Our Kitchen Rennovation, Phase I

This week, Ben and I, along with my parents and our handyman Dan (HandyDan as I like to call him, though have never done so to his face...) with his sweet wife, Shirley helping out some, too, are making our less-than-functional kitchen beautiful. Work started on Saturday and already, at day 4, there is a new wall and all of the electrical and most of the plumbing work is complete as well as the underlayment for the floor and the beams for the ceiling panels. Unfortunately, Ben and I are both working (he all day and me half days) all week, but my parents, being wonderful as they are, will be around all week to help. We couldn't do it without them! They are having a ball, at least that's what they tell us!

Phase 1- demo, purchasing materials, and prep

Everything was removed from the room, which meant (and still means) that all of our appliances are packed unto our dining room. After some exploring and a long materials list, it was off to make the biggest purchase made in the history of Home Depot. No lie. Actually, the lady commented that she had never seen so much purchased at one time in all her years working at HD. Dan doesn't mess around. For dinner, we enjoyed hamburgers made by Dan's son/our friend Jeff.

My mom and I spent a couple hours taking apart and painting the existing ceiling fan outside yesterday. The breeze and cooler temperature made for a perfect afternoon. We also headed over to Lowes to pick up some gas pipes. This proved frustrating, to say the least. I will suffice it to say that were we men, our gas pipes would have been cut in a fraction of the time it actually took (this comment was confirmed by the men on the project). I've been consistently diappointed with Lowes, at least our local store, but this is the icing on the cake.

Speaking of cake, my parents brought our favorite coconut cake all the way from Richmond. Oh, my sweet tooth family...

The men have been hard at work, doing various things that are beyond my vocabulary scope, so I will summarize- wiring, plumbing, prepping the floor and ceiling, building a wall, and many other important things. Those three are really hardworkers!

Last night, Dan left us with some homework, so all four of us, tools in hand, worked into the night, drilling and nailing and removing paneling from one of the walls. Dan says we are right on schedule and, though I have no idea exactly what that means, that is good news.

Enjoy some pictures until the next update...

Old Kitchen




Phase 1 in pictures