This Lo Life

Today was our last day together because Clement and Mr. Gee were going to head home the next day. Knowing this, I asked them to work on the installation of the three pantries in the family room area. By now, all of the kitchen cabinets were completed. All it needed were some small details...and one thing. We discovered the microwave and the stove openings did not line up directly over each other. The offset was small, only 3/4". If you didn't know about it, you probably wouldn't have noticed it. However, we did and we weren't sure what to do about it. We could either detach and move the wall cabinets over and insert a filler strip to make it all flush or we could move the base cabinets. We were not excited about moving the base cabinets because we were concerned with what would happen to the counter top height we had established and the possibility of having to unfasten some large and cumbersome base cabinets. I decided to leave it alone for now and think about what...

We continued to work on the base cabinet installation, which included a corner base cabinet, some drawers, the fridge enclosure and cutting holes out in the sink base for the water valve connections. The biggest challenge of the day was trying to level the corner lazy susan base cabinet. We could not get the thing to level and then one of the EZ Level feet broke so we had to shim that corner with traditional wood shims. I referred to the EZ Level website and found they had specific instructions and tips on how to install such cabinets. It helped to explain the challenges with the corner cabinet but it didn't give us much direction on how to fix it. In the end, we got it level and secured it to the wall so it wouldn't go anywhere. Brian cutting out access holes in the sink base The sink base with access holes Allison helped us get organized While we were installing the cabinet located above the fridge enclosure, the cabinet somehow got loose and hit me in the ...

Today was a little slower going than yesterday. We finished completing the EZ Level installations. I discovered the $30 boring bit I bought from them was pretty much useless because it wasn't long enough to bore a complete hole through the toe kick. This was a major disappointment so I turned to the good 'ole spade bit which did the job. We also worked on finding the high point on the floor of the kitchen to find the standard height at which all of the base cabinets should follow. Otherwise, we'd have base cabinets that rose and fell with the height of the floor. Then it was time to address the middle wall cabinets and the issue of not being flush. I think it was Clement's idea to take down the right hand and the middle wall cabinets and then add shims to the back of the cabinets in order to make the entire cabinet run align together. I agreed and that evening, there were five of us guys together at the condo. Earlier that evening, I wondered to myself, "How ...

I want to begin by giving thanks God for those who helped me. Specifically, my friend Clement and his father-in-law, Mr. Gee for coming down from northern California. In addition, I want to thank Joel and Nate helping out on Saturday night. This job could not have been accomplished with so much help, support, perspectives and labor. All of these guys were an answer to prayer... This is it! Showtime! The moment that I'd been waiting for all of these months, installing the kitchen cabinets. I did tons of reading, watching YouTube videos, asking people for advice and now it's time to actually do the install. I was really nervous because I'd never tried such a project and all of my knowledge was book knowledge, nothing experiential. But I think I had a good idea about the process (I pretty much followed the video tutorial featured on the  EZ Level  website) and the things to keep in mind. We decided to use GRK fasteners with the star bit because they were the right length a...

We took a few weeks off from the condo after finishing up the door frames because we needed a break, my streak of Thursdays off came to an end and the holiday season began. We got started back up last week by prepping for the upcoming kitchen install on Dec 15-18. A dear friend is bringing his relative who has many decades of experience doing DIY projects and he graciously agreed to help install our kitchen cabinets. Joel and I cleared out the kitchen area and arranged the cabinets to be installed and began marking out the positions of the cabinets. Allison and I went back and took all of the doors off of the cabinets and labelled them and the cabinets they are associated with. We did this because the cabinets will now be lighter and easier to move and not have free swinging doors to bang us up with while we do the install. I also marked the positions of all of studs with my new stud finder, the Stud Finder-Pro from EZ Level. I highly recommend this product because it use magn...

Allison came in after me and scraped all of the door trims down to their original paint. They looked incredible! Allison at work I started painting the door trim and discovered it took being meticulous to produce really good results. I started by cutting in around the edges, painting the faces on each side of the doorway before finishing on the center piece of trim that stops the door. I put together this method from a YouTube video called " How to paint a door frame or door jamb - (correct technique) ,"  and from Family Handyman  " Trim Painting Tips " . It took about four hours to complete each door frame. I think they turned out quite good. Before Before After After

This is a tedious job. This week, I've spent about 12 hrs preparing four door frames and four hallway cabinet frames for painting. Why does this take so long you ask? Because I had to scrape off layers upon layers of bad paint to get down to a stable surface to paint on. And then I had to sand down the surfaces so they'll be nice and smooth with it comes time to paint.  I probably went overkill on it but I did four different things to prep the surface. I scraped off a lot of the bad paint with a 2" carbide blade scraper and sanded with 60 grit sand paper and a medium and extra fine coarse sanding sponges. In addition, we've discovered we have a layer of lead paint. I was so discouraged at that news. But we got some help from Allison's dad who told us to take simple precautions against inhaling lead dust. I went with wet sanding to keep the lead dust down to a minimum, which worked very well.  I also learned not to work to hard on surfaces that are in...

Allison, Joel and I have been at it painting the kitchen and dining areas. I think it took us about a week to complete it. We gambled on the paint by not putting up a paint sample on the wall, which I don't suggest. But we won big! We love the color. It looks grey or blue under different lights. You will also notice the recessed lights. We love them and they make the place look so much better!

The cabinets were delivered today! Except, some of the accessories did not arrive. We got all of the cabinets with door on them but little things like end panels, the fridge enclosure and more were missing. I notified OC by Design of the issue and am waiting to hear back on the next steps. Despite the delivery issue, I was relieved to have finally received them. I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to install them myself. I was also expecting more cardboard because I read a lot about needing to find ways to get rid of tons of it. This wasn't the case because only the corners of the cabinets had cardboard wrapped around them with plastic wrap holding everything in place. Rick was also over again, helping me to patch more holes in the walls and ceilings. Rick's taught me so much about drywall, patching and construction. Thanks, Rick! We called it quits around noon and I spent the rest of the day with the family, hanging out at the Aquarium of the Pacific . It was...

We made a huge push this weekend to paint the family room in preparation of the cabinet delivery. I put a call out to friends and family for help painting and we were the blessed with help from Paul, Jenny, and Jennifer. Our goal was to paint as much of the kitchen, dining and family rooms as possible before the cabinets arrived so we wouldn't have to do it later. We were able to paint the ceiling in the kitchen and family rooms and prime the walls in the kitchen, dining and family rooms. It was a massive effort and we were so thankful we had help to do it. It could not have been done without the help from others because by this time, I was spending two nights a week plus much of the weekends over the last three to four weeks trying to get the condo to this point. As a result, I was completely burned out going into this painting weekend. At one point, I just could not get up to go back to work because I was so exhausted. I really needed others to help me, especially Allison who h...

We got new shower valves and shower cartridges with the help from AC Plumbing . (They were recommended by my friend, Rick.) After my bathroom valve changing experience, I decided to have all of the angle stops and shower cartridges replaced in the condo. Having already changed the angle stops in the kids' bathroom, I thought I could do them myself. My plan was to have AC swap the cartridges and while they were doing that, I'd work on the angle stops by myself and ask the plumber for pointers along the way. Eddie, the plumber arrived as scheduled and soon after got to work. I, too, got to work on the angle stops. I asked him a few questions about how to work on the stops and he got me going in the right direction. I had not finished changing out the first angle stop before Eddie was done changing both shower cartridges! He saw me struggling with my project, took pity on me and offered to help me change out all seven stops at no extra charge. So we got to work together and we...

Our kitchen cabinets have arrived at the warehouse and are ready to be delivered. Now, I'm really worried because I'm still considering installing them myself and I've never coordinated the delivery of so much stuff. In anticipation of the cabinet arrival, Joel and I got together to try hanging a few of our old cabinets in our garage. This would be our introduction to cabinet installation. We were able to get two cabinets up successfully, after a bunch of broken screws (about a 40% fail rate) and whole lot of learning. I'm still not sure if I'm going to attempt to install the cabinets after this experience because it's real detailed and somewhat complicated work and I've never done such a project. Does anyone have any resources on how to install frameless cabinets?

This was an intense two days, thanks to the assistance and prodding from my cousin, Steve. Steve's a DIY'er, having completed many projects in their own home. It so happened that he was going to be in So Cal for a family trip and he graciously offered to help me out at the condo. I jumped at the offer. With his help, we smoothed out the bumpy concrete between the dining and family room, fixed a leaky angle stop (that's a whole other story), installed the vanity and countertop, faucet, light fixture, mirror, medicine cabinet, towel bar; organized my tools and supplies; and encouraged me to keep going. Thanks Steve! After he rolled out of town, I finished the bathroom by installing the toilet and a doorstop. All I have to do now is buy and install a recessed toilet paper holder and it will be complete.

Overall, the results of the pour are good. There were some small cracks in various places on the floor, many of them were where the poured concrete came to together. I think this is to be expected. In the end, it's all meant to level the floor and not something structural. The two down sides were the area beneath the AC unit, by the patio door and the transition between the dining and family room. It didn't get as much concrete as there should have been so it continues to have small slope. I think I'll let this one go because it's a little used area and should not make that much of a difference. The transition between the dining and family room was bumpy and uneven. I don't think I did a very good job of smoothing the later poured concrete onto the semi-set concrete that we had to leave because all of our mixers gave up. I didn't want to mess with that area too much because I felt handling too much would have caused more problems. I think I'll be able to...

The night before the pour, I looked over the 1/2" hammer drill I bought from Harbor Freight (HF) and discovered I was missing the chuck key (to loosen and tighten the part that holds the bits). I decided I had to go to back first thing in the morning to exchange the drill. The next morning, L and I went to HF where I decided a 1/2" drill felt like too much. I exchanged it for a smaller 3/8" drill because I didn't know what I was going to do with a 1/2" drill in the future. I had no further plans to use such a large drill. Whereas the 3/8" is smaller and a little lighter. I thought this would make it more versatile. So I got the 3/8" drill. L and I got to the condo and primed the floor for the concrete and soon after, C and J showed up to help up. I sat everyone down and explained the goal, the process and responsibilities of the project. We set up the mixing area and everyone looked good and ready to go. Until we got to the drill. One thing you n...

With the help of Scott and Nate, we prepared the floor for concrete for next Saturday. We went around the place rolling on the Redgard Waterproofing and Crank Prevention Membrane . This membrane stabilizes lightweight and gypsum concrete surfaces, which is in our condo. This stuff is really easy to apply. You just roll or paint it onto the floor and let it dry. Since this is gypsum concrete, we had to first apply a primer, a diluted version of the Redgard. That application dried in about an hour. Next, we applied a full strength coat to the floor and then we were done for the day. I think it took the three of us an afternoon to complete. I feel confident about this step because I've already done it in the bathroom. Now, it's just a larger area. Photos courtesy of Nate.