This week the triple oven stack was installed. Technically they work but we will not be using them until the kitchen is done. The contractor modified the cabinet as discussed in earlier posts. Before he orders shorter doors, which would cost me extra, he’s going to try to modify the 24” tall ones. He’s not done that before but we have nothing to lose. It’d be nice not to have to purchase new cabinet doors. We’ll see.

He made the bottom of the cabinet above the ovens to be removable – it just sets on a ledge within the cabinet. That way if we ever need to have the oven(s) serviced, it’ll be easier to reach them. These are things I wouldn’t think about and it’s nice to work with someone who does.

After he sanded the walls and ceiling in preparation for painting, the plastic wall came down. We can see how open the space will feel from the family room now. He left the plastic between the kitchen and dining for now, I think because we use it as a wall for our makeshift kitchen in the dining room.

The pre-hung interior door was installed.

The new pre-hung exterior door arrived and was installed. The old door was removed and its space walled up. The previous door from the garage was in the middle of the current laundry space. After stepping inside, there was a closet to one side and a door to the small laundry space on the other side. The partition walls for the closet and the old laundry area are gone in the new design and the door opening from the garage is located at the end of the space (where the closet was before) to maximize usable area.

The ceiling in the kitchen was painted though there are stubborn spots to touch up. The basement door (in the kitchen) was painted along with the trim around the new window.

The contractor rehung our basement door! This was not officially part of the project but he noticed that it stuck in one spot since he needed to go to the basement several times. Nice guy! We’re thankful.

I had a week-long unplanned trip out of town so I’ll be doing two updates nearly back-to-back. The fourth week progress occurred while I was gone so it’s possible that there are small things that I didn’t notice.

The most important item: The inspection was completed with no issues. The contractor said that the inspector took only a few minutes to walk through. I think we have one more final inspection when the project is completed.

Several areas that were open for inspection now have been closed up with drywall. The most significant is the wall behind the new stovetop placement. On this new wall, the vent has been installed for the hood including the part that is outside.

The hood over the stovetop is an upgrade for us. We’ve always had the freestanding stove/oven with the microwave vent above. We cook from scratch and so many times when smoke resulted from burning or sauteing, we had to open all the windows on the first floor to clear it because the microwave vent just didn’t cut it. Having a hood that vented directly outside was one of the ‘gotta haves’ for the remodel.

One nice thing about the hood itself is that it is free! I had shown the contractor a picture of the type of hood I wanted (basic stainless steel) and he did a job before mine on a house that wasn’t even 5 years old and they were taking out the hood to replace it with a fancier one. (Many of them in magazines or on Houzz look like cabinets. I think that’s the look for high-end kitchens but it’s not my preference.) Instead of throwing it away, he snagged it for me. We looked at the screens/filters on it and we don’t think it’s ever been used.

The hood itself is not up yet because it’ll go on top of the backsplash which hasn’t yet been done.

Another thing that was done this week is the structural portion of the new pocket door for the triangular laundry closet. This closet was a creative idea from the contractor when we first walked through the project. I wanted the stovetop at a 45-degree angle in a corner (next to the exterior wall for venting) and that resulted in an unused triangular area behind the stove. I realized that but just assumed that we’d wall it up. He offered to open it on the laundry side of the wall and put an 18” pocket door to access the closet. At first, I was reluctant to consider it because I didn’t think I’d use a tall skinny triangular closet in the corner of the laundry room. You can’t even install shelves in the space. Then it occurred to me: the ironing board! I could store the ironing board in a mini-closet instead of hanging it on the wall like I did before. So now the closet is becoming reality.

    free hood with closet area exposed                                     vent for hood installed

We received disappointing news from the countertop company: they are so booked that they won’t be able to measure until mid-August and install 2 weeks later. Wow. Both the contractor & I had assumed that we’d be done with the kitchen by then. Of course we’re rolling with it. He’s even planning to do some things that he’d normally do at the end. For example, he’ll be doing the backsplash but starting a couple of rows up from the countertop level and then doing just those lower rows after it’s installed. He’s also planning to tile the floor before the countertop now. Also, he’ll likely complete the laundry room before the kitchen is completed now since it isn’t impacted by the countertop delay.

The dishwasher, washer & dryer, ovens & laundry faucet arrived and were evaluated with no issues thank goodness.

There’s nothing left to order and only the exterior door left to arrive.

One of my major goals for this year, along with the renovation that’s underway, was to roll over my 401k into a self-directed IRA. I could have (and should have, in retrospect) done this earlier but held off until I was 59 ½. I believed that waiting provided more flexibility if I needed funds earlier and I also was nervous about doing it. It’s basically my life’s savings and having it moved and reinvested virtually seemed a little scary. What if something went wrong? What if a digit was mistyped? What if my personal info was compromised?

It's finally DONE. Though it all worked out and my assets are safe, the process was not straight-forward and it did cause angst. I hope sharing my experience will help someone else.

First, I should thank those who commented on my post about selecting a provider for the rollover IRA account. Based on the feedback, I chose Fidelity and this turned out to be a really good decision.

I had hoped to tackle this task after the kitchen/laundry renovation was complete, just to minimize big things going on in my life at the same time. I thought that once I was 59½ , I could, without penalty, withdraw funds from the 401k. Then once the renovation was complete and life settled, I’d do the rollover.

I had difficulty processing a withdrawal from my 401k account online so I called and spoke with a representative at Empower, the 401k provider. I was informed that partial distributions were not allowed. !!! As I write this now, I have to say that based on my conversations with Empower throughout the process, that it wouldn’t surprise me if this wasn’t really true. Who knows. But it lit a fire under me. I first had to decide whether to delay the start of the renovation project or to withdraw funds from a Roth IRA. I chose to withdraw from the Roth and stay on course. That was the right move though it bothered me because that wasn’t the plan. I did not want to use Roth funds this year. Oh well. After that was done, I got with Fidelity to begin the rollover process. I had already opened the account there (with nothing in it) and they had a simple web page of the process to rollover into the account. On that page they offer to get on the phone with you as you make the request with the 401k provider and I jumped on that offer.

The Fidelity representative assigned to me stayed with me throughout the entire process. That proved to be important because it wasn’t quick and I had someone to ask questions of and vent to. I’d hoped to get a survey so I could rave about her but I didn’t.

We had numerous conversations with Empower representatives that were frustrating. In these they tried to sell me on an Empower IRA (instead of moving to Fidelity), told me that the money I had in cash in a linked brokerage needed to be invested before they could transfer it, told me that funds couldn’t be transferred to Fidelity electronically but would have to be sent to my house by check, etc. We were often transferred to different people in the same call and it wasn’t uncommon for them to contradict one another. It felt like they were deliberately making it complicated. After each conversation I would be given a task to complete which may have actually been unnecessary before we could call back. On one day I started getting texts on my phone with codes from Inspira about someone accessing my account. I am not familiar with Inspira and it worried me that it could be related to the asset transfers for the 401k. I called Fidelity and we got on the phone with Empower. They didn’t know but after being transferred around, we did find out that Empower uses a company called Inspira in some way. I am sooo thankful that I no longer have assets with this company.

This is what I learned from the process that would have been good to understand going in: my 401k had an assortment of funds that Empower allowed us to choose for investments (some appealing, some not), a linked brokerage with Charles Schwab that allowed us to invest in anything, including stocks, and company stock that I earned in bonuses some years back. We were only allowed to have 50% (max) invested in the linked brokerage. The way these assets are transferred is different and like many things, the industry has its own lingo.

Investments in the funds offered by Empower were liquidated and the cash transferred to Fidelity. (electronically too, despite an earlier Empower rep saying that wasn’t possible) There’s no choice on this and it’s scary to think that if the day they sold was a terrible market dip, the long-term impact could be substantial. It worked out fine for me but if I had known this going in, I might have done the prework myself of getting them all in a money market fund.

Investments (and cash despite what the earlier Empower rep had told us) in the linked brokerage were transferred in-kind to Fidelity. That means that each share of my stock in Schwab was just given to Fidelity for me. This transfer takes away the risk of a volatile market locking in losses.

Company stock involved a major bank. Empower was a middleman who worked with the bank to move the stock from the 401k account to the Fidelity account.

The company stock was a snafu. The bank transferred too much stock to Fidelity (over half a million bucks worth). I joked with the Fidelity rep that I’d hoped that I won some ‘new customer’ prize. The bank caught its mistake a couple of days later and withdrew the stock. When that happened, I received a generic automated message from Fidelity: “a withdrawal request has been initiated from your account. If you did not make this request, contact us immediately.” Since I wasn’t 100% sure what was going on, I did contact them. Then the bank did it again. It transferred over half a million in stock a second time. Then a couple of days later, it withdrew the stock. I got another Fidelity alert. Then the bank did the same damn thing a THIRD time. A couple of days later, it was withdrawn again. The next day the proper amount of company stock was deposited. And all my retirement assets were back together again.

The process took four weeks.

Progress this week:

++ The replacement cabinet for the broken one was received and installed. They sent doors with it so now we have 2 extra doors. Since we have three sets of identical cabinets on the peninsula, I’ll keep the extra doors in case we have a mishap.

++ The electrical wiring was completed. This now includes the pendant lights above the peninsula, the new 220V circuit for the stovetop, and another recessed light by the beverage station.

++ The hardware was installed on the cabinets that are finalized. This is usually a late task but the contractor was limited by not being able to close up walls since they aren’t yet inspected. He does not waste a minute! If he can’t do one thing, he does another.

++ The new window was installed. This was a biggee and I love it. It’s taller than the old window (and better quality) so it will set off the countertop just 1 backsplash tile height. For a person standing there, it brings the deck into the room visually.

++ Drywall was installed and repaired in several areas in preparation for painting which I don’t expect to occur for a while.

++ I signed the contract with the countertop company. I’m expecting them to reach out early in the week to schedule the measuring.

++ I have evaluated every cabinet & drawer and planned what will be stored there. I ordered a few cabinet organizer items and they are starting to arrive.

++ I chose the grout for the laundry backsplash. I did it online so I’m nervous about the color being accurate.

I have an action to schedule the inspector to come by this week. The dishwasher, washer, & dryer are expected to arrive on Wednesday, the ovens on Saturday, and the exterior door the following Friday. I think the only item I have left to choose and purchase is the faucet for the laundry sink.

new window

DS4 has learned to use the sauté setting on the instant pot. That’ll go down as one of the unintended benefits of the renovation.

As for renovation finances, I think I can accurately predict the 4 top costs though I will confirm this at the end:

1. Cabinets

2. Labor

3. Oven cabinet appliances

4. Countertop

About a year or so ago, I heard about a device for the laundry room that connects to the washing machine and prevents the need for laundry detergent. It adds oxygen (ozonates?) the water and that naturally cleans the clothes. I was skeptical (and am still since I don’t know anyone personally who has one) but I was intrigued too. How awesome if it works!

Given that we’re remodeling the laundry with the kitchen, I thought this would be a good time to try it. If it’s difficult to install, I’ve already got someone installing appliances so it's okay. I’ve made the purchase. It was about $400 so it could pay for itself in few years. We’ll see.

You can see it on Amazon if you search EcoWasher.

Has anyone here used one of these or heard accounts from someone who did?

Big changes this week and though there’s a long way to go, it’s nice to see things taking shape.

The work that was done this week:

++ The dumpster was picked up at the very end so half the driveway is back in business

++ The unpleasant surprise (sewage pipe) discovered last week was resolved. The plumbing is rerouted to be in the adjacent wall and that opened up the area since the remnants of the partition wall are gone now.

++ Most but not all of the electrical wiring was done. In many areas the walls are opened so the inspector can approve the new wiring before it’s covered up. The recessed lights were installed.

++ New plumbing was added (rerouted) for the kitchen sink, which will be on a peninsula now, and the laundry sink. Like the electrical, it’s open and visible for inspection.

++ The kitchen cabinets were installed except the damaged one. The contractor took the doors off of it since they’re fine and the cabinet company is sending a new cabinet. The laundry cabinets are still in the garage. The contractor wants to get the kitchen finished so we can use it and then focus on the laundry room.

++ The laundry sink arrived though it won’t be used for a while.

I didn’t realize that dishwashers don’t have a cabinet. I thought that since refrigerators did that dishwashers would too. The contractor gave me a funny look when I asked!

The challenge of the week was accommodating the oven stack I want with the oven cabinet. The cabinet is made to be somewhat modified to accommodate different oven configurations but after measuring and researching ovens brands & types, I couldn’t get it to accommodate the configuration that I want. The distance from the bottom of the top cabinet to the top of the lower drawer was about 50” and I needed at least 53” for a microwave-oven-warming drawer configuration of any brand. DH suggested that I give up the warming drawer. Gasp! I should mention that our former kitchen had a self-contained stove/oven so just having them built-in is an upgrade for us. But I did have my heart set on something like this:

When we entertain, that’s when a warming drawer would be nice.

After talking with the contractor, we came up with an acceptable solution. He is going to modify the cabinet to move the bottom of the top cabinet up 6”. That’ll be enough to fit in the three appliances. That means that I’ll need cabinet doors that are 18” tall instead of the 24” ones that are there now. It would be nice if the cabinet company would swap them but they may not do that so I may have to purchase 2 doors. Ugh.

I think it’ll look nicer with 18” doors since that will line up with the 18” tall cabinet above the refrigerator.

I shared photos earlier of our makeshift kitchen in the dining room. It’s working okay because we know it’s temporary. Plates, bowls, cups, and utensils are disposable but we still generate dishes to wash with measuring cups, cooking utensils, mixing bowls, food processor container, crockpot, etc. Since there is no sink available (The laundry AND kitchen are included in the reno.), I set up a dish-washing station outside. I found the used countertop at the BuildIt store when I donated the old laundry door. Unfortunately, there was no part of our old countertop that would fit on top of the metal bar thing.

We take our clothes to a local laundromat for washing and for my non-towel items, I prefer to dry them on a line at home, weather permitting.

When I hear grumbling, I point out that we’ll appreciate the new kitchen & laundry that much more!