Cabinets are in!

I am so excited! It's finally beginning to take shape.

Mike and Keith picked up the cabinets from our garage this morning and spent most of the afternoon installing them. I was worried that the rain would impact the schedule but it did not. Here are the pictures I promised.

This is what you'll see when you first walk in. The counter is basically a large T shape. At the top of the T, we'll install a cooktop and 30" oven. We'll use the cabinets to store all of our supplies for cooking classes and wine tastings. Check out the box hanging from the ceiling. The hood will be attached to it. You can also see the new and old electrical panels on the far wall (as well as some of the mess).

This is the back wall. The cabinet next to the door will hold a 27" oven and a microwave. The sink will be next to that cabinet, followed by the dishwasher and the fridge.

This is the front view. Most of the cooking will happen behind the top of the T and most of the eating and wathcing will happen along the sides and bottom of the T.

Countertop guy is scheduled to come in to measure between 9 am and 1 pm tomorrow. I should get a better feel for the timeline once I hear back from them.

Stay tuned for more details ... there's more dry walling in our future and the installation of a water heater and a garbage disposal ahead of us!

Things are happening!

It's been exactly one week since construction started and we've made a lot of progress. There are more holes in the wall and wires and pipes coming out of the ceiling and walls. It's a sight for sore eyes!

The larger electrical panel was installed today and power was out for at least 7 hours (sorry Hilary and Rainey). I'm not sure what's going to happen with the older, smaller electrical panel. Does is stay in the wall? Do we sell it on eBay? What?

The first few pieces of the hood is in place too. It has been retrofitted to meet fire department specs so I'm not sure how pretty it's going to look but at this point I don't care about pretty. As soon as it's up, I'll post pictures.

Tomorrow the cabinets will be installed. This will help me finalize the layout of the store and consolidate some of the displays so that we make the most of the space left. I think this will be the turning point ... where we finally start seeing the outline of the kitchen.

On Friday, the counter top people will measure to make sure what we spec'd out at Lowes was accurate and they'll make templates which they take back to the shop and cut the materials. I'm putting in Zodiaq quartz which is made by DuPont who also makes Corian. Zodiaq offers the beauty and longevity of granite but does not require the ongoing maintenance. It should take 2-3 weeks before the counter tops are brought back for installation. Once they're in, Mike and his crew will pop in the appliances and we will be ready to cook!

It's looking like we should be done on 11/16 and I may do the first class during Thanksgiving week. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes as planned!

Caution! Hard Hat Required

Construction is finally underway! The fun started yesterday, October 17th and should continue for the next week or so. It took so long to get the permit, I had to take a picture of it to make sure it was real.

So here's an overview of what's is being done.

The plumber cut into the back wall where the main water and sewer connection is. He has to do his magic (this is not technical plumber jargon) on the pipes so that we can install a water heater and the connections for the sink, refrigerator and garbage disposal. His work has to be inspected before we close the hole up.

While the plumber is working on the back wall, the electrican is working on the side wall and the ceiling. He needs to install a bigger panel so that we have enough circuits for the appliances that we are putting in. This panel will replace the smaller one on the side wall. The hole in the ceiling is for power to the hood and cooktop and for connecting the hood to the sprinkler system.

Almost everything in the store is covered with plastic to protect it from the dust and debris and all of our displays and shelves are crammed together towards the front of the store. We'll stay open during the construction to let people know what's going on but don't expect a whole lotta browsing.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates as construction continues ...

We have a PERMIT!

Yeah! I got a call from Mike (the contractor) today that he picked up the building permit. This means we can start construction. First step is to get the plumber in ... hopefully this will happen in the next few days.

Stay tuned for photos and updates!

The Appliances are Here!

Oops! I did it again. It's been three weeks since my last blog.

We are finally making progress! Whoo hoo!! After the last post, we faced another hurdle. Since April of this year new state rules are in effect for cooking schools which requires the health department to review building permits/plans for cooking schools. After speaking with the local health inspector to understand the new guidelines and tweaking my approach to the classes, we got approval to move forward from the health department. We've also found a way to modify the hood we've selected to meet the fire department's requirements. We're waiting for final approval and the actual building permit.

In the meantime, I had to take delivery of the appliances. They arrived yesterday and are stored in my garage right next to the cabinets and all the merchandise we bought for fall and the holidays. If I don't get the permit soon, I may have to hold a garage sale. We decided on stainless steel Kitchen Aid appliances which I'm very excited about. We'll have two ovens, a cook top, a full size dishwasher, an overhead hood, a microwave and a refrigerator. I feel like I compromised on the refrigerator ... I really wanted side by side with water and ice maker but had to settle for one that has the top and bottom doors because of space issues.

Let's hope my next post is soon and it's good news = permit!