The Beginning of the End of Wedded Bliss

The great outlet debate... my theory, you can never have too many, his theory must be quite different but he's never articulated it for me. My bet is he feels they are way too much trouble and what did they invent extension cords for in the first place.

I always speak up at the beginning of a new addition pointing out where I want every outlet and light switch. I’ve always given it considerable thought; have run through all possible scenarios in my mind. Having to pull out furniture to plug in the vacuum isn’t ideal, finding outlets for the candles in the windows at Christmas can be impossible; all these things run through my mind and impact my requests.

During the construction process I remind, request and have demanded. I don’t like having to demand it doesn’t result in happy labor but occasionally the situation calls for some emotion. Like this morning…

We was standing in the new pantry discussing the progress and preparing to install the next set of lower cabinets when I realized an outlet was going to ultimately be inside one of the cabinets. I pointed this out and he said “that’s ok; you can open the cabinet when you want to use the outlet.”

Think about that statement and think about a cabinet full of food stuff. Do you honestly think you’ll be able to get a cord to reach over the counter top, inside the cabinet, through the contents and reach the outlet? I don’t think he realizes the emotional attachment women have to outlets especially if you’ve ever lived in an older home. Outlets are far and few between and usually unsightly. When given an opportunity to call the shots on placement we become vested in the decision.

Needless to say we had a lively discussion about moving the outlet and it was before breakfast, that isn’t the way to start the day. I can see why renovating an old house could strain a good marriage and possibly be the end of a fractured one.

I’m luckier than most, we rarely argue, often share the same taste and fortunately he respects my opinion so as I type this he’s moving the outlet.

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Pantry and Mud Room Addition

The weather is turning chilly and work on the inside is starting up again.

We originally talked about building simple shelving in the pantry but as we started comparison shopping the cost of 1x12, hardware, storage boxes for organization and construction time we realized for not that much more money we could install stock cabinets that almost matched the custom cabinets we ordered for the kitchen perfectly.

After all this would not only be a pantry but with an outside entry it will serve as a mud room off the deck so we wanted it to look nice as well as be functional. We're also creating an enclosure for the cats litter box in the lower cabinet. A cat lover's dream - a litter box that's out of sight.

The kitchen isn't that large so the addition of the abundant storage found in the new pantry makes the size of the kitchen less important.

We want to be able to add the new square footage to the overall footprint of the house. To qualify the pantry had to be heated. Since it was once a screened porch and was offset from the main house this made connecting to the existing heating system a logistics nightmare. To accomplish our goal we opted to install radiant heat in the floor. For just over $200 we ordered a floor heating system over the internet. It will consist of a heated strip 2x6 under the flooring. We've discussed installing the same heating system in the new upstairs master bath as well. This will be a good test run on how easy it is to install and how effective as a heating source it actually is.

This project is coming close to completion. Look for updates on the progress soon.

Visit us at Leyland Ridge Farm to see our entire 1926 farm house renovation project.