Kitchen Progress

All of the main kitchen cabinet bodies have been installed in the kitchen, as well as the wood top which will hold the Vietnam White marble countertop. A stainless steel skirting along the floor still needs to be added to the sink and stove side of the room.

B created the three thick shelves for my dish and bowls. Other kitchen contractors who we met weren’t too excited to make these, it is one of the reasons we chose B to make the cabinets.

What R and I find interesting is that B has opted to stain the cabinet bodies and Nyatoh solid wood doors onsite when they are ready. He said staining the doors when they arrive will allow him to better match the cabinet body nyatoh wood with the cabinet doors (we wonder how staining onsite will work... the smell and the mess etc.). One other interesting thing, if you look at the photo under the shelves you can see the electrical outlets which in my opinion are pretty high up above where the countertop will be. If I hadn't asked, B would have placed these plugs immediately under the first shelf. I asked him to place them a couple inches above where the backsplash will be located, but you can see he still placed them higher. He said it is because the plugs in Malaysia have a thick heavy cord at the bottom which go straight down and can not be twisted; this is true, but it does not require the electrical plugs to be placed halfway up the wall. He then told me that Malaysia construction regulation requires all kitchen electrical sockets to be 5 feet above the floor (he said my lower plugs were ok because this isn't a new house, but a renovation). I asked him if the height requirement has something to do with keeping the sockets off the ground or away from water or why? He said he didn't know why, it is just the way it is in Malaysia.