OUR SUB-COUNTER SURPRISE

(Note this is the continuation of a Real Estate/Redo blog entry from 5/08/06.)This was the ONLY counter in the kitchen when I walked into our little stone cottage, as you can see I was ready for battle with all the Clorox and cleaners. (My son says I put Clorox in his DNA.) Problem: One counter, old cabinets, icky Formica top, but that tile backsplash was original to the 1939 house. What to do?

First, I researched subcontractors and plumbers from Dallas, so I had a stack of names. Also searched online, found the Scratch N Dent Store for good prices on kitchen appliances. (I have yet to find the dent on the GE gas range I bought for $599.) At one point, I approached an electrician in the Home Depot parking lot at 8 a.m. Come to find out that it’s not a bad place to meet subs. However, it is always best to have references. So my Realtor gave me the name of a plumber who gave me the name of a contractor who was the same contractor another person had recommended. I had my man — Mike Flaherty with ASAP Services. Contractor, plumber, electrician, what more does a girl need?

We had three days to redo the kitchen, put in a new water heater, spruce up the electrical, and install central air conditioning. Flaherty suggested getting rid of the lower kitchen cabinets seen here. He didn’t have to twist my arm. Since this was the only counter space in the kitchen, we added two cabinets across from the sink flanking the gas stove, a 12-inch and a 30-inch unit. I added an upper cabinet over the microwave/exhaust. The plumber moved the gas line so we could place the stove where we wanted it — in the middle of the cabinets, not against the exterior wall where the original, which had been removed from the kitchen, had been.

It’s handy to have a strong son with a truck. After work, he came home and we zipped to Lowe’s, where we found our cabinets for less than $200 per unit. My son piled them in his truck, tied them down, and unloaded them at home. Early the next morning the two-man team came over and pulled out the old countertop. I felt bad when I saw the solid wood construction. Then I noticed the pecans.

“What are those?” I asked, wondering if my eyes were playing tricks. They looked like pecans, surely they were plumbing supplies.

“You’ve had a boarder.”

Oh dear. I saw the decomposed body of a squirrel that had nestled up a hole in the floor under the kitchen sink, stored up all his little nuts, and died there. It looked like the outline of a dead body at a crime scene.

Out came the Clorox.

We filled the hole with Great Stuff. I scrubbed the wood floor till it turned white, then vacuumed up the pecans. Left some Boric acid down there, too. The contractors placed the new cabinets in place and secured them. It was time for the countertops.

I wanted a tough countertop that would withstand a kitchen of three college-age boys. Cement was my first choice, but we were on a deadline. What about Corian or Gibraltar? (Laminate was the least expensive, but I knew it would be ruined with one hot pot.)

Flaherty told me something I had not realized: since the increase in oil prices, the cost of solid surface tops has increased more than natural stone. You can actually do granite for less, he told me.

Granite counters for college boys?

We settled on granite tiles — less expensive than a slab, and replaceable if (God forbid) one gets damaged. I was still holding out for the historical significance of the original yellow tile backsplash. Then it dawned on me: The tile had already been compromised. No longer in its virgin state, someone had ripped out the majority of it previously (for laminate) — go figure. How did anyone survive with taste from the 1940s? Or 1950s? Who said the 1950s was a huge wasteland when it came to interior design?) So I gave in — out with the tile, in with more granite backsplash.

In case the San Antonio historical home police are reading this, we still had the original green tile in the bathroom.

I had to leave while the grout was drying, so I have not seen the finished kitchen product yet. I left before the range, sink, and dishwasher were installed. By the time I rolled into Dallas, the kitchen was finished, the central AC was humming, and the plumber had fired up the new hot water heater. HINT: Plumbing supply sales are loaded with bargains –found a brand new hot water heater with a dent for about $300, and a $700 pewter kitchen faucet set for $200. Those boys are just so lucky.

So in a few weeks, I’ll go back and work on the bathroom addition. My son tells me everything is looking nice, and he has sanded and painted the cabinets we saved. (Long term, I plan to replace the existing cabinet doors with glass.) He also has taken all the burglar bars off the house and recycled them, removed the window units and donated, and has attacked the yard. Guess what he asked me to bring him from home on my next visit?

The weed eater!