An Update on the Palace

 I've been busy and/or too tired to post so here's a short update as we're done working today having moved the 450-pound gun safe to our new home. That took a lot of effort with a hand truck and a 2 x 6 for leverage, prying it over door jambs and onto the trailer to move it here. But now that monster is in the workshop, and it isn't going anywhere else.

I finished putting the knobs and pulls on the kitchen cabinets over a week ago. Had to order one more pull for the trash pullout, we seemed to miss that one in the original order. I still have to install that and one knob on the cabinet door I currently have sitting on the floor with heavy boxes on top trying to take a curve out of it. If that doesn't work, they'll have to get me a new door.

range area

island pulls

Hal's sister also brought up 2 lamps she picked up for me at a resale shop. They're Stiffel and I thought they would go great in my bedroom. They do, I just need to get Hal to help move the dresser again to plug them in and put up my mirror.

fuzzy photo

We've been spending a lot of time moving boxes out of the farm. The pole barn no longer has any of our things, nor does the farmhouse. I started cleaning carpets there today till Hal needed me on safe removal. All that's left now is the giant mahogany entertainment center in the bunkhouse which we plan to move in the next couple of days, and a few large outdoor flowerpots. The garage at the Palace is now stuffed with boxes that need to be dealt with but it feels good to be about done with renting!

Kitchen Hardware

 I started installing kitchen cabinet knobs this week. There are 31 and over 2 afternoons I put in 30 of them. We took one of the cabinet doors off to try to straighten the curvature in it by laying heavy boxes on top so that knob will have to wait. I bought a couple templates made by Amerock to ensure the knobs all lined up. The hardest part was getting some of the cabinet doors level with its neighbor. It took about 90 minutes to get those first 2 knobs installed in the main sink base because of this. Otherwise, it took about 5 minutes per knob, including marking the spot to drill and clamping a piece of wood to the backside of each door to keep from splitting the wood.

                                        

Upper cabinet knobs.

Knobs on the green cabinets.

Today I managed to install 2 drawer pulls, but we had to shorten the long screws that came with the pulls. First Hal tried grinding them shorter so that more threads would engage with each handle, but it messed with the threads too much. Finally, I decided I'd just have him cut off the end at the cutting mark though it barely leaves an eighth of an inch to hold the pull. If the pulls/handles don't hold, I've got extra screws and I'll buy washers to make them shorter or buy shorter screws.

I've got 21 of these to install. And a 22nd once my kitchen designer orders the one we forgot for the trash bin. I hope to install 4 more tomorrow.