Yessir - after about 6 years of saying it, we are finally getting a new kitchen! As such, Mrs. Z-man has asked that I post some questions here - apparently she feels the Pelican brain-trust is a group of folks with vast knowledge and wisdom. (Wherever did she get that idea is beyond me....)
So the purpose of this thread is to ask questions of the Pelican collective as we go through this project.
So.... right now the plan is a complete teardown and rebuild. Small kitchen in a bilevel home. Still working on the details, but I think we have the basic floorplan figured out:
Details: Stove, dishwasher, sink on the galley (right side of picture), with a built-in fridge on the top of the picture. There will be cabinets under the island, which will have seating for four. "Remove exsisting wall" opens up into the dining room. Sliding glass doors on the bottom of the picture open up to our deck. Entryway on top goes to living room. Granite countertops, probably panelled dishwasher/fridge. Cabinet colors will be either white or cream with a brown glaze.
Time frame: starting now, and doing the major work either in October, or waiting until next summer (Kim's a teacher, and we missed the boat for this summer...)
While our home isn't our 'dream home,' it is paid for, and as such, we plan to stay here for at least another 5-6 years or longer. So we aren't building this kitchen for the next owners, but want to make sure we don't have something which will adversely effect our ability to sell the house.
While doing the kitchen, we are also doing other home improvements. First up is our floors. We have hardwood floors throughout the house. Kitchen linoleum will be replaced with hardwood floors as well. But the exsisting floors need to be refinished.
So here's my first set of questions:
For the staining/sealing of the floors, should we go with a water based stain/sealant or an oil based one?
How many coats of the sealant should be do? Two or three or ??
Stain color - lighter or darker? Why?
Thoughts?
Thanks,
-Z-man.