Popular Post Cal Posted December 14, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 (edited) Well, this has certainly been the project! Interesting how the house goes from "absolutely perfect, let's get it", to "I never did like this, or that..." Such is the case with the kitchen. Sure, it is the first and only house we've ever bought, but you could have told me that going into the deal... now I am finding out about it 30 years later?!? So in 2014, the year I retired, I began the remodeling project - kinda sorta one room at a time, mostly pay as you go, and mostly myself working alone. The exception was the upstairs done in 2017 when I did two bedrooms and a full bath. We could say the kitchen process started in 2014 when I made a new pantry in the utility room, but I would rather say the kitchen began in Nov. 2016 when we took out the load bearing wall separating the kitchen from the living room. Looking back at it now, that old kitchen was not a very efficient use of space. There was counter top, but a couple counters were only 10-12" wide; same with the upper and lower cabinets where there were cabinets 10-12" wide - they were there, but pretty limited in their use. I wasn't smart enough to take real "before pics", but I did find a couple that gives an idea. A sketch of the before: I guess you would call this a galley kitchen? It may have been that huge pantry that sold it to the wife going in. That plus it was a new house, and our first child was due in a few short months. Come to think of it, every house we looked at was "the perfect house" - except for one, there was one that just had a god awful floor plan... A couple pics I found showing the kitchen area, while standing very near the pantry area shown in the sketch. This is not me, this would be our first child... In 2016 that wall was removed, and I built an island to replace it. I did some rough calculations this morning; after the island was in place, lower cabinet and countertop space were the same. Upper cabinet space, of course, had been cut in half. At this point (2016) the kitchen was supposed to be placed on hold while I did the upstairs and rest of the downstairs. 2019 plans were to do the master bedroom, close off the dining area from the kitchen and relocate the dining area to one end of the living room and then finish the former dining area (now sun room) and living room/dining area. I had purchased the vinyl and laminate flooring for the whole house in 2016 & 17, so although the plans for 2019 covered a lot of floor space, a lot of the cost was already paid and I could be banking funds towards the major 2020 expenses with the kitchen. It just didn't work out that way... I started at the end of January 2019 by pulling up the 30 year old carpeting in the living room to assess the flooring situation. A little wavy from the particle board underlayment that had suffered moisture damage in years past. And there was a very noticeable dip in the kitchen floor. Reasoning that I needed to address the kitchen floor as part of doing the living room, I pulled up the underlayment and subfloor on that end of the kitchen. At this point my plan was to still just level that end of the kitchen, put the stove back and let the kitchen idle until 2020. Unfortunately, what I discovered would change all those plans... The house had been built with an attached deck (a big selling point to me) on the back. That deck was above the block foundation height of the house. To further add insult to injury, the rim joist was neither pressure treated lumber nor was it flashed. Every time it rained over 30 years the water would have soaked the rim joist and floor joists. At this point my plans for 2019 shifted to a kitchen remodel. While I have done most of the remodeling alone, I pulled in the big guns on the rim joist situation. Having the experience to know what to do and the ability to get in and get the house closed back in had to be taken into account. That was the end of April. Over the next six months I have been steady at it. Oh yes, a half bath off the kitchen entrance area was remodeled along the way this year also. A very tight 3' x 8' area was expanded to take in a closet under the stairwell so that space went from 24 square feet to 33 square feet and utilizes dead space where a water heater had been located. Julie (SWMBO) decided that she wanted painted cabinets as a change from 30 years of stained oak. I had fought that over the years whenever she talked about painting the cabinets. I did have to admit in 2014 that when she painted the oak vanity in the master bathroom that it really did look nice - and more modern - and a heck of a lot cheaper that a new vanity! I was also ok with painted cabinets in the kitchen as I do not have a lot of experience with cabinet building. The way I see it, close measurements, careful tool set up, caulk by the case and paint goes a long way. And there is always moulding to hide what the aforementioned didn't! So here is where we at today... Still have a few items to do, a pair of lazy susans for the upper corner cabinet, new beefier drawers for the island and a slide out shelf for the sink cabinet and a couple roll out drawers for the broom closet and pantry. But, for today, we have a kitchen back in operation. Utilizing the same space, but moving the 9 square foot pantry area we have changed up the space as follows: original: lower cabinets - 5 linear feet counter top - 9 linear feet upper cabs - 8 linear feet After wall removed and island installed lower cabs - 5 linear feet counter top - 9 linear feet upper cabs - 8 linear feet Today: lower cabs - 10.5 linear feet counter top - 16.5 linear feet upper cabs - 6.5 linear feet Today's design has a huge amount of useable workspace added, and it is not chopped up into 1 foot spaces. The upper cabinets are somewhat less in total length, but again is much more useable. SWMBO approves! And it's a year ahead of schedule to boot Edited December 14, 2019 by Cal Larry Buskirk, Woodman, p_toad and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 Just beautiful Cal. Love it. FlGatorwood, Cal, Gunny and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 Fantastic, Cal! It is all so well laid out. I really love what you did with the ceiling! FlGatorwood, Cal, Gunny and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunny Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 Looks great. Long term projects are always a hassle but the results pay off. FlGatorwood, Cal and Larry Buskirk 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlGatorwood Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 You have been extremely busy. This has a very expensive venture and labor intensive one. But, it looks like a new place. I love the arrangements and color. Cal, Larry Buskirk and Artie 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 Looks beautiful, too bad they put the electrical panel where they did when the built the house. you mentioned that you removed a load bearing wall? I’m an electrician, not a carpenter, but I didn’t see a beam or post? By the looks of it, I’m guessing SWMBO is ecstatic. Larry Buskirk, FlGatorwood and Cal 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Cal Posted December 15, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 Thanks a bunch fellas. @Artie, here are a couple more pics for you to show where the beam replaced the wall. I should have offered up that last pic to show what that half of the kitchen area was. And you are totally correct on where they located the electrical panel. But, I was at Lowe's the other day and found a large mirror in a clearance box and have convinced the young ones that it would b e a great Christmas present for their mother. When she got home Friday evening she thinks the two pics there have been hung just to take your attention away from the panel box She ought to know better... It is a perfect fit and the hangers are already in place for when she gets it Christmas day I don't think she does the TPW, so I think I am safe to post it up here. p_toad, Larry Buskirk, Al B and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Fred W. Hargis Jr Posted December 15, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 Wow, that really did turn out nice, Cal. Well done! Gunny, Cal, Larry Buskirk and 2 others 3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Artie Posted December 15, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 That was a LOT of work. The remodels I’ve been involved with, where they took out a load bearing wall, the beam was below the sheetrock, and visible, afterwards. Very nice work. FlGatorwood, Cal, Gunny and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DuckSoup Posted December 15, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 A well thought out plan Cal, you really put it together. Cal, Artie, Larry Buskirk and 3 others 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Cal Posted December 23, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted December 23, 2021 Welp, it has been a couple of years... kinda time to wrap this up and call the job done! I had suggested to Julie that an appliance garage be placed under the corner wall cabinets. So I built a prototype from scraps back in early 2020 and said I would do a nicer one at some future date. Future date has rolled around... I actually built it about two weeks ago and then it was in the paint shop for a few days and I started the table projects. I did get it installed this past week. DuckSoup, p_toad, Fred W. Hargis Jr and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post HandyDan Posted December 23, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 23, 2021 I like it! You tucked it right in there. DuckSoup, Cal, Gunny and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Fred W. Hargis Jr Posted December 23, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 23, 2021 I think absolutely everything really turned out fantastic....a really nice job. Cal, Grandpadave52, brianmcallister and 5 others 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gunny Posted December 23, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 23, 2021 Awesome!!! DuckSoup, HandyDan, Larry Buskirk and 4 others 5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post lew Posted December 23, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 23, 2021 Had to view this when Mimi wasn't home, she's been hinting for a new kitchen. Awesome job! Gunny, Grandpadave52, JimM and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Larry Buskirk Posted December 23, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 23, 2021 Can't let SWMBO see this. Been "working" on ours for 10, or is it 15 years? Cal, DuckSoup, lew and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gunny Posted December 23, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 23, 2021 3 minutes ago, Larry Buskirk said: Can't let SWMBO see this. Been "working" on ours for 10, or is it 15 years? What?? So that's what you call buying lottery tickets? Win big and then hire someone to do it?? DuckSoup, lew, Artie and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Larry Buskirk Posted December 23, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 23, 2021 6 minutes ago, Gunny said: What?? So that's what you call buying lottery tickets? Win big and then hire someone to do it?? Grandpadave52, lew, JimM and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Masonsailor Posted December 24, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 24, 2021 That came out looking great Cal. Nice work ! Paul Gunny, lew, DuckSoup and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckSoup Posted December 24, 2021 Report Share Posted December 24, 2021 Nice job Cal well thought out. I like the way you put the bevel on the doors, gives it a wider opening. lew, Grandpadave52, Larry Buskirk and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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