Wednesday, April 11, 2018

FULL HOUSE Renovation, Part 2

(I'm getting caught up with the renovation updates - we are halfway through week 3 right now; that update will be posted on Monday)

Day 6:  The painter/drywall crew arrived and got to work repairing a lot of cracks that had come from the house settling over the years, plus they removed the wallpaper from the dining area:
In progress...
Wallpaper removed, texture and priming happening now.
Finished!  I can't get over how much brighter, lighter, and roomier the area looks with the columns and wallpaper removed.  And yes, that would be the dishwasher sitting in the middle of the room.

The crew also built out the extension in the kitchen - this is the side that will house a corner cabinet, sink, dishwasher, and pull out trash/recycling drawer:
Inspector Paco checking out the hole in the wall:  Look satisfaktoree to me.

Day 7:  The electrician and his helper put in the outlet and HDMI ports for our TV:
I thought we were prepared for this, but turns out we needed to have the TV mount purchased so the electrician could see how big it was and where the top of the TV would be so he could make sure the outlets will be hidden when the TV is mounted.  No biggie, we just zipped out to Best Buy one evening and bought the mount.

And he also put in and wired the outlets for our coffee station:
It's ridiculous how excited we ALL are about this coffee station - not just Jeff and I, but our contractor and cabinet maker thought it was a pretty cool idea...apparently we're trendsetters with this in our podunk town, haha.
Later in the afternoon, about half of the cabinets were delivered.  I recognized this one right away - it's the coffee station!
Inspector Paco giving the sniff test to the cabinets...
Dis haz funee shadow.

Day 8:  More drywall repair, more demo - will it ever end?  The French doors were removed from my office doorway - I'm having it changed to a cased opening, so the wall space outside of the office will be open:
I hardly ever close the doors anyway, and this will give me more wall space to hang pictures.  Inspector Paco was happy to get back into his office as it'd been closed off for a week.

The rest of the cabinets were delivered, and installed:
So glad we left this to people who knew what they were doing!
This wall facing us houses the refrigerator, stove, and microwave.
Sink and dishwasher side...

The washer and dryer were moved to the garage, and the crew removed the existing cabinets in the laundry room - the wall was patched up and the cabinets will be rehung, only they'll be raised to the ceiling:
We will have a shelf below the cabinets and a short hanging bar as well.  It'll make more sense when you see the room put back together.

Day 9:  I had to leave town this day, so all I know is that millwork was on deck, in the form of baseboards and the kitchen doorway, plus the crown on top of the cabinets.

Day 10:  I was still out of town, but Jeff came home late that evening and Face-timed with me, showing me the kitchen cabinet doors and drawer fronts that had been installed:
Ooh, how lovely!  
Drawer fronts - as soon as I saw them, my heart sank a bit.
The top drawer front frame is too narrow to allow for the cupped drawer pulls that I had picked for the drawers. 
Dis not going to fit, Mom.  We haf problem heer.

Day 11:  I fretted about the drawer fronts off and on all night, and by the morning I'd decided that this wasn't the look I was going for, so I needed to talk to either our contractor or the cabinet guy, Robert.  Well, Saturday morning Jeff came home from running to find the new front and back doors being installed - by Robert, no less!  I was able to speak with Robert via Jeff's phone, told him my concerns, and he immediately agreed and said he'd swap out the skinnier drawer fronts for solid blanks, so that the hardware would work.  Whew!

Here's the new front door:
This will be painted black, and a new door handle will be installed once that is done.
New back door - similar to our old one, only without the windowpane grid sandwiched between the glass.  This will be painted black as well, plus it will be getting a new handle, too.

At the end of week two, everything went smoothly except for the drawer front situation - but even as much as I fretted about it, I knew would be fixed, because that's the kind of crew I'm working with - they want everything to be right, too.  I am finding my voice and speaking not only about the fun stuff with my contractor and crew, but also the "er, this isn't what I was expecting" stuff - and that is turning out just fine.

16 comments:

  1. So exciting!!! Love watching for the updates!

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    1. Glad you are enjoying them - I like peeking out of my room during the day to see what's new, too!

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  2. I'm enjoying this! It's like an HGTV remodel via blog...

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  3. WOW! It's cool to watch this all coming together. Can't wait to see how the coffee station turns out!

    Looks like Inspector Paco is doing a fantastic job of keeping things moving along. Keep up the good work! :)

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    1. Inspector Paco says TANK YU, IT A HARD JOB BUT I DO MY BEST.

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  4. Oh I am enjoying your posts on your renovations. This is really like watching a home renovation in real time. Thanks for highlighting Paco!

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  5. Oh I like those drawer pulls! Glad you spoke up and glad your contractor was able to accommodate. Your coffee station--I have been telling other people about it--I'm very excited about that! You have a LOT more cabinet space than me. In the laundry room, I am very happy just having the shelves above the washer/dryer. My big jugs of laundry detergent/softener are so easy to use up there. I'm also excited about your wall mount tv. If I ever get a tv again, it will be a wall mount one. I like the new doors that you chose too.

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    1. Thanks! I am relieved to, so far, like everything we've picked. Fingers crossed that continues with some of the lighting, but hey, if it ends up looking funky, that's easy enough to return and change out.

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  6. Drawer pull issues have to be better than dust, right? So fun to see all of this coming together. Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

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    1. The dust is finally settling down - at least for now. I'm sure when the tile flooring comes so will more dust...

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  7. I am glad they are fixing the drawer fronts for you!

    That room looks so much brighter and bigger, without the columns and dark wallpaper. It's going to feel like a whole new house!

    I can't wait to see the coffee station. When we moved in to our house, Steven excitedly brought over the espresso bar he kept at the warehouse, and I bet he would LOVE having something permanent, like you will!

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  8. Beautiful! Looking great so far! I can’t wait to see this coffee station!

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  9. So much goodness going on!
    We just bought a house and will be moving in June. I will get to see your decorating before I move.... might give me some great ideas. LOL

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  10. Oh wow, I love the new kitchen! And the front door.

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