Icehouse Loft Cabinetry Postmortem

It’s time for a looong overdue icehouse loft cabinetry postmortem. Drawing upon my likewise belated (albeit less belated!) “Icehouse Stairway Railing Postmortem“, I’m hoping to showcase the cabinets — builtin cupboards and shelves — located upstairs in the icehouse. In addition to celebrating their hard earned completion, I’ll infill the backstory enough to answer: why *me*, why *now*, and how did it go?

Why Me?

About nineteen months ago I was home-stretching this carpentry initiative, hustling toward a self imposed beginning-of-August 2023 deadline. A couple of weeks prior I’d parted company with an OPUD (with whom I should have terminated relations at least a month, maybe two months earlier.) In an unanticipated twist of fate, I assumed responsibility for the finish carpentry, completing the too long stalled cabinetry installation. As soon as I began, I discovered the degree of incompetence underlying the delays. I would need to re-fabricate the cabinetry components that had been partially-but-incorrectly designed and built by the OPUD.

I return to a previous explanation for context.

[Let’s start with] the inconvenient-but-overdue termination of an habitually untimely, underperforming (I’m being generous!) subcontractor who had been charged with custom cabinetry, stairway railing, and loft guardrail…

[…]

[The OPUD’s] fumbling and bumbling would appear comical if we weren’t paying it, depending on it, wasting time and digital ducats endeavoring to communicate and coordinate with it, and generally enduring its disfunction and dyspeptic demeanor. (Source: Cocky Pop & Poppycock)

[…]

Apart from the initial wave of euphoric relief (after notifying the incompetent carpenter that we’d be discontinuing his services effective immediately), the reality soon settled upon me… [that] I’d most likely be continuing and concluding the cabinetry… on my own.

I’m not suggesting that this was a surprise. It had occurred to me long before deciding to abbreviate the OPUD’s lackluster tenure. In fact, it had been a big part of my consideration.

I’m not a carpenter. But I do have some limited experience fabricating and installing cabinetry. And I have lots of experience designing, engineering, and instructing others how to fabricate and install cabinetry. So, considering the unabashedly substandard skills the OPUD had exhibited during partial fabrication and installation of the cabinetry, there remained little question in my mind whether or not I could execute at least as well, if not considerably better. (Source: Loft Guardrail)

[…]

Today’s update is the chance to turn the page. Mentorship fail. Micromanagement fail. But problem solving victory, carpentry victory, and successful-completion-hard-earned-and-so-much-sweeter-for-it VICTORY!

Alas, the principal contributor to this creative collaboration was the least interested in actually collaborating. Or communicating. Or carpentry. Or completing the undertaking we’d been assured would be “a piece of pie”. Much like hitting the agreed upon deadlines. Also, “a piece of pie”. But, pie or not, cutting the OPUD loose and learning-by-doing, I’m now relieved and grateful to conclude this icehouse stairway railing postmortem with a celebratory gallery chronicling the journey and the handsome results. Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way! (Source: Icehouse Stairway Railing Postmortem)

And that brings me to the summer of 2023, late July, icehouse loft cabinetry months behind, two out of six carcasses installed, one out of four face frames installed, and an earnest homeowner — yours truly — vowing to complete the incomplete cupboards and shelves.

Why Now?

If you’re wondering why I’m returning to this chapter more than a year and a half after the fact, you’re not alone. Why now?

Some things get better with age. Sometimes that’s just an excuse. The truth is, I’m only getting around to it now. Too many stories; too little time. But I’m working my way through the backlog, little by little. So better late than never!

There’s another reason too. We’d overrun our deadline. That was a big reason for dispatching the OPUD. So, psychologically at least, I was trying to claw back some of the missed deadline by busting my hump to bring closure to the icehouse rehabilitation. On inclement weather days (and afternoons/evenings after the crew packed up for the day) I worked on the loft cabinets. As soon as I finished the cabinetry, I moved on to the loft guardrail and the stairway railing. And overlapping both projects, whenever the weather was sunny and dry, I worked outside building stone walls with Tony.

And since short, sweet summer was whizzing along (despite far too much rain) my bride reminded me often to squeeze in a bike ride, a waterski, a surf, dinner with family and friends. In short, I was hustle-bustling BIG TIME, and the icehouse loft cabinetry postmortem slipped between the cracks. So, why now? Because I finally have time to revisit this midsummer challenge.

How Did It Go?

Now, for the real reason you’re here, how did it go? Let’s look at some photographs.

I’ll let the photographs tell the story since I don’t wish to dwell on the laundry list of mistakes made by the OPUD. I will say that undertaking this project was rewarding in spite of the many mistakes inherited from the OPUD, in spite of the unanticipated carpentry commitment and time allotment, and in spite of the fact that it likely took me 2-3 times longer than it would have taken a skilled cabinetmaker or finish carpenter. The most vexing and demanding challenge was fabricating and installing geometrically “correct” cabinetry in a two century old building where plumb, straight, and predictable are the exception. And yet, these problem solving opportunities were also the most rewarding. As I said above…

But problem solving victory, carpentry victory, and successful-completion-hard-earned-and-so-much-sweeter-for-it VICTORY! (Source: Icehouse Stairway Railing Postmortem)