine

I have gotten my wish on a kitchen pantry becoming a reality. We are going to spend the extra $750-$1,000 to relocate our electrical panel (see picture set) a few feet over to the right of its current location. This will enable is to enclose our fridge with a pantry and some top cabinets.

Nothing too large, but enough to get some key storage space. We are going to have a 12" wide pullout pantry to the left of the fridge with some cabinets above. That's it. Any more and we would have too narrow of a passage to the counter.

This is made easier because our contractor will be tearing out all the drywall, paneling, and plaster in the kitchen to the studs. This was originally included (I did not know this) in his bid, because in many things contractor-related, it is easier to tear and start over than patch. Cool with me - makes things easier for the electrician.

Too many kitchen counter choices

This weekend we obtained a sample square of our chosen granite. The one color of granite that we have both loved everywhere we have seen it. I am sure by now, you know where this is going. We get it home and the overwhelming emotion is "eehh."

I think we may change direction and seriously consider one of the quartz counters: Zodiaq, Silestone, Cambria, or CaeserStone. Our designer came over and finalized some cabinet layouts with the change in our speed cook / microwave oven. She brought some samples of the quartz colors. I will look at them when I get back in town later this week.

We were big fans of quartz early in this kitchen process. Because it is everything granite is and some more things that granite is not. It is non-porous, does not require sealant, and is anti-microbial (I don't even trust that one!). Seems like a no-brainer, but granite is a name brand term that resonates with buyers.

No Advantium - Dammit

Well, we got a surprise when we found out that our GE Advantium speed cook oven / microwave could not be installed underneath a countertop. A co-worker asked me if it could be installed under a counter, because he thought he read that in the documentation. Doubt set in.... I had not carefully reviewed the installation instructions. Well, wouldn't you know it - "...cannot be installed under a counter top..."

We are now going to select the KitchenAid Ultima cook version. We initially chose the Advantium because we thought it had more features and was cheaper - nice combo.

The one consolation prize is that 3 out of 4 major appliances (range, speed cook oven, and range) will be KitchenAid, so the handles will match. Like I said - consolation prize. I think far too much weight is placed on coordinating appliance handles, etc.

Pictures of the Before Kitchen

I am new to posting pictures on the blog, so this post may be edited if I figure out some new stuff.

Here is a link to my photo set on Flickr - Ranch Kitchen - Before. The photos are arranged to roughly take you around the space as if you were standing in it.

Here are a couple of teasers:

Great Book on the Topic of Home Projects and Maintenance

I have finished an interesting and relevant book that is great for the home project process. The title is Sheetrock and Shellac. The author goes through his journey of buying an older home and the adventures in living in it and changing it.

There is a even a chapter dedicated to his "Big Kitchen Project".

Find it here on Amazon.com.