Our Kitchen and Den Renovation
A leaky duct lead to finding asbestos lead to removing three layers of vinyl flooring lead to a full reno.
Feb-Mar 2022 - The Plans: Details of the cabinets, layouts and design.
I colored in the plans to get a better idea of how the different colors would look together.
Not totally sold on the quartz choices, but it’s a start.
Accent Cabinet Inspiration: I follow Tuscan Blue Design religiously and was inspired by Meredith’s bar cabinet with the metal punch out. We will have an accent cabinet in the color Cloud in the corner where I’ll probably keep baking supplies. (I also did her headshots for her website!)
6/26/22 - Beams and Bulkhead Removed
In order to open the kitchen into the den we removed the beams and the bulkhead that was once over the peninsula. A lot of the wood used on the beams was still good. Long 14’ runs of quarter round was also still usable. We removed all the nails and are saving it for future use.
7/2/22 - Pantry and Cabinets Removed
This area will be converted into the large vertical pantry, cabinet depth fridge and a storage cabinet above. I refurbished a piece of furniture I bought from a friend so we could use it as a pantry. We moved dishes and food into the cabinet int he dining room and removed the cabinets.
Found some old playing cards, a photo of some teenagers lifting weights in the early 80s, Monopoly money with little mouse bites and a chunk of the original counter/backsplash. Needless to say 1971 is alive and well in this house - brown on brown with some orange and more brown. We haven’t even discussed the wood paneling in the den. That’s all coming down, too.
We will be removing the bulkhead and will have to move the air duct into the ceiling. We need to cut into the ceiling to see if this is even possible. Might need an HVAC person to come help with this one.
Removed the door trim into the dining room and it opened the pass through about 3 inches. We’ll try to open it a bit more, but are limited to the width of the cabinets. For now, we remove the glue and stain and prime the wall a couple times to just cover up the grossness. This area will be fully covered, so not much patching and painting needed because the plaster is in great condition.
The guys took the trash to the dump while I ordered food and updated this website.
7/9/22 - Along the Fridge Wall
Removed more upper cabinets, put the enormous microwave on the counter. Eventually, we will get a smaller microwave for a built in under a new cabinet to the left of the doorway going into the dining room. We pried the top layer of flooring to make way for hardwoods to run through the kitchen. There was some previous water damage from a leaky sink basin on the opposite wall in the laundry room. We might replace a couple pieces of subfloor due to a bit of water damage. We’ll see though. It doesn’t look too bad.
Found a little mouse hole behind the oven. Very groovy chartreuse veggie contact paper inside a cabinet that I forgot was there.
Next, we need to start taking down the bulkheads and assessing the workload to move the AC vent, wiring, wallboard and plaster work. I also want to move the island cabinets temporarily into the kitchen to gauge their exact location and measure out where the recessed lights will go. We need to book an electrician to install a new electrical panel, add recessed lights and additional outlets in the walls.
7/16-17/22 - Bulkhead and Wall Removal
We’re getting to the point where we need to start calling in contractors to help with some of the specific jobs we can’t do ourselves. It’s tome for the HVAC team to move the AC ductwork into the ceiling in front of where the refrigerator will be. The stove vent will also have to be moved up in between the joists and to the right about 16-18 inches.
Why are we removing so many walls? The previous owners allowed the laundry room sink basin overflow for years which caused water damage to the wall on the opposite side of the wall with the stove. There is mold and it need to be remediated. We’re going to put in some insulation and firewall drywall on this wall. In the end, plaster is fantastic, but it wicked so much water it’s no longer salvageable. If budget allows we will hire someone to come into help feather in the new drywall with plaster so it is seamless.
If this were drywall we would have been done removing it weeks ago. But this is 52 year old 3/4” thick plaster. It’s very dusty and very heavy. A 2x4 board clad in wire mesh and plaster fell and cut my leg.
What’s up with all the yellow popcorn-y spray foam insulation? This is the beginning this ENTIRE project. The house was originally built without air conditioning and the ductwork was never properly insulated to account for cold air going up three stories and out a HOT attic. That caused a lot of condensation, which lead to the wet wall, which lead to us finding asbestos in the kitchen flooring, which lead us to this entire renovation. Last year the
We’re trying to keep the dust to a minimum, but there is no way around it. When this is all done, we will have to hire a cleaning crew to come in for a whole day to scrub this house from top to bottom.
7/25 - Bulkhead Begone!
The last of the bulkheads are down thanks to the boys. We have been lucky to have Fletcher’s brother visiting us this week. He jumped right in and got to work yesterday.
Electrician comes on Thursday to edit our original plans and schedule the work - ew electrical panel, recesses lights, updated outlets for the oven and refrigerator. Once they are scheduled we will take down the remaining walls and fake wood paneling in the den for easier access.
Delivery expected today from Home Depot which has all the drywall, plywood and lots of other stuff.
7/30 - More Walls are coming down
We spent a lot of time sealing off the kitchen to make sure no plaster dust entered the rest of the house. It’s SO dusty it’s making me crazy.
Took down some more walls so the electricians can have easy access. Plus, it’s easier to put up new drywall than it is to match and feather in drywall to plaster. We’ve going to need some help, so we’ve put in a call to a guy to help us with matching up the ceiling.
Found lots of mouse poop and the culprits that did it. I surprised the previous owners just didn’t notice any signs of mice because we noticed immediately when we moved in.
Electrician came last Thursday to review the plans with Fletcher for the last time. Getting a quote this week. It’s time to schedule. We also need to schedule the HVAC and Plumbing contractors. Trying to get this done prior to vacation in a few weeks. Once scheduled, We’ll be ready to take down the last wall that is currently holing the dishwasher and sink. We just aren’t ready to give those two up yet!
