Basement cabinet hanging

I looked back and I guess this is my first post in the New Year! So Happy 2014! Our Christmas decorations are almost taken down and put away. I finally unplugged the outdoor lights today. I guess I realized that we were the only ones in the neighborhood with them still on (we're slacking).

We have some exciting news on the basement! The cabinets are finally up. There's still a few more things to do, but all pretty minor that I think we can handle. Before we get to the cabinets, let's backup a few steps. Last time, we were here (see picture below). The walls were finally in decent shape from the removal of the header. On and I painted! I painted way back on the first week of December. You can't 100% tell in these pictures, but I chose an off-white (A la mode by Benjamin Moore). I also painted the ceiling white.

I then removed the light fixture since the cabinets would need to be installed where the light was (you can see the off-white color in this photo). J and his dad removed the electrical box. The breaker to this circuit is still off because I need to do a little rearranging on the electrical, but I will probably cover that in a future post. For now, know that the electrical box was removed. From here on, I contributed 0% of the effort. I have been a little run down recently, and J and his dad did the cabinet work. I am super grateful for the help. This might not have happened without my father in law. So, if you are reading, a huge thank you!

On the first weekend he came down, they hung the top 3 cabinets. I asked J to take intermediate pictures, but he didn't, so we only have the finished product. However, they used a ledger board screwed into the wall and a support using a ladder and some wood boards to support the front of the cabinets to get everything screwed in straight. He did a really great job.

J's dad had to cut down one of the spacer pieces in order to get them to fit on the sides of the three cabinets. He came back today and put those in, which finished up the top cabinets!

He then worked on the bottom cabinets. I wasn't downstairs very much, but I know there was some cutting for the plumbing in the sink base. He used shims to correct for the unevenness in the tile.

Since the breaker is still off (I'll take care of that soon), we ran an extension cord for the fridge for now. Oh yea, isn't the new fridge super pretty? :) We may raise it up a little so it doesn't sit down from the cabinets.

Progress! I love it! The cabinets are super pretty and match the pool table almost exactly. My father-in-law installed them so perfectly in the space. I actually can't imagine doing this without him.

It gives me hope that this basement project might actually get done. Here's a rundown of what it will take to finish it up:
1. Re-install an electrical box for the switched light. Find a good lighting solution for the space. I have some ideas for this.
2. Install the crown molding on top of the top cabinets
3. Install the toe-kick
4. Decide whether to raise the fridge (and do so).
5. Fix the floor molding.
6. Get the countertop in.
7. Finish up the plumbing
8. Install knobs on cabinets

Most of those are relatively minor, so I am feeling pretty good about knocking this stuff out. I am pretty excited to see this project come together, especially after working on it since October(?).

Thanks for sticking with me!