Updates to our 1993 Concourse - Project Thread

[ASaucyBurrito]

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to share some progress we've been making on our Chinook. We bought our 1993 Concourse last year locally for a great price but it definitely needed some TLC.

The first big project we wanted to tackle was a kitchen update. Our Chinook came with tile counters, 26 year old grout, wallpaper, lots of extra trim, and a generally dated look.




Initially we decided that regrouting the tile and adding a new backsplash would be a nice update to the rig. However after I removed the sink several tiles pulled up, and we began to brainstorm other options, eventually deciding on replacing the countertop entirely. So this happened:



We debated going with a solid Corian, laminate, or another tile. Eventually found some black granite tiles at lowes and went for it.

For the backsplash, we decided on peel and stick tiles with a white subway tile pattern. Here is a link to the product we used.

While my wife and mother in law worked to install that, I cut the cement board underlayment to size. Here is the stove side with the backsplash 90% complete and underlayment installed.



Next I began cutting tile to size and dry fitting it. Here is where I stopped last night, lots of work left to do:



More to come.

[deppstein]

ASB—looks great so far. Do keep us posted (with pics) on your progress.
David
2004 Premier

[bolerama]

Thanks for posting. I look forward to more posts.
Lisa

[Blue~Go]

Nifty! Thanks for bringing us along.

[Bett]

Very cool! I look forward to seeing what you come up with. It must be fun to have so many options. Enjoy!

[ASaucyBurrito]

Quick Update!

I neglected to mention on the first post that we decided to do all of these modifications about a week and a half before we had a vacation planned. In addition to the kitchen remodel I replaced the drivers side window regulator, door speakers and head unit before the trip. Nothing better than a deadline to make things happen I suppose.

As part of the kitchen update we wanted to replace the faucet and sink drains. Here is what it looked like before:


And after. Little things make a big difference I think.


As you can see in the original post, our Chinook had a beige stove, stove cover (with wood grain stickers!), and vent hood. We wanted to change that, so I found some "stainless steel" paint. It is brush on paint loaded with stainless flakes that when applied correctly give you a faux stainless look. The kit was $25 for the paint and clear coat.

I stripped everything out of the hood and spray painted the underside black. The stove cover had some rust that was sanded away and primered before paint. Also painted the outside trim of the stove and the little vent cover that goes behind it.



It takes about 3-5 coats of the stainless paint to built up to an opaque finish. Here is everything after one very light coat. We were a bit more liberal with the paint after this.



And after a few more coats:

[ASaucyBurrito]

At this point the tiles were mortared in place. My wife applied the grout and after that set up, I reinstalled the appliances. I'm quite happy with how the paint job turned out on these, especially the hood.



Not a great picture but this is all I have of the sink side. The sink was just set in as the stock mounting hardware was not long enough with the added thickness of the tile + backer board, but I didn't expect it to jump out and run away.



When the kitchen was in a working condition I proceeded to replace the water heater. Of course it decided to snow that night while working on the only outside project. Pure Michigan. Anyway, I removed the old plywood, cleaned everything up and installed a new unit. I don't have any finished pics but if anyone wants to know what the cubby looks like on a '93, here it is.



That was all we had time for before our trip. We live in Michigan and took a 4 day jaunt down to Kentucky. Here we are at Mammoth Cave NP. Had a great time. This was the first long trip we've taken so I was a bit nervous but for the most part it was great. The only real issues we had were dragging brakes which I was able to fix by adjusting the shoes, and the fridge stopped operating on gas. I think it is the thermocouple flame sensor as it was lighting but then shut off after 30 seconds or so. Hopefully an easy fix.



With that mad rush out of the way, i'm looking at a bit more leisurely schedule to finish things off. We need to reinstall trim around the kitchen, including the countertops. I found some black granite pencil tile that I'm planning on making into a kind of quarter round trim (cutting the pieces in half) and trimming the wall/counter joint with:



Currently debating on what to do with the "front" of the countertops. We had those large pieces of wood that separated the kitchen from living area before, but after living in it for a while with no trim, it kind of opens it up a bit without it there. I might put a smaller edge on it that doesn't stick up as much. Maybe others have done something there?

[chin_k]

ASaucyBurrito, do you have more info on the stainless steel colored paint? Link? I may want to do the same thing with my hood, but want to make sure the paint is hard like enamel, and not soft and "scratchable" like latex.

[ASaucyBurrito]

Chin_k,

https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Stainless ... B001W8O5KK

This is what we used. The clear looks to be acrylic based. I don't see why you couldn't put an enamel based clear coat over the stainless paint if you wanted to. It seems to have dried pretty hard but time will tell of course.

[bolerama]

That looks amazing! Well done!
Lisa