Along with my decision to throw a Christmas party for my company this year comes many updates to the house (and a lot of motivation to finish).
Working on finishing the following things:
[ ] French door project
[ ] Fireplace project
[ ] Dining room art project (more on that later)
[ ] Dining chairs
[ ] Cooktop hood
I realized I’ve been neglecting this blog. A few updates are to come, including French Doors, some odds and ends in the kitchen, and some spice in the bathroom.
New toilet, new pedestal sink, new floor, new paint on the walls, new mirror, new light fixture, a couple new can lights, and some new accessories. Photos to come later!
Time to start fixing up these bathrooms. I’m not going too overboard on the guest bathroom – just texture/paint on the walls, tile on the floors, new vanity/top/sink, new light/bathroom fixtures, new mirror, and new toilet. Ok, so I’m basically doing everything but replacing the tub, which I may decide to do anyway.
Here is the horrid state the bathroom was in when I moved into the house.
And after all the riff-raff is removed, and the wallpaper peeled off. That stuff was a pain.
The next step now is to wait for the floor tile and vanity to arrive. Once those are here, I will start gutting the bathroom. When the bathroom is bare, it will get new texture and paint, then floor tile and vanity goes in.
Finally got my faucet, frige, garbage disposal, and dishwasher all hooked up yesterday. I’m most excited about the garbage disposal. I could probably throw just about anything down that drain now. Used the ol’ “hidden air gap” technique too. I like the nice, clean look up top.
I forgot how inconvenient it was to be without a sink in the kitchen until I started using one again!
I recently came across a store at the mall called “Environment Furniture.” It’s officially my favorite furniture. For me, their furniture combines the perfect blend of modern and rustic style, and it’s all recycled to boot.
The downside to this furniture is the price. These items are really expensive.
Here’s the couch. It looks amazing in person, and is made of all recycled canvas tent tarps. The color is awesome, and it’s the most comfortable couch I’ve reclined on.
Bed:
I am pleased to report that the concrete counter tops are finished, and they came out pretty good. If I had to do it all over again, I would just try and get more of the air bubbles out (vibrate it a little more). I wanted a little bit of that look, but the slurry didn’t quite cover up as much as I’d like.
Overall shot of the kitchen. Don’t mind the clamps – I’m just letting the adhesive to set so the counter top doesn’t nudge at all.
A closer shot of the peninsula piece. Freshly polished and waxed.
I really like how the cooktop sits almost flush with the concrete. Gives it an awesome look.
Another shot of the peninsula/cooktop.
Still waiting for the sink to arrive. As soon as it shows up, I will hook up the faucet and dishwasher/fridge.
Closer at the sink location.
I’m excited to say that I have finally made some progress in the kitchen. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll just get on with it. The following is how I’ve spent my past couple weekends.
I started at Home Depot, where I collected 840 pounds of Quikrete 5000 (commercial grade) bagged concrete mix. The Corolla was riding pretty low with that load.
Then, it was off to the mixer, which I rented from the local rental yard.
The peninsula piece is poured, and the two smaller forms are awaiting concrete.
The two smaller pieces are poured.
Everything turned out pretty nice actually. There are definitely some air pocket voids, but overall it looks pretty good considering I didn’t use an actual concrete vibrator to vibrate the pieces. A little slurry and I’ll be set.
I brought the two smaller pieces in today to do a test fit with the sink. They each need a tiny bit of grinding to fit the sink, but it’s pretty darn close.
I’m pretty happy overall with the outcome. Hopefully next weekend all the tops will be ready for installation!
Oh hey, look, an update.
The weather has been shaping up these past couple weeks, and I finally set some time aside to get back to the action. The actual cement pour should be happening in the next week or two. It’s been forever, so I’m really excited to finally finish this project.
The only thing left to do before I can pour is seal everything up with caulk. Once that’s done, I’m set. I didn’t post pics of the two smaller counter top pieces, because they aren’t that exciting 
General form done, now laying the rebar around the perimeter of the form:
The perimeter is laid:
Now it’s time to lay the remesh and tie it to the rebar:
And the form is done:
Quick update… Got my window installed yesterday… I’m really happy with how it came out, especially the wood trim/apron details… Starting to hone my carpentry skillz
I know I took more pictures, but I can’t locate them at the moment.
Trimmed out, awaiting flashing.
The installed product from the inside. Still needs casing, but at least the window’s in!
I’ve finally accumulated all the materials necessary to begin building my concrete forms. I am using the Cheng method, including his special formula for the mixture.
