Part II: Installing the cooktop vent hood

The kitchen vent hood is installed, and we're one step closer to having this wall of cabinets finished. This brass vent hood is a salvage find from Second Use. Originally, it had a lacquered finish, but we stripped it off so that it would patina over time. All the accessories, including light fixtures, pot racks, pots and pans, outlet covers, etc. are brass and copper, so it will fit nicely into our motif.

All the duct work is complete, and we've tested for air leaks.  So far so good.

Next on the list is to construct the oven cabinet (to the right of the hood and cabinet) and install.  Then, we've got to start building the cabinet box faces.  We put that off until the boxes were installed so we could build everything to fit.  We hope to have all that complete in time for the weather to improve so we can start finishing and water sealing the salvaged hard-maple countertops.  Once the counter tops are in, we'll be able to tile.

Enjoy ~

Final design mockup:

Part I: Installing the roof vent for the kitchen cooktop hood

We're making way for the new kitchen cooktop hood we're installing in the kitchen.  Step I was to install a vent on the roof.

Project in pictures:

First, we chopped a hole in the roof, then through the floor of the upstairs closet, and finally through the kitchen ceiling.  This is a straight run from kitchen ceiling to the roof of the house, which simplifies the installation.

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

Here the sun is shining through the kitchen ceiling from the roof.  Scary.  Better get it installed before it starts raining!

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

Next, up on the roof to install the roof vent.

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

The roof vent installed.

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

The run of 8" ductwork through the closet upstairs. All the ductwork is from salvaged material at Second Use in Seattle.

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

Next step is to hang the hood in the kitchen, and tie the ductwork together. The electrical is already in place for the hood, so the job should only take a couple of hours at most. Should be able to finish this project up next weekend.

Potager paths and patio are in!

It's been one of the hottest weekends of the year so far. Nonetheless, I was able to finish the brick work for the paths and patio through the potager garden. That's one project I can now mark off my list!

Photo of the final product:

From 2010 Landscape

Next up is to build the arbors over the paths and haul in dirt to fill the space so that it's all the same level as the paths and patio. Maybe I'll do that once it cools down a bit.

Our urban wasteland kitchen garden

Our kitchen garden started out as a driveway if you recall. Last year we managed to break up and haul out 30+ tons/1800 sq. feet of what was the former driveway. Don't worry, we still have enough driveway to park three cars. This newly claimed area was to allow for two additions: a kitchen garden and an orchard. The orchard is well on its way and the 7 new fruit trees are all doing well.

From 2010 Landscape

I've been a little behind on the kitchen garden/potager. First, this area looks a lot like an urban wasteland since it's as hard as a rock, has poor drainage and not a stitch of plantable soil. Pretty much the single worst set of qualifications for a kitchen garden. Earlier this year I wrote about the project plan for this area and how we're going to transform it into a kitchen garden/green space.

To start the garden project, in the last couple of weeks I managed to get the concrete block retaining wall installed that borders between our kitchen garden space and the 5+ acre lot next to us. The property line is marked with a low creek area that flows with water all winter and helps prevent us from floating away. To help prevent erosion and minimize the risk of flooding, we installed a retaining wall and dug the creek out. In addition, we're raising the soil level of our property approximately 4".

From 2010 Landscape

My least favorite aspect of this project is that when it's all said and done, you won't even be able to see this retaining wall since it will be behind our fence. It was just one of those necessary projects that had to be done to move to the next step.

After finishing the retaining wall, I started laying the brick paths. The kitchen garden is a long shotgun area (18'x36') and will be a high trafficked area since it's the main way to get to the back of the house. Therefore, I wanted permanent paths that were wide enough to haul supplies and lumber to the back where our workshop is located. Today, I completed the first section of the path using brick I found on Craigslist.

From 2010 Landscape

This path will tie into a small 9'x10' patio that will be directly viewable from the picture window in our dining room, and will then connect on the other side with another short path that goes to the gate to our backyard.

As you can see from the picture, the area is very rocky. The dirt is hard packed clay that's impossible to get a shovel in. Eventually, to finish this area I will be building a series of 10+ raised beds for planting in. Once the raised beds are built, I'll haul in decent soil soil. I don't expect to start getting the raised beds built till next year, but it's a perfect late winter/early spring project.

I hope to complete all of the brick work for this by the end of August. I have to balance this task with painting windows and trim, since we're trying to finish up the house painting project. Before you know it, it'll be the rain season here again, but at least this year I'll be standing in front of the picture window looking out and admiring the nice brick work.

Mastering the Art of French Doors

To continue with the door theme, we recently installed a set of french doors in the kitchen. This particular set replaces one of the windows on the South wall of our kitchen. The doors open out onto the future home of our outdoor kitchen dining area, which is a project for a different day.

The removed window is being kept to be installed on the North wall of our library. At one time there was a window in there, but somebody removed it. I have no idea why someone would take time out of their day to remove windows, but obviously somebody had way to much time on their hands.

The project in pictures:

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

The paint will be stripped off the inside of the door and stained, and the outside will be painted. The outside of the house will be trimmed around the door to match the rest of the trim, and the cedar siding will be repaired.

Kitchen coat and shoe built-in

The space between our laundry room door (stained) and the backdoor (painted red temporarily) is to become a set of shoe storage shelves, a bank of drawers for coat and glove storage, and an open coat cubby with hooks to hang coats, sweaters, etc. We've constantly got coats all over the house and piles of shoes by each door. This built-in should serve a much needed purpose. In addition, the lower shoe shelf will also feature a small opening larger enough for the cats to access their litter box in the laundry room. This project is one on a long list necessary to finish our kitchen remodel.

To construct the cabinet, we used mostly vertical grain fir that's was salvaged from an old school cabinet (minus the drawers which are face grain. We're using drawers salvaged from another piece of furniture. The cabinet is made up of two pieces - the first being the base with the shoe selves and drawers, and second is the upper coat storage cubby.

All of the salvaged lumber has been sanded of it's original finish and cut to size. Next up so to start staining so that the cabinet can be put together.

Check back here for updated photos as the projects progresses.

Spring potager

We're starting to collect the needed supplies and building materials for our outdoor spring projects. This year we intend to build the potager, which is a fancy French work for kitchen garden. Our kitchen garden is on the south side of the house in the former area of the driveway. Last year, we went through the painstaking task of removing 30+ tons of concrete to make available 1800 square feet of dirt!

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

The "dirt" that's underneath the driveway is hard pack clay and rock fill, which isn't exactly perfect for a kitchen garden. On top of that, it doesn't drain at all and tends to hold standing water right next to the foundation of the house. Again, not good. Therefore, we're going to dig out a good portion of the fill dirt and bring in new soil and lay drains. To accomplish this little task, we've got to shore up the creek that runs alongside our property that helps carry away the winter rains. We were lucky enough to find large landscaping blocks for an incredibly reasonable price that we're going to use to shore up the creek.

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

Upon completion of that, we'll then be able to dig out a good portion of the fill dirt/rock where the beds are going to be and haul in dirt. Once all that's complete we plan on laying a brick path and patio for a finished look. Over the paths, we're building craftsman style pergolas to allow for better use of the vertical space with items such as pole beans, hops, etc.

Here's the latest pile of bricks I collected for this little project.

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

Once all that's complete, we should be able to plant an onion and perhaps some lettuce by August. Ha! Who knew something as simple as a garden could turn into so many steps. I guess I wouldn't have it any other way.

Counter tops

We're slowly planing down recycled oak sticks that were salvaged from a building to build counter tops. This is one of those side when you get around to it projects. The original stock was finished on three sides, and has two rounded edges. We're planing this down to square stock so that it can be glued together to build horizontal butcher block. Once complete, we'll use this for wood counter tops in the kitchen to replace the temporary plywood we have now. The real challenge is going to be cutting out perfect holes for the sinks, cook top, etc. That should put our craft skills to the real test!

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

This is just one of dozens of examples for how we're using recycled materials throughout our remodel. Soon, I'll post some pics of the recycled trim we're using throughout the kitchen.

Salvaged workshop doors

Last year sometime, we picked up these doors at Second Use in Seattle. They were salvaged from Garfield High School - one of the older High Schools in Seattle that recently underwent a massive renovation.

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

Now, I wouldn't want to put these doors just anywhere as they're not the most attractive doors in the world, but they're perfect for separating our wood workshop and studio space. I'm contemplating taking the center panel out of the doors and replacing them with glass so that there is some visibility between the two spaces. Perhaps I'll get around to that eventually. In the coming months, I'll begin dry walling the wall to the left and right of the doors to finish the room separation project.

The perfect faucet

Like any kitchen remodel you pour over pictures from magazines, planning books and your lists of priorities. Doing a "Craftsman" kitchen is no different. This kitchen is not historically accurate for many reasons, for one, its been stripped of the original kitchen cabinets. The first farm sink and it's built in wall mount faucet is only memorialized by the squirrely plumbing that goes up the wall turns around and comes back down again. This leaves me free to build it again with all the mod cons I want in a gourmet kitchen as long as I tie the style back into the rest of the house.

When you see a kitchen on the cover of Style 1900 or This Old House and it has THE most gorgeous faucet your heart skips a beat and you think "I'm going to have on of those". Then you shop around for awhile online and realize that there is no way your going to get a second mortgage in this economy and that faucet pretty much requires that type of investment.

The next best thing, or possibly the better choice, is rebuilding an old faucet that works for the craftsman aesthetic. Since I plan to add a second "prep" sink to my kitchen I need a pair. Knowing that Chicago brand faucets, having been manufactured for the last 100 yrs, are not only very well made but appropriate for a 1924 house, and every part is still available.

I found this great arching goosneck cutie first. And decided it would be perfect.


Then I found it's mate for the prep sink.


After long deliberation Boe and I then chose to go with no chrome in the kitchen at all. All my cabinet hardware is antique solid brass, the vent hood is copper, and most of my cookware is copper. So I started searching for the right faucets in brass. Not just any brass either old brass with a patina to match the cabinet hardware.
Eventually I found them.


I have the deck mount faucet disassembled for rebuilding


Rebuilding one of these is pretty simple compared to rebuilding a carburetor for a late 70's two stroke motorcycle you need to get to work on Monday. However it can still be a bit confusing if your not confident and organized. The two main valves are for sale at most major plumbing supply stores. I doubt Lowe's or Home Depot employees would know what one was if you asked, however Lowe's is officially capable of ordering the parts. It will likely be easier to find a real plumbing supply store. Chicago brand is often used in commercial ie. restaurant or hospital settings so they are probably readily available.

Simply unscrew the handles and escutcheons and replace the whole deal. Unfortunately at $35 each valve it was double what I paid for the faucet. Finding and replacing the rest of the washers and O rings in the faucet took me a bit of hunting through various hardware stores but ran me a whopping 69¢ for the lot at Tacoma Screw.

If you do go this route just be careful to get a faucet that is complete, finding parts other than washers may be impossible. Other brands are rebuildable as well such as American Standard. I have no idea where to locate new valves for them though.

Sign of the Crab sells many fixtures that are cast from the original Chicago faucet molds. I have heard at least one plumber tell me their valves are not as good as the real Chicago ones. They can probably be swapped out fot the real ones though.

Good luck and remember to take deep breaths and count to 10 before smashing anything.

p.s. It is usually best to turn off the water supply before disassembling any part of the faucet.

Kitchen 2.0

I've been whining about this "kitchen" since we moved in.



After a year of planning and collecting I finally took the week of Xmas off and started to really tear into it.



There were major setbacks, a foot of snow, electrical decisions, my (well deserved) fear of drywall, a sudden need to re-lay 60 squares of the kitchen floor, another project wherein I drunkenly offered to build a wheelchair ramp for a friend (in the foot of snow), and some appliance mysteries to boot. But the first bank of new cabinets with a cooktop and built in oven are in place.



Soon I will install the face of the cabinets which I have already assembled and then put in cement board on the upper wall for tile. Then on to installing the prep sink and the copper vent hood, the oak butcher block counter and the grand finale, an in-counter grill.



Ill get into the specifics on further steps later, but just a few notes on this section. The oak raised panel cabinets were salvaged from a Seattle home remodel as were the cooktop, the built in oven, the faucet, the garbage disposal unit, and the copper vent hood. The prep sink was bought new to match the large farm sink that will go on the other side of the kitchen. It took 6 months to collect all the parts, and there were several changes to the plan based on availability of better material. The copper vent hood just voted the stainless hood off the island last week. Keeping my plan loose and taking my time to prepare has led me to a remodel at substantially less cost with little impact on the environment.

As for the environmental impact, I try every way possible to mitigate my consumptive nature. While pulling down the lath and plaster I separated the lath so it can be recycled as clean wood. My previous set of cabinets were donated to the salvage store so they can hopefully end up in someones garage or retro kitchen. There are three parts to the logo "Reduce, Re-use, Re-cycle" we've got to remember that re-cycle is the last of them.