Just for fun

Here's a before and (nearly) after shot of the kitchen. I don't miss those days

After I got up in the ceiling and kicked down the drywall

A lot of work later

Nice tiles

Of the 2 neighbors that saw through the screen door to the kitchen, they both commented on the nice subway tiles. I think they're right, they do look pretty striking.

We're still on the trimming and finishing. the lights are done, you can just see the kitchen ones, the skirting/base board is going on as are the window surrounds. i'd have done more but I ran out of MDF and it's too heavy to encourage me to go and wrestle some more from Lowe's. Soon...

Now we just need an oven, a hood extractor thing and to install the fridge and the kitchen will be pretty much complete.

Steff cleaning up the grout. We chose 'warm grey' to bring out the pattern. i think it works well

More progress

We're getting into the fun, constructive parts of the work now. we put the kitchen together, the sink in, the dishwasher connected and even a ceiling fan.

Have a look:

Our man sanding the plaster work

Nearly finished

Painted with primer and ceiling paint

Kitchen improving with attached countertops and dishwasher

Operational cooktop. I don't think there's any leaking gas.

Sink installed - cutting the holes in that expensive countertop is not fun

nice brushed-nickel ceiling fan

looks like a plumber did it, but no, it was me! It leaked from 4 sources when I first pressurized it, but we learn.

I am Steve, destroyer of kitchens

More board, chipboard and half the wall covered in tonge and groove board. Shame to pull the last out, but needs must. Whilst I was at it, I thought I'd bring down the ceiling.

Next I have to figure out how to get out the 400lb sink and its cabinet.

Outer wall down, ready for insulation

Ceiling too, why not?

more outside wall, more boards, more work to put the boards back

cheapest kitchen furniture

There's a lack of storage and prepartion space in the kitchen, so rather than spending money on something that's going to be dumped when we re-do, I figured I'd build something from scrap.

Not pretty, but it does the job

And it only cost about 3 dollars

Now it just needs a lick of paint.

Where's that smell coming from?

So downstairs has been damp, I think just from it being left alone for so long. It made the carpets damp and mildew-y so we took those out, painted the floor, bleached everything that even looked like mold got the place smelling a lot better, but still something remained.

The last thing to try was the old sink cabinet. I had feared to get too far into that as it was nasty, but the time came and it seemed a drain had dripped at some point, or a pipe but either way the mold was serious on the particle board and was so thick it was like flock. The board itself was so rotted and fragile that it couldn't easily be picked up as it just crumbled like weetabix.

I sawed and cut thing to pieces and threw it out, turns out that the box supports the sink so I quickly put some of it back whilst I improvised a support, crude but it works.

Steff said 'you love to destroy things'. Yes, yes I do

Years old and damp particle board is not robust, but at least the mold had something to eat

Finished, but not pretty