 | After purchasing a new dishwasher and stove to be delivered on July 3, it was time to disconnect the old appliances. The dishwasher was fairly straightforward. The stove was wired straight into a 220V line in the wall. |
 | While checking other wiring, Todd also noticed a siding nail that was driven into wiring in an exterior wall. Don't try this at home. Speaking of things you don't want to try at home, there are four layers of vinyl tile on this floor. We'll remove two of them, since we suspect the other two are from the 70's and thus possibly asbestos-laden. |
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The new dishwasher goes into the living/dining room (along with everything
else from the kitchen), and it's time to complete the soffit demolition.
This includes the tricky task of removing structure support boards while
live wires are still running through holes in them. (What was that comment about "Don't try this at home?") |
 | Now that all the soffit carpentry is out of the way, what are we going to do with all those wires? (We cut notches in cross-beams and put covers over them before covering 'em up with drywall. Worked wonders.) |
 | Countertop has gone, and now the final counter goes too. Ah, the beauty of lustrous bright cheerful black-painted plywood, not to mention the four layers of vinyl tile.. and slight water damage to the subfloor.. and Jen's toes. |
 | Hermione and Horatio are simply thrilled with all the renovation activity. Now let us go back to sleep already, wouldja? |
 | After cabinet and drywall removal and cleanup, Todd rewired the wall to provide additional GFCI circuits to the extra countertop. The switch at the lower right of the window controls the GFCI plug hanging in midair that will be installed in the cabinet side to provide a switched outlet for overhead sink lighting. |
 | These pics are taken for code to show that the wiring inside the junction boxes is taped and nutted, and that boxes will be in contact with bare ground from these lines. |
 | Next step: Drywall! And we have a helper who wants a tummy rub! |
 | Saturday evening, after frantic bouts of drywall, tape, texturing, and painting -- and an extra run to Home Despot for Todd, after we realized that (unusually for us) we'd bought the wrong sized new window! The correct size fit admirably though. |
 | New window pictures, inside and out. Obviously the exterior needs a lot more work before we're finished with the project, but after the window is framed and sealed, it should survive inclement weather. |
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On Sunday morning we pulled old tiles all morning and used noxious
chemicals to remove tile adhesive. No pictures of this -- the camera
would still be stuck to our hands. Did you notice that pretty venting pipe sticking out of the drywall? Rather than go through the pain of rerouting, Todd chose to cut one of the brand new cabinets to fit. Measure four times, measure again, then cut. |
 | After layout and ledger board installation, the first cabinet went into the corner quickly and without a hitch! Then the second, the third, the fourth... Zoooooom! |
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As of 9 PM Sunday evening, July 7th, we had the kitchen restored to
some semblance of normalcy. The new oven and dishwasher were connected
and tested, the old sink/countertop was restored (to await a new
countertop order), and the fridge was put back in place. Not long
after this Todd had temporary plywood countertops in, and we reconnected
the coffeemaker and microwave. It's amazing, even without the old door, how much brighter this room is with the new cabinets! |
 | This is how the kitchen used to look... |
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Lest anyone think we're done, this is the other corner of the
kitchen. Still to be done: patch and paint walls, remove old tile floor,
clean adhesive, install new countertop and new tile floor, trim window,
paint backsplash, install cupboard handles... Oh yes, and sleep. Somewhere in there... |