Backsplash Tile and Grout, No Kidding!

I kept thinking how good a tiled backsplash would look right under the range vent hood. Having tile just behind the stove would also help protect the wall from cooking splatters.

And now, a confession...

OK, OK! I misjudged the height of the cabinet and the range hood back when I did the wall repair, so there were some small, visible holes in the wall between stove and hood. I guess I was trying to save money and time by NOT repairing walls that would be hidden behind cabinets. Oops, I missed a spot. Besides, I ran out of patch anyway.

OK, FINE! I also didn't quite paint the wall high enough, then I ran out of paint. Really though, judging paint quantity within two square feet isn't so bad, right?

OK, let's skip the patching and the painting and the sanding and go with a tiled backsplash.

And guess who has done a little tile work and was just dying to add a backsplash to his portfolio?

Redneck Friend!

After taking exact measurements we started by adding a little shim that would act as a stop or a guide to build up from.

Then we taped the area off with painter's tape and scored the wall so the adhesive would hold better.

Then, Redneck Friend used a special tile trowel to spread the adhesive around.

We had a blast doing this, and the jokes were getting out of hand!

"Looking good, Redneck Friend! Oh, and so is the adhesive! Oooooh!"

Redneck Friend almost got a sunburn from the halogens on my vent hood, but we managed to finish up the adhesive without any sunscreen.

The tile that Wife and I liked the most happened to also be the cheapest tile they had at the nationally-recognized home-improvement megastore. We got 2-inch tiles that were stuck together in 12-inch sheets with little squirts of silicone, or something. Two and a half sheets fit across just fine with no tile cutting!

I'm not going to lie: watching Redneck Friend do the tile was super easy! Everything was really coming together.

Redneck Friend: "Man, that's as awesome as... uh..."
Me: "Your mom? Oooooh!"

We didn't have any real tile spacers, so we improvised with little pieces of cardboard.

After the adhesive dried (a day or two), we started with the grout. For a job this small, I went ahead and bought the pre-mixed tile grout. It's a little more expensive, but it comes in small quantities and it already mixed to perfection.

This cool grout sponge wiped away the excess. The sponge looked a little like a big piece of cornbread.

Mmmm. Cornbread. Maybe when this kitchen is done I should blog about food. Mmmmm.

Oh yeah, tile.

As you can see from this photo, Redneck Friend is both awesome and taken.
Sorry ladies.

I finished the job with a carefully shaped bead of grout caulk where the painter's tape was. It was like gritty silicone and it helped blend in the edge of the tile with the wall.

After a job well done I fed Redneck Friend all my food and sent him home to the country.

"I'm gonna stick a fork in you, backsplash! Cuz you're done! Ooooh!"
Nevermind.

Man Up=Floor Down

There is no website on laying vinyl floor tile that I have not read.

For tons of reasons (cost being #1), Wife and I decided to go with vinyl, self-adhesive floor tiles for our kitchen. The problem is that I have never installed any floor tiles before, so I was a little nervous about doing it alone. I definitely needed some help on this one.

The weekend looked like the perfect time to knock it out, but all the help I had lined up fell through at the last minute.

So now what? I had two options: Wait even longer or man up.

I manned up.
(This is where you go, "Ooooooo!")

Since my old 1949 kitchen walls are slightly banana shaped, it took me a long time (and a few phone calls with Father) to come up with a game plan for laying the tile. But believe me, it was worth it.

With levels, angles, measuring tape, and fishing line I plotted out the exact spot that the first tile would go. If this one had been off, the whole floor would have been off.

I cleaned the floor until it was completely dust free. Until you could eat off of it. Until you could "skate" across it in Father's white tube socks without making them dingy.

After sticking the first tile I worked through one quarter of the room at a time, laying them out as I went.

They stuck really well to the clean subfloor! It went much better than I thought it would, and cutting the tiles was a breeze with a razor knife.

I was careful to undercut the door jams when installing the subfloor, but there was not quite enough room to squeeze a tile under there, too. For the trickiest custom cut, I used a piece of paper as a template before cutting the vinyl tile.

Cut the tile according to the template and...

Booya! A great fit!

There were a lot of edge tiles that needed to be cut, and Wife came to the rescue!
As it turns out, she is an expert as measuring the tile, cutting it, and fitting it against the wall.

After all the vinyl tile was down and pressed to the floor, the finished product was REALLY NICE.

All I can say is, "Take THAT kitchen floor. Take THAT!"

Under-Cabinet Lighting Causes Obesity

I fear that under-cabinet lighting may cause obesity. Emanating light that warmly illuminates foods so deliciously that they beg to be consumed is certain to trump even the most iron of wills.

Our lights are only shining on a pile a dust and tools, but I'm sure my theory will prove true once we are completely moved back in.

Did I say "our lights" just then? Oh yeah!
We have under-cabinet lighting!

Installing under-cabinet lighting was pretty easy, thanks to Father, The Squirrel, Father's electrical planning, Father's six-foot drill bit, and...oh yeah, a hot glue gun I borrowed from IZ.

It's pretty straight forward: we measured, installed the lights, drilled holes up to the attic, and ran the wires up.

I knew I would not be able to sleep at night with the wires that messy looking, so Father recommended a hot glue gun. IZ had one, so I did a drive-by borrowing. He even came out to the car in his famous house shoes to give it to me.

Thanks IZ!

Now doesn't that look better? You hardly notice the wires when you open the cabinet. Now I can sleep better (I know Mr. Vegas is feeling me on this one).

Father showed me how to do the attic wiring, then I showed The Squirrel.
Then I watched The Squirrel do the wiring while I rubbed the cramp out of my leg. I'm done with attics for a while, I hope.

The new light switch by the sink will now operate the under-cabinet lighting. Yes!

The light kit I bought also came with a touch dimmer, so we threw it up too. Works great!

That's one more thing to check off of my list, which is getting shorter by the day...

Plumbing, Pipes, and Pops Helps!

Oh man.

The water pipes under the kitchen floor were a mess. We had a mix of copper and galvanized pipes all spliced together and looped around for no reason. It reminded me of a roller coaster: point A and point B are pretty close, but the loops you go through to get their are CRA-ZY! 

We basically pulled out about 30 feet of pipe and replaced it with one 8-foot section.

Look at all this junk we pulled:

Yeah, all that was hanging out under the floor. Yikes!

And get this: the galvanized pipe was so old and corroded that our water pressure was awful. See for yourself:

Gross! (Sorry to have to show you that.)

With the new pipes soldered in place we had a nice straight shot for the hot and cold ready to go.

Thanks to some planning (Father), the right tools (Father), and some know-how (Father), we ran the copper up through the floor and into the new cabinet. Now the dishwasher can be hooked up when it's time.

New braided water lines were attached and a new drain line had to be run for the sink.

Oh yeah, we are excited about the new sink. There were so many fancy ones out there, but we didn't need all that. Since our kitchen remodel is including a dishwasher, we just wanted a standard stainless-steel, single-bowl sink.

Cabinet Guy cut the hole we needed for the sink, so all we had to do was drop it in, fasten the clips, and caulk it like our lives depended on it.

There were about 100 options for faucets, but only four that I was willing to pay for. But I wondered: What would Pops do?

I really wanted Wife's dad, Pops, to weigh in on the decision, so I texted a picture of my favorite faucet right from the nationally-recognized, home-improvement megastore.

The verdict: Pops approved!

And now, we've got water!

Thanks Pops.