Acewood

Reply to: I have full overlay cabinets without a visible light rail, and small flush molding as a spacer for the ceiling. My sink window is a four foot wide, counter level garden window (i.e., pushed out for plants) with ceiling high cabinets up to the molding on either side. It would have looked kind of dumb with all this going on and nothing over it. Rather than a valance, I have a bridge cabinet. It is a foot high, flush to the same molding at ceiling height, and connects the two sides. There are a couple of knobs on the front, and a decorative heat register. Inside are a couple of lighting cans directed through the bottom at the sink, and space for spare lamps (or whatever one might want to hide). Valances aren't done as much now mostly because a lot of people are putting in standard (rather than custom) sized cabinets, and either not taking them to the ceiling or soffit, or filling the gap with furniture moldings. That makes it hard to design in a valance that is appropriate and integral to the cabinetry design. Cali Wendy's sink, in the linked thread, shows how you can make a valance look fresh in a classically styled kitchen. Notice the shape, like the white inset cabinets, references the past, but is also crisp and modern. Insetting it a few inches highlights and differentiates the window area more than flush would. What is very out, until the '50's/'60's suburban kitchen becomes the next trend, is the scalloped or challet style valance. I also wouldn't do a straight board unless it were for a really rustic look. Something designed for the kitchen that's in proper proportion and style can be beautifyl.

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Reply to: Ok...first things first: the installation. Where (in the world) are you located? What is your subfloor? How old is the current house? What type of climate are you in? Does your home have whole home humidity? OK...now that you are on the 'back foot', I'll work forward for you. #1. SUPER wide planks (8"-9") are expensive to install regardless of all of the above. They MUST have full glue application. The glue can and will add $2-$3/sf for the material costs (labour = $2/sf more). Just the glue+labour to INSTALL (I haven't gotten to prep yet) = $5/sf MORE than 4.5" wide planks. Nope. Not kidding. Whatever wide plank you go with (5" or wider) you will have to budget the $5/sf for full glue spread. If you have concrete, you must have a knowledgeable concrete specialist look over the slab to ensure it is sufficiently dry and properly sealed BEFORE the planks are glued. That's another $2-$5/sf (worst case scenario for concrete = $5/sf). If you have a WOODEN subfloor, it MUST BE the more expensive plywood or HIGH END products like Advantec. If you need to resheat OSB subfloor (or any form of fibre board) you are looking at $2.50 - $3.50/sf FOR WOOD sheething. Yep. It is THAT expensive know. Labour is extra = $1-$2/sf Remember these BIG numbers are for the glue down requirement because of super wide planks....or planks wider than 5" (all documented nicely in the NWFA Installation Guide for wood floors = $750 for a copy = purchased on line through their website: www.nwfa.org). Whew! As you can see the 'bucks' you HAVE to spend on these massive planks = non-negotiable. They must be there or you will have massive problems...as in rip it out and start again problems. The 'bang' the glue down gives you = most stable form of install we have. The bank account draining costs of glue down get worse if you have a bad installer who doesn't do EVERYTHING properly. If you have to pull a bad glue down = $3/sf to remove. Then you start again with the mouth dropping costs. As for the material...it will be LESS THAN HALF of your flooring budget. An entry level, factory finished, wide plank wood floor (1/2" thick...engineered with 2mm wear layer) *should start at $7/sf. The solid stuff = $12/sf but you get the option of multiple widths. Engineered wood is dynamically more stable than solid....but at this width it will still move quite a bit. That's why the home humidity really must be stable. I know you are OK with gapping and some cupping/crowning. I get that. And good for you for understanding what will happen to 'new' wood installed in an old way. But the humidity also changes the GLUE. And if that glue lets go, you are in BIG trouble. Because you like the look of the older, deeper colouring of older finishes, I would recommend using an oil based finish or a Swedish Finish...or Conversion Finish. Yes they stink to the point of causing people to vomit and pass out (for the first 3 weeks) but once they have off-gassed you get the TOUGHEST finishes on the block. A decent oil based finish (done the old timers' way) = 30+ years of life. And in that time, it will age exactly as you want. No need to stain (oil based gets darker as it ages). No need to distress it (it gets a patina in 5-6 years = all surface stuff....nothing wrong with the wood). So...most bang for your buck: Engineered OR solid multi-width planks ranging from 3.5" - 5.5" in a CLEAT DOWN situation. These would then be site finished with the old-timer's finish of choice. Any wider and you must use the glue...and that's when things move QUICKLY up the ladder. The benefit...not much more than a cleat installated plank. And don't forget the humidity control. You need something with new wood. If you go with reclaimed wood floors from old houses = no need for climate control. No need for glue. Nail in place is just fine, thank you very much. Those old wood planks have LOST all the moisture they will ever lose. They ain't goin' nowhere. See? Pay more for the reclaimed and SAVE on the installation costs....or SAVE on the wood and pay THROUGH THE NOSE for installation. Start a spread sheet to start tracking your quotes. You will need to get 5-10 quotes to compare what the END cost will be...the material will be (almost) immaterial in the quote.

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Reply to: I meant to revise this post to update how things actually went... The reinforcements worked really well. I did 3 things that really ensured support of the entire floor and that the new materials transferred loads into the existing foundation supports: - Laminated 1-1/8" plywood to the underside of my subfloor (glued and nailed in place), - Sistered 2x6s to the existing floor joists to support the edges of the new plywood (glued and nailed in place). To ensure full contact with the plywood, i jacked these 2x6 to ensure full contact (vertically), then used clamps to ensure full contact against the existing floor joist (laterally). - Added 2x6 blocking perpendicular to the sistered floor joists (16 inches on center). I also used jacks here to make sure the blocking was pushed tightly against the new plywood/subfloor. Effectively, I double-sheeted the subfloor from the crawlspace and ensured the new plywood was transferring load to the existing floor joists by sistering and blocking with 2x6s. The 2x6s essentially formed a ladder structure under the plywood. The floor is very solid now. Very little deflection, even with lots of children stomping or myself running on a treadmill. The travertine tile floor in the kitchen has stopped popping and cracking. I will add that the work was gruelling. It took over a year while working on the weekends, and my crawlspace gets very damp during the winter. I found the easiest way to gain acCess to the crawlspace was to cut a 4ft x 4ft hatch in my living room floor. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

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Reply to: My custom made furniture grade bathroom vanity is made of solid cherry. The drawers are solid cherry dovetailed. The drawers are wearing "horridly". Some chemicals just stain the finish and I can't get it off. They used some "tough" finish because it was going to be a bathroom vanity and not a dresser. Even so, it is not looking good inside the drawers. I wanted really carefree product in my kitchen after that experience with my "expensive bathroom vanity". I use my kitchen hard. I cook alot and sometimes stick somewhat wet stuff in the cabinets. I did not think hardwood drawers would wear as well (if my solid cherry bathroom vanity is a guide...) All of my drawers are Blum Tandembox in chrome. I think Tandemboxes come in grey powder coated metal or chrome (they call in Inox)... Blum also makes Metaboxes (cheaper version of metal drawers), which are not quite as nice as the current Ikea drawers. They are more like the metal drawers that Ikea used to use 10 or more years ago. These feel flimsy. I used Orga line to organize my drawers. Yes, it looks Germanic, not American. (actually Blum is an Austrian company, not Germany...) They are expensive. So far, I like the way they look, they close very quietly, they open fully, they hold alot of weight. The drawers are HUGE (36 inches or more) and I can see everything with these large drawers open. I have put in my entire kitchen into these drawers even though I have less "cabinets". I got rid of multiple uppers that I had before. They are completely different look. The cabinetmaker I used only offers Tandembox Chrome. They do not offer hardwrood dovetailed option. I have seen many cheaply made Chinese cabinets that are "hardwood dovetailed". There are grades of hardwood dovetailed. I think you have to make sure they are well made no matter what you get.

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Reply to: It is your money, spend it how you want, but disparaging IKEA cabinets here, or really anywhere, that people actually have an understanding of quality, doesn't lend much weight to your opinion. IKEA gives you a great quality to cost ratio, it is likely the best in the market but you can make an argument that Conestoga or Barkers are also great quality for the price. IKEA cabinets will likely outperform cabinets that cost many times more. Frankly, they are engineered better than most high-end American brands and they last a long time. The U.S. is one of the only places I have lived that shuns modern engineering in cabinets. Seriously... why do we have wood cabinets sitting on the floor when legs are universally accepted as superior? I use IKEA in all my rental properties and would have no trouble sticking them in my home, they have withstood a massive amount of abuse and saved me many thousands. That sentiment is pretty standard among cabinetmakers. I have seen quite a few cabinetmakers copy IKEA engineering and use them on their own cabinets.

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