KITCHEN CABINETS 

Another big item checked-off the list - kitchen cabinets and an island!  It was some what of an early 20th anniversary present for us as they were installed in the morning and we left for our anniversary trip to Flagstaff that afternoon.  

The team from Arizona Cabinets were well aware of the precarious wash crossing and brought the cabinets out in thier small truck.  We have had a couple of the bigger box trucks get stuck in the wash because their wheel base it too long and rear wheels can't get enough traction.

The small truck

The cabinets are constructed in sections so they can be more easily transported and will fit through the door easier.  Once they had all the cabinets unloaded it was time to get them in the house and installed.

Unloading the truck

The first couple of cabinets are brought inside

And some more

Now this is a puzzle!

With all the cabinet sections inside it was time to start putting the puzzle together.  Lew, the owner of Arizona Cabinets, came out first thing in the morning and marked on the floor where each cabinet was supposed to go according to the plans. They have to be spaced correctly so we can fit in all the appliances.

Lew (center) trying to solve the puzzle

Once they were in the right spot they had to be leveled and anchored to the wall.  And for the island, which was actually made up of four separate cabinet pieces, it had to be anchored to the floor.

Lew's crew working on the install

Initial leveling of the cabinets

Things are starting to take shape

Getting things exactly level!

We couldn't stick around to see them finish up the install as we had reservations in Flagstaff that night.  The bonus of picking the Flagstaff area for our anniversary trip was we were able to visit the sawmill where our ceiling planks were milled.  We needed a few more live edge pieces for the exterior window sills so Silas, the owner of AP Sawmill, let us stop by and we were able to watch him mill the pieces we needed.  It was fun to actually see where our wood came from and how it was produced.  

Silas and his sawmill

Silas working the sawmill

Running our pieces through the sawmill to get them the right width

Silas cutting our pieces to length

We had a incredible anniversary weekend!  A night in Flagstaff at an historic hotel and then a couple nights at an off the grid Hip Camp trailer just south of the Grand Canyon.  We have had 20 wonderful years together and this house build has only made our bond stronger for the many more to come.

Beach sand or desert sand ... the woman still makes the dress!

Have we really changed that much in 20 years?

We stopped by the new house on our way back from Flagstaff to see the how the install went and we were very pleased.  The house is starting to feel like a house!  With the cabinets in place the plaster team can now start working on the interior finish plastering.

I think Nancy likes this anniversary present!

A couple weeks after the cabinets were installed they came back out and installed the countertops.  The counter tops for the normal cabinets are quartz.  The one on the island is Ice Stone, which has small pieces of recycled glass incorporated into it.

The countertop for the cabinets along the north wall was too long for one piece of quartz so they split it into two pieces.  The joint is in the middle of the sink.  It is amazing how they can make the seam almost disappear.

Can you see the seam?

The long north wall countertop with the kitchen sink

The 90° bend at the end of the long countertop

The short section between the stove and refrigerator

The island with mood lighting to highlight its character

The finished look

After the countertops were installed we realized the angle in the northwest corner of the kitchen wasn't a true 90° angle.  Since it was already installed and it was over 8 ft long, it wouldn't be feasable to take it off and re-cut it back at the shop. Lew's crew came out and sliced off a small sliver of quartz and then polished the edge.  They did an great job as you can't even tell they did anything to the edge.

Cutting and vacuuming up the dust

Grinding the edge 

Buffing the edge 

Polishing the edge

We have had the countertops covered with heavy duty paper to protect them during the rest of the construction so we haven't been able to enjoy them or for that matter remember what they look like.  It will be a nice surprise when we finally uncover them for good.