Demo weekend - success

So my last post was some before pictures of the kitchen before the major demo begun.  Towards the end of last week the dumpster arrived and Brian couldn't wait to start putting stuff in it.  Before the demo crew arrived he started to open up the walls in hopes of not finding any surprises and luckily we didn't.

The Hicksville Hedge's arrived Friday night and Bob like us was ready to get started - the pocket door was removed that night :)  The rest was left for Saturday.  Everyone pitched in including the kids and Jane came to help as well.  What a packed day of work that including completing the following:
- built a support wall in the family room, removed the rest of the load bearing wall and putting up the support beam to replace it.
- removed the cabinets, counters, and appliances (man that sledgehammer to the cabinets sure did feel good)
- removed the soffits
- removed layer 1 of the flooring and the thin layer of plywood under it - this also meant hammering down the hundreds of staples that were in the floor (someone must have gotten a new toy as they went nuts with the staples) and a few random nails in the floor.

That was it for the night and we are feeling some drafts - some exposure to the attic while the electric gets updated until we get through the inspection process.  But the rest of the house feels great and you will see why below.

Brian and Bob then went on Sunday and picked up some supplies for us that were easier to get with the truck then trying with the pilot.  You can picture it - similar impact as when you see a car driving with a mattress on top and the people inside holding on.  That is what we feel like every time we pick up drywall or plywood and have to drive slowly home to make sure it doesn't break.

To top everything off the windows got installed today and man are they amazing and the bonus surprise the door arrived as well and was installed.  I was thrilled when I got home today and saw them.  Yep showing my age again that I am so excited but even made my parents come over and look at them.  We are just in heaven.

Below are the demo pictures as well as a before/after of the front of the house.  Shari got some pictures of the kids helping out as well.

The front with new windows and front door

The current state

D day has arrived. Starting the big project

So the time has finally come and we are starting the kitchen project which will include the half bath/laundry room. So this weekend has become the prep weekend. Packing up the kitchen (boy it feels like it was just unpacked, oh wait it was). I have boxes stacked in the living room and shelving in the dining room it is quite a site but need to start somewhere right?  Good thing my new kitchen will have enough cabinets to hold everything unlike the current one.

Then comes my favorite part, wallpaper part 2. Oh yes there is wallpaper in the kitchen. Me and my nemesis meet again. This time a steamer has come to the fight and no paint was applied to the wallpaper. So do I hate it yes, is it better than the last round, you bet. While there is still some sanding to do the wallpaper has been removed from all the walls - except for the wall we are taking out.

Windows are getting installed on the 28-29th and we are looking forward to them, boy it can be very cold with drafty windows, given the temps in the teens this week these can't get installed soon enough. The door is slightly delayed, had to pick out a different one to get it in the size we need. Bummer but not the end of the world.

Brian also started peeling back the vinyl floor to see what is under there - there is some fabulous original gold floors - shame we don't like 1960's gold vinyl or we would be in luck.  That will take some work to get pulled up but the tile will look so much better.

Plans for the holiday will likely be just cleaning up until the end of the week when we need to get the rest of the pantry cabinets and plates packed up to get ready for the wall removal.  Beam is ordered so waiting on that to arrive for the wall we are taking out (get ready volunteers who are helping with that project :) )

So until next week - here are some before photos of the kitchen.

Tada a beautiful dining room

Brian has been hard at work this week putting together my wonderful dining room. It turned out exactly as I had hoped and I love it, plus Brian got a table saw that he has been wanting.

Finished up last weekend cutting down the wood to frame everything out and several coats of primer/paint later the room is complete. We are still missing a few accessories that need to go back up plus I am holding out on drapes until the windows go in. Hearing as early as the 22nd. Yippee.

Here are a few photos of the finished room.

Dining room phase 2 begins

Well I went back to work this week but Brian has continued working on the dining room and it is starting to look like the room we envisioned.

The new bigger doorway has been trimmed out and new baseboards were out in to place. Friday of this week began the work on the wainscoting. This has meant several trips to our favorite local Home Depot - the kids at never excited when that is mentioned :).

A new round of drywall went in for the base of the wall and it is all trimmed out. All of the nail holes have been filled in so sanding and painting awaits and a new beautiful dining room will be ours!!!

Dining Room...my arch nemesis

So one day last week walking through the dining room I make the executive decision that I am going to pull down the ugly stained wallpaper.  How bad can it really be???

So Bri and I walk in and I am not sure where to start as they have painted over the paper at some point in its life so scoring it isn't an option.  Brian brings out a putty knife and starts a spot at the seam.  I then peel off a big strip - success this is going to be a piece of cake.  What is all the fuss about - why does everyone hate this so much?

Oh wait sure the paper peels off but nothing behind it does.  So off to home depot we go for some stuff for Ella's room (our home away from home and we should invest in stock).  We pick some wall paper removal spray off the shelf and I will tackle it the next day.  Oh yes and picked up the paint - can you say yellow - woo hoo I get a yellow room again.  The next morning I am up bright and early ready to get to work, at 7:30 I am getting to work.  The wall paper is coming off in full sheets but there was some damage on the first wall.  I clear all the paper on one wall and get to work spraying the glue.

That is when the wall decided to show me who is boss. So I start spray the glue and scrape away...if only it was that easy.  After several hours and only covering a small portion of the wall and emptying the bottle I was ready to give up.  I couldn't even lift my arms above my head and didn't think I had it in me to keep scrapping.  This wasn't easy and I was losing the battle.  I am sure it wouldn't look strange at all to leave the wallpaper up on the other three walls, would it??  No I must prevail - I will beat this wallpaper.  So to the internet I go - I read feedback from everyone on my facebook post and search on google.  Everything I suggested talked about vinegar/water, soap/water and fabric softner/water.   The last one is the option I picked.  Wow what a difference, it certainly wasn't easy but it was coming off much easier.  So through the 7 hours that day the removal and scrapping continued and I got through the rest of the room.  What a day, arms weak but the walls are scrapped.  Time to clean up.

Day 2 - time for wall repair.  Fill in holes, let it dry, sand and repeat.  Arms are still sore but I will get through this, wash down the walls that evening and time to paint the next day.

Day 3 - my dad calls and offers to come over and paint and guess what best part - no taping as we need to paint the crown molding and are replacing the wainscoting so if we get yellow on what is there no biggie.  We bust through the painting in record time and yes my beautiful yellow room exists.  Phase 1 complete.   Below are a few before and after photos before Phase 2...until tomorrow.