| These are the "before" pictures. This is
pretty much how the kitchen has looked over the past 40 years. |
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| The fireplace was (and will) remain blocked off since the
flue is used for the main furnace beneath. Many people remember sitting around the table singing and reciting
poetry. I remember eating my oatmeal with raisins in it (which my
father called "rat droppings") each morning before school. |
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| Most of the cabinets and furniture were old marble-top
chests and odd-ball pieces. |
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| We knew there was a door behind the old hutch that had been
plastered up more than 50 years ago. We decided to open it up and
create a new connection to the wing, which is to become the new family
room.
We discovered that the door was there, but it wasn't original. It
had been punched through (poorly at that) some time in the 1920s based on
the trim work.
The sub-floor, we discovered, was blocked over the original, which, due
to rotted beams, had collapsed about seven inches. |
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| As elsewhere, all the plaster had to come down. |
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| Then, we decided that the old floor wasn't salvageable at
all -- too many nails, holes, and rotten spots. We had to sister all the joists (after jacking them back into place) to
get a flat floor. This required hand chisels, Sawzall, and lots of
checking with a laser leveler.
(more soon) |
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| April 4
Now the new sub-floor is in and the old doorway repaired by Bill
Forsythe. A nice strong lintel and remortered brick above.
New door casing and paneling will be installed in the doorway to match
the style of the house. |
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| Early June
The walls and ceiling are now framed out. We are nearing the
"close in", but need electrical and plumbing rough
in.
Soon. We hope. Soon...
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| June 13, 2000
Chuck (Heidler Plumbing) installs the vents for the
kitchen.
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| Early July - The brown coat begins in the
kitchen. To the right Ken Case III (Wally the plasterer's nephew)
flexes his muscles as he dumps another load of Structolite on Wally's
board.
Below Wally shows us how he squares up the corners very carefully so
appliances and cabinets will fit tightly. Since this is the kitchen,
he is taking extra care. |
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| Mid July the white coat begins. We are
doing the kitchen before any of the other first floor rooms so that the
plaster can dry. In this room we need to install a LOT of cabinets
and other cool things.
It's starting to look like a house again! |
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| Just wait until you see this kitchen!
Here Steve Park installs the first set of cabinets. Looking good.
Full spread shortly... |
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| We have some of the smartest appliances
around, and we now know the kitchen really works -- we've been using it
for several months now. This is one of the few rooms where
everything stayed (well, we did have to pay for it...) |
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