Kitchen Demo Day 15

Phase 1 is done!! Yay!! I have a new kitchen ceiling that I can't reach without a step stool. Fantastic pot lights are installed in the kitchen and dining area. The dining room mirror is gone! Walls are all prepped and ready for cabinets. And as an added bonus, a nice appropriately sized ceiling fan in the living room!

Sadly I have the floor to deal with, but I spoke to some guys at the tile shop and it sounds like it can be fixed. I just need to be patient while I make some calls.

Now it's just waiting the next 2-3 weeks for the cabinets.

Kitchen Demo Day 13

Ah, lucky 13. NOT!

Throughout this whole kitchen planning process, everyone has been so concerned about removing my drop ceiling. Turns out that went without a hitch. No nasty surprises. The electrical wires were easy to move around, and the ductwork was easily modified. In fact except for needing a coat of paint, the ceiling is done.

The hitch is the floor! So my contractor noticed some pretty deep cracks after clearing out the appliances and cabinets. He thought he'd be able to patch it. As he pulled up the tile, he ran into more and more cracks, and then a pretty good size area where it was just crumbled. Most of the kitchen floor moves when you stand on it right now.

As I was learning of all this, the president of the HOA board came by, and asked to see my renovation. He was able to tell us that the concrete is about 1.5" thick and sits on some plywood. Then there's the rafters and my downstairs neighbor's ceiling. My contractor is concerned if he tried to pour self-leveling concrete over this, it might run downstairs. He can skim the bigger cracks, but is recommending I don't put tile down and go with a floated floor.

On top of this fun news, it's entirely possible that my cabinets won't be ready for 3 weeks, which would put them 4 weeks behind schedule. I really hope that's not the case. Hopefully I can find a good floor guy who might be able to repair this and still get my slate floor. SIGH!

Kitchen Demo Day 8-12

Kitchen has stayed encased in plastic. Walls are being prepped, the ceiling finished, last of the tile removed. Nothing too exciting.

I did also get a ceiling fan installed on Day 9 in the living room. Sadly it's too low, and too dark. Hopefully it's replacement will be up tomorrow.

Kitchen Demo Day 7

Pot lights are up in the kitchen and dining area. More work on removing the tile and filling in gaps with drywall. The kitchen and part of the dining area were left surrounded in plastic. It's get less dramatic as the demo is done and now it's finishing walls and ceilings.

My cats are upset they can't get in and inspect the work done today. :-D I've been leaving them locked in the bedroom together. So far so good with that. They've got a few more days as it looks like work for phase one won't be done until early next week.

Kitchen Demo Day 6

It sucks to wash dishes in the bathroom. The sink faucet is too low and the bathtub is too low for my knees. It's going to be a long 4-5 more weeks!

Turns out it's easy to run wires when the ceiling is open, so I get an overhead light/ceiling fan in the living room! Yay!! I have such a mellow contractor. I hesitated asking, but he just said now's the time to do it! Drywall is up on the ceiling too. Plastic was left up to keep things tidy.

Kitchen Demo Day 5

Back to work on the kitchen after the weekend. Thankfully insulation went in. It was getting very chilly! And a nice big hole for the switch for the kitchen, dining area and living room.

Kitchen Demo Day 2

Wow! I think I'll be saying that a lot!! I came home to no ceiling, or half walls into the kitchen, and the giant mirrored wall in the dining room gone!! Woot! I'm starting to get excited. I'm so impressed with my contractor guy. Everything is left so tidy. Yay!!




And another layer of wallpaper was unearthed.

Kitchen Demo Day 1

Cabinets and counters are removed!! Some groovy wallpaper was uncovered too...two layers no less!

Kitchen destruction

Tomorrow my kitchen will be demolished. I am excited and nervous, and can't wait for it to be finished! I can't think of anything I will be sad to see go. The white tile with dingy grout, the melamine cabinets with cracks and warped shelves, the dishwasher that doesn't work...including the mouse eaten hose. Yep, farewell 1978 kitchen.

It's time for a higher ceiling, slate floors, cabinets with handles, granite countertops, sink, a faucet with a single lever for hot and cold, pot lights, and appliances. Can't wait to meet my new kitchen in 4-6 weeks.


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