Just my point of view: There's light at the end of the "kitchen"

Oh boy. It has been a long journey, now 3 weeks late already, but, if nothing else goes wrong, then the kitchen should be ready for cabinet installation by Monday! Yep, I kid you not. And what do I mean when I say 'if nothing else goes wrong'? Well, in the process of removing the ceiling boards in the kitchen, so that the plaster ceiling could be done, the contractors discovered that the water outlets, both shower and toilet, from the two guest ensuite bathrooms upstairs were leaking! And the only reason that it did not get really bad was that, well, those bathrooms are hardly used - maybe just used a total of 4 or 5 weeks spread through the whole year (ie, only when friends come and stay). Anyway, having seen the leak, there is no way we could just ignore it! Cos if we did that, then a few years down the way, I would have to rip open the plaster ceiling and take down the upper run of kitchen cabinets just to get it fixed properly! So, I figured, better bite the bullet and get it done NOW!

Of course, if we had done the 'normal' thing, we would have had to rip out all the existing piping all the way down, as all the existing piping, which runs through the common (guest) bathroom downstairs, is made of galvanised (ergo, rust-able) steel. And that would have included hacking through existing walls, floor, etc. Which would have cost a bomb too! Then I had one of those "eureka" moments! Well, the room that is now being made into a maids room used to be my parents bathroom. The connection to the sewage tank is still there, under the floor (which had not yet been tiled or finished) and it is NOT using galvanised steel - it is using the new UPVC piping! So, I asked my contractor if we could just 'disconnect' and block off the existing piping, which only requires hacking the actual bathroom floors and no hacking of other walls, etc, and connect to new plumbing which would run in the opposite direction through the ceiling of the maids room, down the corner of the walls, and into the plumbing that is already there! And, Yes, he could do it, and Yes, it would cost a lot less! Of course, it meant extra days to get all that done before they could proceed with the kitchen... but it is now done, and the work has progressed well.

So, where are we? Well, with focus ONLY on the kitchen, this is where we are:
- All reinforced concrete work surfaces done, and tiled, both inside and outside.
- All flooring done
- All plaster ceiling done AND painted
- Ducting for cooker hood done, vented all the way outside - with the external vent protected from insect intrusion by mosquito netting
- Main kitchen window in place
- Door frame done
- Measurements for security grille for back kitchen door (and for maids room window, parents room window, parents bathroom window) all taken
- Double sinks, with a tap on each sink, done and in place
- Plumbing for the sinks connected
- Cooker and hood delivered and location for gas cooker ready with hole drilled to accommodate connection of gas cylinder to cooker
- All electrical wiring in place (to be connected by Monday)
- Kitchen walls all painted already!

So, for kitchen, the outstanding items, to be done by Monday:
- Acid wash of all tiles
- Electricity connection, and installation of all switches, plugs, and EUBIG power strips.
- Installation of all security grilles, and back door.

Then, on either Tuesday or Wednesday, my kitchen cabinets come in and get installed over a period of 2 - 3 days, and the cooker and hood will be put into place and connected, and my induction cooker will also arrive and be installed (small one, to be inset into the granite island).

While that is happening, the contractors guys will focus on finishing off my parents bedroom and bathroom, and the maids room.

So, there IS light at the end of the tunnel... and here are some photos, taken yesterday (BEFORE the painting got done):

1) This is the reinforced concrete area for the long run of cabinets just before the cooker. The wall has already been painted with the base coat.

2) And this is going to be my baking area. You can see the kitchen entrance (blocked by the wood) on the right, and the support pillar on the left.

3) A better view of where the kitchen entrance is going to be.

4) The location in my baking area where the leak was in the ceiling. They have fixed it all, and put up the plaster ceiling, but sensibly left a 'hatch' to use for future access if required.