We’ve got a big kitchen renovation in the works. We’re moving the kitchen into a different room and we’re prepping for appliances and cabinetry.
Removing the tongue and groove
We had to remove the paneling along the wall where our appliances and cabinetry would go so we could install water lines, electrical and HVAC. Yes, those are the same walls that I stripped at the beginning of this project. It’s never fun knowing that some of the hard work you’ve done wasn’t needed. But when you’re excited about the end result you tend to get over it pretty quickly=)
What will the kitchen look like after renovation?
You may have seen our sketch from a previous post. This is the sketch we shared with the cabinet maker. The cabinet on the far left is actually a walk-in pantry. We closed off the entrance to a coat closet that was in the hallway and shared the same wall just beside where we wanted the pantry. We then opened it up at the back/side of the new pantry so we were able to more or less double the size of the coat closet and connect it to the new cabinet giving us a nice sized walk-in pantry.
Running new plumbing, electrical and HVAC for the kitchen
Since we were moving the kitchen from another room, TJ had to prepare the room for cabinetry and appliances by running all new plumbing, electrical and HVAC. It was a lot of time-consuming work. Almost as time consuming as getting the permits . . .
The original HVAC vent had to be re-routed because it would have been covered once the cabinets were installed. TJ re-routed the line so that it vented at the ceiling above the cabinetry and in between two of the ceiling beams.
Continuing demo in the (original) kitchen area
While TJ was working on the re-routing of our utilities, I continued tearing out the (original) kitchen. When we first decided to move the kitchen into another room, we thought we’d be able to keep the original kitchen in tact until the new one was complete so we’d have somewhere to prepare meals. When we began planning, we quickly realized that wouldn’t be the case because we would need access to the utilities running beneath the floor. We also needed to get the flooring installed in the new kitchen before we could have the cabinets installed. The pine flooring in the kitchen and family room was an addition by the previous owners and didn’t match the wood floors in the rest of the house. We wanted the flooring to be consistent throughout to give the space a cohesive look. So, we had multiple reasons to get the old flooring up and in order to do that we had to demo first.
We made a temporary kitchen in the bathroom. I taped the toilet shut so it couldn’t be used while it was our kitchen. We threw a half sheet of plywood on the bathtub to give us a shelf where we used the microwave, toaster oven and a single electric burner. It was a great excuse to eat out – often =)
The picture below is taken looking at the (original) kitchen from where the new kitchen will be (the former family room). The (original) kitchen was small and had very little storage. It may look like a lot of cabinets, but most of the lower cabinet space was taken up with appliances or the stove vent.
We considered options to reconfigure the space, but we couldn’t come up with a floor plan we liked leaving the kitchen where it was. We wanted to improve the flow and use of the entire floor, not just the kitchen.
The (original) kitchen didn’t have much of a pantry. As you can see in the picture above, the pantry was a small, closet with shelving and bi-fold doors. The bi-fold doors made the space even more difficult to access.
In the picture below you can see the space left after removing the doors and shelving. We’re going to use this space for a built-in china cabinet.
Watch out below!
One of the things you deal with in these older homes are the soffits that go around the perimeter of kitchens and bathrooms. They were in the kitchen and every single bathroom. It’s basically a box built around the perimeter of the room with 2 x 4’s and sheetrock. They were used to house whatever was needed, electrical, vents, etc. They are ugly, they really close a room in – and they are a pain to remove. A small sledge hammer and a pry bar are usually effective. If you’re under stress it’s a good stress reliever =)
But, the main reason they aren’t fun to demo is because they house hidden debri – especially in older homes! You never know what’s going to fall out. One time I didn’t have my gloves on and I reached behind a cabinet and came out with a skeleton that was still in tact. I tell myself it was a squirrel, but I guess it could have been a rat. I mean really, it doesn’t matter. I held it for a few seconds before I realized what I had. I still cringe when I think about it. Gloves people, gloves!!
What a mess!
Since we’re moving the kitchen into a different room, it means we can move the dining room into the (original) kitchen space. In addition to getting all the benefits we’ve shared about moving the kitchen, this means we can open up the space on the main floor completely. I took down the sheetrock on the wall in between the living room and the kitchen (behind the fridge in the picture below). That wall will be shortened in length but its a load bearing wall so we had to leave the framing temporarily until we install a laminated beam.
I also removed the wall in between the (original) kitchen and dining room. It wasn’t load bearing so I was able to go ahead and take out the framing also.
After removing the floors we were able to access the necessary HVAC vents, electrical and plumbing that we needed to reroute to the new kitchen.
We have a connection
And connect them to the lines TJ ran in the new kitchen.
And, finally, close it all up with sheetrock. There was only one wall to sheetrock and I didn’t have to mud any of it because the whole wall will be covered with cabinetry. The ceiling was the only place I had to mud.
How not to use a paint sprayer
Painting the room was a bear. It shouldn’t have been, but it was. I always prefer to use an oil based primer when I’m painting bare wood such as trim and in this case the tongue and groove walls. But I usually paint my trim using a paint brush not a sprayer because I’m working inside and I don’t like taping everything. In this case, though, the entire room was going to be painted the same color, matte on the walls and ceiling, with satin on the trim and beams so I wanted to spray it.
Word of warning. If you’re using a sprayer, be sure you use the correct nozzle for your primer and paint. I learned this the hard way. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize it until I’d covered every ceiling beam in the room. I don’t know how the professional painters do it, but my goggles were covered with paint mist within minutes of starting the job. I felt like I was painting with in a dark room. It wasn’t until I’d finished and I’d removed the gobbles that I saw the “specks/globs” of paint all over the beams. I was devastated and thought I’d ruined it.
I spent the next few evenings sanding off the “globs”. There was so much paint from the globs that I had to keep scraping it off my sanding sponge. But, after I removed everything I could I painted using a satin which shows fewer imperfections than a semi-gloss. Thankfully, after I got the last coat on, the paint leveled beautifully and you can’t see any of it.
My lesson from the adventure is you don’t purchase a sprayer the night before you plan on using it. I should have allowed myself time to learn about the various nozzles. In trying to save time and keep the project moving I set it back by a week.
It’s been a long time coming, but the room is painted and ready for flooring and the kitchen cabinets!
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