The Fine Line between D-I-Y and D-I-E

On the second day of Countermas, our kitchen gave to Eleanor and me....



....a bit of a problem.

Just getting to that point took well over 24 hours. The new countertops arrived yesterday afternoon; by the time I returned from late afternoon rounds yesterday, Eleanor had installed the stubby side of the job, to the left of the fridge:


(Note Zoey, already using the new  cat charging station, and Tazzer, on the back of the sofa, looking unimpressed.)

The bigger piece is still in the garage, awaiting the removal of the old sink and cooktop. We're almost there. Last night, we took a variety of tools to the lip below the sinkhole and removed most of the  brackets that had been holding it in. Between off-hours that I had today and a final push late this afternoon, I got the rest of them off, resulting in the first state shown above: that sucker's too heavy to lift out, and it risks crushing the pipes below it if we try and it drops.  So we've surrendered on that one front: Ed Youngs, plumber to the stars for our entire life here, will be called to remove the old and install the new, perhaps as soon as Friday. Meanwhile, Eleanor has designed, and is in the midst of constructing, a manger that will keep the old sink from fall-down-go-boom. Once that's laid in under the existing sinkhole, the old sink can be gently lowered onto the new temporary shelf above the pipes, and the full countertop on that side can be removed and the new one laid in.

Ah, but what of the old cooktop?


That bad boy was out in under half an hour. For one thing, the bolts holding it to its frame were fewer and further between, and weren't rusted out like many of the sink ones were. Also, the unit itself was much lighter- and yet, much more dangerous. Once we got a look at the electrical connections which had gone unseen by us for over 20 years, we cringed:  Original Owner Eddie or his minions had connected things under that stovetop without putting wire nuts on all the live wires, and the crimped connections were covered in grease. It's a wonder that thing lasted as long as it did without crapping out and/or catching fire.

Whatever. It's out. It went to the curb before 5:30 and was gone, sucked up by our Friendly Neighborhood Metal Man, by sometime round 8 p.m.

Once the temporary resting place for Old Sink gets finally laid in tomorrow, we can remove the rest of the old counter and install the new one and the cooktop within it. That will leave the heavy lifting of the old sink/ installation of the new one to the professional.  There will follow tile, and painting, and staining, but the Kitchen As We Know It will be back in business.

Mind, all this is going on during a full workweek for Eleanor (high on the stress side two of the three days this week) and a heavier-than-expected one for me (to be followed by court the first four days of next week). So forgive the sin of pride if we take a bow to each other and say, Good job, for what we did, and for knowing what we couldn't do.