Gravy's Cooking Thread

Siliconemelons said:

Why are kitchen remodels so expensive?

built the whole thing out in ikea, 13.5k

Can save a little if I go non ikea appliances, but only like about 1k as some ikea appliances are cheaper than their counterparts and some are more expensive - but from reading have generally positive reviews... usually mostly + with some -, about the same as any other appliances in their price range.

I guess once we get closer to doing this is to shop the plan around and see what the options are.

All this so I can cook more

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13.5k for a whole kitchen is nothing... They are usually 25-60 these days if you include labor.

Palum said:

13.5k for a whole kitchen is nothing... They are usually 25-60 these days if you include labor.

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It’s just stuff, cabinets are easy to do. And I need to redo the tile. It’s not a big kitchen so we are trying to maximize storage and prep space.

It also is a 70s house where they dropped the kitchen ceiling down, so I am thinking of ripping that out, but whew that will mean redoing the ceiling texture.

it’s stipple, so it is often seen as popcorn but it’s not. It’s attached to a family room so if I take the drop down I have to either match or redo all of that ceiling as well.

Edit: I did my current kitchen, but through time and money restraints it was just a 1:1 replacement of the as built configuration with an add on pantry cabinet. Was just going to freshen up what was there when we moved in with a butcher block counter top, but once I took off the sink, the thing collapsed. I had 3 days. So cheapest Home Depot prebuilt it was… honey oak on butcher block tops… SOO MUCH WOOD

funny thing was years later I saw a magazine with the same setup, I was in style! Lol

Ikea has a nice kitchen designer tool that is easy to use, does 3d and 2d and even makes little blueprint type things with dimensions etc.

So not just going to look at ikea. Their stuff is okay, their boxes are fine and if you like their fronts/finishes then, only if you are wanting to get full plywood/hardwood and $$$$ lol

Overheard a conversation one day at Lowes or HomeDepot between two GC's talking about cabinets, each was buying stuff for a kitchen "fix" as it was not enough for a remodel but, something may have happened like a water leak flood etc. Anywho - they were talking about general cabniet levels and quality. They both got to a discussion that Ikea basically is of better quality than "base" HD/Lowes etc. or other flat box build at home cabinets - and their raised peg legs are a plus if there is a small leak/flood (as that was what one of them was repairing) - as no water gets to the "wood" , and that is typically when the lower grade cabinets fail as their fiberwood boxes touch the floor then suck up water. They (ikea) also have tons of the "higher end" features and storage options, you can add soft close to almost everything, lightning etc.

But my kitchen is not large, nor fancy- so all wood cabinets would honestly not be worth it... nice but, ehh.

Here is a screen of the general plan. I can make a mock up of the current setup but meh. We are still thinking about what to do shelves or cabs above the sink.

Small door by the refig goes to dining room, large door is actually 2, one to a walk in pantry (left) and the other goes to a sunroom /craft room (right) the open area is a family room that leads to the 3 kid rooms, hall and bath. the ceiling high is set to the drop down height that it currently is at now- it drops down to 81/82"

We extend into the family room by about a foot to make more room in the kitchen, there is currently a 6" "bar" extension now with just countertop- so it wont mess with our setup much. Dishwasher is a cabinet faced dishwasher next to the fridge.

mkopec said:

Honestly for such a small kitchen with so few cabinets, why not build them yourself? All it takes is a few tools and a pocket hole jig and you will save thousands. YOU can get 2 cabinets or thereabouts out of 1 sheet of 3/4 ply thats $90. You can buy doors and drawers online, so you dont even have to make those. Face frames are the same shit, you can get the material like oak or other shit at your box store already milled to size, all you need to do is cross cut it down to size. They are pretty cheap too. Last time I checked was a 6 ft section of face frame material in oak for like $8? Tons of youtube channels that explain how to do this. And best of all you will be getting 3/4 hardwood ply boxes with oak faceframes, and nice real wood doors and drawers which are done by pros for like $30 ea. Then you can paint the shit whatever color you want +clear urethane with a spray gun. The shit will last 2 lifetimes.

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That would be fun, but I have a real bad history with boxes.. they just never work out. The Ikea stuff is all frame-less if that's the style we go with.. But it would be nice to make it myself, even if I spend 5-8k because I would need to get a lot of the tools, my garage needs to be completely dumped out. I have years of junk and random junk tools. I need a real table saw.

mkopec said:

Honestly for such a small kitchen with so few cabinets, why not build them yourself? All it takes is a few tools and a pocket hole jig and you will save thousands. YOU can get 2 cabinets or thereabouts out of 1 sheet of 3/4 ply thats $90. You can buy doors and drawers online, so you dont even have to make those. Face frames are the same shit, you can get the material like oak or other shit at your box store already milled to size, all you need to do is cross cut it down to size. They are pretty cheap too. Last time I checked was a 6 ft section of face frame material in oak for like $8? Tons of youtube channels that explain how to do this. And best of all you will be getting 3/4 hardwood ply boxes with oak faceframes, and nice real wood doors and drawers which are done by pros for like $30 ea. Then you can paint the shit whatever color you want +clear urethane with a spray gun. The shit will last 2 lifetimes.

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yes

Lanx said:

gone have a good bye neighbor party, gonna smoke brisket and ribs, i know i have the room for it, should i just use the same seasoning i use on my brisket for the ribs? black pepper and lawrys?

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yes, I just use salt, pepper, garlic, maybe onion. Lawry's has some paprika, etc. It'll work fine.

Last night I grilled pineapple and then grilled thick cut pork chops. The chops were some of the most beautiful chops I've ever seen, about an inch thick, bone in. I managed to cook the chops just right, and got a nice sear on the pineapple as well (cut in long slabs). Put garlic, soy sauce, a little Worcestershire, pepper, light salt, and that's it. Put spinach on the plate, put pineapple on the spinach, put the chops on the pineapple. Getting a bite of all of it together was absolutely delicious. I'll do that again. Often.

Lanx said:

ribs came out fine, ppl wanted sauce

i said, i'll make you sauce for the ribs, but ain't no sauce going on my brisket.

just ended up slathering the ribs in

and called it asian spare ribs, lord almighty

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Bachan's spicy is the best.

Well, my egg slinging at work paid off, one of the people that work in the building took forever but for a couple months of eggs brought me a big heavy bag of like 5 big pork steaks, and some pork loins or something like that they got from a butcher but their picky kids refused to eat it not being packaged like the regular store. (Drown the kids imo)

Debating if I just pan sear them to go with a country breakfast, or something more entertaining to do.