That Annoying Part in the Middle

And so began demolition on the kitchen. What was supposed to be drywall removal in a small corner (where Rob is cutting out drywall in photo below) to check for water damage, turned into a much larger project. First, we took that wall out from walkway to inner corner to make sure water hadn't spread further than we first assumed. Thankfully, it hadn't and replacing some studs was all it took to shore up the area. We did find a "fun" secret door (the old garage exit pre-kitchen-add-on) that wasn't sealed up correctly when the original construction had been completed. My Dad was so so helpful in this process because he knew just where to stop or dive a little deeper into a problem so it was solved the correct way! Dads are fantastic! 

   

After this wall was torn apart and the studs were repaired, we started removing the cabinets. Our hope was to remove cabinets and *snap* just like that put the new ones in their place. Well of course that isn't what happened as you might have read in our previous post but we didn't share how gross the situation was. 

    

Take a nice long look. Couldn't you just shed a tear at the awful sight of mold/mildew, improper plumbing and water damage? We could, I'm surprised that we didn't, but we certainly could have! The top left photo was our first glance... It was right as we pulled the dishwasher and first cabinet out. Our first reaction was to hope it got better as we continued cabinet removal but with every cabinet that we took out, our hopes sunk more and more. Behind the sink we could see that there had been some major water damage that the previous owners hadn't properly cleaned up (not really a surprise at this point unfortunately) and the drain plumbing hadn't been installed correctly. If you can see in the picture with Rob working on the floor, there was a very noticeable water mark on the floor so it was obvious some sort of flooding had occurred. Thankfully, that underlayment wasn't at all soft or mildewy, so we were actually able to leave it in place. 

As we moved along with the cabinet removal, we learned that at one point there had clearly been some sort of small rodent infestation. Now, let me note, our home is not disgusting or filthy and there are no longer rodents living in our walls but boy-o-boy, at one point... I don't know how the previous owners didn't hear them. It wasn't just something we found under the cabinets either. Every piece of insulation that we removed created some sort of "fecal rain" - gross I know - but it fell down on Rob and my Dad every time a run of insulation was pulled out of the ceiling. [Many many showers were taken during this part of the project!] It isn't something that we knew about before this construction started, so ignorance was bliss for a while, but now our house feels so much cleaner and we have such a greater peace of mind that everything is sealed up tight and is nice and clean! 

   

Once all the cabinets were removed, we had our first "while we're at it" conversation with my Dad. He's great at giving us options that we wouldn't have thought about; the soffit above the cabinets was the first topic we needed to make a decision about. We hadn't realized that this soffit was just a style decision made when when kitchen was constructed, but Dad did. We thought that it would make the room feel larger to extend the ceiling to the full size of the room so within an hour or two max, we had the soffit out! 

The next decision was whether or not to replace the ceiling. There were two factors to this decision: one being the ability to re-center the lights and fan since the soffit was now gone and the second being the knowledge that the ceiling was probably icky and poop filled. YUCK. So it seemed like the right decision. We would be able to reconfigure lighting to what we wanted it to be and it would be much cleaner, both great perks! The picture below is post dry-wall removal and pre insulation removal but the room already looked larger than before! 

After this, we removed all remaining drywall (except for a small section on the left wall). Rob and I got to work, with masks on of course, cutting and installing drywall in all the newly open spaces. We also sealed the old door area so that it couldn't be an entrance for little creatures if that had been their entry point. If you haven't had the pleasure of filling gaps or cracks in your home, let me tell you how awesome Great Stuff Foam is; it's so easy to use and honestly it's kind of fun. It expands to completely fill gaps and once dry, it's hard but can be trimmed if expansion gets in the way. We don't get paid to say this stuff, we just really like it!  

   

  

Once all the new insulation was in we started to feel like we were on the upswing of this project. When demo lasts much longer than expected it can start to feel like no progress is being made. With our lighting newly centered, pendant cans in place (a new addition for us) and all the insulation in place, we were ready for drywall to be installed. This is not a do-it-yourself project for us, we always call the best guy we know, Bill! He's super honest and trustworthy and does such fast, awesome work! The drywall process is so exciting because the space goes from construction to looking like a legitimate room again. Never have white, splotchy walls looked so great to us! 

We decided to freshly paint the ceiling and put one coat of primer over the walls before doing any other insulation so we didn't have to worry about splatter. Ceilings are the worst to paint but it's much easier when there is no need for drop cloths. 

   

Once the paint was dry, we were so happy to start hanging cabinets. The Ikea cabinet system is so smart - they give you a rail to hang on the wall so you don't have to worry about leveling each cabinet. Once the rail is up, the cabinets pretty much hang and clip on. The system is much lighter and much easier to manage without putting a million holes in the walls. Our little guy had a fun time watching his Buppa and Daddy doing work with all the fun tools and even got a popcorn treat from the hardware store!

We are almost ready to reveal the final kitchen, but it's a work in progress for a little while longer!

Two Weeks turned Two Months (and counting!)

Oh boy, when they say "allow more time than anticipated for larger projects" they aren't kidding (whoever they are). After seeing our house for the first time we assumed we would leave the kitchen in a very similar state for a long time. As you can see in the pictures below, it wasn't too bad at first glance. Upon moving in we decided to simply do some cosmetic upgrades to cover up the current look by painting cupboards, replacing the weird vinyl floor and eventually replacing countertops. [We replaced the cooktop immediately, you can read about that here!]

   

Well, we started those projects... I got to painting the cupboards before our things were even moved in and while it's not my favorite project ever, it's definitely a doable one with some patience. They turned out nicely and seemed to update the space significantly. 

      

Even after we were feeling settled into the house and the cabinets were starting to take shape with their new color, it just didn't feel right. We didn't like how obviously painted they looked when they were open - as the inside of the cupboards remained the original wood color while the fronts and doors had been painted. You can also see above that we were dealing with a really nice countertop and flooring (can you sense the sarcasm?). Altogether it just wasn't right and felt like a bandaid instead of a solution. 

After living for months with half painted cabinets while we made some decisions about the space, we chose to purchase new countertops and complete the painting. Off to Ikea we went where it just so happened the solid wood butcher-block color that we wanted was 50% off. We were off to a great start when it came to the kitchen budget. We has previously purchased flooring on sale and now this! What a cheap renovation! Are you scoffing at our naiveté yet?

   

While at Ikea we noticed one of their room displays that was as close as I could possibly imagine to a dream kitchen. It had the big farmhouse sink (that was proving to be impossible to install in our current cabinets) and the grey color scheme; to us it was dreamy! We figured it would be fun to use their 3D kitchen layout planner to see what the cost would be and then make an educated decision based on price and not emotion. Home we went (with countertops in tow since they would be part of the plan no matter what) and we used nap time to plan out our kitchen cabinet swap. It ended up being something that we could afford and with a sale/promotion they had going, it was more cost effective than usual.

So there we were a couple days later, in Ikea making the biggest house purchase we'd ever made. We were so excited! After all, how hard could it be to demo the existing cabinets and replace them with the new ones! You can scoff again. Swapping was our goal, but when cabinets were delivered and we started demo we realized it just wasn't our reality.

   

Stay tuned for the next steps in this "two week" turned two month project!

**Spoiler: This story has a happy and beautiful *swoon* ending!

History Is Repeating And We Wish It Wouldn't

So in our first home, within weeks of moving in we had some issues with our dryer smelling like a campfire. It wasn't the worst thing in the world, just a filthy dryer vent that needed a cleaning and it was back to new. Unfortunately, history has repeated itself at our new house and this problem didn't have such an easy fix. 

The good thing was that we learned from the first house issue. When we put the first load of wash into the dryer here at the new house, we hung out for a bit and made sure to keep our noses alert and boy, are we glad that we did! After less than 10 minutes the basement started to stink like burning fibers. Not exactly what you hope to smell. 

We switched the dryer off and immediately pulled it away from the wall. Oh my, we couldn't really believe our eyes. The problem was obvious. The gas line (a problem in itself but we'll get to that later) had rubbed through the foil accordion-type tube leading to the solid vent. Because of this hole, there was a thick layer of lint on everything behind the washer and dryer. 

      

These pictures don't honestly do the thick layer of lint justice but I will tell you that I could peel the lint off the floor in 1+ inch thick sheets. Yuck!

After scraping the floor and vacuuming up what was loose on the walls and back of the machines we left both machines unplugged until the professionals could come in to look at the issue. Here's what they came up with: the dryer vent had  too many right angles on the way to the exterior vent. The more right angles in a vent, the more chance for lint to get stuck and problems to happen. We had to re-route the vent and in order to do that, had to take out some drywall and the cabinet above the washer and dryer. Rob was channeling Chip Gaines on demo day! 

   

   

Of course the first space we broke into was where the water lines were running (something you wouldn't know by the exposed pipes - another weird choice) and so we had to move over and break into the next section. The insulation came out and the ceiling also had to be exposed to move the gas line. The professionals moved the dryer vent into the space where you can see the insulation above and they moved the exit point on the outside of the house as well. Now there are only two turns (as per usual) and it's a solid pipe so there are less places for lint to get caught. The professional said that it was a miracle a fire hadn't started because it was clearly used for a long time with the broken vent. 

We still need to have the gas line rerouted so it isn't as long as it is now (something to look forward to... ha!). This house is proving to need quite a bit of work to say the least, but we LOVE this house and are having a fun time making it our own!

Until next time, thanks for catching up!

Do It Yourself Demolition

As frightening as "Do It Yourself" and "Demolition" may look when put together, we have a success story on our hands! phew!!

A week after we closed on the house, Rob and my (Lindsey's) Dad, started tearing a hole in the wall between the living room and the first bedroom downstairs. We had decided even before closing that we were more interested in having a dining room than maintaining our "three bedroom" status, so we are beginning to morph the bedroom at the front of the house into a dining room. This change wasn't hard to imagine as the whole first floor is - thankfully - hardwood which means no ugly carpet that we have to rip up and cross our fingers for something salvageable underneath, nope, only guaranteed outcomes for this renovation couple... ha! As if that is even possible! Just let us dream ;)

So after marking the size and shape that the walkway would be, they started cutting and hammering from the living room side - needless to say there was so much dust. Oh, and I forgot to mention that because the house it a bit older, the walls are plaster which creates a lovely layer of plaster dust on everything...

Here they have made it half way through the wall and you can see how the pictures
are hazy and there is dust covering the floor!

The plaster and wood was so old that by the time they made it onto the other side to start cutting through from the bedroom (soon to be dining room) the blade of the saw was visibly dull and sparking! They did finally make it through after only about two hours of work, I was very impressed. 

 

You can see in the picture above that they were able to finish the edges with the drywall and they did patch the floor as well with a long oak board. This photo was taken pre-stain when you can really see the difference between the old and the new! They cut the archway to look like the other arch in the room with the angled corners - my requests are always the ones that make things harder ;)

Here is a closeup of the arch now that it has been mudded - no, I didn't forget to paint the corners, the walls were white and the mud is tan colored!! Thanks to Bill for helping us with the mudding, we weren't feeling to confident about that!

 

So far this is what we are looking at every day! We are so happy with the way things are coming along and so thankful to the people to have been helping us with our renovation dreams! The last step for the walkway is to prime over the mud and paint - I have no idea what color that will be, I was going to leave it white for a while but if we have to paint it back to white anyway, why not be brave and choose a color?? 

All we can say is "So Far, So Good!" Stay posted for more and more and more changes to our little Royal Oak home. 

until next time, Lindsey