The Kitchen Kronicles

The kitchen at Grandma's House needs the most severe renovations. It was probably last updated before we were born. The original plan:

1. Remove wallpaper, washing machine, dryer, counters, and cabinets. Initially, the old stove was going to remain. Eventually, we decided to sack that as well.
   
2. Knock out a closet from the next room, and utilize the space for the kitchen.
   
3. Paint walls; tile backsplashes.
   
4. Install retro-styled, black and white commercial vinyl tile in a checkerboard pattern.
   
5. Install Ikea kitchen cabinets, ceiling lights and under cabinet lights.
   

So here's what it looked like before the carnage:

Note the absolutely useless nook in the far corner -- you can't use the counter space or the cabinets under the counter. The wall jutting out hides the closet that's set to be annexed to this kitchen. Someday.
So here's what it looked like after step 1: appliances/wallpaper/counters/cabinets removed:

A funny thing happened after the wallpaper was removed... the walls looked horrible (although still not as bad as they looked with the wallpaper). As half of the wall was coming down, Brian figured he should replace the plaster with wallboard. Parts of the other three walls were in rough shape as well. Not sure if the pics do justice to the large cracks, uneven surfaces, and poor transitions from where some plaster was removed and wall board installed. All in all, not something that a coat of paint can cover up. So Brian decided to rip down all the walls and start from scratch. That way he could also insulate the exterior walls and upgrade all the electrical.

Here's the closet with the kitchen wall plaster and lathe removed. You can see the plaster from the closet:


Once the closet plaster and lathe is removed, you can see the closet door. The closet frame is all that remains:


Once the frame's gone, you can see the closet ceiling and floor will need to be matched with the kitchen ceiling and floor. And that junction box needs work too:


Another view of the now defunct closet. Note the new track lighting system, and some new plumbing work:

Here's a shot of the dumpster we rented, with what's left of the kitchen walls:

This weekend, we're installing insulation on the 2 exterior-facing walls. Also, I hope to install a new ceiling fixture, but no promises.

Basement work

We contracted this work out, and unfortunately I really don't have any good before pics. But there are some good during pics. Good enough anyway to get a feeling for how anxious we were when the concrete was poured. Anyway onto the pics:

Stairs leading to basement are removed, you can see what the walls looked like on the left here:


First they constructed a footing, then they built up forms on this footing. Here's what the forms looked like:
Before the concrete arrived, the forms were reinforced:

Forms reinforced, here comes several tons of concrete (we even needed a second truck):
Forms removed, here's what it looks like now, a much more stable foundation:

Bathroom Upgrades

Just a few changes ... nothing too drastic. A little gray paint, maybe. Unfortunately, pink tiles still rule the roost. But it's not grandma's bathroom anymore...

Original bathroom (note the shower curtain -- ruffles have ridges):

New curtain rod and overhead light:
Old vanity:

No sink, no worries:

New sink (and mirror):