Before and After

When a family is in the middle of a remodel it can be difficult to believe that the job will every get done. This is especially true for kitchen makeovers. It can be tiring to go out to the garage to get something from the fridge, or to cook all of your meals in a...

Making A Custom Countertop, Phase I

As you may recall I harvested logs that I turned into planking that was used for the floors in my townhouse. In addition, I had a large Tamarack log that was flat sawn into 2 1/4 inch slabs. I intended to use this wood for a kitchen countertop. See the photos below...

A Fancy Range Hood

You may recall that I created a custom anchor to secure a box/cement board for a vent hood so it would hold some granite pieces that had a total weight of around 400 pounds. I thought you may like to see the finished product. The box that I made which will serve as a...

An Economical Kitchen Refresh

I’m working on a project in a nice suburb of Chicago. The previous owners remodeled their small kitchen in the 1990s. The new owners moved into the house a few years ago, but they felt that the kitchen’s appointments were too overwhelming and busy for such...

A Kitchen Remodel

A customer wanted to refresh their kitchen. They decided to keep its basic layout, but they wanted to change out the cabinets to higher quality ones and arranged them in a way that was more compatible with their needs. They didn’t want to change the stain color...

Demo Days

There is a an old adage that says, “You have to break some eggs to make an omelette.” The same rule applies to a remodel. You have to destroy an area so you can rebuild it. Naturally, destroy is too strong of a word because it is important to preserve...