Tearing out the old kitchen!

By nature, I am a "creative person".
But I cannot tell you how much FUN DEMOLITION IS!
Sledge hammers, pry bars, crow bars, skill saws, sawzalls...
Tearing out the cabinets, piece by piece!
Tearing out the counter tops, and the cast iron sink, disposer.
The plumbing leaked, so I had to run to the hardware store and buy a new valve.
Cut the old valve off, and solder a new one on!
I had to tear out all the drywall. Tear out the CAST IRON kitchen radiator! Weighs 125 pounds!
And the old 12 x 12 linoleum tiles, then tear out the old sub floor!
Man, was I sore after that.
These first photos show all the new wiring for all new outlets, lighting above and below the cabinets, new electric for the appliances, disposer, etc.

Old Kitchen before DEMOLITION

House was built in 1952. Plywood and Pine cabinets custom built on site.
No dishwasher. Notice the range? 1952 also, 39" wide, with one oven and 3 storage drawers, including a built in fryer or slow cooker burner in the back left.
Notice the yellow radiator on the wall. That is the only source of heat for the kitchen.
I have to tear it out to put the new 30" range there.

Next BLOG POST is tearing all the cabinets out, the walls, and the flooring!

Master Bedroom Drywall

Check out the lovely blue nautical wall paper I covered up! Dry walled the walls and ceiling, plus the closets. Lots of angles and cuts to get all the dry wall hung. Then, you can see all of the "taping" the joints, and plaster over the nail holes.

2 closets, one large with 8' of hanging storage on either side.

Next is sanding all the plaster, one more coat of plaster, and final sanding, then primer painting.
I also have to upgrade all the outlets and added a light switch to the closet.

I plan to refinish the floors also! Hardwood oak throughout!

Laundry Room 'TEMPORARY Kitchen Complete

I have not updated the Blog since Dec.13 on the house construction.
Here is a view of the finished Laundry with the temporary kitchen.
Finished all of the DRYWALL and painted with walls and ceiling with a white semi-gloss.
The floor is painted with sand colored enamel for concrete.
I installed the cabinets, counter, sink and faucet, plumbing, etc.
Installed a bi-fold door on the closet for the sump-pump.

Blizzard Dec. 19-20, 2009 w/ 18" of Snow!

18" plus accumulation! With blowing and drifting blizzard conditions starting at 9pm on Saturday 12/19/2009 and ending at noon on Sunday 12/20/2009. Wind gusts close to 50 mph!





They brought in earth moving equipment as the plows were not getting through. I live next to a large open field, so it drifted across the road to probably 3' deep!
My house from the street after 3.5 hours digging out!
The city plows were stuck in front of my house until the earth moving equipment showed up!

This shows how deep the snow is by my garage. Close to 6' after digging out the driveway!





Here is the snow piled up at my back door when I opened it this AM to go get the paper.

Drywall almost done in Laundry Room

Saturday, I got all the wiring completed. 6 new outlets and 2 new lights. The previous owner had taken lamps apart and one hanging over the washer/dryer and one in the closet under the stairs.

The trick with wiring is to start at the very end (the last, new wire each outlet back to the point where you make the connection t the outlet) and to the "live" power.










































Sunday morning, I went to home Depot and rented a "Dry Wall Lift" It would be impossible for one person to hold a 4' x 8' sheet of drywall over your head while you attach it to the floor joists, so this "lifts and holds" the drywall in place while you put about 25 screws in to hold it in place.

The other challenge is that you have to measure and cut out the holes where the "recessed can lights are". I use a "paint can" to trace the outline, then a drill to make a hole, and a jig saw to cut the pattern out. Plus, you have to cut out notches for pipes, or any other obstructions.

All New Laudry Room Plumbing in 12/4/09

Before I can tear out the kitchen, I have to build a temporary kitchen downstairs in the basement.

The laundry room in the basement is 12' x 15' but unfinished. So, I am putting in walls, cabinets, counters, and a sink as the "temporary kitchen" in the basement.

Before I can do that, I had to have a plumber come and tear out the old cast iron drain pipe, add 2 new drains, and ADD new hot and cold running water for the sink as there was none before. $1,200 for the plumber! I think I am going to be a plumber in my next life. Now you know why I do this stuff myself!

*A little "perspective" on Newport Colonial Era homes, first. Most home are 200+ years old, with hand dug basements and only 5-6 feet of head room. Filled with mold and water as the foundations were built with beach sand masonry and rocks. It's rare to have a "laundry room" in the basement of a Newport home! My house is only 60 years old, so I have a real basement (unfinished).

So, the new laundry room will be dry walled with a drywall ceiling, white cabinets, white counter tops, white appliances. I plan to paint the floors with gray epoxy paint. It will be really clean and bright. Most basement laundry rooms are so dark and dingy. I already have a new washer and dryer I bought when I lived in Dayton.

This weekend, I installed and wired (6) recessed CAN lights, rewired the 220v Dryer outlet, and added and wired 3 GFCI outlets. ***You didn't know I was an electrician, did you? I purchased the counter top, sink and faucet today, along with (24) 2 x 4's and 20 sheets of drywall.

So, here are the PHOTOS of before the drywall goes in.
Next are cabinets and tops.
*There was one ceiling light before.