During one of the longest weekends I can remember, March 25-28, we demo-ed everything out of the kitchen and living room. When I say everything, I mean everything but the stud walls and ceiling joists were left. We had a large crew of extremely hard working friends. Dean, Bob, James, Kathleen, Jen, Ben, Nate, Joe, Karen, Duane, Don, Andre & Jim – we couldn’t have done this without you! Another thanks, of course, goes to my mom and dad who cared for the boys all weekend. I can’t imagine parenting on top of managing all this. The boys loved going to Legoland in Chicago. Brave souls, my parents are, going to that place on a Saturday.
We had a very tight deadline since the drywallers were arriving on the following Tuesday that week. Prep work and moving the kitchen to the laundry room began on the Wednesday before. Of course, Chris’s meticulous planning had been going on for months ahead of time. His attention to detail and constant direction in keeping all folks busy had a huge role in the success of keeping on schedule for the weekend. What an outstanding project manager he is!
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- The boys couldn’t wait to start swinging hammers at the drywall.
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- Erik taking a turn.
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- We did eventually remember to make them all wear eye protection. :b
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- Ian proving that he can hang with the big dogs.
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- Laurel and the boys spent an evening removing the doors and hardware from the cabinets.
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- This countertop was never fastened to the cabinet below!
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- Bob was a powerhouse with the hammer and sawzall!
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- James brought his two sons, Austyn and Nick. Nothing like doing a some demo to relieve a little teenage angst.
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- Interesting previous owner’s electrical work that we found inside a wall. Aluminum foil used to insulate a scabbed together electrical connection. Scary!
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- You’ve seen it here first folks! A real smile for the camera by Joe Franczek. ;-)
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- Jen showing her gritty strength.
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- Kesler siblings: Duane, Karen and Donny in a quick consultation.
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- The old kitchen drawers were literally falling apart. We were definitely due for new cabinets!
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- Old cabinets waiting to be taken apart before going into the dumpster.
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- The kitchen without cabinets.
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- This 30 yard dumpster was full to the top before All City took it away on Monday.
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- Dean playing with his new nail gun. Look out!
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- Dean, Ben and Bob taking down the last soffit.
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- Rotten subfloor where the kitchen sink used to be.
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- New boards to replace the rotten subfloor.
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- Dean and Andre are removing the casement for the sliding glass door. The doorway will be replaced with a window.
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- Chris installing the recessed lighting in the kitchen.
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- The view from the living room into the kitchen. There used to be a whole wall there!
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- Karen installed a major amount of the living room insulation.
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- We’re looking forward to having much warmer living spaces next winter. The insulation we found in the walls was maybe an R-5. We now have R-13.
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Stay tuned for more. The kitchen is now almost completed!
