Kitchen Renovation: Part 2 - Demolition

Boy have I sucked at keeping the blog updated on kitchen progress or what?!?  I have posted pictures periodically on facebook but now that we have reached a nice halfway point (based off of our 5-6 week timeline), I figure it’s time for a real update. 

Our real adventure began the weekend of March 22^nd with getting the washer and dryer relocated upstairs.  Plumbing went in, then electrical, and then Matt and his brother moved the beast of a washing machine in along with the feather light dryer (or at least it felt that way after they moved that freakin’ washing machine in).  We LOVE the new laundry being upstairs and honestly, the laundry portion went very smoothly and paved the way for the next step:  Kitchen Demo!!

Not the best picture but we have added a cabinet to house laundry soap and tiddied up the surrounding area a bit. 

Demo weekend was slated for April 5^th.  Matt and his dad went and picked up a trailer from our contractor on a Thursday.  Matt and I were so excited to get started that he and I got the appliances and cabinets out by ourselves on Friday afternoon/night.  When Matt’s dad and his brother arrived, we got the sink peninsula out and then we were ready to start ripping walls and ceiling down.  A HUGE thank you to Matt's dad and brother Brian for the help with demo and Matt's mom for taking Grant for the morning so progress could move along a little more quickly.   

Before the peninsula and old pantry were out

Demo of the old laundry closet

Demo is done!!

Little helper and big helper

We were pleasantly surprised at how smoothly demo went.  The hardest part of the day was ripping up the old flooring with the underlayment.  Plumbing got roughed in while we were demo-ing and electrical was roughed in the following Monday. 

Getting that floor out!

 

By Thursday of the first week, drywall was already going back up.  Drywall is now complete, painting is done and cabinets are now being installed. 

As soon as cabinets are complete, we are scheduled for our countertop measurement on May 1^st and countertop installation should be May 14^th.  I have the feeling the time between countertop measure and install will feel like an eternity but theoretically we are more than halfway finished with this process and getting closer and closer to the finished product.

Overall, we have been coping remarkable well.  My planning ahead with freezer and crockpot meals has saved us a ton (both my sanity and financially).  I updated that blog post with some notes about the recipes and changes I would make for next time so check that out here.  We have only eaten out one additional day each week so far.  It’s pretty much a given that we eat out both Friday and Saturday nights as a norm.  The biggest downfall for me would be the lack of a kitchen sink.  Doing dishes hunched over a bath tub in the basement sucks… bottom line.  Matt is peeved with the clutter of our makeshift dining room turned kitchen but again… we will survive and keep reminding ourselves of what is to come.  

Our makeshift kitchen... What a disaster!