Progress Update: Week 4

Four weeks into the our major Kitchen Renovation, I think I've finally hit the point of frustration. I'm not at all phased by cooking outdoors, having to go to a laundromat for clean laundry, or washing dishes by hand in the walk-in shower; I'm frustrated that the renovation itself isn't further along.

Two weeks ago my husband and I were talking about how the drywall and floors would be going in at this date, maybe even finished if the general contractor were really on top of things.  However, at the end of the week we find ourselves in a holding pattern.  We're still waiting on several inspections before the drywall and floors can be installed.

What's worse, the July 4th Holiday weekend is coming up, so it's looking like we're going to be a whole week behind schedule now.  Our general contractor reassured us it'll get done on time, but I  think he's too lax and isn't taking into account the fact that the countertop company is scheduled to come and template the counters on July 15.

At this point we are seriously considering hanging the drywall and installing the cabinets ourselves.  On one hand, I love the idea of the renovation being more hands-on.  Part of me wants to "own" the project by doing the work myself.  I love the cost-saving aspect of doing more of the work ourselves, too.   But on the other hand, I'm not sure I want my dream kitchen to the the space where I learn to mud drywall, either.

Despite the fact that the project feels like its grinding to a halt, there are signs of progress.

The architect inspects the GC's installment of the ceiling lighting.

(1) The ceiling junction boxes for the new pot lights, surround-sound speakers, and pendant lighting have been drilled and wired.  There are two temporary light bulbs where the pendant lights eventually will go, giving us 100% more lighting than we had before.  I literally squealed with joy upon seeing this!  A substantial improvement in lighting is one of the aspects that excites me the most.

View from the kitchen into the laundry hall.  The lines in the ceiling and floor reveal the difference between where the old hall wall used to be and where the new wall with the laundry closet is going. I cannot express how excited I am to have the laundry out of the kitchen!

(2) The rest of the hall walls are framed, giving us a real feel for the new hall space.  We probably aren't bumping the wall out more than 12 inches, but what a difference 12 inches can make!  I'm throughly thrilled with this space already.  I think it's going to make a huge improvement on function!

Hello energy savings!  Our new state-of-the-art tankless water heater works so well!  Eventually I'll add some plantings to hide the gas and water lines.

(3)  Our new tankless water heater is installed.  Moving the water heater to the exterior of our home translates to more counter space in the kitchen.  As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, the plumber predicted I'd go nuts not having any hot water for weeks on end.  I was completely right about this being a non-issue.  I've never been one for hot showers and since the ground is warm in summer, the water is pretty warm, too, even without a water heater.  In fact, the water is still warmer than I'd prefer.  What I'd really love for someone to come up with is a "water cooler," as what I really want during the hot summer is a cool refreshing shower!  Even better:  There's a line here for a future out-door shower!  Yippee!

Progress Update: Week 3

This week the crew finished up the rest of the demolition.  With demolition taking so long, it feels like this project isn't getting anywhere.  Things feel as though they've slowed to a snail's pace.

The old plaster & lath wall in the back bedroom comes down.

The rest of the old closet wall in the back bedroom came down and the new wall for the bedroom closet and the laundry closet was framed.

Bumping out the old closet wall and dividing the space in two to create a dedicated place for laundry.

New framed wall between the kitchen and hall.

Plumbing for the sink, refrigerator, and future 2nd floor master bathroom (not this renovation project!) was roughed in.  A new gas meter sized for the incoming tankless water was also installed.

New electrical is installed and water lines for a future 2nd floor master bathroom are roughed in.

Progress Update: Week 2

This week revolved around of more demolition.  The lath and plaster were torn down on most walls, allowing access to the wall cavities for the new electrical, gas, and plumbing lines.  In addition, the water heater was taken out and the closet in the back bedroom came down.

The drywall removed reveals some of the original plaster walls.

After all the plaster and lath came down we found the original kitchen chimney.  It's shocking to me that the chimney didn't go all the way down to the floor, but it was definitely built like this in 1924.

It was equally fun to discover all the secrets of the home hiding inside the walls.

Window weights still on the pulleys.

Wall paper samples from the 1960's (above) and 1920's (below).

A plaster wall with the 1920's wallpaper still intact.

This is also unfortunately the week my heath took a dive for the worse.  With all the fine plaster, dust, mold, mouse poop, and everything else hiding in the wall churned up into the air, I developed an acute sinus infection.  It was so bad that I developed tinnitus, vertigo, and nausea.  I lost my appetite, couldn't hear out of my left ear, and couldn't walk straight.   I couldn't read, watch TV, or drive.  I was completely debilitated for days.  My poor husband had to do everything.  Just getting out of bed to get to the bathroom was a challenge.  While we hadn't done any of the demolition ourselves (something that I had initially wanted to help with), we did poke our heads in the back 1/2 of the house in the evenings to see the progress that had been made during the day.  I would have never guessed that just a few minutes of breathing in that air over consecutive days would be enough to incapacitate me in the way it did.  I thought staying on the second floor, where there is a separate ventilation system, and only going in after the air had settled would be enough, but it wasn't.  Fortunately, all the crew and my husband remained healthy.  It's possible I just have a more fragile respiratory system than them. Thankfully, after sealing off the house with plastic, investing in a hepa filter, and getting lots of medical help, I can report that I am on the road to recovery.  But I've got a ways to go.  Hopefully my cautionary tale will prevent the same from happening to someone else.  Don't underestimate the measures you should take to preserve your health if you're going to live through a renovation.  Maybe this is the reason the plumber had initially suggested we move out.

Progress Update: Week 1

Before the kitchen gets better it's going to get a lot worse!  So this week was all about demolition, which started on June 4.  We had already spent our spare time weeks prior to demolition clearing out the back half of our house.  For 8 weeks we are losing the kitchen, the downstairs bath, and another bedroom serving as the home office.

This used to be a respectable-looking dining room!

Since there won't be access to the downstairs bathroom, we decided to hole ourselves up on the 2nd floor.  So in addition to clearing out the contents the first 3 rooms, we've also moved our master bedroom temporarily to the 2nd floor guest bedroom.  As a result, the entire house is in shambles.  We set up a stationary kitchen with a camping stove in the backyard.  It's actually quite nostalgic of the sort of outdoor cooking I've done in Italy.  However, breakfast and lunch usually get made in the second floor bathroom.  In the end, I know this is all temporary, so it hasn't been a big deal at all.  It's just embarrassing if anyone shows up at my front door!

One last look at the existing kitchen before Demolition Day.  Packing up feels so strange; didn't I just move in?!

I had to laugh at the plumber who scoped out the renovation job.  He told me I was nuts to stay in this house while the renovation was going on.  But he doesn't know my archaeological background and that I'm used to spending my summers without plumbing!  Who wants to take a hot shower in the Florida summer anyway?

Home-made shower from my archaeological dig in Ukraine.  We made this out of 2x4's, bubble wrap,  a giant cook pot and an spicket!

I was amazed how much work actually was accomplished on day 1 of demolition.  By the time I got home from school, all the cabinetry was gone, the appliances were out, and two walls had started coming down.

Same space, 24 hours later!

 The crew uncovered a patch-work of harvest-gold linoleum, plywood, and even a bit of the original wood floors .

The most exciting part of week one was breaking into the the odd-angled "mystery wall" in the vestibule.  The architectural plans revealed there was an unknown wall cavity in the space between the original hall wall and the bedroom closet wall.  Since we knew there was no plumbing, ductwork, or electrical in this space, I came to the logical conclusion that there must be (a) a dead body, or (b) hidden treasure inside!  I begged my husband to let me buy a sledge hammer and tear the thing down for a whole year, but he never let me do it!

The mystery wall finally comes down.  What a freaking mess!

On the downside, while we had intended to put up plastic sheets and seal off the doors to the back of our house, this didn't get finished before demolition.  As a result, I now have a fine layer of plaster dust covering EVERYTHING on the first floor to deal with.  What a mistake that was!