The Gentle Curve

This is the gentle curve that inspired the handful of similar corners in the attic.  We're going to try to preserve this if we can.

The wainscoting also served as the inspiration for the little bits of wainscoting in the attic and the kid's bath.

As a spatial reference, the plastic sheeting  left of the corner is sealing the doorway from the kitchen into the dining room.

The Water Main

The plumber has been here this week removing the old plumbing in the kitchen and starting on the new. That includes some work in the basement to straighten things out. Most of the drain and vent work was done last week.  This week it's been the water supply.

Some of the supply lines had been replaced over the years, but the main hadn't been replaced in a long time.  It was still galvanized pipe with a gate valve. In the picture you can see the gate valve from the house side of the meter post-removal.

It was in pretty sad shape.

You can also see some of the other chunks of galvanized pipe that were replaced while he was in there.

We'll get a little better flow now...

Kitchen - Week 3

This week the framing was largely completed on the walls and ceiling.  Now they are all level and plumb.

Exterior walls were framed out in a way that allows any other mechanicals (plumbing and wiring) to go between the studs and the brick. The technique of running the studs perpendicular to their normal orientation preserves as much of the space as possible while still allowing for insulation.

The ceiling was also made level (to a consistent height throughout the room!) with nailing surfaces 24" on center.

The plumber was also here to put in the drain and vent lines. Both can be seen sticking up in the center of the room where the island will be located eventually. Along the wall between the two windows you can see where the plumbing vent is run between the framing and brick

The Temporary Kitchen

The wet bar in the attic was intended to also function as our temporary kitchen during the construction.

There's no cooktop or oven, but we can always use the grill.  We also purchased an electric frying pan that we can use in a pinch. And as luck would have it, we have quite a few graduation parties to attend this spring and early summer. If your kid is graduating this spring, we thank you... ;-)

While the guys were doing the demolition last week, I was installing the appliances during the evenings.

The dishwasher is finally hooked up and working in its new permanent home.

After being craned up through the window, the refrigerator is also in it's new permanent home.

After the kids leave for college, I'm never leaving the attic!

Kitchen - Week 2

Demolition continued this week and is largely done.  All the plaster and drywall are gone. So is most of the extraneous electrical and plumbing.

The fist picture is  the view from the doorway towards where the range and sink were.

The second is the view towards the southwest corner of the room.  The radiator under the leftmost window has been removed as well.

The fancy new laser level will help get the floor and ceiling level.  Leveling both is extremely important in a kitchen, especially since our cabinetry will go all the way to the ceiling.

The sub-floor needs some work as well. Note the joist bay just camera-side of the step ladder. that wasn't done properly previously and someone has already gone through the sub-floor. You can hide it when you float a mud bed for tile, but it all has to be done properly now since we're doing a wood floor.

And here's another spot that needs repair/leveling.

Since demolition is done, construction can start next week!

Here Comes The Boom - Revisited

The plan had always been to move the existing fridge and dishwasher from the kitchen to the attic.

After we moved in the old ones didn't last long, so we had to purchase new ones. We knew that we'd eventually do a full kitchen remodel so the replacements were decent quality. We planned to eventually move them to the wet bar in the attic. Much measuring was done to make sure they'd fit and could get up to the attic.

Well, there was a miscalculation when the knee wall and bookcase were put in at the top of the attic stairs.  The fridge got all the way up the stairs, but couldn't make it between the knee wall and the ceiling at the last turn.

We discussed several options:

• buy a new fridge for the attic and dispose of the existing one
• take the knee wall and bookcase out, get the fridge into the attic, and then rebuild/re-install the bookcase and wall
• crane it through an attic window

Turns out hiring a crane to hoist it through the attic window was the least expensive option...

Last night I got it all hooked up and we're making ice!

Now to get the dishwasher installed...

Kitchen - Week 1

Demolition started on Tuesday.

Early in the week the cabinets were removed, followed later by the sheet rock covered plaster on the walls.

Friday part of the ceiling was removed as well.

Now we finally have a view into why the ceiling height wasn't consistent across the room.

The wall for the butler's pantry contained the waste line for the old master bath. When that wall was removed, the waste line need to be re-routed (towards the right in the exposed joist cavity closest to the camera). The way it was re-routed required more height than a 2x12 in the joist cavity. So they dropped a 2x6 below each joist in that half of the room.  As a result, we'll be able to remove all the 2x6s and get the entire ceiling back to its proper height.

As I mentioned above, there was a layer of drywall over some of the plaster walls. When the drywall was removed, this wallpaper was revealed.

More updates will come as things progress.