Best friend's house burned on Easter five years ago

[zannej]

My friend liked the idea of two 36"x30 cabinets. It gives more space and reduces the number of handles needed for the cabinets. I think at this point he needs about 33. I believe he has about 30 of them to put on. Might be able to buy 3 more individual ones though.
This is the latest sketch with the single sink he wants to get (it's about 33x22x9.5)

He got a new microwave-- pretty large one that sticks out from the cabinet a bit. It's Galanz brand and does air frying and convection.

 

[Eddie_T]

The rain is over and it's good to see the sun again. As I looked out my kitchen window this morning my thoughts went to your friend's kitchen, I would never give up a kitchen window over the sink (air leaks can be fixed). When my wife designed our kitchen that was a priority.

 

[zannej]

Eddie, apparently chunks of the window are missing, glass is broken, and it's a mess. My friend does not want to have a window there. He plans to remove the glass, board it up on the outside, (I will probably paint it), & then he will drywall over the inside. I thought it would be nice to have a small window at least but he doesn't want to mess with it.
I did a mockup to see how it would look if he turned his fridge. He already tried turning it so the back was to the wall to the bedroom & it looked bad in person. So I'm trying it this way. It's about 53.5" from the edge of the doorway to the wall. The fridge is 35-3/4" wide and about 31-1/2" deep. Leaves 17-1/4" to the wall. But, if he adds trim inside the 37" wide doorway he can bump it over 1/4" and fit another 18" pantry cabinet.

 

[Eddie_T]

Eddie, apparently chunks of the window are missing, glass is broken, and it's a mess. My friend does not want to have a window there. He plans to remove the glass, board it up on the outside, (I will probably paint it), & then he will drywall over the inside. I thought it would be nice to have a small window at least but he doesn't want to mess with it.

If he plans to never sell that might work · · · for me it would be too claustrophobic · · · and detract from outside appearance. I would leave the window and slap a storm window over the outside to protect from the elements until I could do a proper window replacement. IOW home improvement vs degradation.

 

[zannej]

He never plans to sell. They want to keep the house in the family.

Bit of a snag because the price of the cabinets went way up. The cabinets that were $87 are now $105. The pantry cabinet he wants is out of stock and has nearly doubled in price. So he'll have to save up even more $. If that's even possible with pretty much financially supporting his gf, her baby, and now her family that are staying there. I think they are buying food but they are not contributing to utility bills.

 

[zannej]

Friend found a used door and installed it. Also got a different dishwasher since the one from his grandfather's didn't work. New one is even uglier but works. I think it's another Kenmore.
This is my sketch with the new door:

The photo of the door


New dishwasher


The plan is to put peel & stick vinyl that looks like stainless steel on the front & maybe paint some parts of it black with appliance paint. Not sure how to deal with the white buttons though.

 

[zannej]

The 2nd pantry idea is out since my friend needed a place to put his upright freezer. It's a small one: 21.5"w x 22"d x 35"h. He moved the fridge over and the floor and walls are all so crooked that the upper part of the fridge does not butt in to the doorway, but the lower part does. He had to use some 1" thick trim pulled off from around the window to shim under the fridge because the floor slopes so badly.

If we still give the freezer some room to vent, we can probably put some sort of shelves or cabinet above. I wish it was cheap to just straight up buy a whole cabinet door in a specific size. Doing the stiles and rails would be a pain. We'll figure something out eventually.
My sketchup drawings:



As for the nursery, my friend wants to go with foam flooring (partially for insulation but also to have a softer surface for the baby to crawl and play on). Found this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XN4R8JC/

He liked the gray wood look better than the colored block stuff (plus the colored block stuff was more expensive when we looked). I figure pops of color can be put in the trim & decor in the room. Maybe get some colorful wall stencils or stickers or something. I wish I had the right paint to do a mural or small artwork piece.

The nursery (which is being converted to an office is currently around 112"x92". One of the walls has a door and the adjacent perpendicular wall has a window with an AC unit. The opposite wall has the power outlet so my friend didn't want the crib on that side. He wants to fit the crib, the changing table, a dresser, and a wall mount TV. He will be putting drywall up so the walls will get even smaller. He'll put up ceiling tiles so it will get even shorter. Currently the highest point in the room is 86" (about 10" lower than the ceiling in the kitchen-- but the floor is 1-1/2" lower than the kitchen floor). It goes straight for about 4' and then angles downward so the lowest wall is 71"h.

I'm not sure if the changing table is attached to the crib or if it can switch sides, but currently it sits to the right.


My friend was going to drywall today but ended up in the hospital over kidney stones. He had so much pain he threw up. So he's on pain meds and is resting right now.

I think where I put the crib is about the only place it can go without covering an outlet. Debating whether to shift it to the right or left and find out if the changing table can swap. TV might be able to go over the AC unit but might also be able to go on the other wall. Toy chest can probably fit under the AC unit. Not sure about the dresser as I don't know the size. Didn't see a crib of the right style/size on 3dwarehouse so I just made a placeholder.

Any suggestions? (I know the room needs more color).

 

[zannej]

Today I got more measurements. Got a better look at the door from the kitchen to the bedroom (that also leads to the only bathroom and the laundry room). I need to get full measurements of everything at some point.
I also put in the barn door my friend wants to get.




The blob on the left is the crib with attached changing table. Top is a dresser. AC (not shown) is on the opposite wall as the dresser. Not sure what type of toy chest or size will go in there. Friend wants the TV over the AC.

 

[zannej]

I decided to go over and take a look at the crib and dresser & get some more measurements. Some stuff I forgot to measure & had to guesstimate. Couldn't find the light switch in there so I had to guess where I was aiming the camera. LOL.


I spent a few hours constructing the crib in Sketchup (kept messing up and had to start over a few times). Don't have the right color/wood texture to get it to look right so I used the closest I could find.




I measured the AC in the window to get the general size so I would know how much space there was around it. I also derped and had the walls only 24" in at a taller height instead of 48". Pretty sure it was 48" so I fixed it. Need to confirm with my friend again though. I tried to scroll up in messages but it wouldn't load because my internet sucks right now.


Maybe a crazy idea, but I was thinking we could get a little dog bed that sort of looks like a couch for the baby to sit on. They make some that are more comfortable than stuff for humans now- stuff with washable covers designed for messy pets. It could be set up against the wall next to the crib when not in use and put on the floor for the baby to sit on while playing or watching tv. The adults may also be able to sit on it (well, I probably couldn't bc I'd need help getting back up).
Something like this

 

[zannej]

My friend put up drywall & had to patch up the wall to the right & had to add 2" of buildup to fix it. He added 1/2" drywall on top. So the room is 3" smaller from left to right and 1" smaller from front to back. He used white paint for now.
Before the corner of the wall to the right had a large gap that rats were coming through:

Upper part of that wall


Opposite wall-- monitor is blocking the AC. AC is only about 18"W x 12.5"H and 1" of it pokes in to the room.


This is the current layout with drywall up. I did not draw in the play mat and stuff he put down.

They put a rug down temporarily since it's just bare plywood floor for now.


Still trying to decide on seating. Friend sent a short video of the room.
View attachment nursery1.mp4

 

[zannej]

More pics of the nursery. The ceiling tiles have since all been put up

 

[zannej]

So, my friend sent me this picture earlier:

His gf's sister-in-law was taking the trash out and the step collapsed under her. Fortunately she felt it going and stepped back up on the porch so she wasn't hurt.
I took this one on arrival

While my friend and I were picking up new steps at a building supply store his gf's brother moved the old steps out of the way.


News steps were larger but the smaller ones were too small.
Old steps were about 16"H. New ones were 21". So we had to dig down and put some bricks and old concrete under. Unfortunately, we couldn't break off the end of the sidewalk so the steps lean back toward the porch a bit.

Steps are hollow so I measured to make sure the shortest step wouldn't be blocked by the dirt.



New steps are concrete with fiberglass.

Nightmeow and Smokey were unimpressed.

We probably still need to get the steps leveled in the front, but we need to figure out how.

 

[zannej]

The poor little black kitty had a massive seizure and died awhile back. Poor little gray kitty is still hanging in there but not in great shape.
My friend's ex-stepfather passed away and his half-sisters were cleaning out the guy's house. Found several boxes of 3/4" water resistant laminate. My friend got rid of the carpet and installed the laminate in his living room.

He'd had it all cleaned up but his ex made a mess.

 

[zannej]

Barn door for the kitchen/living room arrived but was missing some parts. Seller is sending the missing parts. My friend assembled the door. Living room side is going to be stained with Rustoleum Cognac. Kitchen side will be gray. Possibly same color as the cabinets if we have enough of the stain.
He took this picture in his daughter's room.

 

[zannej]

He had to trim 1/8" off the bottom of the door bc his floor is wonky. Got it hung up but needs to bump it over 6" but was too tired. I'm going to stain one side of it (living room side) after his dental appointment.

 

[zannej]

No pictures, but I got the baby a dog bed & he loves it. My friend put it in the room and the kid walked over and flopped down into it. He apparently sleeps in it. He likes to sit in it while watching TV. Friend has fixed the barn door (I still need to get pics) and I think I forgot to put up pics of the microwave cabinet after it was painted.

Paint was still wet when I took those pictures. It looks better in person.

There is a new stainless steel dishwasher (not in place) but it needs a new part.

 

[zannej]

The dresser and drawer thingies are all gone from the toddler's room. He broke the drawers apart climbing on them and they got infested with black widows and roaches so my friend tossed them out.
There is still a crib in there, but the kid likes sleeping in the dog bed we got as a chair for him.
There was too much of a gap around the barn door for my friend's liking from the living room side so he got someone to donate some reclaimed barn wood. I helped him mark, cut, and clean it off (I had a putty knife to scrape the dried mud off). I held them still while he put them up and screwed them into place. Not great, but looks better than before. I'll go back with some wood putty and cover the screws. Then I'll see if I can find some matte finish poly to seal it up once I sand.

I was talking to him about the kitchen and he has that big open space but no island and not much prep surface. I saw this cool little rolling island on Ana White's site: Rustic X Small Rolling Kitchen Island | Ana White

I mentioned in another thread what modifications I want to make to it.
My Sketchup drawings:

I want to have full width bottom shelf, middle shelf eliminated or optional, hooks more in the middle so they don't stick out as far, shelf behind the drawer, wider drawer, legs 1/2" shorter, 2x2s as a butcherblock top.
I want to have drawer glides instead of using 2x2s that the drawer would sit on. *Might* do some sort of bottom rail just for extra reinforcement. Higher shelf, back panel, and bottom of drawer would be 1/4" lauan. Sides under Xs and bottom shelf would be 1/2" 2'x2' plywood.
I'd have to buy the 2x2s, the plywood, 1x6, & 1x8 (unless I find some lying around) but I think I have enough 2x4s that I can reclaim.

 

[zannej]

Friend sent me this link to this hunk of junk that he liked bc it has stools.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CSVW1WH/
Mdf particle board or whatever overpriced crap. Smaller (with the leaf down) than the one I want to build. Stools were weak AF as well. So I found folding ones that hold 440lbs.

They can hang on the coat hooks on the island or hang on the wall or something.

 

[zannej]

The stools have worked out great. Friend's new GF loves the idea of the small island.
More changes are being made to the house now that it is being kept clean. There was originally a door between my friend's bedroom and his daughter's bedroom. Apparently there used to be a hallway but it was torn out. He tore open the drywall that covered the door (they took the knob off the door and drywalled over it). The door is now exposed and it opens.
Busting through drywall and finding the door (its an old solid wood door):



This is the other side of the door in my friend's room. Apparently he put a knob on it.


To make up for taking a chunk of his daughter's bedroom we got her a loft bed (ok, he mentioned it, I found it online for cheap and bought it).
It's this bed:

Holds 200lbs. He wants her to have a desk area so we may make some modifications and reinforce it more. I'm waiting for him to ask her what color she wants so I can paint it. I'd have to see the height of stuff in the room, but the bottom shelf could hold a computer, middle could have keyboard, but I think top would be too high to hold the monitor. So, could modify it to make it lower. Add something solid over the shelves so they aren't just slatted. Add in some extra screws to reinforce areas. I wonder if her dresser will fit in there. The shelf side will be up against a wall.

I priced out lumber to build a bed and this came in cheaper than the lumber.

 

[Eddie_T]

Here's an interesting website for DIY knobs and pulls.
DIY Knobs, Hooks, Brackets & Other Craft Hardware - DIY Knobs & Pulls - Page 1 - D. Lawless Hardware