Getting my kitchen on...

For people who know me well, you'll more than likely be aware that I love to entertain, mostly with ribald stories, but also with home cooked fare. Also, that I am a strong proponent of gas. Having lived in a couple of share houses back in the day that had electric hobs I made a conscious decision that I would never again reside in a house where electric cooking was the norm. When I bought Arnie Acres I tried hard to ignore the awful electric cooktop that sat forlornly in a darkened corner of my new kitchen. Fat chance, I lasted about eight weeks before ripping out the cooktop and counters to replace the horrid laminex with wood and install some good old fashioned gas hobs.

My good friend and skilled woodwork teacher, Ross helped me build my benchtops from Cypress Pine that had been milled by a friend of his. We then set about biscuit-joining it together and getting our sandpaper on. It took a few sessions to get the desired finish and thickness, but it came together nicely. So, one fine morning we fired up my iron and started to remove the laminex coating. A great use for an iron too, first and only time its been used in my pad... Once that was done we cut out the appropriate holes with a jigsaw, then set about gluing and screwing the new tops on. A few hours later and it was done. A final session with the sander and a couple of coats of varnish and it was done... The plumber came the next day and finished installing the gas hobs and my new kitchen was complete. I couldn't have been happier.