Wrapping up Demo!

So much accomplished again in the past week.  We've got the kitchen looking like there was never a pantry there, and all the flooring in the house is gone! 

Well, the ugly awful stuff that was covering up hardwood and marble tile, that is.

Emily came over last week and helped me rip up the kitchen floor.  We are two dangerous blondes when armed with shovels and utility knives.  The three layers of linoleum plus peel and stick tile were no match.  I'm going to patch the floor where the wall was with flooring that would be hidden under the cabinets anyway, and then refinish the whole lot.  

The trim we salvaged is now back on the door into the side staircase, and the wall is all patched up.

Peel and Stick in the bathroom met its demise.  Hammer and spackle knife took it up easily.  I had to Goo-Gone the marble hex tile that was underneath to remove the ridiculously sticky residue.  Like stick your jeans to the floor ridiculous.  Why they covered the marble tile, I will never know.  It's in great shape.  It and the bathtub will be the only original things in here when we're all done.

One of my personal favorites has been this plumbing wall.  1/4inch plywood is not actually appropriate backer board as it ROTS.  And the vent only vents into the wall of the closet, not to the outside, as it is supposed to.  

That smells niiiice.

Kitchen ceiling.  Wall?  What wall?

Stealing space from a funky nook in a bedroom closet gives me the space I need for a linen cabinet in the bathroom.

Started to rip apart a bedroom window.  Because I don't have enough other projects going on right now.  Eventually I have to restore all of them.  I vacuumed off the lock on this one.  Whoops.

So the rest of the bathroom demo and the cabinets in the kitchen should be all gone by the end of this week.  I'm leaving in the vanity in the bathroom until I get to the Ikea in Boston in 3 weeks to get a new sink.  So that I have a functional bathroom for the Halloween party I'm throwing.  I don't even have to decorate to get the haunted look! It's so perfect...

Ordered the kitchen cabinets, countertops, and new washer and dryer this week.  Where I'm going to put it all until I get the floors refinished, I don't know.  I could put it in the attic if the dang squirrel removal people would ever call me back!!! Argh.  

First Demo Milestones Passed

We got tons accomplished this past week.  

Mom and I focused on rug/pad/staple removal (I think my hand is going to be permanently shaped into a little staple pulling claw). But it's all done! almost all done.  Realized this morning I forgot to do the coat closet. Damn-it-to-hell!

Then we took out our frustrations on the pantry walls.  We finished totally taking them down today.  This included having to chip out and even off the header for the long wall, which was a half inch lower than the ceiling height. I feared for my life after that was discovered.  But we powered through it and hasn't killed me yet.  It's a win-win, both for me I think.

Also discovered we have the original hard wood floor under all that linoleum in the kitchen.  Not sure of the condition, but if it's salvageable, I'll refinish it too.  Hopefully saving money on not needing to tile the floor!

We've saved all the molding and the lumber from these walls to use to frame out the larger opening to the dining room.  The ironing board cabinet was also removed intact to be converted to a large medicine cabinet for the bathroom.  Why buy new stuff when you can save money by reusing things you already have in your house?

Floor refinishing is scheduled for early November with my real estate agent Heather's husband's family business.  He's third generation, so he definitely knows what he's doing.  I'm confident the floors are going to look amazing.  Can't wait!

Ordered most of the lighting this weekend.  It's all Murray Feiss Parker Place Collection in Dark Bronze.

New dining room sconces

Have my eyes on Woodcraft cabinets from www.unfinished-kitchen-cabinets.net .  As the name implies, they come unfinished, so I can paint or stain them myself.  This way I can postpone that decision without holding anything up! Brilliant. They're made in Pennsylvania, so they're local-ish.  Still looking for capital district cabinet makers too.

Have estimates coming for the squirrel removal out of my attic and new wood storm windows so the wind doesn't blow through the house.  So much to do before winter comes!