The Kitchen Remodel - the early days

When I told Jason that I was pregnant, I swear within 10 minutes he was planning to remodel the kitchen.  That's how my guy nests.

We embarked on this project at the very end of February 2013.  I've been posting construction pictures to Facebook as we've gone along; you can get the blow-by-blow album there.  But here's a few highlights from the early days of the big fat remodel.

We started from the original 1964 kitchen and windows.  When we first bought the house, we knocked out a load-bearing wall so the kitchen, dining, and living areas would be connected... so I guess that was Remodel Phase I.  Anyway, here's the "before" shots of the original kitchen.

Construction got underway with the Arrival of the Dads.  Both Tom Bilich and Richard Vogel came out for 2 weeks of hardcore construction.  Those two are animals.  Nonstop.  Poor guys were just plain exhausted by the end.  Hell, I was exhausted after like 2 days, and they went for 14 days.  Yikes!

So, here's the fruits of Kamikaze Construction's labors:

Tom wasted no time in demoing the old kitchen and tearing up the floor.

Tearing off the drywall so they could start moving windows and doors.

Temporary support wall ... let's tear off the side of the house!

Richard and Tom survey their work.

You gotta make some holes to put in a new door.

Voila!  Holes closed up, new door and window, ready to put the siding back on.

Back in the house, getting the pony wall for the island into place.

I demanded new plywood for the subfloor.  The construction crew obliged.

... and then the Dads had to return to their normal lives (or more accurately, a week of recovery then resume normal life).  Jason and I were on our own.  So we started hiring subcontractors ... flooring people, drywall people, electricians to finish the work we started.  Jason and I did what we could, but life is short and specialists can do some of this stuff in 1/4 the time we can, with better quality.

New hardwood floors for the kitchen.

Spaghetti in the walls for electrical, 3-way switches and dimmers and plugs everywhere.

Then we insulated.

Then we hung the sheetrock. (paid someone else to tape and float)

Then we finished with concrete backer board where we'd be doing tile backsplash.

The space is ready for cabinets and appliances.

More to come in Phase II in a later post.