Insert Tongue Into Groove (Part Two)

I could subtitle this post so many things. . .

   "Why Spackle is Your Friend," or

   "Installing Molding Sucks," or even

   "#&@^%#^%$@#!!!!!!!!"

All I can say is that I am glad I am done with this part. Cutting and installing the molding was a complete pain in the butt. Of course many of the problems I had could have been solved by using power tools instead of a plastic miter box, but again, surprisingly I did not lose any blood, so I guess it worked ok.

Because of my complete lack of mitering skillz I ended up with horrendous corners that sported large gaps that didn't even come close to lining up.

(P.S. Yes that is a fossilized cornflake - I unearthed it when I took off the previous baseboard and shoe molding.)

(P.P.S We don't eat cornflakes, so I don't even want to know how old that is.)

I somehow forgot to take pictures of the worst gaps and cracks between the boards on the peninsula, but you get the idea.

So this is where the "spackle is my friend" optional title comes into play. Like a sculptor, I carefully filled the cracks with spackle using a screwdriver and my finger (rather than the suggested putty knife) and voila!

Yes that is the same area! Spackle is my friend, folks. I even got it to work where it really shouldn't have. Exhibit A:

Here is laziness at it's finest. I had already spent an inordinate amount of time on the other two areas where the bead board meets the wall - trying to cut a sliver of the existing baseboard out with my stupid humongous hand saw (again, I am impressed there was no bloodshed) only to be forced to pry off the whole thing, which of course won't go back on after cutting it, and the baseboard doesn't slide in there as perfectly as I expected so the gap is then excavated with screwdrivers, utility knives, you get the picture. Wayyyy more effort for minimal effect. So I get to the last one with the board that is a leftover scrap that I mitered the wrong direction for its original spot, and I just said ^%#$ it. I will spackle it.

And it worked - just don't take a magnifying glass to it or anything.

Spackle saved me one last time by filling in the gaps between the bead board and the cabinet (due to my faulty cutting . . . again. In my defense, this was where I had to rip the boards down the center of the plank with just a hand saw, so it turned out good considering.) Anyways, here's the before/during spackle:

and the after spackle

The finishing touch involved caulking a few of the seams and then I was DONE!!

So let's take a look back to our kitchen before anything was done. . .

And what the kitchen looks like now. . .

It's starting to look like my Microsoft Paint rendition, don't you think? My South Park-esque kitchen drawing is coming to life WAH HA HA!!!!!

So next on the list is my cabinet transformation!!! (aka painting the cabinets white and adding hardware) Stay tuned!!