Feb 23rd...Cabinets

I'm sorry I haven't posted much lately. And I'm sorry that those posts aren't full of explanations and details...but I'm tired. We work on the house after we get off of work until late and I just haven't had time. My house is a mess (the rent house and the one we're building), we barely have clean clothes to wear and those are really wrinkled because we don't have time to fold them. I've eaten out so much that I can't bare the thought of eating out again so I've scoured the Internet for crock-pot recipes and have had pretty good success so far. Did you know that you can make lasagna in a slow-cooker? Yup. I did it today. And it was pretty darn good, too. If you have a good recipe you'd like to tell me about, leave me a comment and tell me what it is. Please? Or call me. Please? I. Can't. Eat. Out. Any. More! Maybe I should have labeled this post "Grumbling...Ranting...and Raving..." instead of "Cabinets".

So, about the cabinets....When we got them from the guy who made them, I expected to see a finished product. Nope...we get to do the finish. Spray stain. Wipe it off. Dry. Lacquer. Dry. Sand. Clean the doors. Brush on Glaze. Dry. Wipe it off. Lacquer. Dry. Put up the doors and fronts.

The first step was spraying them with the stain. Our contractor (David) sprayed while Doyle and I wiped the stain off. Then we let them dry for a day. The next day David sprayed lacquer while Doyle and I stacked them to dry. (I may have forgotten a step...I'm trying to remember but I think I've breathed in too many fumes...)
Left Picture: After staining / Right Picture: After lacquer

Next was the sanding. We've got over 80+ cabinet doors and drawer fronts and I've sanded almost every single one. Both sides. My contractor had pity on my and did some so I can't say that I did them all. But saying that me and sanding pads are good friends is the understatement of the year. We go way back. Anyway, here's a picture of a door being sanded. Oh...when you come to my house, make sure you rub your hand across a cabinet and tell me how silky smooth they feel. I worked hard and I need to hear how good they feel. Really ;)
Left Picture: A door I'm working on / Right Picture: Finished stacks

So after they were all sanded, they were cleaned off and we formed an assembly line. Jimmy brushed on the glaze. David wiped off the bulk of it. Mark did the final glaze wipe. Then I wiped off finger prints from the back and stacked them. Then we let them dry for a day.

After that, they were sprayed with lacquer a final time and left to dry. Doyle put on the doors and drawer fronts and did a great job. They look wonderful. They still need crown molding on the tops, but other than that, they are pretty much done. Here's some pictures of the final product. By the way...counter tops are on and sinks are in. Yeah! The plumber is supposed to come this week and install faucets, toilets, hot water heater, and hook up our water.
Left picture: upstairs bath / Right picture: Ty's bath (Emmy wanted in the picture)

Left picture: laundry / Right picture: laundry where the washer and dryer will go