Saturday, August 1, 2009

RECYCLING


Or repurposing or whatever you call it nowadays,
I think it's a great idea! Why not keep useful items
out of the landfill and try to save some money at
the same time, right?

A contractor friend of my husband's called with
some free stuff a friend of the family no longer
needed. Among the items was this low work
bench that had seen better days:


We have been thinking about where we would find a table
for the middle of my kitchen. It would have to be longer
than wide with wheels and just high enough for me to
roll dough on or pull a chair up to sit and decorate.

Costco has nice tables for about $125.00, but they
don't deliver here and even the Juneau Costco
didn't have them. Our church has a couple of them
in the kitchen and I was a little worried because
they don't seem very sturdy. Plus how was I
going to get one here?

This workbench is very stout, it just needed
some minor adjustments to make it work
for my needs.


The first thing my husband did was take it all apart. The
structure of the table is very sturdy, built to last a long
time. The wheels were pretty small, so when we were in
Juneau he bought some larger wheels with soft rubber
and a brake on them to lock them in place.


He took the top apart and added some light maple
pieces to the outside to make it look nice. The
top is SO heavy, like a solid core door.


Cutting a nice, clean piece of new formica
for the top...


Voila! I love it! He made it exactly 37" tall since I am
tall and I can comfortably stand at it or pull up a
chair to sit and decorate. The bottom has a long
shelf for storage and he is still going to add a
shelf at the very bottom for even more storage.
I can move it wherever I want by unlocking the
wheels too. It's perfect for what I need!


He met with the DEC inspector this week
and I am in the process of filling out all
the paperwork for the kitchen. Legal
mumbo jumbo and nitpicky stuff. Bah.

Then we get to start paying the fees.
Inspection fees, permit fees, etc.
I am not going to be able to make
doughnuts because in order to
have a deep fat fryer I would have
to have a special hood that requires
a yearly $600. inspection...and
on and on it goes.

So, while we are digging our way
through the paperwork the next big
project is making the kitchen cabinets...


4 comments:

Karen Deborah said...

wow how wonderful and creative! Permits are the bane of our existence. Can't you just forget them? what if you give gifts and accept donations? there must be a way around the stinkin bureaucratic stranglehold on the American way of life. Like they really care, they just want a piece of the pie and a big greedy piece!

Niki said...

Absolutely love it! I'm sure it will serve you faithfully for many years ~ good job hubby!

The Stricklands said...

I just love it when we can take something that is unloved, bring it home, spruce it up, and then enjoy it forever. What a wonderful workspace for you! I know you are ready for the process to end so that you can spend your days whipping up delicious goodies :) Have a wonderful week!
Mary

Caution/Lisa said...

Your table turned out beautifully! What a talented guy your husband is. I am sorry about the legal tendrils that ordain what you may and may not make in your own kitchen. A $600 yearly inspection? Crazy.