Countertops.

Done.





A little caulk, a bit more paint, a good thorough cleaning, and I'm going to be finished with this room.

Number Three.

The grinder is flipped upside down, vibrating the house, top to bottom.

Hardware.

Simple.







I still need to find 7 knobs for the lower cabinet doors. $1.12 each for the handles.

I like it.

Sunday evening, I pulled the first two countertops from the forms. They aren't perfect. Nothing in this house is. I'm okay with that. I really like the look and feel of them.





The small holes created by air pockets will be filled with Portland cement before sealing them. There aren't many. The majority are in the center of the larger of the two countertops. I need to adjust my technique for the remaining piece. It's the largest at 102" long.



It's 72 degrees. The high today will again reach into the mid/upper 90s as we officially roll into summer. I need to spend a couple hours this morning watering a few things in the backyard. The potager and the grasses I planted last week are in dire need of rain. I've lost one squash plant. I believe the wind storm was to blame.

10:04am - The watering has been done. I'll do more tomorrow morning. I'm going to have to do a rain dance soon. It won't be pretty. It's 79 degrees, clear, and sunny. Humid is an understatement.

The first Yvonne's salvia blooms of the year. It reached 57" tall by the end of 2009.



The first hibiscus bloom. I think I grew this one from seed.



Milkweed. Wintersown in 2008/9. I hope to create lots more from cuttings in a few weeks.



A combination I like.

The First Pour

I decided to pour the two smaller countertops first, as a test. A grinder on high speed vibrates the floor and molds. Sanders without paper and the gentle rap of a hammer were used for a while during the pour and after.



30 minutes later, bubbles are still rising with just the grinder. I can feel the vibrations in the back bedroom.



Now we wait a week.

The Formative Stage.

Building the forms for the kitchen countertops began with 3/4" sheets of melamine. Using a table saw, the edges of the forms were ripped down to 1-1/2". They are 8' long.



Carefully reversing the measurements made for the countertops, the sides were clamped and screwed into place using 2" drywall screws.



The holes for the screws were predrilled. An entire box of screws, plus 8 others found around the basement, were used. The spacing is roughly 4".



The cutout for the kitchen sink had to be installed on the longest form. The materials are all 8', but the countertop needs to be 102". There is a seam. It was caulked with silicone caulk and will create a line on the finished surface. Sanding and buffing will hopefully remove the imperfection after the concrete has mostly cured. Clamps were used to hold pieces in place as they were drilled and screwed.



Strips of laminate were used to round off the edges of the sink opening. They were cut to height, then length, and finally superglued to the melamine pieces. No exposed wood can be left. The water from the concrete would swell the melamine before it cured creating unwanted depressions.



After everything was in place, the two pieces were hauled upstairs into the dining room. The concrete will be mixed outside. Silicone caulk will be applied to all the joints this evening after work. Once cured, the concrete will be poured. Rebar and wire mesh will be used to stiffen and strengthen the final product. I'd like to say it will be done before the weekend. Maybe.



It's 72 degrees and humid. Rain is in the forecast. Heavy showers yesterday afternoon as we were finishing the last pieces. The high should reach the mid 80s today.

Tackling the weeds.

I've been ignoring the task of weeding the front slope for a long while now. At first, it was because of the dying daffodil foliage. Why bother weeding when those yellowing brown straps continue to persist? Then it was too wet. I tried once and was pulling seedlings from the surrounding areas whenever I removed a clump of crabgrass. Today, I'm just going to hunker down and get it done. At least some of it. I'll use a hand trowel to loosen each clump. There are a lot of clumps.



Mulch and newspaper would help, but I want plants to reseed next year. Even covering the bed shredded leaves reduces the number of seeds that germinate. Maybe in a couple years I'll have enough plants on this slope to mulch the bed. Until then, it's just me and my trowel. I really should get started.

But first, here's a sample of the concrete countertops I want to use in the kitchen. The color isn't there yet. I poured the concrete straight from the bag with no coloring. Instead of dark, I plan to go towards "buff" with streaks of darker gray. I'm thinking a mottled surface would be best given the floor tile I'm going to be living with for a few years. It will also make choosing a permanent flooring material easier later in life.

The sample piece is about 12" wide, 6" tall. I still need to work on the edges. I have an idea about that.



A close up reveals a perfectly smooth countertop with very little color variation. You almost have to inspect it with your fingers to realize it's concrete. Vibrating the forms removed all the imperfections my first trial contained. I'm not sure which one I like best. I could always use a patch material to fill the voids, but it would make for a weaker countertop, more likely to crack or chip. So many decisions.



It's 63 degrees. The sun has just appeared over the trees out back. I should get started on the hill. Rain possible in the next hour with sunny skies returning for the rest of the day.

Save the molding and some caulk,

it's done as far as I am concerned. The toe molding, toekick under the cabinets, and some caulk where the tile meets door facings are the to-do list. Maybe next week.



















A dishwasher, some more shelves, some chachki, some dried noodles and Italian vineagrette dressing made of herbs from my garden are all that's missing.

And countertops.

I'm happy with it.

It's as Carla said today, "You've finally moved in." Feels good.

Rainy Night

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

After those weeks of no rain in early May, I was wondering if we would ever break the cycle. Now, we've entered a new loop. The humidity from the previous day's rainfall forms new storm clouds which dump more rain the next day. As temperatures rise into the low 90s later this week, the chance of rain increases every day. There's no real end in sight with the next 5 days showing at least 20% chance, with 40% being the norm. Yesterday, another 1/2" of rain fell. Storms predicted this afternoon. The high will reach the mid 80s. It's 72 degrees, clear, and muggy.

My only blooming hydrangea seems happy. It's planted on the North side of the house and receives no direct sunlight.



Fragrant lilies purchased after Easter last year are blooming.



A new variety of cosmos is blooming. I'll be saving and scattering seeds to fill in the blank spots all summer.



Pink bee balm by the street is blooming. Carla's red bee balm, dug from my yard, is just starting to open. Mine is waiting.



The recent rains have sent the brugmansia into overdrive. All three returning yellow/orange plants from last year are about 2' tall. The leaves are getting large, just like last year.



There's a dehumidifier in the basement. I've got it running on a three hour cycle. The water is drying, slowly. Today, I'll be picking up the vinyl tile for the kitchen. I just finished some work for my former boss, giving me a little extra spending money. The white paint is sitting out waiting for me to get home from work this evening. I've already masked the edges of the small room off the kitchen. The plan is to have that much finished by the weekend.

Misty Morning

It started raining about 7pm. Thunderstorms rolled across the Piedmont area of NC all evening. I took advantage of the rain to clean the house and do a little work on the kitchen. I started painting the small room off the kitchen. It will be a few days before I can mask the edges with tape and paint the white.



Outside this morning, many of my poppies are laying on the ground. 1.57" of rain fell between 7pm and midnight. The basement has a new water feature. The mist still hangs in the air outside. Everything is bright green.



It's 64 degrees. More rain is possible this evening. 30% chance.

Rainstorms.

Yesterday, it came another downpour. We've gotten nearly 5" of rain this month. Our average is just over 4" in May. I'm not complaining. No, sir. The garden has really taken off. Loads of rudbeckia are ready to bloom, we just need some sun. The potager is growing visibly each day. Squash plants are about to bloom. Seeds that I had given up on in the meadow are germinating. New seeds were tossed out last night just after a heavy storm. The ground squishes when you walk. It's 64 degrees, cloudy, and humid. 30% chance of late afternoon drizzle again today.

Some random pictures taken yesterday before it rained.

















8:37am - The microwave is in. I told you I was serious about getting this kitchen done. It was easier than I thought it would be. The outlet in the upper cabinet isn't hooked up to the breaker box yet, but I picked up the breaker yesterday and if I'm courageous enough, I might just install it myself. Robert has offered to come back to do it, but that's a long drive just to install a simple breaker. He gave me instructions.



Next up, a test piece for the new countertops I intend to build in a few weeks. I've decided I don't like the laminate. I'm thinking concrete.