happy new year!

All I asked Santa for this year was a working refrigerator to help us ring in the new year...
Looks like he pulled through.. 2010 is off to a great start!

We look forward to sharing our continued renovating adventures with you.. Happy New Year!!

just a peek..

kitchen update

Quick little update on the kitchen progress..

Cabinets
Because the Home Depot installers weren't able to fit us into their schedule until after the holiday we asked Jason of Progressive Finishes to do the job. He was able to get started on Sunday..
While he wasn't able to finish the whole job- he has to come back to install all of the crown and base moldings, but he worked hard to get all of the cabinets in so Capital Stone could come in and template for our counter tops this afternoon.

Counter Tops
A few weeks back Ben and I went to pick out granite for the kitchen. We opted to not even look at marbles because we wanted the most durable options- I tend to be all over the place when I cook and don't want to have to worry about being careful in the kitchen. We ended up going with White Diamond..
Obviously all slabs vary but at least you get the idea of the coloring and movement I'm going for. Luckily Capital Stone was nice enough and planned to come out so quickly to template. They even said we could possibly have our counter tops next week!

Appliances
After months of postponing delivery dates we are finally having the appliances delivered tomorrow! I know they won't be up and running right away but I must say, I'm looking forward to having a room that actually resembles a kitchen- in the last few months we've been calling an empty room with a cabinet or two our kitchen and it was very depressing.

So with everything starting to take shape I'm now worrying about the little details- cabinet hardware (I bought some already and now think I may have to reconsider my selection), the backsplash, the trash can/storage, paint and molding colors.. really all of the things I didn't get into earlier because I knew I wouldn't need them for a while. But it will all get done eventually.

I just can't help but think it would be a small miracle if we actually had a full-size working refrigerator to ring in the New Year with.. but if not I'll just have to clean out the mini fridge and make way for a bottle of champagne. Either way we've made great progress and it's worth celebrating!

Check back for more updates!

ready to install

The cabinets are being installed tomorrow..
and we couldn't be more ready for them.

frozen pipes.. yuck!

We knew it was a possibility.. I guess crossing our fingers didn't help much, but at least they didn't burst, right?

Ben woke up this morning to discover we couldn't use the shower because our cold water pipe was frozen solid. No we weren't shocked since the pipes back up to the garage where there is no heat or room for insulation. We had planned on installing heat trace around the pipes anyway, but the temperature dropped a little too quickly and we never actually got to cross that off our list. So as the temperatures dropped way into the single digits (weren't we at 2 degrees last night?) the water began to froze.

So tonight, when Ben got home from work he spent what seemed like hours positioned "in" the wall like so..
wrapping the pipes with heat trace- a wire that conducts heat, then wrapping the wires with insulation in hopes that tonight's 5 degree temperatures don't cause another freeze.

last minute kitchen prep

As I had mentioned in previous posts we've been working on the kitchen in preparation for the cabinet installation. In the last few days three projects have really taken over.

The Ceiling
Once we decided to go with the rustic paneled ceiling look (something I first saw and posted about here) we quickly got to work. Last week I took a trip to Allerdice and looked at a few boards that we thought might work. We were limited on the depth of the boards since the cabinets have already been ordered and delivered.

We ended up going with an 8" tongue and groove pine plank. I posted about it getting acclimated here.

The installation went pretty quickly, one board at a time. While a few were slightly warped and gave us a little bit of a challenge in the end we decided any uneven gaps just added to the "rustic" feel.

The installation took place one step at a time..
1. Ben cut each to the width of the room- we measured each one beforehand to try to prevent any major mistakes.
2. We then applied sub floor adhesive to the back of the board- an extra step and probably not a necessary one, but it made us feel a little better about them staying in place.
3. On ladders we each took an end of the board and used mallets to fit the boards together.
4. With the board up Ben used a nail gun (pictured below) to nail the boards into place.. After the first couple of boards I decided the nail gun wasn't for me.

I'm pretty sure this is Ben trying to hammer in one of the my nails...
We were able to get a little variation in the color of the boards, but they're still a little too "golden" for me, so I'm planning on lightly staining them with a custom stain we've already purchased.

The Radiator
With the cabinets still in the garage we felt like this was our opportunity to finally clean up the radiator and spray it before everything was put in it's place.

Before I got sanding, I protected the floors and walls and the functional parts of the radiator that couldn't be painted.
To prep for the painting I first used a compressor on the radiator to remove all the loose dust and dirt. Then I sanded to get rid of the old chipped paint and any extra dirt. After the sanding process was over I wiped the unit down with bleach and once it was dry I primed it with a spray primer.
With the primer dry I started spraying it with the semi gloss white paint. I went over it and over it- going through three cans, but in the end I was pleased with the result.
But then again, anything beats what we started with.

The Windows
I'm in the process of working on sanding the windows before the cabinets go in- anything to prevent more mess once we can finally put things away!
I still have two and a half windows to go- its been a little bit of a challenge because of the layers and layers of old paint. Not to mention I take frequent breaks- even with a dust mask, working with old lead paint isn't fun!

I know I won't get to painting them before the cabinets go in, but we're going to replace the window and door casings after the installation so I'll plan on doing all of the painting at once. Definitely looking forward to getting rid of the minty green!

rebuilding the kitchen

This past weekend has been quite busy on the corner of Bensonhurst and Division. We've been nonstop since the cabinets were delivered on Friday and we're still not done, but here's a quick look into what the last few days have been for us (and why it really hurt to get out of bed this morning).

Thursday
So might as well start where I left off. Last week Ben and I literally demolished the kitchen to make way for new electrical and plumbing. It was easier for them to have full access and as you can tell by the picture below- we now have lots of new wiring for everything..
And the plumber disconnected the sink allowing us to remove the final base cabinet..

Friday
With the electrical in and no major problems along the way I was pretty sure the cabinets wouldn't arrive when they promised they would.. but I was wrong. Instead they arrived early and now our garage is packed with them!
Once they arrived I called Home Depot to set up the installation. I was told that the installer would call me, but I haven't heard from them yet. I'm dying to get them in.. so installers, if you're reading this call me!!! I'm crossing my fingers I'll be able to get them in this week because I've put off the appliance delivery yet again (about the 5th time) and hope that Friday's delivery won't have to be postponed.

And with the cabinets delivered we knew we had a busy weekend ahead of us. But before we started doing anything, we needed to figure out what to do about the ceiling. After a little research we decided to go with the wood paneling I posted about here, so I headed to Allerdice to pick out the wood before it got dark. Once I opted to use the 8" pine and got Ben's approval, we headed back to Allerdice and picked it up. Ben wanted to give it a couple days to acclimate before we started actually installing it..
hence the new obstacle on our living room floor. I apologize for the mess, but we might as well be honest- I consider our living quarters fairly "rough" these days. Not to mention our housekeeper (me) has been a little preoccupied and hasn't really had the time to maintain the household.. but at least I'm keeping everyone fed!

Saturday
We spent Saturday morning cleaning up the rest of the walls, including behind the sink base cabinet. When we first started removing the sheetrock we didn't do the cleanest of jobs- we were trying to get it done quickly, so we had to go back over some of the areas and I had to remove the nails along the studs.
Ben spent the afternoon insulating three out of four walls- we opted not to insulate the wall between the living room and kitchen.
And while he finished up that I got the fun job of removing all of the staples used to hold up the ceiling tiles.

Sunday
We were hoping to get to the sheetrock by Saturday afternoon, but as to be expected we were a little behind schedule. That and the electrician cut all of the electricity on that side of the house until the cabinets are in so we're limited to daylight hours meaning our workday ends at 4:30. So Sunday was our day of catch up. We decided we were going to do all of the sheetrock and start on the ceiling before we called it a day.

In the morning we picked up all of the sheetrock and then we got moving.
Ben cut the sheetrock panels with a knife and we (yes Ben and me) cut out the outlets with a dremel.
Once we were done with the sheetrock it was getting late, but we still wanted to get moving on the ceiling. Because we're not quite done yet I'll wait to post about the ceiling later this week. Also happening this week- sanding and painting the kitchen radiator, sanding the windows and prepping the rest of the kitchen for the installation..

removing the ceiling

Our little house is plagued with ugly ceilings and unfortunately they have to stay put for the moment. Originally we were afraid replacing them would be a huge challenge- we were sure the ugly cardboard tiles were installed to cover up water damage. We just don't have the money to start messing with major repairs at the moment. My short term plans include teaching myself how to install wallpaper and lining a couple of the ceilings with a textured grasscloth but until that happens we're going to live with the ugliness above (just don't look up when you come visit).
But because we are doing such an over hall in the kitchen we thought it would be a shame to ignore the big elephant in the room. Again, we couldn't imagine why anyone would mask a perfectly fine ceilings with ugly tiles, so we prepared ourselves for a disaster and we were pleasantly surprised (you can count how many times that has happened throughout the renovation process on one hand).

Ben started taking the crown molding down last night and the cardboard tiles just started popping out.
We discovered that nailing strips were put into place to hold up the boards- which will make it easier for us to install a new ceiling when we figure out what we're going to do.
A few weeks ago I posted about a kitchen design that was very similar to ours here. I loved the idea of the reclaimed wood on the ceiling and had mentioned to Ben that I might want to take advantage of our clean slate and do something a little more interesting. He quickly told me he loved the idea but didn't think it would work- he was afraid we'd have nothing to secure the wood to. But now that we have nailing strips he said it may still be a possibility.. I'm crossing my fingers!

Since the kitchen turned out so well, I've started questioning our originally decision to let the rest of the house be. I just don't want to push our luck..

demolishing the kitchen

The kitchen is coming!! But before the cabinets can be installed we have to prep the walls and get the new plumbing and electrical done.

Earlier I had mentioned that we had to remove all of the existing sheetrock for the guys to get in there so last week I started moving our "kitchen" into our living room.. I'll spare you the details.. just know we are now living in very cramped corners!

We started with this..
and over the weekend Ben and I began hacking away at the kitchen walls..
Ben first removed all of the window and door casings, as well as the rest of the moldings and I made my way through some of the walls.
Ben cut the base cabinet in half so we could remove the area that was not attached to the sink. The plumber will come in and disconnect the sink before we remove the other half.
Just a little treat found underneath the cabinets..
There were two existing corner units that proved to be the most difficult to remove. They were built in such a way that they almost appeared to be original to the house. We quickly found out they were not (the corner cabinet was built over many old layers of vinyl flooring) but they were fastened to the walls in such a way that in many areas the walls came off with the pieces.
By Sunday night we were exhausted and while we still had a ways to go Ben started cleaning up and we decided we'd finish the rest later this week..
I've made my way through a few more areas the last couple of days and tonight we have to finish it up by removing the crown molding and getting rid of the rest of the nails.

By Thursday the plumber and electrician will have full access to the walls. The cabinets are being delivered on Friday afternoon- giving us the weekend to insulate the walls and install the new sheetrock. We had hoped that the cabinets would be installed early next week- in time for the appliance delivery on Wednesday, though it's looking like that might not happen. Unfortunately both Ben and I know delays are common and to be expected so we'll be patient.. once we have a finished kitchen it won't matter how many more days or weeks we waited for it.

In the meantime I still need to work on the counter tops and hardware!

the fireplace

The previous owner of our house had turned the wood burning fireplace into gas. While gas is a great clean option (and much more practical for most), Ben and I decided early on that if it was possible our gas fireplace would be turned back to wood burning as soon as possible. To me, there's something wonderful about the smell- and I really don't mind the mess/smoke much either.

So while we have yet to give our fireplace a face lift- that will come in the next month or so, we worked to pull out the gas line and make it functional.

There were many repairs that had to be done in order to make it work

Removing the Gas Line
The plumber started working on disconnecting the gas line that ran up to the fireplace from the basement. Once the gas was shut down and the line was removed he removed the "innards" of the fireplace- including the faux logs and grate. So we went from having this..
to having this..
The black iron piece above is the new ash door that has yet to be installed- it's a little smaller than the one that we had to replace.

Repairing the Damper
Once the gas line was removed we knew we had to have a new damper installed. The old damper that was originally installed inside the chimney was broken. Because we had to install the damper on top of the chimney, we opted to go with one that seals shut, preventing not only snow and rain from coming in, but it also stops the hot air from escaping.
I was told that because we were going with such a great design we would be able to remove the doors and use a freestanding screen instead- something I've been fighting for.

While the damper was being repaired we had the chimney swept- something that's always recommended.

The Firewood
I assume you're supposed to have the fireplace repaired before you actually buy the wood- but as usual we didn't really follow the rules. A few weekends ago Ben and I went in search for firewood and came home with an entire cord.
And while Ben worked on the bathroom I started stacking. It may have taken me an entire Saturday, but I was happy to do it- knowing that in the end we'd get our fire.
And on Monday night we finally did..
Next on the list is removing the doors- I'm hoping to make my way to Saratoga Fireplace to buy a new screen and some proper tools later this week. We also have to have the chimney repointed and we're going to work on the facade. More to come in the next few weeks.

a working bathroom

The holiday threw us off a bit. Our week was filled with holiday celebrations (and lots of food) leaving me with no time to update the blog. But we are definitely still making progress on the house.

Here's a quick update on the renovation of the bathroom.. we aren't quite there yet, but we're definitely on our way!

floor
We survived the lack of toilet and it was all worth it. Once Ben finished the floor prep the tile went in- we opted to have a professional do it this time around.
It turned out really well and after we let it set for a night on the following afternoon the toilet and pedestal were installed once again.

medicine cabinet
With the floor done, it was time to finish up the walls and install the much needed medicine cabinet. We've been without a mirror in the bathroom since we first started demo weeks ago. But before the mirror could be installed the studs had to be reworked to make room for it.

Originally the studs were positioned running vertically up the wall, not allowing any room for the cabinet.
Ben had to cut out the 2x4 that ran up the center and framed the area around the medicine cabinet..
With the studs reconfigured, Ben installed sheetrock and we screwed in the medicine cabinet.

Notice we removed the door (at the suggestion of Restoration Hardware). Originally Ben thought it would be impossible to reinstall the door and he wanted to keep it intact, but because the weight of the door was so heavy I thought we should follow the directions. Another little side note: we photographed the level on purpose. Ben said he never knew the bubble could actually make it to the middle of the center lines..

And finally what I consider our "finished" bathroom..
Yes there is still a long way to go- the taping and sanding of the walls, finish paint and moldings. We even need a light fixture. But we're thrilled with the outcome- especially considering what we started with.
Next up..
The fireplace is almost ready.. and just in time for the winter weather.

bathroom floor prep

14 hours down and 29 to go.. without a toilet of course! I must say that going without one when you're sleeping isn't a huge deal but getting up knowing you just have to hold it isn't the greatest way to wake up in the morning.

But the good news is the floor tile will be installed today! And once that sets the most challenging part of the renovation process will be done.. living without a kitchen is nothing compared to this.

So in an effort to prepare the floor for the tile Ben installed a new base floor and hardibacker last night.

Step 1- toilet and sink removal
Ben had asked the plumber to stop by yesterday afternoon and remove both the toilet and the pedestal. Unfortunately he never came so it was up to us to get it done. Obviously I don't have pictures of us taking them out (all hands were needed for the actual removal), but because there was still water in them we couldn't put them in the garage- Ben was worried they would freeze.
Doesn't everyone keep their toilet in the hall?

Step 2- base floor installation
Ben started installing the base on the pedestal side of the bathroom a couple of weeks ago, so last night he had to work in the toilet area.

sink area

toilet area

Step 3- hardibacker
Once the base floor was down Ben had to cut the hardibacker. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of that either (my documenting skills have been suffering recently), but when he was cutting the hole for the toilet one of the boards snapped in half. Once it was cut to fit he installed it by using a layer of thinset between the base and the hardibacker. The same thinset will be used for the tile installation.
You can see the crack around the toilet hole above. But because the tile we opted to go with is small he didn't think that little snafu would be a problem.
I must admit the clean hardibacker floor is a huge improvement from the original. Remember what we started with??

original vinyl tile to the right, quick-fix contact paper lined floor to the left

Let's just hope the plumber shows up to re-install the fixtures so we don't have to go the weekend without a toilet..

Side note: Not sure if you all noticed but we do have new sheetrock in the bathroom! The new professional installer (Ben) was busy earlier this week. There are still a few areas to go but we're on our way to a fully insulated bathroom, with walls no less!