Accustomed to roughing-it renovation

I've grown accustomed to living a makeshift existence in our new home, so I still haven't gotten used to using the countertops and working sink we now have in our kitchen.

For four months, we've been using cardboard boxes, end tables and whatever other flat surfaces we could find to prepare meals and set things on. It was such a novel thing when I set a bowl on the counter the other night that I actually had to point out to my fiancee, Holly, that I was finally using the countertops we anxiously waited for.

Installing them was not an easy process, and I had a very small role in it. We had three great people lend a hand: my soon-to-be father-in-law, one of his longtime family friends and our contractor friend who has lent his expertise throughout our renovation process.

Because our home was built in 1930 and the walls are not square, we opted for a loose backsplash so we could use it to cover up any gaps caused by changes in the wall face. We chose this option over furring out uneven sections of the wall, which I thought sounded like too much extra work. We also decided against paying hundreds of dollars more for a template, which admittedly would have been the ideal solution if we had the cash to burn.

The loose backsplash actually worked great, but just barely. When we placed the order, I specifically noted we wanted the backsplash to be as wide as possible to help cover up gaps one inch, minimum. I was told one inch was standard, but the backsplash delivered to us was only three-quarters of an inch. That quarter inch makes a big difference, and almost didn't work for us. I was prepared to put up a fight with the local "big box" home store we ordered them from, but luckily, there was no need.

Coincidentally, this was the second ordering error made by this big box store. They also ordered us a left-end piece for our cabinets when we needed a right-end piece. I'm slowly losing faith in these cookie-cutter stores.

Our countertops span a corner and needed to be connected at the miter. Due to the walls being out of square, I cut into the drywall so one of the decks could slide into place, easily preventing a gap between the mitered ends. We placed the two pieces on the floor and connected them before carrying them over as one piece, dropping it into place and screwing it to the cabinets.

I actually had to leave for my real job at this point, so I avoided the horror of watching my friends cut a sink hole into our new, pristine countertops. All I know is we now have a wonderfully working sink with antique-style faucets. Our kitchen is really coming together and I can't wait to actually start cooking again. All we need to do now is finally unpack all our cookware that's been gathering dust for the past four months.

Joey Cresta is a staff writer for the Portsmouth Herald. He's always looking for tips on home renovations and can be reached at jcresta@seacoastonline.com or on Twitter at PHerald_JoeyC.

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Accustomed to roughing-it renovation