themonkeyhouse.org

I try to employ a rule about improvements, that the monetary expense should never outweigh the probable return in resale. So even if we break even, but get to enjoy the use of an improvement it’s still a win. Or in the case of wiring where the monetary investment is minimal, even if the labour investment is great, its still worth it. So really the rule is, “Don’t lose money.”

So we struggled a little with what to do with our countertops. All of the obvious yuppie options like natural stone, concrete, terrazzo, etc seemed a little risky. I wasn’t confident that we’d get the full $3-5k back in resale from an investment like that. It also helps that I just didn’t feel comfortable with the outlay, that’s a lot of money to poop out all at once for us.

We knew we wanted something that set the kitchen apart to some degree however, and our worktable from Ikea already had a butcher block top which we enjoyed immensely. After a little investigation we managed to find a good deal at Lumber Liquidators on 20’ of 1 ½” rock hard maple butcher block counter top. More than enough to cover our counters and the bar area we’re going to build between the kitchen and the dining areas. So for about $12 a sqft we were off to the races.

Getting a 12’ length of countertop home in a 7’ bed was a challenge. I was honestly afraid it would flex and bow bouncing around back there. I seriously underestimated the heft these things had, a notion that was even further dispelled when it came time to move these suckers around the house.

To seal them from moisture we opted for “Salad Bowl Finish” which is purported to provide a food-safe surface once cured. In hind-sight I don’t know that I’d have bothered as I don’t intend to prepare food directly on the surface of the countertops. Although it appears to perform just fine I worry a little that it won’t be ‘tough’ enough over time. Worst-case we can always scuff it and lay down a coat of matte shellac next year I suppose.

These counters were nearly finish-ready. A quick going over with 320 and then 400 made them baby-butt smooth and ready for finish. We spent the first afternoon cutting, prepping and finishing. Also had to fabricate the mounts as the local big home improvement stores didn’t have any brackets that allowed for sufficient play during expansion and contraction of the wood.

The next day we brought them in, dropped them on and mounted them to the walls and cabinets. The weight of these things alone makes them unlikely to shift so we didn’t go nuts with the mounts. Reinstalling the sink was a blast since the stock sink clips are made for ¾” thick Formica countertops. Naturally I find this out at 6pm on a Sunday. We eventually opted to simply glue it in with clear silicone caulk. While I initially doubted this technique I’m now of the opinion that I’ll not be able to get this sink back out of this countertop without destroying it first. That’s good stuff. Plus I don’t worry about any water getting up under the lip now.

The end result was quite nice and surpassed our expectations. It’s weird looking at it now though, with the backsplash ripped out everything still seems unfinished, but one step at a time. I do think that we made a good decision with materials. They do require a little more attention and care. We’re more conscious of standing water and throwing hard edged objects on the countertops, but overall we just use them and love them.

Countertop Pics

It was me, Cat, Larry, the Fat Lady, Old Man Winter, the ten-year old kid and our guide.  It was a pretty small raft.  Larry and the Fat Lady held down the front while Rip VanWinkle tried to club us with whichever end of his paddle wasn’t in the water, which all too-often was both of them.  It would turn out that the ten-year old was the only real asset on the right side.  Its a wonder we didn’t paddle in circles for 15 miles.

To assuage her disappointment at the lack of banjo picking yokels, Cat whistled that infamous tune for us . . . pretty much the whole way down the river. The whistling drifted along the river with us in the lulls between white water. I swear I heard it right before the cliff-jump.  Oh.  Yeah.  The cliff-jump…conveniently left out of the brochure.  Arguably the highlight of the trip but a curious thing to hear from your guide.  To avoid some class V falls we scrambled along the slimy rocky bank some 30 feet over the surface of the river.  Once past the gnashing falls we were presented with choices in how to return to our rafts.  A torturous scramble back down the slimy, rocky slope that was the river bank, or hey, just jump into the 40-degree glacial melt and climb into your boat.  It’s worth noting that the bank looked enough like a twisted ankle and head trauma combo deal as to make the jump seem reasonable.

Truth be told it was the most fun I’ve had in years and both Larry and Cat made the jump with aplomb. If my testicles don’t pop back out of my body sometime in the next week I’m going to have to find a pair of pliers.  Or a doctor.  But hey I’m a Northwest Outdoor Action Guy® now.  Its official my micro-fleece is on back-order. Have to admit I was proud to see Cat make the jump while several dudes made the Descent of Shame down that bank.  If I didn’t have such a hankering to try new rivers and tips I’d go back just for the jump.

By day’s end though I was able to place the smell that had been teasing the peripheral of my attention all day.  It was my wetsuit.  And it smelt of Doritos.  Dirty, dirty Doritos.  It was time to call it a day.  The long road home lay ahead of us with only one manly steak between me and the best night of sleep I’ve had in ages. Well that and the beer I had with dinner. Man I didn’t know Sominex made a beer. That ride home felt like someone was draining the oxygen out of the truck.

All in all it was a tremendous Saturday that taught me I like the Portland/Columbia Gorge area a lot more than I do the SeaTac sprawl. Maybe it was just unseasonably good weather, maybe it was the lack of pulp-mill aroma in the air I dunno, but it’s pretty great down there and we’re already planning out next excuse to head south.

More Photos

On Neglect:

Well, since I never ever updated the last format of the site (even pics!) I thought perhaps I might be better served switching to a hosted picture service and blogging structure that allows me to add info faster without as much overhead.

Who Cares?

Good question, not a lot of people I suspect.  But for friends and family who may (or may not) want to keep up with stuff I’m hoping this is helpful.

Learning Curve

So I’ll have to learn how to spiff of the general appearance and layout of WordPress, and then actually live up to the idea of using it (semi-) regularly to add content.