Two weeks in and the progress in our kitchen is moving right along.
We have hired Steve Boyer as our contractor. I love working with Steve. He lets me get in the way and ask lots of questions and doesn't get annoyed when I don't have all the next steps figured out. He's made great design suggestions along the way and just knows things like how many lights should go in a space this size or the best place to put light switches. That seems small but think about times you've reached for a switch and it wasn't there or couldn't find a convenient outlet. Annoying, right?
The first few days of a major project are always deceptively slow - especially after the massive one-day transformation. There was lots of exploration and planning now that the inner workings were revealed. However that's the critical work to make sure that all the following steps are thought out and executed well.
At the end of April vacation we went to NYC for a couple of days - a little get away to see Julie Grape, Lindsey and Miles, and show the kids around the city. It was the perfect time for us to get out of Steve's way and he really made some fantastic progress on the plumbing, framing, and electric. We left with the kitchen looking mostly like it did after demo and came back to this:
 |
| The new wall and doorway location helped me visualize the traffic flow and I love it. The plumbing for the sink and dishwasher are ready to go. The gas line (not seen) is ready for a new oven. |
The previous supports for the opening into the sun room were less than confidence inspiring. Steve jacked up the beam, added support on the side and installed a new post. I'm feeling much better about this! And look at the old wiring that is starting to come out. As the wires were traced crazy amounts of load were found on some circuits. I couldn't tell you how three rooms, a fridge, freezer, and Verizon box all operated on a 15 amp circuit that never blew! Modern wiring is another one of those safety features you won't see in the finished kitchen but I'll sleep better knowing it is there.
On the wall that connects to the rest of the house there are two entrances into the kitchen area - one at the top of the basement stairs and one that goes into the living room. It seemed a little crazy to have two doors only 5 feet apart from each other but as we were doing the archaeological dig (aka demo) we may have figured out why. This house was originally one level and the second story was added in the mid/late 80s. Looking at the way the flooring was laid and some other constructs, my guess is that what we see as the kitchen area was actually two separate rooms - probably a kitchen and a dining room. Two doors for two rooms. In any event, it seemed that there should be an opportunity to open up the space even further. Once the walls were open, we determined that it was possible to create a 5' opening into the living room. I'm psyched that this worked and it really changes the whole dynamic of the space! Pictures aren't great but you can get a sense of it.
The other door we wanted to move just 8" or so to better accommodate the cabinets and fridge. I didn't think this would have any effect on the way that the space felt until Steve said: "I made an executive decision to make this doorway flush with the ceiling.". What a great idea! We also took out this weird beam/header that had been between the living room and the hallways. By taking the doorway up the whole area feels taller and more spacious, which is something in our house.
Next up is drywall and flooring. We had a 3-cart night at Lowes over the weekend and are ready for the next steps. Stay tuned for more frequent updates as the next phases move right along.
