Summer 2009 Kitchen Project

Custom Cabinet project, summer 2009. Hundreds of hours of design, milling, shaping, assembling, sanding, finishing... Almost ready to install.

One of the shop bays

Probably my most enjoyable project this summer was a Kitchen Cabinet project. The plan is to install next week. Here are a few pictures from the staining phase.





Nearly Birch 30 drawers, all custom made in my shop.

Not shown, Vanity and Laundry room cabinets.

Lumber Pile

I love a lumber pile. I love it for the potential it has. I love it for its heritage. I love it as a medium in which to work with - to create something that was once just a dream into something lasting, usable and beautiful.

I don't see wood as sterile or unliving like some see meat under cellophane. I see it as part of a forest, a survior that overcame impossible odds to reach maturity. During its life it was food, shelter, purified air and water. It may have passed its genentic traits to future generations. Its rings record decades / centuries of rainfall and other disturbance, hidden within until revealed by the sawyer's mill. Crafted it becomes lasting testament of its life. Its soul reflected within the grain.

There is nothing more natural than incorporating wood into a home.

Underfloor insulation

The insulation is mechanically held (not show) by flexible wires to the warm side surface allowing a 1" air gap at the bottom of the joist bay. Ventilation is accomplished with screened holes in the sheathing.

Plywood was installed to "critter proof" the insulation.

With the building now fully insulated the temperature fluctuations were further reduced. Unheated or air conditioned the building is ~15* F cooler than the daytime high and 15* F warmer than the outside temperature in the mornings. The Temperature range for this trip was 45-90*F.