Frig goes on a Journey

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

If room allows, run a larger flue, divide the built in fireplace and use the other side for wood fired oven.

Nothing like wood fired pies, breads, and pizzas!

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

One thing I was really glad I did was, while I was roughing in the electrical for the microwave, I also roughed in another duplex receptacle inside one of the open cabinets on one side of the island. I put the receptacle just below the countertop in the back of the cabinet so you can't see it, and then wired an inverted plug strip into the top of the cabinet out where you can get at it. All of it invisible unless you get down on your knees and look up into the cabinet. It's super handy to have multiple plugs available on the island.

We didn't do water on the island though for several reasons; one, I didn't want to dedicate a cabinet to the plumbing, and two you'd almost certainly want a garbage disposal there which would take up most of the room in the cabinet. (Plus, the wife didn't want a hole in the island.) We may regret that someday, but the island isn't really designed to sit at anyway. that's what we had before, and we took it out (not nearly as big though. It had a two level counter which was a PITA.

I've got about 3 tons of black granite. Know anyone who wants some free granite?

a reply to: Notoneofyou

That's a really interesting thought!

Only issue is, the fireplace is currently in the corner at a 45 degree angle (this is the angled wall I referred to). To do what you suggest would require rotating the fireplace another 45 degrees, but then it would throw the symmetry of the interior space off.

Hmmmmm...now you've got me thinking!!!!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I'm actually glad I added the prep sink, it gets used more than I expected and I can clean prep debris right into it.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Not so much.

Imagine a side car on a tool box.
It can be off to the side, as it's only some of the heat, not the fire you want.

So, a side car , with an access door wherever you like.

I believe premade inserts are available, but I hate prefab crap.

Your more than capable enough. And I doubt that the consumer stuff is up to snuff when your pride is on the line.

If your going to do all that stone/masonry work yourself, make damn sure it's up to wifes standards as well as yours!

And if you need a hand, let me know.
Been doing chimneys, a long damn time. Be glad to come out.

Got a mill too. So if you need a mantle, I can cut anything you need.

a reply to: Notoneofyou2dd
Where are you???

I might really be interested in this! I'm a good finish carpenter, cabinet maker, but I'm out of my league with stone. I tnink I can do it, but it will be hard. A true mason would do it much better than I ever could.

I pay good money!

ETA...Oh, and yes, I would like a nice mantle. Again, I can do some nice woodwork, but mantle's are out of my skill-set. Maple, or Oak, maybe?

ETA-2...should i send you the specs?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Our appliance repair guy told us that the over the cooktop microwaves can be a problem as the heat of the cooktop can mess with the microwave somehow.
The under the counter thing would be great....however our kitchen is very small as we are in a smallish condo.

Great kitchen...glad to see the finished product.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Nice!!!
Please continue to update.
Some of us love to see these dream kitchens, even if we will never have them and can cook all that well.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

The stone work is no problem, provided you choose stone up to task.

Never, ever use river rock, or anything that's porous. It will explode, or worse, your wife will see it after the bond fails!

More than anything, a flow calculation need to be done on the room. No different than your stove hood.
Modern homes are tight, if a 100 or 1000cfm are going out, then the same amount needs to be available for proper flow/draw.
You do not want to lay 1500 stone by hand, pour two glasses of wine for you and your lady, and have a squirrely wind blow hot ash/smoke/soot all over her and her living room.

And on the mantle, anything you can come up with, I can make.
Given its under 21" wide, that the max capacity of my mill.
I am preferable to live edge beam mantels myself, but they don't mix with all interior decors. It's really a matter of aesthetics/ function.

I did one 2 years ago for a gentleman who worked on a wooden fishing boat his entire working life.
I found one of the boats he worked on, and managed to get the 18" keel beam from it.
It was beautiful oak, raw and lightly waxed.

He instantly recognized it, and had a tear in his eye when he poured us a whiskey.


If you want to send me ideas, specs, or want help, let me know.

I'm located in northwest Wisconsin, but I'm always ready to travel.

P.m. me , I'll give you an email or phone #. Whatever your preference. I would be glad to help with anything you need.



Sorry for the late reply, it was a looooong day.

a reply to: Notoneofyou

Gosh, sorry, I didn't connect the dots at first.

I already knew the answer to my question to you. Duh!

When I get closer to figuring out exactly what I'm doing I may just reach out to you! I had reached out to my HVAC contractor to see if they have any ideas, but I haven't heard back yet. The challenge I have is required clearances, so I'm evaluating all options.

Have to finish the kitchen first.

And just on a side note about our overall "Project Kitchen"; I know AM jokes around about the project being a 'decades long' project, and it has taken a while, no doubt. However, this has actually worked out to our benefit in many ways.

During each phase of the project we have methodically gone through every single process that particular phase will be used for, step by step, and tried to design-out every single problem / nuisance we could be faced with. This, before we turned the first screw on doing anything in that phase. Things like electrical outlet locations, cabinet features (slide out drawers, racks, etc.), pot sizes, lid storage, utensil storage, sink functionality, food prep space, appliance storage, pantries (location, orientation, shelving, etc.).

Every step along the way we've tried to eliminate all those 'little things' which aren't so little really when you think about it.

And, behind all that, we've also made sure we had the proper infrastructure to support everything we wanted to do. Things like up-sizing gas lines, up-sizing our electrical service, running water lines, running electrical everywhere in the walls and cabinets, reinforcing walls and floors, etc.

We've done ergonomic studies of how we move and what clearances we need in various areas. Things like how much room we have in front of stoves and ovens.

Even things like spices and spice storage which I opined about Here

One day, hopefully very soon now, we'll be able to sit back and enjoy the fact that we didn't miss anything along the way.

I honestly don't think you could sit down with a kitchen designer / contractor and do a more thorough job. You get blinded by all the 'cool' stuff and forget about all those little items.

And what about changes? Sure, there have been changes along the way. We actually shortened the island by two bench cabinets which we'll use somewhere else, decided on a smaller commercial stove (48" instead of a 60") mainly because it lays out better (but it's still got two ovens). We've probably changed the sink around at least 5 times before we made the final decisions on what to buy.

Challenges? You bet! There have been challenges at every turn, every single one. Just one example would be, commercial stoves have different dimensions than residential stoves. They're often taller and usually always deeper than standard countertops. What to do? There are probably a hundred other examples (duct work in the basement in the way of utilities and the list goes on).

Anyway, we're coming down the home stretch now. It will be nice to be done, but overall it's been a really enjoyable project (probably more so for me, being a builder all my life, than for my wife, but she's had a lot of fun along the way too.).

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Not a problem, I had some quality duh moments myself this week.

If the clearances are super tight, it may be easier to pour a foundation pad outside and have an external chimney.

It can be a real p.i.t.a. to tear apart 2-3 floors in your home to make room , not to mention spendy.

I would suggest two things:

1. If you end up going with a stainless steel liner, get one with a smooth inner wall. No ribs, it build up creosote and not be fun to sweep.

2: remember to finish the chimney top in a manner where you can access it easily, as someone (Probably you) has to stand on top of it with 30ft of sweep rods in their hands to clean it.

I'm easy to to get ahold of, and always willing to help.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

He's right, and they typically do not vent outside but only recycle the air through a filter.

Thanks for the compliments, it was many years in the making and I feel it came out better than I expected.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

... it was many years in the making ...

See there? So my "decades long" project isn't so bad after all! It's actually only about 18 months (so far).

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

It was about 12 years for me since I wanted to finish the restoration work before we did the kitchen.

Now I need to start over again with a paint job next year.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

A house is like a ship when it comes to painting. You start at one end and paint to the other. By the time you finish, it's time to start all over again at the first end.

Did I ever mention...I hate painting?

That, and sheetrock work. I'll do sheetrock work, but the painting I'll hire someone out to do it, or the wife can do it. I get more paint on me and where I don't want it than I do on what I'm trying to paint. Painting sucks! I don't mind staining though, I'm good at that.

I love all other forms of construction, especially anything involving wood. Plus, I do all our own electrical, plumbing, finishes, flooring, etc.