Kitchen Remodel Continued!

Here's the first part of the kitchen remodel.

So after we bought the kitchen countertops, we had to measure, cut, sand, and Waterlox them.

First we measured. Then we measured again. And again. We needed three pieces total from the two large countertops we bought from Ikea. First we decided to make the most difficult cut, which was actually a rip. A rip is a cut that goes long-ways down the wood. We took the countertops to my boyfriend's parents' house to use their circular saw.

Here are some pictures of the cut (not the rip).

I marked where the cut should be made with a pencil.

Then I got to work sawing with my tiny little saw!

Just kidding. I was only making a notch for the circular saw.

Everything went pretty well with the cutting and ripping. Then we loaded the countertops back into the car to take them home. 

Next I Waterloxed the countertops. I stood them upright in the bathtub (my condo only has one bathroom, especially with it being 650 square feet and all) and put one coat of Waterlox on them everyday for four days, for a total of four coats. It was difficult to get all of the edges, but I reached and wiggled and got it done. I used a different cheap paintbrush everyday because I didn't want to bother with paint thinner. You can go to the Waterlox website to find out who sells the stuff near you. It's not generally sold in Lowe's or Home Depot as far as I know. I had to go to a local specialty wood working store. The stuff smells awful and I had to use a $30 respirator while I worked. I also kept the window open all night with a fan pointing outside. (Even though it's winter it's warm enough here to do that.) In that way, each coat dried within 24 hours, which is the recommended drying time. 

I ended up sanding the rough edges (there was only one that wasn't facing a wall) after I Waterloxed, so I gave that edge a quick coat before installation. 

You're actually not supposed to leave the boards standing upright for any length of time because they might warp. Oh well. I had to work with what I had. 

A big downside was going without a shower for almost five days. Whoops.

The countertops ended up looking pretty good though! And the benefit of Waterlox is that it's supposed to protect the wood from water damage.

Here's the fan in the window, carrying the noxious fumes out into the night:

Buuutttt I quickly realized that wasn't quite doing the trick so I borrowed this guy:

The bigger fan made a world of difference (like, the difference between having to keep even my bedroom window wide open while I slept and being able to keep it completely closed).

The countertops ended up looking all shiny and nice. I'm really pleased with how the Waterlox turned out. Stay tuned for the next updates: installation, backsplash, sink/faucet/plumbing!