Step 2: Get annoyed with quality of basement finish.

Step 3: Gut it

Step 4: Go from Colorado to Florida for work for 2 weeks. Have a problem with furnace and get whole house to freeze. Have 4 pipes burst and get to come back and fix the problem. Luckily my house didn’t flood. In these pics, you can see where the piping originally ran along the front edge of the house where it can get freeze the easiest. Since it burst there anyways, I rerouted the piping straight into the middle of the house then over to the center so there was minimum piping along the front.

Step 5: Finish gutting everything and start laying out new walls. I got enough steel to get me started. Hopefully I can get some walls up by tomorrow.

spoken like a true coke addict
Is that one of those "as seen on TV ladders"? I forget the exact name of it.
hell no it’s not a "little giant" or whatever they call it…those are like $400. This is a Werner, and it was like $200 at Lowe’s. Should come in really handy when I start working by the stairs.
Why metal studs? Are they code for residential in your area?
I’m doing all the work myself and I find metal studs much easier to work with. The basement walls here have to be floating, so with a wood wall you assemble the whole thing then lift it up to secure it to the joists. With a steel wall, you just hang the upper track and put each stud in place. Also, there’s no sawdust. Another benefit is that they won’t warp or bend. That’s a big problem in CO with the dry weather.
You can always build wooden walls in place too… but I guess I’ve heard some guys like steel. I’ve never messed with it myself. Are you using a Hilta Gun to shoot the footers into the ground?
you can also easily work with metal studs with tin snips and no saw at all really. But they suck ass when hanging dryall on it. My friend is building a house and using metal studs. I have stripped more screws than screws that I have actually gone in correctly. I suck at teh drywall

so what are teh plans for this room?
I will be using a hilti gun for setting the slip tracks (footers). For building wood walls in place, you’d toenail them in, which looks sloppy to me. Also isn’t easy when floating the wall.

I didn’t have any trouble at all with hanging drywall on it. I used a Senco screw gun for most of it. Just keep in mind the screws for drywall on metal have a finer thread pitch than the screws for drywall on wood.

The only plans I have thus far are to make what was one huge bedroom into two and build a custom tile shower in the bathroom.
oh, I ripped out the remainder of the drywall that was in the far area. I was going to leave it up, but the wiring was such a mess that I was going to have to rip out half of it to figure out what was done before. In just that area, there were two areas where splices were made in the ceiling with no access. There was no clear layout for it, so I get to rewire the whole basement.
in for updates.. you got your work cut out for ya! looks good

Building floating walls in place is pretty hard to do. Much easier to secure the bottom plate, build the wall, raise it, shim the wall (middle plate) on the bottom plate, drive a few spikes into the bottom plate, secure the top plate….remove shims. You essentially have an upside down wall (double bottom plate) but you can do it reverse and leave the gap (for movement) at the top.

Project looks good. I need to post a few pics of the mini bar I did…Im all out of projects now
Permits shmermits.

Seems like you would lay out your footer, hilti gun it in place, lay out your header, nail it in place, and then toe-nail your studs in place. It won’t look sloppy… inside of a wall. Or build your wall flat on the ground and then lift it up in place and secure it.

What about your deal makes either of those options hard? Just curious.

That’s easy japanesey…but in Colorado (and where I live in Canada) basement walls must be floating to allow movement. Usually up to 3/4 to an 1", but it might be more in CO. Because of frost/moisture the basement slab can move up and down and the wall must move with it.

Wait… so where IS the wall attached?

Well it depends where you float it from. If you float it from the bottom, your bottom plate of the wall will have a gap between the bottom plate on the floor. Most people will drill a few holes, every second stud bay or so, and drive in a 4" ardock spike. So the wall is secure, but it can still move up and down on the spike.

With the steel studs, I think he will end up just having the studs sit in the bottom track. So they can move up an down, and once the drywall is on, won’t be able to move side to side. (although I think with metal studs there are usually suports running horizontally keeping the studs on centers anyway)
I left my camera at my parents’ house, but I’ll take pics later. First the slip tracks (footers) are layed out. Then the track will be attached to the ceiling above the slip track. Then studs are put in place using two screws to attach to the top track and one on the bottom. When all is done, drywall is hung horizontally, covering the top of the wall first. When the first panel is hung, the screws are removed from the slip track (footer) so the wall can float.

Probly confusing, but I’ll have something to show later.
Here you can see the process of putting up a wall with steel. I worked from the top down on this one since it had to be centered on the beam. Other walls I’ll lay out the floor and then the top track.

1: Attach top track to steel beam with clamps:

2: Attach top track to beam with screws:

3: Hang stud with clamp and screw other side:

4: Use level to get studs vertical and set base (my base isn’t set because there’s going to be a closet opening there and i didn’t measure for it yet). You can see that I cut the stud 1.5" short of the ground so that it can be attached temporarily to the slip track, then will float later.

Other:

I have a problem with the floor shaking when walking on it due to the joists being at 24" OC. I put some bracing up and have noticed a huge improvement with just the few that are in. I’ll be doing this to most of the joists later.

When I originally viewed this thread I thought the first pic was of a detached garage and didn’t notice the rest of the house.

Landscaping should be another fun project.
I’ll get to the landscaping last…when it warms up in the Spring
Looks good. Just as thought it would be done.

Are you going to drywall the ceiling? Get those wires into a junction box (if its going to be permanent).
So you have a gap at the bottom of the wall that you cover with trim?
I don’t want to sound like an ass – but are you aware of the special wire that needs to be used for electrical when using steel studded walls?

I’ll hang drywall to 1.5" off the ground, then that gap is covered with the trim.

I use standard 14/2 NM-B wire. I Just use a bushing to go through the studs, and there’s no problem.

Lookin’ good Bryan. I’m sure the satisfaction is well worth the effort put into it. You’re doing construction like I like to do it, fast and well thought out.

Good job!
Why are there visible, horizontal studs against the walls?

Oh, and I know it costs more, but if a 2×4 brace helps the floor shaking alot, then a 2×10/12 will help alot more.
the studs against the wall are furring strips…Instead of framing in with studs, the previous person simply attached 2×4′s to the foundation. In the other room, it was done with 1×1′s.

I’d do it with 2x10s everywhere, but I don’t care that much…and I have a huge pile of 2x4s from what I ripped down.

When I’m done with all the work, I’ll be buying another house and renting this one out.
Got a little more done:

The area under the stairs is going to be finished and accessible from the back of the bedroom closet.

Finally got the layout drawn, so tomorrow morning I’ll draw in the wiring diagram and go pull the permits.

Unfortunately I haven’t gotten too much done lately, just spent the last week in Puerto Rico for work. The framing is about 75% done. Hopefully I’ll have a chance soon to get a new driver’s license so I can pull the permit. I either have to be a contractor, or this has to be my permanent address in order for me to get the permit.

damn, resurrected from the dead. I’ll post some pics soon.

Related posts:

1. major garage reno. lots of pics ......
2. Load Bearing Wall? ......
3. home reno project – tiling ......

If you have the money, then I’d also get a nice hardwood cutting board for veggies and cooked food. Some people also will do red meat on them, and to be honest, I end up doing it sometimes as well. But never with poultry.

wood = vegetables ONLY, and then only ones that don’t "bleed"

plastic = meats, seperate one for each type (beef, seafood, chicken, pork, etc)

everything else = everything else
Okay, I’ll get a set of the white plastic ones and swap them out every now and then.
I’ll keep the glass for making sandwiches, pizzas, etc. It beats using the counter.
No way I’m getting a third wood cutting board though. The plastic will have to do for veggies.

when you get a set of plastic ones, there are some that are thin and flexible – they also have an "image" "printed" on them for specific foods, and they’re in different colors
i.e. pork chop, side of beef, a chicken, veggies, etc

those would be the ones to get

you don’t HAVE to get a wood one for veggies, just that veggies only on a wood block, and like i said, ones that don’t bleed like tomatoes
wood blocks are havens for bacteria
nothing wrong with glass ones – until they get scratched and micro-fractures and you forget once and chop some carrots after you sliced up a chicken and next thing you know you’re puking your guts up
What’s with all the fear of wood cutting boards? Wood can harbor bacteria if not taken care of but for the most part, it’s the best cutting surface there is. It’s also safe as long as you clean it and keep it treated with oil or wax. I’d never cut pork or poultry on it just because of the two main things they carry (salmonella and trichinella) but for veggies and meat it’s good. Just have two different ones so you don’t have to worry about cross-contamination.

From The New Kitchen Science by Howard Hillman:

From The New Cooks’ Catalogue:

From wikipedia:

From Cooking for Engineers ()

There are plenty of other places in the kitchen for contamination anyway. Your can opener! A sponge in the sink for cleaning, etc.
wood is high maintainence. as stated above, you need to keep them coated with oil, can’t wash them in the dishwasher, etc. If you are lazy like me, then plastic is the best. you see wood on cooking shows because its fancier.
those thin ones are a great idea – they are inexpensive enough to have several and thin enough to store in tight spaces – plus you can bend them to make pouring simpler and neater

but – they aren’t all dishwasher safe, that is a real negative in my book
For maintenance reasons I avoid wood cutting boards. And I just hate the sticky residue that oiling them leaves on the counter and your hands. I have 5 separate boards (actually 6):
green – fruits and veggies
yellow – chicken and fish
red – red meat
brown – cooked meat
white – dairy and cheese
oldest one from the last batch – used for aromatics like garlic, shallots, onions, etc.

Might seem like overkill but I don’t ever have to worry about cross contamination and the use over the 5 boards spreads out the wear signifigantly so they wear out a lot slower.

You shouldn’t be worried about them dulling your knives – you should be doing regular maintenance on your blades anyway. No knife stays sharp forever and cutting boards are a necessity so get used to sharpening and taking care of your knives.

Common practice. I think it was Bed, Bath, and Beyond has an assortment of colors. US Plastics does as well (google them) if you really want plastic boards.

see post #5
if you want wood, ikea sells a decent board for cheap
we use wood for everything, but this post has got me thinking

interesting

doubt i’ll make the change to individual cutting surface, reason being anything that’s cut on it, usually ends up being cooked…but interesting non the less.

I saw some nice looking ones at IKEA when I was there. Not sure what wood they use, but what caught me was they are thin. They might move around unless you put something under them.

Good point. I still end up using it to cut stuff that doesn’t get cooked though, so better safe than sorry. I got a thin wood board that I use for meat from wal-mart.
I use my wooden cutting board to cut stuff that doesn’t get cooked all the time, and some things don’t get cooked to the required 140 degrees that is needed to kill 99% bacteria. Therefore I would NEVER cut meat on my wooden cutting board.

Good solid advice.
Shitcan your Farberware knives – go to a restaurant supply store and buy some made by F. Dick

/BTW this is a real company – I’m not trying to swindle you into asking the clerk for dick…

Related posts:

1. Cutting Board? ......
2. I need a really good knife for fat trimming ......
3. Quality knife recommendations? ......

My question is about how to proceed. Do they make longer/deeper valves that I can buy and just swap out? The plumber (not the greatest, IMO) kind of insinuated that I’d need to put in a spacer or something. My biggest concern is that, while I’d like to do it myself, my unit and the one below me share the same shut-off valve, so any repairs must be done in a timely fashion, not my inept-ghetto rigging I usually use. Any suggestions would be appreciated, even if it’s a simple ‘You fail, call a real plumber.’
To replace it completely you will need a shutoff valve to the portion of pipe you will be working on. I believe they do make longer single valves but it’s been years since I have had to do one of those. Check your local harware store, they usually have a section just for sink and bath fixture parts. When you install it you have to get it positioned just right or you will get the problem you mentioned before with poor water flow. They can be a pain.

Thanks, I’ll hit up the hardware store before I do anything else.

Related posts:

1. plumbing help ......
2. Multiple head showers ......
3. Corner tub question ......

Do I nail it? Plaster under and over it or just over?
A thin layer of joint compound is put down first. Then the corner bead is pressed into place. More joint compound is spread over the top, and feathered out from the corner.
I guess vinyl is different, but the metal stuff in Vegas is nailed or stapled and then textured over.
I’m kinda waiting to hear how this turns out, as I’ve always nailed vinyl beading. The metal beading I set with a clinching tool and rubber mallet, and the vinyl with preattached paper is the only stuff I install with mud alone.

Agreed… I assumed all vinyl corner bead was paper bound. Is this not the case?

Let me restate… all paper bound corner bead (no matter the structural material) are affixed in the above stated manner.
I had the vinyl bead with out the paper, used a few nails then mud. Sanded it down and its a perfect corner now. Worked great.

No-you can buy vinyl which looks just like metal, except it’s (not to be a wiseass) vinyl.

I have used for many years, and it’s great. For preformed archways, , in their architectural division has a number of offerings, too.
They make a special spray adhesive for the Vinyl bead. Don’t fucking try to just put joint compound under it like you would do with a paper/metal piece or it’s just gonna pop up.

Related posts:

1. Corner tub question ......

no, you will never recreate the "non stick" with something like pam, each pan has their own purpose.

You can. Use Grape Seed Oil. Much better for you than Olive Oil, although depending on what you’re cooking will require just that much oil. I don’t use a lot of oil myself when cooking but when it needs oil, it needs oil.

And I don’t understand how Olive Oil isn’t low fat …
Sticking is not a problem with All-Clad. Get their MC2 series. Not even risotto sticks to my saute pan.
mmmm all-clad

just keep it well seasoned and use something like grapeseed oil

you can reuse oil if it’s something that you commonly cook/same exterior
I save bacon grease in a jar in the fridge for when I want to cook without non-stick pans.
I just rub a small amount of butter on the pan. Instant non-stick and I used what, maybe 1/8 inch of butter to lube up a 10 inch saute? Not shabby and I can’t imagine getting that much taste out of that low fat!
You need at least 1 non-stick pan for when you want to get a nice crust on something. This is impossible in a non-stick.
cast iron ftw. yeah, they are a bear to work with between the weight and the whole seasoning/breaking in process, but a well seasoned cast iron pan is awesome sauce.

at the same time, you prolly want some stainless pans for cooking acidic foods like tomatoes as well as at least 1 slick, non-stick pan (as Alton Brown once said, non-stick != slick and slick != non-stick though a pan can be non-stick and slick… or something like that) for eggs and such.
If you have a thrift store where you are you can usually find really good deals on cast iron pots and pans, they are good if you have any kind of iron deficiency because acidic foods will leach some of the iron out in to the food.

As fare as for caring for them the biggest thing you don’t want to do is put them in a dish washer or let them soak in water for a long time since this will destroy any seasoning the pan may have.

Olive oil is ALL FAT. It’s just a very light, low-energy fat. Just like every oil that’s liquid at room temperature.

Anyway, cooking with oil is better than cooking with teflon. The extra oil will make you feel fuller and takes longer to digest than simpler carbs, so you won’t get hungry as fast, and you’ll eat less overall.

I don’t buy that grapeseed oil is better for you than olive oil; the only difference is that grapeseed oil is almost always extra-virgin, because there’s much less demand for it and there’s no reason to press the grapeseeds more than once — or to drain each press into a separate container. It’s first-press oil that has all the vitamins and whatnot, not the type of oil; each type of oil has useful vitamins if you get the first press.

It’s worth noting that this is the reason pewter cookware and tableware should be avoided at all costs: the same acid that leaches iron out of steel pots will leach lead out of pewter pots, and my guess is you’re already happy with your current level of stupidity.

yes yes I am thank you very much, that’s why I stick with cast iron, I know what went into it, and there are not any chemicals that will make me retarded. I’ve also got into casting my own pots and pans from cast iron since I’ve become involved with my school’s foundry.

I had mine to the point where I could cook eggs in it w/o problems… I need to start using it again and build the seasoning up.
What’s hard about seasoning iron? Just rub canola oil on it once a week.
It’s not just the oil, but also cooking the oil, as well as all the things you’ve cooked in the pan before. If all you do is oil it, all you’ve got is oiled metal, not seasoned iron. I prefer handed down cast iron, as it’s more seasoned than you’ll ever get it in your lifetime.

It’s monounsaturated.

.

I stripped down my castiron pan recently to remove some strange carbon accumulation that was flaking off of the outside, and even after 10-15 sessions of trying to get it seasoned, stuff still sticks that never would have even tried to before I stripped it.
At work, we’ve got five cast iron pans- BIG ones. Big enough that they almost cover 2 burners on a 6-burner Imperial range. Over the probably 20 years that three shifts have been using them, they have become as seasoned as any handed down pans I’ve seen. I make scrambled and fried eggs in them with no problems.

Related posts:

1. Need help stocking a kitchen (Cutlery,Cookware, etc) ......
2. stupid easy, stupid good everyday nothing fancy chicken breast recipe ......
3. good sides to prepare with salmon? ......

Knife set w/ Steak knives – What is good?
Pot/pan set – What metals? Nonstick?
Quality cutting board – Wood or Plastic?
Blender – Cuisinart?
Mixer – Kitchenaid (artisan or pro?)
Kitchen Tools (shears, and other utensils)
Baking Tools (trays and such) – silicone stuff?

Mixing bowls

and

Plates/bowls/dishes
Silverware
Coffee machine
Toaster

Anything I’m forgetting? What should I expect to spend for all this? Brand reccomendations would be great as would suggestions on what to avoid and how to pick the right items.
Good link but I’m more curious as to brands, materials, and what justifies the costs of certain items.

since i hand-picked all of my stuff from SCRATCH, for utility and quality, ill tell you what I HAVE – which is effectively everything that one NEEDS:
**********
1. messermeister meridian elite 8" chefs knife – 100$
this is solingen-made quality steel; the kitchen workhorse
2. forschner 8" chefs knife w/ wood handle – 30$
this is THE value kitchen knife. very sharp.
the reason i have 2 chefs knife is (a) 1 for meat 1 for vegetables (b) guests can use it [nobody touches my messermeister]
3. messermeister meridian elite 4" paring knife – 10$(?)
i actually dont use it much… but everyone needs a paring knife for small work. i bought messermeister to match my chef’s knife…but you can get forschner
4. forschner 12" serrated bread knife – 20$(?)
nothing else can cut bread
5. forschner 4" lime knife w/ dual-pronged end – 5$
random use knife. neat end for stabbing a lime and dropping in a cocktail
6. messermeister honing steel – 20$
use this to keep your knife edges straight. a hone is NOT a sharpener. honing is regular maintenance. leave knife sharpening to a pro
7. get knife SLEEVES to protect your knives, or a magnetic strip. big wooden blocks are dumb. (i have messermeister sleeves.. but looking for mag strip)

dont buy a gay henckels/wustoff SET like everyone else. most of that shit is superfluous. buy a-la-carte only what you need. no, you dont need steak knives
**********
7. BAMBOO cutting board – 20$
you want a large surface… nothing more annoying than having shit spill over. i *just* got a great 20$ board from costco that is bamboo in base, but has 8 poly inserts which you overlay the bamboo as actual cutting surface. this way, you wont need to buy multiple boards for a big job.

8. salt & pepper & general grinder – 3×20$
fresh ground stuff > *. use for rock salt, whole peppercorns, and any spice should you need spice
*********
9. 10" gourmet standard SS-AL-SS cladded saute pan w/ lid – 80$
cladded SS > thick SS > thick alum > anodized alum > * > shitty thin pans > any teflon nonstick bullshit
i have no need for curved "frying" pan when i have saute pan. straight tall sides holds liquid for braising if needed. 12" takes too much space on stove. 8" not enough room for food.

10. 12" lodge cast-iron griddle/frying pan – 20$
this has been winning favor away from my saute pan.
pros: durable as fuck. holds shitload of heat (meats go here). non-stick as motherfucker (eggs go here; fuck you teflon!)
cons: heavy. need little more care. reactive to acidic food (tomatoes, wine) — hence have SS saute pan for such uses

11. calphalon 3-qt SS/AL/SS saucier/chef’s pan w/ lid – 50$
its like a sauce pan, but curved sides, so whisks can hit everything. decently wide, decently tall; it does everything – hence "chefs pan". cooks single serving rice, pasta, boils veggies, etc, and obviously reduces sauces.

12. 5qt enameled cast-iron dutch oven/"casserole" – 50-150$
cast-iron holds lots of heat. enameling allows it to work with acidic food, so this is perfect for pasta sauces, soups, stews, etc. you’ll always see one on a cooking show. if you’re a baller buy a le creuset or staub. i bought martha stewart brand on sale for 50$ and it still looks good and works extremely well

13. Analon 12-gal stainless steel cladded stockpot – 50$
ideally, you’ll get fully cladded pot, but most pots are only cladded at the base, which is really all you need. you can get tramontina, cuisinart chefs classic, calphalon, etc… its just a big pot (preferably with thick material) for boiling crabs, lobsters, crawfish, making big soup, stock, etc
**************

14. silicone oven mitts. silicone mats/trivets (which doubles as can opener). silicone handles high heat, and stays cleaner

15. lots of them. the standard looking steel ones… dont get fancy here.

16. wooden/bamboo cooking utensils. plastic = melts. metal = scrapes and fucks up your shit. silicone = for homos. just get a buncha paddle looking things

17. nice high quality kitchen shears. im not sure what brand mine are, but i use them for everything.

18. thick LARGE SS roasting pan w/ roast rack

19. mesh splash guards – in case you fry/saute/etc a lot of stuff

20. some fine sieves

21. a few colander bowls for veggies, pasta, etc

22. few rectangular clear bake dishes

23. few large cookie trays/sheets

24. buncha large SS bowls, and small SS bowls. i keep my prepped food items in here before cooking them.

above are the *needs*

you dont need a mixer. i never use a blender or processor (though ive got them). stick with brands like cuisinart or kitchenaid. you dont need machines with 73 speed settings. get ones built sturdily, with on/off switches and a pulse switch. thats all you need. no need for toaster if youve got toasting oven.
Check out a restaurant supply store.
I prefer F. Dick knives as utility/prep knives.
Cheap, fast, and strong.
This is just the stuff that I have, and I love to cook and cook very often. The vast majority of my stuff I make sure I can put in the dishwasher. My nice knives don’t go in, wooden things don’t go in, and my old castiron pan doesn’t go in either.

Knife set w/ Steak knives – I love my Wusthof Classic series knives, I have 1 9" chef’s knife and a 3.5" paring knife, then a cheapo off brand bread knife and a hand-me-down fillet knife. I’d probably get a few cheapo paring knives to throw in the dishwasher, I have about 4. I bought a Wusthof block to keep them in and I’m very happy with it.

Pot/pan set – I have no idea, I still have lots of hand-me-downs, but you definitely need a good nonstick, and a good castiron. If you can find a used one, it’ll probably be better(better seasoning) but a new Lodge one or similar would be fine.

Quality cutting board – I have about 5 plastic cutting boards. They’re easy because I can just throw them in the dishwasher, and they’re cheap. Other than not looking as nice as wood, I don’t really see a downside. I have one that I only use for raw meats too, and I can tell it apart because of the color.
Blender – A Vitamix would be the ultimate, and they’re truly worth the money if you ever do any kind of blending. Both my father and my boyfriend’s parents have one, I have a cuisinart hand-me-down from the 70′s.

Mixer – Kitchenaid is decent quality. I’m perfectly happy with my Artisan mixer, and I use it fairly regularly. If you’re going to be using it every weeks for something, maybe go with the pro, but realistically, you should be fine.

Kitchen Tools -You can get shears with your knife set, just make sure they separate into 2 pieces for easy cleaning. You’ll want a few silicone spatulas(they might be "gay" but they handle heat well, don’t scratch stuff, nothing sticks to them, and they can be tossed in the dishwasher), at least one smooth wooden spoon, a ladle or something to serve soupy stuff with, at least 1 whisk(I really adore my flat whisk and it takes up less room than a balloon whisk), I have a few pairs of tongs that I use for grilling/turning meat and stuff, a good meat thermometer, a candy thermometer, veggie peeler, I use my cheese slicer/shaver a lot, a microplane box grater(epic), a small microplane zester for zesting and shaving parmesan, measuring cups(i have a cheap plastic set, and 2 and 4 cup pyrex ones), you’ll want a Pyrex bowl set, super cheap on Amazon, and a pastry brush or 2(1 for sweet, 1 for savory), an offset spatula or 2 are handy for frosting things, I have a huge one and a tiny one. You’ll want at least 2 colanders, 1 big one for pasta, and one wire/mesh one for straining things like seeds out of things and chicken stock, etc. I have 2, one finer than the other. That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.

Baking Tools – I much prefer regular old materials to silicone, after having both a silicone loaf pan, and silicone cupcake tray, I gave both of them away. Metal ones seem to work so much better. I would get professional sized aluminum baking sheets(with edges) and a silpat or 2 if you ever do any baking. These are worth their weight in gold. I use my 3 baking sheets and silpats for baking and flash freezing. You’ll want at least 1 9×13" baking pan, I prefer pyrex, as well as loaf pan(s), I have 2 8" cake rounds, and a 9" (leak resistant) springform pan.

and

Plates/bowls/dishes – I got mine at cb2.com and I’m impressed with their quality. I got 8 dinner plates, 8 bowls, and 8 salad/dessert plates for less than $100 on sale, and they’re hefty and gorgeous.

Silverware- Get nice SS silverware. I made the mistake of getting Target silverware when I moved out and after a couple years it started rusting and generally looking unpleasant.

Coffee machine – unless you drink a whole "pitcher" of coffee every day, you’d probably be better off getting a french Press. They take up less space and make better coffee. You’ll also want at least a cheap coffee grinder.

Toaster – Get a toaster oven. I wish I had bought one instead of my pretty red toaster. I have no idea who makes nice ones.

How about a microwave?
Great stuff!! Gives me lots to think about. I am definitely looking into some good cast iron cookware after hearing everyone on here praise it especially after its well seasoned.
Oh and realistically how much should I expect to spend? I figure I can buy this stuff over time but I am thinking under 2k for everything would give me enough money to get stuff that will last.
I’d start pricing out the expensive stuff, most of it you can live without for a while. I tend to buy things as I need them. I personally only make cupcakes once every 2-3 years, so if I didn’t have a cupcake pan, I wouldn’t miss it.

One more thing you probably want to get is a good dutch oven. Think about the average size of a roast, and get one a little bigger than that. I asked my boyfriend for a castiron dutch oven for christmas, expecting a ceramic-coated Le Creuset of some sort. I ended up with an ENORMOUS non-coated castiron camping one. It’s huge, but it holds heat very well an I could cook something pretty huge in there.

When seasoning your castiron pan, you’ll want to keep it coated with a little oil at all times. After a weak moment of wanting to remove carbon deposits from the outside, I ended up ruining the seasoning, so I’m in the process of reseasoning the damn thing. I just keep it coated in a little oil and in the oven. That way whenever I’m baking, preheating or whatever, it’s getting some seasoning. I felt sick to my stomach the first time I tried to cook with it after removing the seasoning, and the pork chop I was searing stuck. So there’s your warning, keep the outside clean, and if it gets chunky, don’t pick at it too much!

An enameled dutch oven is pretty high up on my list of things to buy once I move into my new place. Are the higher end brands like le creuset or staub really worth the extra cost? Who makes good quality cast iron cookware?

And on the topic of seasoning and cleaning cast iron. Do you clean the inside also or will that strip away the "seasoning" I’m new to this so bear with me!
You clean it carefully. If I didn’t cook anything with strong flavor(cornbread, german pancakes, etc) I just wipe it out with a dry paper towel, if it seared steak or something in it, it gets a quick scrapedown with warm water, and then I swish some diluted soapy water in to break up excess grease. That’s probably not the right way to do it though.

I have no idea about brands, but you can get Le Creuset stuff at Marshall’s occasionally for a lot less than most kitchen stores.

Betty crocker SS set. Cheap, medium thickness, better than any nonstick. But it’s not idiot proof. You can’t use it to deep fry and it’s difficult to clean.

We also have two sets of Calphalons here. The dishwasher’s pot scrubber setting has slightly ruined a couple of them.

As for silicone, while I love my small spatula, the turner is a pain to use. I think I prefer wood.

Flatware

Not the prettiest, but cheap and strong.

I didn’t pick out our dinnerware (it’s some lame china) but I like this

Or a whole set of wood/bamboo, or sushi style dinnerware.

You need a pizza stone too. Square rather than round. And a bamboo steamer for fun.

For coffee, a french press is the best.

If you get a toaster oven, get a convection one.

Last but not least, a big wok.
silicone spatula and stuff too flexy. wood > silicone
forgot 2 items: silicone BASTING brush – very useful – 5$ and microplane zester (AWESOME) – 15$

i gave you prices for everything
Cast iron is the greatest!! I inherited all my grandmother’s iron.

The proper way to clean cast iron is to first rinse with water to remove the majority of gunk. Then for the stubborn stuff, use vegetable oil and salt to scrub the surface with a paper towel. Rinse well, and re-oil. Soap is a huge no-no.
Plastic srubbies work well too.

A slow cooker is the working person’s best friend! Hamilton Beach make a really nice 3 in 1 slow cooker for under $50

Buy cheap nonstick pans and replace them frequently. The surfaces all break down, and if you’re not heavily invested, you’re more likely to get rid of them before you start ingesting the stuff. I only use them for eggs, anyway.

I absolutely HATE my silicone basting brushes. I’ve tried 2 different models because I keep wanting to fall in love with them but they just don’t work well. The "fibers" are too big, too slick, and too far apart to hold any amount of liquid unless it’s a very thick sauce that you’re basting with. Regular old cheap plastic basting brushes work much better and you can throw them out when they start getting weird from heat.
an enameled pot/ "dutch oven" acts like a slow cooker but you can control the heat more finely

why throw away 4 cheap thin uneven nonstick pans at 60$ when you can buy a good one at 60$. do eggs on seasoned cast iron
getting cast iron seasoned well enough to do eggs takes time. I like having cheap teflon pans that I can put in the dishwasher and not worry about damaging.

Perhaps, but you’re not going to leave your oven on all day while you’re at work, are you? Also, a slow cooker is the very best way to make homemade spaghetti sauce… if you do it right, you can allow your gravy to cook all day without stirring, or worrying about it scorching on the bottom.

I explained my reason why… because all non-stick surfaces break down, regardless of price. Throw them away after 2-3 years, or go ahead and eat the synthetic crap that comes off of them…

One of my cast iron pans is nearly 100 years old. It’s as seasoned as it’s ever going to get. I defy anyone to fry an egg in that pan without breaking the yoke… It might be possible with enough bacon grease in the bottom, but who wants all that fat and extra calories? Eggs are about the only thing a non-stick surface is really good for. Just don’t get it too hot.
Cast iron is great for almost everything… eggs being one of the almosts.

80% of the reason i bought my dutch oven was to make sauces for pasta. to start as a flavor base i brown pancetta, which cannot be done in an electric machine. sometimes also add sauteed eggplants for pasta alla norma, etc

yeah… thats why you dont buy a non-stick in the first place, and never have to be exposed to eating that synthetic crap..

this is more for Laurel: one does not need an 100 year old pan. my pan took all of 3 uses (from the day it was shipped from factory) for eggs to slip off of it like a wet squid…

in fact, cast iron is not great for everything, unless that ‘everything’ you cook is all southern/american. want to make indian style dish with tomato base? nope. french and italian stuff involving wine (ie coq au vin?)? pan-reduced sauces? anything delicate? the fact that cast iron (as well as aluminum) is reactive with acids calls for the need of enameling…

Except that you have completely neglected my reason for recommending a slow cooker in the first place… "The working person’s best friend"…
Would you leave your oven on all day, while you’re at work?

Wait… didn’t you just argue in favor of laying out big money for non-stick pans? Why would you pay $60 for something you wouldn’t use "in the first place"?

I gotta tell ya, I seriously doubt your word… if you’ve ever cooked an egg, you would know that eggs stick to cast iron like warm lips to frozen mailboxes!! If you have some magic seasoning skills that the rest of us don’t know about, I’m all ears cowboy!

LOL… technically, you’re right… acid based sauces are not ‘best’ in an iron skillet… however, this convoluted discussion started over the virtues of iron, vs non-stick… are you going to make a sauce, any sauce, in a non-stick skillet? Of course you’re not… and I think you know what I meant, even though you are strangely argumentative for some bizarre reason…

does your slowcooker have a timer? (mine doesnt). in my case, it would be no difference between leaving that on, and leaving a dutch oven on… (ive got a good stove with simmer control)

i favor 60$ on a decent regular pan, and NOT buyign any non-stick/teflon coated pan at all

you could pretty much make it not stick to any surface with a decent coating of oil. eggs would stick to a dry cast iron because of all the small pores on the surface… if one is liberal with the seasoning then eggs will slide like roller skates. put some oil on a paper towel and wipe the pan just before doing eggs… (or, of course, just cook it in bacon fat)

I have a cast iron pan that my grandmother’s mother gave her. Before I made the stupid mistake of removing seasoning, it still wouldn’t fry an egg nearly as well as my $15 nonstick pan will. I don’t know if you have some magic ability to season a castiron pan to fry an egg without a huge amount of grease in it, but I’d like to hear about it. Sure, if I fried 1/2 lb of bacon in my pan, then cracked an egg into it, it probably wouldn’t stick, but this negates the reason to have a nonstick, low-fat cooking, which is not possible with cast iron.

Related posts:

1. Reno’d the kitchen- pic v. before and after ......
2. Welcome to The Kitchen ......
3. Question about kitchen appliances ......

How do I find out if the wall is ok to remove it or not?
take it out and see what happens?

check down in the basement directly under that wall. If there is a wall or a beam or a jack post directly underneath it, then it is more than likely a load bearing wall.

Load bearing walls are usually down the center, or near the center of the house, running the length of the house, perpendicular to the floor joists/rafters.

Don’t know if this helps or not, but it’s kind of hard to tell without physically looking at it/the rest of the house. Honestly your best bet would be to have a contractor come in and look at it. Even if it is a load bearing wall, you can still take it out, just requires a bit more work.
Ahh gotcha. It doesn’t look like we have load Bearing walls. It seems that on each floor we have these Huge large metal joists that go across the floor. (They look like the beams you see on skyscrapers, but there is no walls that are held up by any pillars through out the townhouse.

I’ll probably just do what you recommend and take it out and see what happens. Nah just get a contractor in and see what they say.

It’s possible that you just have a metal I beam or two supporting each floor, and have no load bearing walls. I’d still recommend having someone check it out though.
Might run into problems too if you have electrical or plumbing in that wall.

Related posts:

1. Installing teak hardwood floor ......