Kitchen Reno - The Full Monte

[J.A.F.E.]

It's time for that wallpaper to make a comeback!   

No, it will never be that time.

<snip> ... Nothing will get my heart pounding like seeing the wife holding a tape measure while uttering those tragic words, "I've been thinking and have an idea."

Oddly in our house my wife usually just wants to buy stuff like furniture or the never ending army of accessories that go through the house. It's me that comes up with the big projects and I usually have to talk her into them because of the mess they leave behind. And drywall projects are the worst. It seems no matter how minor the project drywall dust gets all over the house and no amount of sheeting  and taping can contain it - and I am decent enough at drywall it usually doesn't require much sanding.

Der Bugmeister great project and I'm quite excited to watch the progress.

[bmwrd0]

Yeah, its a fun thing when the wife says "I have an idea..." and holds either a paint brush or a tape measure.

But, as far as construction on this goes, its post WWII and should be easy. Try this on a Pre-WWI house, where nothing is standardized!

[Der Bugmeister]

Seeing that crawl space makes me all the more glad I have a full basement with full access to plumbing.

The basement was one of the features I had to compromise on back when we were doing the house search.  I sacrificed it in favour of a house with a fireplace and enough property to build a detached shop (which I did...all 900 sq ft of it).  This crawlspace is not much fun - the first section is entered through the addition's foundation and while I ensured the concrete was smoothed there isn't much clearance to do more than a belly crawl for 17 ft.  Then through the original crawl space access and you're under the house, where the concrete was just splattered around and never smoothed.  Damned hard on the knees.  A little more room for a slow, deliberate crawl on hands and knees but still...

Want to kill the mold, house hold bleach is your friend, will knock it down real fast. No need to soak the wood,  spray/misting it on. It could take a couple of times .........Wetting it too much, bleach will attract the wood.
The growth is on top of the wood. Do not want the bleach to soak down into or onto the surface of the wood.

You will really like a new kitchen ....... a great upgrade ...

I have a couple photos we'll be getting to in due course, and you'll see what's there.  I'll figure out a remediation in due course.  We're definitely looking forward to the end product in the kitchen.

Great story and pictures so far and keep them coming. Nothing will get my heart pounding like seeing the wife holding a tape measure while uttering those tragic words, "I've been thinking and have an idea."

Thanks!  I'm my own worst enemy...I come up with the ideas and she just says "Ok".  Sigh.  She would have been fine (but disappointed) if I had left the closet and bulkheads intact.  The reality is I enjoy the process and I know I'll enjoy having a kitchen that isn't stuck in the '70s!

And I whole heartedly agree with J.A.F.E. - it will NEVER be that wallpaper's time again...

[Der Bugmeister]

Once the destruction (arguably the best part of any project like this) was complete it was time to start setting things up to move forward.  The original counters had slim backsplashes - just arborite glued to the drywall with a plastic channel joint to keep water on the right side.  With the intent of using countertops with integral backsplashes, the counter outlets and switches needed to be moved upwards and out of the way.  We also had to add new power supply and outlets for the over the range microwave (just used the old range hood power) and built in dishwasher.

Additionally, the original electricians got lazy and ran wire around the wall top plates instead of drilling through.  The cabinet bulkheads allowed them to get away with that, but my decision to eliminate those bulkheads meant having to run the wires through the framing.  Of course, each outlet had wires exiting from the opposite directions.

The decision was made to employ junction boxes which will fall behind the cabinets.  Not ideal, but I'll cut the cabinet backing to provide access and comply with electrical code.  Although I could have managed the rewiring myself, I have a camera shy friend who had already offered his help...and who am I to refuse beer drinking companionship...er...help?

[Der Bugmeister]

A few more photos showing the extent of drywall removed, and you might catch a glimpse of those wires taking shortcuts at the top of the wall.

The symbol on the back of the drywall was to commemorate the province of British Columbia's 100th anniversary (1871-1971) making the drywall and period of house construction pretty easy to date.  My drywaller had never seen it before.

[Der Bugmeister]

With the wiring cleaned up, I was able to start closing things up with vapor barrier and drywall.  My hands were thankful to be done with the old fibreglass insulation and the associated itching.  Ugh. 

At this point I hadn't decided how I was going to handle the ceiling, but I started hanging the drywall in the meantime.  I had been trying to get a drywall/plaster guy to have a look and quote either matching to the existing ceiling (spray on popcorn texture that had been painted and couldn't be scraped) or troweling a smooth surface.  The first drywaller I contacted sounded super positive on the phone (Yeah, I'll come by tomorrow, I'm available to do it over the weekend, etc...) then turned out to be an unreliable no-show.  I was able to contact the guy who did the house for me during our renovations...and he to squeeze me in (cash talks!) right away.  He's a busy guy with a great reputation so I definitely appreciated his flexibility. 

He introduced the third option - put new board over the existing ceiling.  Price would be comparable (or less) and the end result would be good.  So that was the route we took.

[Der Bugmeister]

The advantages of getting professionals in at the right time can't be overstated.  Sure, I could have done the drywall, taping and mudding...but they did it in a fraction of the time and less mess than if I had done it.

I hate sanding joints.

[Der Bugmeister]

I couldn't do anything while the drywallers were doing their thing, so the best thing for us to do was head to the beach.  Loaded the family up and went to Long Beach (Vancouver Island, not Cali) for three glorious nights.  The beaches there are incredible, and when the girls were younger we tried to get up there for a few days each year.  This could very well be the last time we're all able to go as a family unit as the girls are at that age where their lives become busy on their own.

One of our traditions is the sand castle, and this year was no exception.  Build it big and watch the tide come in and reclaim the sand.

It was easy to relax knowing the drywall was being taken care of for me!  We returned home to finished drywall with primer over the joints.  It was onward ho to painting for me.

[J.A.F.E.]

<snip> ...  This crawlspace is not much fun - the first section is entered through the addition's foundation and while I ensured the concrete was smoothed there isn't much clearance to do more than a belly crawl for 17 ft.  Then through the original crawl space access and you're under the house, where the concrete was just splattered around and never smoothed.  Damned hard on the knees.  A little more room for a slow, deliberate crawl on hands and knees but still...

Maybe you could rig up a sort of all terrain creeper shouldn't be too hard and you are handy enough. The pix are to give you an idea first pic is a Whiteside unit and Whiteside can be quite pricey as can the Snappy in the second pic if you wanted to just buy an all terrain creeper.

[Der Bugmeister]

<snip> ...  This crawlspace is not much fun - the first section is entered through the addition's foundation and while I ensured the concrete was smoothed there isn't much clearance to do more than a belly crawl for 17 ft.  Then through the original crawl space access and you're under the house, where the concrete was just splattered around and never smoothed.  Damned hard on the knees.  A little more room for a slow, deliberate crawl on hands and knees but still...

Maybe you could rig up a sort of all terrain creeper shouldn't be too hard and you are handy enough. The pix are to give you an idea first pic is a Whiteside unit and Whiteside can be quite pricey as can the Snappy in the second pic if you wanted to just buy an all terrain creeper.

I actually considered that during the big renovations.  The ground concrete is just too rough for small or hard wheels, so I would have had to lay out plank runways to be able to move relatively easily.  Given how seldom I need to go down there, I decided not to bother.  (I probably haven't been down there in 6 or 7 years at least).

I also thought about setting up a trap door access at the far end...which is where the water shut off is of course!  I might still do that, although I just turn the water off at the utility box by the road when needed.

[Der Bugmeister]

Meanwhile, behind the scenes...

Since we had to have access to things like food and dishes, we setup shop in the adjoining family room.  The tall white shelves will eventually be the new pantry in the kitchen but for now, they work great as expanded storage.  The bathroom sink is our water source and dishwashing basin for now.  We won't miss this, but it will help us appreciate the finished kitchen all the more!

Bonus photo...it's amazing the crap that gets down the sink and clogs the p-trap.

[Der Bugmeister]

We sort of dove in the deep end when this project started.  After spending a few days appliance shopping, comparing prices and stores we made our final choices and setup delivery for July 16th.  Perhaps a bit optimistic as far as reno progress goes.  Our original plan (pre-Covid) had been to get the appliances and use them in the old kitchen until later in the year.  We had a cruise booked for October and I didn't want to start the kitchen reno until after that.  No surprise, the cruise was cancelled so we decided to move kitchen renos to the left.

I could write a whole diatribe on appliance shopping and pricing, but I'll spare y'all unless there's a demand for it.  We learned a lot, though.  The biggest things we learned were that ALL the stores were within $5 in their prices on every appliance. Everybody had the same specials/sale prices on the same things, and the majority of stores stocked the same stuff.  Home Depot has the best price meet/beat as far as I could tell (beat competitor pricing by 10%), and Costco's prices were generally ONE CENT(!) cheaper than Home Depot.

We knew we'd be using Ikea cabinets, and I had already spent some time laying out our kitchen and cabinet plan in their online planning tool.  With the appliances ordered, it was time for a trip to Ikea to check out their cabinet systems in person and see what finishing ideas we might want to employ.  As we live on an island with no Ikea this meant spending a day taking a ferry to the mainland (about a 2 hour crossing plus the time spent waiting, loading, unloading) and a 45 minute drive on either end.

Once in Ikea, we did find the types of ideas we were after.  We also, unexpectedly, found we were able to sit down with one of their kitchen planners (we thought you needed to make an appointment weeks in advance), who led us through more design decisions and set us up with a complete component list to get what we were after.  This is where it gets stupid.  This trip was supposed to be a recce, and we weren't going to make any final decisions until later then buy what we needed online and pickup at a nearby distribution centre (no ferry involved for that one.  But...it turns out Ikea has "in store stock", "warehouse stock" and "distribution centre stock"...and they don't mingle.  The distribution centre only had about 9 of 180 items available, and you can't order/pay in store unless the items are in stock.  The store doesn't carry anything but the cabinet handles.  The warehouse (about a 5 minute drive from this particular store) had everything but 3 pieces, but they don't ship so if we wanted them we had to pick up. 

So...we had our cabinet plan, our shopping list...and we were there.  So pulled the trigger on them, and filled the truck up with kitchen.  Suspension sank almost 5".  Completely unprepared, I only had 2 small tarps (lots of scattered downpours of course), 1 tiedown strap (wife had helpfully moved the ones I left in the truck into the house) and a long piece of rope. 

We left the house about 8 a.m. and got home just before midnight.  Then unloaded...

This all happened before the first hammer blow to drywall occurred.

[Der Bugmeister]

Now that we had our cabinets filling the living room, appliances on the way, and my destructive friend asking when we (he and I) were starting demo, there was no reason not to start right away...weeks before intended lol.

In the meantime the stacked Ikea boxes created comfortable resting spots for my primary supervisors.

[Lookin4_67GalaxieConv]

Now that we had our cabinets filling the living room, appliances on the way, and my destructive friend asking when we (he and I) were starting demo, there was no reason not to start right away...weeks before intended lol.

In the meantime the stacked Ikea boxes created comfortable resting spots for my primary supervisors.

Better make sure those supervisors are satisfied or you'll hear about it. Usually in the wee hours of the morning is when ours makes her displeasure known.   

[Der Bugmeister]

Apparently these supervisors are impossible to keep satisfied 

I'm still playing catchup on the progress photos...although this set deals with that nasty crawlspace leak, today's activities involves getting the first wall cabinets up and in position.  If anyone has experience installing Ikea style cabinets I'm very receptive to tips!

The previous owners setup a portable dishwasher at the end of the original counter.  Power was from a wall outlet on the counter but they plumbed up a hot water line and drain line.  The drain line was the clear flexible tube style, clamped to the factory drain hose and fed into a Y inlet using some reducers and what not.  No P trap or anything.  Our new dishwasher is a builtin which will be installed properly - under counter power connection, water supply from the sink supply and drain through the sink drain.

To remove this installation, I had to cut and cap the copper hot water supply in the crawlspace, remove the Y from the ABS drainline and replace with a straight through section.

As I was getting setup in the crawlspace I had a look around to see if there was anything else I needed to be aware of, and discovered I wasn't alone under there.  Not the rat, squirrel, raccoon, cat or other critters I would have expected though...a frog!  It was sitting there about 8' away just watching me with amusement.

Just what I needed...another supervisor.