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Drake Neighborhood Kitchen Remodel 12.2007   This project will be open to the public in the 2008 Tour of Remodeled Homes to be held September 20 - 21

Well, here it is, just weeks before the Christmas holidays and all this couple wants for Christmas is a new kitchen! So, here we go...

    Looking from doorway to back of kitchen              Looking from back of kitchen to front

                 

To begin, this home is located in the drake neighborhood and was built in 1912. Previous owners have done some work to it but the last owner did very little in the 27 years she lived in it.

It's pretty obvious this kitchen is way outdated. The home has been going under renovation room by room for 3+ years and it's now time for the kitchen to receive a new look. The goal is to update as much as possible, yet keep some of the period look and feel. Near as we can tell, this kitchen is at least 50 years old and has had some very poor quality changes made to it since. It's hard to see from the pictures, but at one time a contractor was hired to make some minor improvements but the homeowenr at the time was certainly taken advantage of. To cover the poor workmanship, drywall was installed and drywall mud applied but no tape thus making the joints easy to crack by movement or just simply by not adhereing materials. Then, sand was added to the paint to try to cover any flaws. It was literally like having sandpaper on the walls. ouch!

In order to do this job correctly, much time was spent on the computer drawing up several possible plans for the new layout. With the final layout decided upon, preliminary pricing of materials was pulled together.

First step on this project was to pick out the floor tile, Done!

Next was cabinetry. With a sample of the tile and of the original wood trim in the house, a trip to the cabinet store was next. Done!

With some interesting possiblilities for textures, it was decided to strip the drywall and plaster from the brick chimney that runs through the center of the house and use that as an element as well. In doing so, we really wanted to take advantage of as much of the space as possible. So, we had to do some initial demolition to check meaurements to maximize the cabinetry:

          

     Original cabinet attached to wall and chimney        Small demo to check condition of brick                   Demolition Begins!

12.7.2007

     

  Demo well under way, you can see big changes happening...        Here we find what appears to be old mold growth. Now eliminated.

                                  

So, here you can see the layers of wall are gone. The outside layer was drywall over top of the plaster and lathe. To the right of the chimney you can see a sheet of plywood. That was boarding up a walkway original to the house in 1912. It will be removed and opened up again taking this back to as original as possible.

Done for the day, it's cleaned up and the remainder of the kitchen will be demoed Monday.

12.10.2007

Well, the weekend has come and gone. Time to demo the other side of the kitchen...

Removal of the cabinets is first on the agenda.

        These two pictures were taken during removal of the plaster and insulation. As you can see masks were an absolute necessity.

        100 years of dust and dirt and deterioration of the plaster, this is quite the job but the end result will be well worth it work.

   

   

As you can now see, the walls have been stripped exposing the history of the house. We were able to determine the bump-out was an add-on at some point in time. It appears that there was a door at the opening that led out to an open porch. We know this because in the corners we found two round porch posts with 2x4's nailed to them to frame the walls later on in time. There are also indications that once it was a closed room, there was a door  on 2 of the 3 walls at separate times. If you look closely at the last picture you can see the faming to each door.

It is our goal to put a new window in the wall just above the garbage can and to the right on another wall to put a 24" door to lead out to the back yard. If you look closely to the framing of the wall at the bumpout, the wall was cut back but no header was ever installed. This being a weight bearing wall, we will be installing a header for safe measure. We will also be going through the entire room putting in additional framing to accomodate the new drywall to be  installed as well as anchor points for the new cabinetry.

This is a new picture looking from the back to front of kitchen...

12.12.2007

As you can see, we have filled a 10 yd dumpster with all the debris.

                 

Now you can see where new framing was necessary. New header, addtitional framing to strighten walls and anchor points for cabinets.

                 

You can also see where a third layer of floor was pulled up revealing the original hardwood then 1st generation vinyl flooring from 1920's.

12.13.2007

Today we will frame for 2 new windows. One replacing an existing sink window and then adding one in the

bumpout at the back. we will begin installing electrical boxes and running wire as well.

 

12.14.2007

No pictures to post, but about 90% of the electrical work was done today.

All the old wiring was removed and most all new was installed. This old home when purchased 3 1/2 years ago was working off an old breaker box with only 6 breakers, for the entire house! It was upgraded to a 20 breaker box and 1/2 the house is now rewired. 5 new circuits alone were used for the kitchen. No more blowing breakers when running the microwave oven and toaster oven at the same time... cheap thrills in life!

12.15.2007

In the above pictures you can see a great deal of progress has now been made.

The rough-in electrical work has been completed.

You can also see a new window in place of the old double-hung over the sink.

A smaller window was installed as the old one was too tall and intruded into the backsplash.

The new one has been raised, reframed and insulated.

In the bump-out at the back we were going to install a new window but due to major framing issues,

we had to eliminate that. We would have had to remove the entire wall and completely redo it,

but felt is was not worth the investment.

Walls have been insluated and now the floor can be pulled up to the subfloor.

It is important to level the floor now prior to laying durock and tile.

Progress seems slow at time but to do the project correctly, it is necessary to tend to details now,

as going too far before addressing them can cause major issues later.

Next step is to move the plumbing to the right of the green ladder and put it all in an interior wall. At that point we can remove the 10" square window in the upper right so as to allow a flat wall to hang all the cabinets.

12.18.2007

Moving right along...

The floor in the bump-out area was removed and rebuilt as well as where an old drafty window resided for many years has now been opend up and a 30" door has been installed for access to the back yard. What a great change!

The last major project for the interior was to move some plumbing lines that went from the basement to the upstairs bathroom. In order to do the job right, it was decided to replumb the entire house. Over the years repairs had been made but only sections, becoming a mess of old galvanized and copper pipes that are not compatable causing the galvanized pipes to rust and close down the flow of water over time. The plumbers were able to remove all the piping starting back at the meter and go throughout the entier house with new hard plastic piping. It was an immediate noticable change in water flow.

12.19.2007

Todays goal is to tend to details. Go over the electrical system ensuring everything is marked and ready to be covered. Some areas will need to be trimmed to allow drywall to smoothly flow over the old pass-through and small water-closet window. Once we have marked and measured for location of studs, drywall can then be installed.

We will begin with the ceiling then move to the walls.

12.21.2007

Below you will see drywall has been installed. It took 2 days to do so, with all the angles and cutouts for recessed lights and outlets. A first coat of mud and tape has also been applied just before the Christmas break. We also received a call from the cabinet store that cabinets are in the warehouse and ready for delivery. As we are not quite ready for them the store is happy to hold them until we are ready. It is alos important tha the homeowners choose colors for the room; paint for the walls, type of granite for counters and decide what they want between counter and upper cabinets: paint or tile. Decisions, decisions. But crutial at this point to keep the progress moving forward.

   

12.26.2007

Not too much to report today. Drywall has one coat of mud and was sanded today. A scond coat will be applied tomorrow then sanded again Friday. A third coat will only be applied as necessary. Paint and backsplash tile still need to be picked out by homeowners.

Have a Happy New Year !

Final coat of mud has been applied to walls, floor has been pulled up to the sub floor, and all boards have been refastened to floor joists with 25 lbs of 2 1/2" deck screws. No more squeeks and creeks! Underlayment can now be installed for tile floor and final sanding to drywall completed as well.

12.11.2008

       

  1. Tile underlayment installed                2. Layout for center and square            3. Tile installed and sits for 48 hrs.

Also completed is cleaning of brick chimney. Old plaster cleaned off as best as possible and ready for sealer.

Next step is grouting. that will be done tomorrow then the walls can be primed and painted and delivery of cabinets!!!

                    

The process of choosing some of the finish products can be fun or challenging.

There are hundreds of possible combinations of cabinet finishes and tiles for both backsplash and floor.

You have the option to have us assist or you can shop on your own.

Here you can see to two final choices of granite for countertops being put up against

samples of tile floor, glass tile for backsplash and cabinets.

                   

These are the two finalists after looking through roughly 30 colors and textures.

1.13.2008

    

Tile floor now been grouted. Above you can see me cleaning the grout for the 6th time and the final look.

Now we are ready for paint!

1.15.2008

  

Ceilings and walls are now painted and ready for cabinets.

1.16.2008

Time now for cabinet installation!

We started on the south wall as there were a few details that we could address and

figure out prior to tackling the walls that are "L" shaped and a bit more challenging.

       

As you can see, all upper cabinets have been installed. Most of the trim above cabinets has been completed with a few details to tend to then the cove trim finishen it foo to the ceiling can be installed.

Lower cabinets are scheduled to be delivered Monday and installed Tuesday.

    

 

1.28.2008

Well, cabinets are all in and area has been measured for granite counters.

Next is to mill oak trim for the doorways to match to original as possible.

Also plumbing has been completed for sink install and dishwasher and microwave have been installed.

2.7.2008

Finally, more progress. It took some extra time to get the granite due to weather but it's all cut and installed!

Take a look...

As you can see, the grainte is in and sink installed. tomorrow the fixtures will be installed as well.

If you look closely, you will see we had the backsplash cut to fit under the window sill to help in reducing water damage to wood trim or other materials and much easier to clean too!

Now for the other side where the stove will reside. On the left you see the corner area with under cabinet lighting and on the right more cabinets custom designed to take into account the chimney and not lose much need storeage.

 

3.2008

Well, the homeowner has beentakeing their time finishing the few details. Here is what we have now:   

   Looking to left of sink - frig in place                                    Right of sink - glass backsplash in process of install

 

  

  Left of stove - glass tile in process                                     Stove wall - needs glass tile yet but stove/micro in use!

Final pictures to be shown when all work is completed.

Look for this home to be open to the public in the

Fall Tour of Remodeled Homes

Stay tuned for more!