Progress - finally

So the warmer weather is here, and the Ground Floor project is slowing getting back up to speed again in hopes of actually being completed this summer.

For starters, we painted the stairway with primer. The stairway will have the same color as the basement. This was tough to do, as the basement stairway has 10' ceilings. Not sure how this was done prior to Gorilla ladders.

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Compared to how the stairway USED to look:



Next up, some of the cabinets were installed. The key word is 'some'. The phrase, 'if you want something done right, do it yourself' is the key reason why I am doing this Groundfloor Project myself in the first place.

Below is the front bar paneling. We like it. Finish is good, and we like the Arts & Crafts / Mission style.





As you can see below, the side panel is missing. They had brought it, and it looks nice, but they forgot to add the corner at the top left. So the shop is making a new one. Goof #1: Will be corrected.



Here are the under-the-stairs joist cabinet. We like this too, mostly. Its generally, but not exactly, what we thought we were getting.



The reason it is not exactly what we wanted, was we thought the inside 'joist box' which hides the center stair joist, would be angled from top to the back, not a true box. But in general it works, and with seedy glass inserts, will not be too noticeable. Goof #2: Will not be corrected, but not too bad a goof.



Next up, the bar cabinet and wine rack.


The fridge goes in here.....



Here's the goof: The bar cabinet is about 1.25 inches too short! The funny thing here is the sales rep pointed out that I made the wall too high. Normally, the wall/cabinet would be 34 1/2", and with counter top, it tops out at 36", whereas I messed up and made the wall 36". No problem he said, we'll make the cabinets 36". Nope.

The corner paneling was notched, and when I noticed the problem, the installer removed it to replace it with an un-notched version. The fix is the cabinet company will add a filler strip all around the top of the cabinets, so that I can then add the counter top. With about 1-2" of counter overhang, it will still look fine, if you can see it. Few will notice. Goof #3: Can mostly be fixed.


Here is the bathroom vanity cabinet, and Goof #4. What could the goof be on this? The opposite problem of the bar cabinets - its too tall!

The sales rep explained that normally, kitchen counters and Master Bath counters are 36", while all other baths & guest baths are around 32". So the plan was for this to be 32", but its 36".

No worries. Most hotels have baths with 36" counters, and if this height works in our kitchen and master bath, it will work here.



The cabinet builder will come back and make all well, and they left me with plenty of pre-finished molding to use once the flooring goes in. In general, we are very happy with this. Even more important, we can now begin to match trim stain and wall paint, as both are the next step while the weather is not too hot and I can open the door and vent out paint & stain fumes.