# Kitchen Project Complete with pics!



## evapman (Mar 25, 2007)

Looks like a pros job, very nice tile and countertop work!


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

Looks great. Nice job. 

Thanks for posting the pictures for us.

:thumbsup:


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## 47_47 (Sep 11, 2007)

Very nice work, I am sure you are very proud of the results. Take a week off and c'mon over, mine's next.


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## gregt848 (Jul 25, 2006)

Looks good! Great Job.


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## baksdak (Mar 6, 2008)

Thanks for all the compliments guys!


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## jking09 (Jul 29, 2008)

wow i love it!
you did a fantastic job.
and i absolutely love the window to the living area.. nice touch.


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## km5tq (Sep 6, 2008)

Fantastic job! I love the tile you used for the countertop.
Would you mind sharing where you purchased it and the name of the pattern? I'm getting ready to upgrade our kitchen, and you're using the colors I'm going to be working with.

km5tq


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## baksdak (Mar 6, 2008)

km5tq said:


> Fantastic job! I love the tile you used for the countertop.
> Would you mind sharing where you purchased it and the name of the pattern? I'm getting ready to upgrade our kitchen, and you're using the colors I'm going to be working with.
> 
> km5tq


 
Thanks! The granite is called "Venetian Gold" and we got it at The Tile Shop. You can get it at many other places, even including Lowe's. The name varies slightly but it is all from the same place/quarry. Supposedly, it is one of the most popular colors of granite for the kitchen.


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## km5tq (Sep 6, 2008)

Thanks for replying. I live about 6 miles from a Lowe's store.
I'll check it out. Not sure my local store carries the tile's.

km5tq


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## mercurycnz (Aug 27, 2008)

Nice work!
Post more pictures please!


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

*so beatiful*

do you remove the old counter top and put in new wood materials before laying the tiles? or you use the the old counter top as backing materials.... do you have in between pictures too...


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## shumakerscott (Jan 11, 2008)

*Question*

You made your open through wall with your sink in the counter top. I have decided to put my oven in the same place because of back spray into the next room. What are your reasons and thinking on this? Just checking out the situtaion for why you went this direction. Looks great. Dorf Dude


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## baksdak (Mar 6, 2008)

mercurycnz - Here is a link to all the pics I took...flip through, there are a few pages of the whole process!

http://s288.photobucket.com/albums/ll196/baksdak/Projects/Kitchen/


KUIPORNG - I removed the old laminate counter top and MDF backer underneath. I then laid 3/4" ply and with tile cement board on top. Flip through the pics in the link above and you will see many pics of what I am describing.

shumakerscott - The opening above the sink has been there since the house was built, I cant take credit for that. Also, the sink has always been located underneath that opening. As far as backspray or anything like that, it isnt a problem at all. Occasionally, some water might get on the trim around it but it never goes beyond that. If you want the oven there, I would say go for it, I am sure it will look good.

Again, thanks for all the responses and compliments!!


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

*if I ever do my kitchen counter top*

I will sure copycat yours


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## kimberland30 (Jan 22, 2008)

WOW! Great job!


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## RippySkippy (Feb 9, 2007)

What kind of under counter lights did you choose?


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## marc412 (Apr 6, 2008)

*ditto as above*

man it sure does look nice and adds alot of class to your kitchen


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## BJLower (Aug 2, 2008)

*Not sure how it will look in your kitchen*

When I tiled the las kitchen I did I ran the tile up the kickboard under the counters. I used glue and made wedges out of scrap wood that I duct taped to the floor (If you cant Duc it %^$% it). It added a neat look and made it easy to clen up the "Mop Slop" that get on the kickboards.

BJ


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## BJLower (Aug 2, 2008)

*Not sure how it will look in your kitchen*

The last kitchen I redid I ran the tile up the kickboards of the cabinets.

I used glue and made some wedges out of scrap wood that I used Duct tape to hold the tilesin place while they dried.

It gave it a neat look and made it easy to cleand up the "mop slop" that builds up of the kickboards.


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## [email protected] (Nov 29, 2008)

I am looking at doing something similar with a property, can you give me an idea of what the tile cost you to do the countertop and backsplash and the time. I have layed tile before but not granite. Is there any trick, also how expensive was the bull nose and did they have it in stock or did you have to order it? I agree with everyone else awsome job. Thanks for your help


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## BJLower (Aug 2, 2008)

*I didn't do the counters*

My posting was about tileing the kickboards under the cabinets.

As for Counter top, someone I knew actually used sanded grout when he did his counters. As you might imagine all of his glasses and other glass items got scratched up pretty badly pretty quickly. He had the fun of diggin the grout out.

I know what fun that can be from personal experience. I built a tile shower and used sealer that had sat in the garage (in Florida) for about a year. Within 2 weeks the grout was black. Getting all the grout out with that little diamond saw will make sure I never make that mistake again. 

If it wasn't for the mistakes we wouldn't be DIYers. Having this site sure helps cut those down.

I know the Bull Noses cost a lot. He only messed up on the grout. Instead of using Bull Noses he went and bought some quality "Hard Rock Maple" that's petty hard to hurt. He routered it up nice and used that as the edge of his counters.

If you haven't tried the new water based Polyurethane (it's in a blue can with a Great white shark on it) that's what you want to use. Note,before you grout so the Polyuethane doesn't get into the grout andit will just wipe of the fisnished wood.

This stuff goes on and smothes out like water. If you put your nose right in the can it smells a little like laundry detergent but you can't smell anything when you use it. You don't steel wool between coats! The second coats just adhears to the first etc.

I redid a rifle and 5 coats made it look like it had a layer of glass on it. I can actually do that with the regular Plyuethane but that a whole lot of work.

To find the perfect wood you can always hunt down a place that sells exotic woods. I build a guitar out of African Pedu. This wood was a burnt orange and the grain in it was like smoke. How a tree can grow with grain like that is something I have no idea how. They have some incredible wood that would make bull Noses look bland. 

You can get that nice OMG that's incredible. You did that! That all of us DIYers just love to death.

BJ


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## Knucklez (Oct 21, 2007)

> If it wasn't for the mistakes we wouldn't be DIYers. Having this site sure helps cut those down.


amen!

love the kitchen, its a perfect job. you SHOULD quit your day job 

Knucklez


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## chris75 (Aug 25, 2007)

The one thing that bothers me is the layout of the location of the receptacles and switches in your tile pattern.

Also, I would have brought the electrical up to code, seems silly to redo the kitchen like that and not even have the required receptacles installed.

And your undercabinet lights do not meet code.


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## Knucklez (Oct 21, 2007)

chris75, good eye! i didn't notice that but you're right if the recepticals were a bit higher then they wouldn't cut into the tile trim.

can you explain what is wrong with the undercabinet lighting? 

Knucklez


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## chris75 (Aug 25, 2007)

Knucklez said:


> can you explain what is wrong with the undercabinet lighting?
> 
> Knucklez












These are low voltage lights, the wiring is not allowed to be concealed, or extended through a building wall. 

After really looking though, the wires may pass through the bottom of the cabinet.


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## BJLower (Aug 2, 2008)

*Nice tip about the low voltage wirering*

I didn't know that code. I would assume thst it's to prevent the possability of the tranaresformer catching fire inside the wall. Transformers have a tedndancy to die anyway, so it wouldbe a lot smarter to put an outlet inside the cabinet. Just plugging in a new transformer would be the heck out of having to tear a wall open.

There's one thing with lighting that I cannot figure out. The 4 foot florescent lights for garages and the like are always on sale for $9.95. If the ballast goes out they want to charge you $15-$20 just for a new ballast. I wonder how many people but the new ballast ratherthan just changing the whole light out for a lot less.


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## mandolynn (Jan 28, 2009)

Wow. Your kitchen really looks beautiful. Especially the countertops. I'm thinking of doing granite tile in ours as well. How does it do next to the stove? The instructions that I've found say to not put any edging material on the sides next to it, but it seems like it would not only be visible, but moisture could get into the underlayment. 

I've also heard that it's hard to get all the tiles completely level with each other and there end up being raised edges that catch dirt. Have you had any problems with this? Thanks.


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## cocobolo (Dec 16, 2008)

mandolynn: You shouldn't have any trouble getting granite tiles dead level. They are very well machined. A good tile book will explain the best way to do this. Or perhaps go to the John Bridge tile website. Great info there.
Our boy here has done a fantastic job. I'm setting granite tile on my kitchen counter as well, but the counter is curved, so no lovely granite bullnose for me.


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## EDKsurly (Mar 10, 2009)

Looks great. I want to redo my kitchen and the granite tile might be ideal for me. I just want to know how hard is it to get the bullnose edges that match the tile? The tiles should be cheaper than solid counters, right?


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## cocobolo (Dec 16, 2008)

ED, locally here (western Canada) granite tile goes from $5 to $15 a square foot, with the nicer ones usually being the more costly.
A local outfit carries the big granite slabs, which they will make your counters from, at $60 a square foot.


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