The Cottage

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Father's Day Fun(?)

Some serious, heavy duty, physical, labor took place at The Cottage this weekend.

Friday was flooring delivery day and we had to get several sheets of particle board ripped up before delivery. We opted to DIY the floor demo to save us a chunk of change. With the linoleum backing paper covering the particle board on the kitchen side of the room, we had no idea where the nails were.

Saturday we worked on the flooring more, and removed most items in the room, including all the remaining kitchen cabinets. Then we cleaned up and went to two graduation open houses.

By 9:00 am on Sunday morning we were at it again.

Baby Girl took on the job of lifting all the nails. She did a stellar job that allowed Kirk and Nate time to do some heavy duty lifting and moving of appliances and furniture.

This nail puller was the star tool of the day. The $15 spent on this beauty was well worth it! Having the right tool for the job is very important for a successful demo.

Kirk and Nate took turns cutting up some boards ... and holding the ShopVac to suck up the sawdust.

I did a mix of odd jobs.... punching nails out of boards, pulling nails, cleaning up, carrying small board pieces out to the utility trailer, picking up nails and sweeping. Then there was making lunch and cleaning it up :)

At 5:30 pm tonight, we called the job complete.

Ready for the floor installers to lay the plywood underlayment --

and then our new floors !

It's happening! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel -- it's only a couple weeks away!

Baby Girl, Nate ... THANK YOU for all your hard work today! It was fun to work with you, and your sacrifice of time and energy meant a lot to your dad and I!

At the end of the day. We're kickin' back in our hillbilly living room/kitchen in the garage.
It's a beautiful, quiet evening.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Wordless Wednesday

A few of my favorite things . . .

Sunday, June 09, 2013

Still at it

I knew it would take some time to get the remodel moving and finished, but for some

odd reason, I didn't really think we'd still be "at it" 6 months after we started!

Clearly denial was/is in play. Past experiences should have been recalled!

In January we had new recessed lighting installed.

At this point the mess was minimal. Very minimal.

Next we had the lovely popcorn ceiling scraped and ceiling removed.

Can I hear an amen and hallelujah?

Ceiling work meant clearing EVERYthing out of the great room/kitchen for the ceiling work.
We took off to Cincinnati during the ceiling work! #bestdecisionever

Then we sanded, primed and painted paneling.

Removed carpet.

Removed linoleum.

Temporarily Removed the kitchen peninsula.

After removing the peninsula, we just swung it around and located it where the new island will be. By moving the cabinets to this position we've had a chance to "try out" the new floor plan. Which is absolutely awesome!

Last week we removed the upper cabinets.

So .... dishes, glassware, food, serving pieces, etc. are limited - many things are packed in boxes.
All appliances are still functional....for a few more days.
We sold the above range microwave and purchased a smaller one that will fit in the island.

Last week I removed the orange linoleum back splash.

Totally wish I'd gone with my instincts and removed it years ago!

Other than a few places (below) it just popped right off with little effort.

Seriously ... look at the wood behind it!

Who covers wood with linoleum? Uggh.

Cabinets and counter tops have been disconnected from each other, so meanwhile I'm using my

butcher block for a counter top. I'm still considering having it integrated into the new counter tops, though it isn't in the plan. The gentleman making our counter tops said he could do it, I just have to decide.

Here ... Let me show you what I'm referring to. See the "hutch" looking cabinets (below) at the far right? That's pretty much what I'll have at the end of my cabinets. Same look.. except counter tops would all be level. (I don't think dropping the cabinet a few inches is a possibility at this point and my kitchen design team would probably faint if I brought it up... and so would Mr. D!). The plan right now is to just have my huge butcher block cut down into two pieces for portable use. I hope, I hope, I hope I don't regret this! I use my butcher block all.the.time.

Over the weekend we ...

sanded the wall where the new open shelving will be (replacing the upper cabinets)
filled holes in above mentioned wall to prep for priming and painting.
Mr. D did electrical work to get electric through the floor (from basement) up to the new island.
I pulled out itty-bitty little carpet staples on the stairs in prep for finishing the stairs.
Cleaned the garage (still not done)

(We also looked at a few apartments with our boy who is moving back to Rochester this summer)

Flooring is (finally) being delivered on Friday {crossing fingers}.
Flooring install begins a week from Monday. Next Monday to be specific.
IF I get my way ... and if it works out .. the kitchen cabinets, {which are sitting in boxes in our garage} might, maybe, hopefully get installed on Thursday/Friday of next week.
THEN .... a WEEK after that the counter top and sink will be installed.

Yup. Two weeks no sink or counter top in my kitchen! I'm clearing out the garage .. .we're gonna "redneck" it up and use that for our living room/dining area while using the mudroom for our temporary kitchen!

I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Still a little dim though.