With the arrival of our sealift this week work is going to begin in earnest starting tomorrow. I thought I'd lay out where I'm heading in this renovation.
The first priority is the kitchen, but I can't head off all willynilly, as some things have to be accomplished with forethought to what comes next. The plans also took a very big hit this week, but more on that a little later.
In general terms we are replacing our cupboards, adding new appliances and putting in new flooring, but as often is the case there is a lot of adjustment that has to be made to get to those goals. First of all the cupboards.
Our living room/dining room/kitchen is one open space, "L" shaped with the kitchen at the foot of the "L". Right now the cupboards go along one wall, with a little jog along a second. In order to separate the kitchen from the rest of the space, we decided to extend the cupboards along the third wall, and then out into a peninsula that will act as a divider between the kitchen/dining room.
Problem number one arises with a window on the wall of the extension. It is low enough that the backsplash of the cupboards will cover it up. The solution was to get in a window, that was shorter and replace the original window.
Problem number two is that with the addition a dishwasher (which for practical reasons needs to be next to the sink and existing plumbing) there was no space for the range. The solution for that was to move it, however its location is now on an exterior wall. Which causes…
Problem number three. With both a new counter and the range located on an exterior wall new electrical would have to be added. On an exterior wall this means messing with the vapour barrier and insulation, both of which I was loath to do. So the solution was to build out a false wall to run the electrical. The room loses two inches but it makes things that much easier. As it turned out, the electrician discovered that the wall was already strapped out two inches, so this didn't need to be done, but by that time the cupboards were already bought and designed to fit, so the wall would have to be built anyway.
Which leads to the practical planning on how to proceed with the kitchen. So this is how I intend it to unfold. First of all the old window gets removed. The framing gets built in to accommodate the new window, and with that comes insulation, vapour barrier, tyvek, siding and trim. Then the new window can get installed (it is very cleverly packed between the two new exterior doors I ordered, well protected but now I have to empty that crate to get at it). After its installed the new wall can be framed, gyprocked and mudded and taped. It will probably need a coat of primer for protection, even though most of it will be hidden by cupboards and backsplash.
After that the rest of the cupboards and old appliances will be removed. From this point on, we no longer have our kitchen for use. The walls need to be clean up and prepped. The new underlay can go down at this point.
Upper cabinets can be assembled and then installed. New flooring can get put on. Bottom cabinets assembled and installed, new counter tops installed and the new sink and dishwasher plumbed in. Voila, totally new kitchen. Oh there will still be a bunch of detailing left, like the ceramic backsplash and some trim. But those are the plans. Except…
Except the top of our crate had been crushed in and water got into our stuff. Judging by the mould on some of the cartons it had been wet for awhile. Water and the pressboard material that they make cabinets out of do not mix. Well, actually they mix all too well. Several of our cabinets are ruined by swollen wood and in some cases mouldy swollen wood. That throws everything out, as you can't build a half of a kitchen cabinet system.
So now we are in the process of making the claim through the shipping company, buying replacement cabinets and getting them air freighted up here. I can't imagine what that will cost.
Oh well, its now Saturday morning, and time to get at this project. Now, where to start. Oh yeah…