Thursday, October 15, 2009

How I spent my two-week off-season.

End of the racing season and I took a break from the bike. Time to catch up on the house.

That lovely blue sink is about to turn 46 next month. It's going on Ebay, because apparently there is a market for vintage sinks. Who'd of thought. Anyway, the original plan was for one sink cabinet and two drawer units from Ikea. According to the measurements listed in their catalog there would be just enough room. Well, apparently the Swedes haven't quite mastered their metric to English conversions, because after assembling everything and measuring they were off by over an inch. Just enough to kill Plan A. After lots of brainstorming, I came up with Plan B: one sink cabinet, a drawer cabinet and an end shelf unit on each side. It would just fit into the 47.5" space (I know, it's a luxurious spa of a bathroom and you are jealous). But, I would have to ditch the metal legs and make a custom wooden base to support everything.

Finally got the cabinet shells installed last night. I just need to find a workable solution to hook up the drain (Swedish setup not compatible with Vietnam War-era plumbing). I tested the supply lines last night and they fit (after learning that the Ikea coupling is not a standard size and finding an adaptor, surprise, surprise). So, I'm off to the hardware store today to hopefully find a workaround and with any luck I can get it hooked up tonight. All that remains is to add a piece of melamine to the top of one end unit to make it flush with the drawer cabinet, then install some corner bracing and install the stainless countertop. Then, rip out the old medicine cabinet and install the new one. Got new lights to install and I think I have an electrician lined up to install a GFCI outlet. Retrim the windows, door and baseboards. Done. Then it's time to begin training for the 2010 bike season...