It’s been a wild ride, thank you all for following along.

The demo was exhausting, but after two long days it’s done!  The confined space made work with the large sledge hammer a bit tricky, but nothing we couldn’t smash our way through.  Good bye 50 year old shower and vanity.

We also took the opportunity to replace the last remaining piece of galvanized pipe with new copper.  Check out the artery blockage inside that old pipe!  That one pipe fed hot water to the entire upstairs.  We’ll see if we get some added hot water pressure by going to the new 3/4″ copper.

[View with PicLens]

After some head scratching and calculations we determined this weekend that both the island oven and microwave would not “fit” in their originally intended cabinets.  I use the term “fit” loosely because technically the dimensions were within spec but the finished height of the oven and microwave would not have been the same.  In order to maintain visual linearity with the two appliances, we made some slight modifications on the fly.  We first removed the oven box completely and replaced it with three pieces of custom trim and a 2×4 base.

This not only gives us a flush install for the oven but also allows ample clearances for the 36″ cook top which will sit directly above.  Next we were forced to remove the microwave box because the drawer prevented the microwave from aligning with the oven.  In order to keep the drawer and align the appliances, we scrapped the microwave box and built a new faceplate and shelf inside of the old oven box.  By cutting down the drawer face were were able to reconfigure it to also fit a lower profile drawer below the microwave which will hold the Advantium accessories required for the different cooking settings.

We also finished the upper trim work in both rooms and started the light baffles.  It’s looking like cabinets will be done after one more work day!

[View with PicLens]

After two days, the cabinets are almost installed with the exception of final trim work.  Special thanks to Dan for helping get us off to a great start!  We started in the laundry room and made quick progress with the layout and installation.  After the laundry room, we moved the kitchen and ran a dry fit to check measurements and determine final layout.  Each cabinet face and filler was clamped into position and then shimmed level and plumb before being screwed together.  Cutouts were made for plumbing, electrical, and appliances where needed.  With the doors on, the room is starting to look like a kitchen!  Next weekend we’ll continue the final trim, skins, and moldings.

[View with PicLens]

After much anticipation, the kitchen cabinets have arrived.  With limited time to be away from the office, we opened them up and checked each face for damages.  It is a good thing we did because the wall corner unit’s door had a narrow 3″ long gouge.  We’ll see how effective Home Depot is in ordering a replacement ER422421L door tonight.  Good news is installation is on schedule for this weekend!

[View with PicLens]

After Thanksgiving we got right back to work with the completion of the entryway hardwood flooring. Fitting the last few pieces was quite a challenge and required additional scraping and sanding by hand for a prefect fit. The finished product however was well worth the effort! Once the floors are refinished, there will be no evidence of the old walls or the original hardwood partitions.

We also made great progress on the new downstairs tile. Thanks to a laser level we were able to make a clean run of the new 24″ tiles across the kitchen and dining room into the powder room and laundry room. It was a bit tricky to carefully float the tile to match the level of the existing hardwood but again patience paid off. After cabinetry we’ll finish the tile throughout the rooms, grout, and seal.

[View with PicLens]

Thanks Erica and Leo for your help on what was one of the most challenging weekends to date!  We removed the remaining hardwood at the entrance and started to repair it piece by piece.  When we removed the two entrance walls, it left two stripes of raw subfloor that needed hardwood repair.  Because the flooring runs in the opposite direction, this meant removing up to 6′ or more in both directions to repair the natural layout.  We also removed and replaced the few termite damaged boards at the south end of the living room.  For those of you that are unfamiliar, this is the original red oak hardwood from the flooring we removed in the living room.  At 1.5″ per strip, repair and re-installation is a back-braking effort to perfect fit, glue, and nail in place.  Lots of work done and still some more to complete next week…

[View with PicLens]

All the surfaces have been textured and are paint ready.  We hope to prime this Saturday and paint this Sunday!

[View with PicLens]

After just a few short days of taping, the kitchen is almost ready for texture!

[View with PicLens]

After one day of hanging it’s starting to look like a room again!

[View with PicLens]

After a long awesome weekend we are ready for drywall!  We kicked serious butt this weekend and got all remaining projects finished.  Drywall is scheduled to start hanging and taping this week and will be finished the first week of November.  Thank you Michelle for all your help mixing, laying, and jointing the backer board!  Just a few things we checked off this weekend:

- Added additional sheer support for beam

- Hung laundry and bathroom doors

- Installed 3 new heating vents in great room and hallway

- Built, installed, and wired 7.1 ceiling surround sound speaker enclosures

- Finished all drywall backing and wire nail plate shielding

- Finished floor repair and installed tile backer board

[View with PicLens]

With drywall scheduled for the first week of November it’s now a push to the finish with the remaining framing, electrical, water, and heating.  There is still a lot of work to be done to prepare for our drywall contractor and only 4 work days remaining!

This weekend we made a huge stride towards being ready on time. We  finished the hot and cold water and tested the new tank-less.  The final electrical was run and the new range hood vent and hood brackets were installed.  Also the last wall framing was completed with the new pantry.  The space is really starting to open up now that all the tools and supplies have been cleared out.  Next weekend we’ll focus on hanging the new shaker doors, adding additional beam support, and the 7.1 in ceiling surround sound speakers.

[View with PicLens]

Some progress from the last two weekends:

• Repaired termited subfloor in laundry room
• Framed new bathroom wall and door rough opening
• Framed new laundry room wall and door rough opening 
• Framed new kitchen wall with refrigerator return wall
• Framed new kitchen pantry wall
• Opened up stairwell entrance wall.
• Ran 5 additional kitchen circuits, 20A.  Ran additional laundry room dryer curcuit, 30A and bathroom circuit, 15A.  Ran 2 additional kitchen and living room lighting circuits, 15A.
• Recessed 8 can lights in living room, 5 can lights in kitchen, 2 in laundry room, 2 in dining room.
• Ran wire for all 3 way and 4 way light switches.

NBD.

[View with PicLens]

The beam is up and the jacks are down!  Yesterday was a major milestone in the kitchen renovation project.  The load bearing wall that once separated the kitchen and living room has been replaced by a fully concealable beam.

We finished the prep work early Saturday morning and then started lifting the beams into place Saturday afternoon.  Each beam spans 23.5′  over the living room and rests on the 4×8 columns which are anchored into the concrete foundations.  Each of the four microlam beams were glued with construction adhesive, nailed at 6″ on center, then bolted at 16″ on center.

[View with PicLens]

It was another big weekend for progress!  We started with a late-night Friday Home Depot run for lumber for the structural changes and plumbing hardware for the tankless install next weekend.  Saturday morning we made an early dump run to clear out last week’s debris and then went to work.  We pulled up the majority of the old flooring in the kitchen and the laundry room.  We cut out the old linoleum and subfloor plywood and removed them together in large pieces.

Before tearing down the load bearing wall, we supported the overlapping ceiling joists with two temporary walls on either side.  We used a floor jack to hoist the ceiling just enough to take the load off the central wall and added jacks stands.  With 10 jack stands and additional 2x4s just in-case, we moved on to the non-load bearing walls that separated the dining room, kitchen, and laundry room.  We were able to recycle the 2x4s studs by cutting them out, instead of demolishing them with the sledge.  In total we were able to save and reuse about 40 2x4s!  With all three walls gone, we added new attic supports to redistribute the load from the roof onto the ceiling joists to prevent any roof sag.

Sunday we finished up the remaining demo and started the preparation for the new LVL beam.  We cut holes in the subfloor where the new 4×8 posts will stand and determined the location for the concrete footings.  Under the house we dug 2′x2′x15″ holes and poured new concrete footings around a metal support bracket.  We found a sweet method to mix concrete in a large tarp by lifting each corner and rolling and flipping it over itself.  Thanks YouTube!  We then used the tarp to lower the concrete down through the subfloor and pour into the footings.

Next weekend we’ll be ready to cut the joists and install the new LVL beams along with the new tankless water heater!

[View with PicLens]

Also, there are a few pictures of the closet system installation.  The design is not only practical for a lot of hanging space but looks great espresso stained and polyurethaned for durability.  The chrome hardware ties the closet, shower, and vanity together.  Pssshhh…California Closets wanted $2500 for a similar system.  We did it for just under $180 including the wall hanging brackets and used all clear wood.  Not the cheap veneered MDF with stupid Ikea adjustment holes all over it.  

[View with PicLens]

We got rolling around 9:30 after a dump run.  We were able to pull the plaster from the load bearing wall and entrance walls while maintaining the ceiling.  The non-load bearing entrance walls came down easily and really open up the space.  We get a lot more light into the living room from the glass at the front door.  We finished the day on schedule to get the walls opened up for inspectionn of what is required for the new beam and supports.

Sunday we went for gold and tore into the kitchen.  Check the video for a look at Big T tearing through the cabinets.  We were able to get all the plaster down from the laundry room wall, pantry, and dining room wall.  Next steps will be installing the beam and removing the kitchen walls.

[View with PicLens]

-Preston