Ups and Downs

As seems to be the pattern, there has been some encouraging progress this week, but with some asterisks. They installed most of the cabinet fronts and started the plaster. It’s starting to really look finished. A few of the details are giving the progress a bit of a sour note, though.

On the plus side, there was a lot of progress. The drawers and base cabinet fronts are in. Those Blum drawer runners are truly a joy and feel worth every penny. Drawers on base cabinets are the way to go. If you don’t look too hard, it all looks pretty good.

In person, though, I find the installation at this stage a bit disappointing. I knew that I wouldn’t get the millimeter-precise alignment of cabinets from someone like SieMatic by going this more budget-friendly route, but I still feel like the alignment of the doors could be better.

More worrying to me, there are clear installation defects that, at least to my eyes, go beyond usual issues. To my eyes, it really looks like the face of one of the doors got drilled through and patched. It’s not a great look. The fact that the hinges also don’t sit cleanly and flush in the back of the doors, and that there was clearly tear out when they drilled out the hinge cups, gives me pause.

If I wind up having to replace the damaged doors, I don’t want to think about the lead time on those parts.

The plastering got started, too. Aside from the inevitable mess, I’m pretty happy with the way it looks. It’s beginning to make the space feel more finished.

Moving forward, I’m still waiting on the fire sprinkler permit and, after a false start, the appliances should get delivered next week.