Demo Days

Yesterday beau and I started the day off with a stop at Starbucks and a walk on the boardwalk. After taking a little bit of "us" time, we returned home to start demolishing the kitchen. Boy, oh boy, let me tell you, I had a great time. Seriously, I did. It was kind of fun taking it all apart.

  I know I showed a bit of the tile in this post, but you didn't get to see the whole shebang. Well, here she is in all of her glory. (Or at least what was her glory...)

It looks charming in photos. And while it was a cozy little kitchen, notice the proximity of the washer/dryer to the table. And the dishwasher to the table on the other side. It was nearly impossible to work around the table. I had to lean over the cabinets that hide the dryer to get clothes in or out. And if there was a lone sock in there, forget about it. I couldn't reach that far in. So I had to work out a strange contorted system to get lone items out of the dryer. Annoying, but not the biggest deal in the world. Heck, not too long ago washers and dryers were a luxury. Certainly when then house was built in 1947 they weren't considering how I was going to do laundry and empty the dishwasher in the kitchen.

We really enjoy eating in the kitchen at the table, so just taking that out to free up some space wasn't an option. There was still the problem of aesthetics. Remember the tile?

Yeah. That tile. It had to go. We talked it over and had a few people come out to look at the setup, and we really liked Jim Kennedy from Coastal Kitchens. I especially liked him because the first thing he said was, "That washer and dryer needs to be out of the kitchen." Yay, Jim!!!!

He redesigned the space, beau and I picked out cabinets, hardware, tile, etc. and we had a plan. We decided, though, that we would take care of the demolition. we opted to do that because 1) it could save us some money, 2) it sounded like something we could do and 3) I really wanted to get my hands on that tile.

So that's what we did yesterday. We had the help of my wonderful parents and their tools of destruction. And our friends Andy and Meagan stopped by with bulging muscles and encouraging cheers. ("Go boys, go boys.") Thanks guys! You're the best. We'd still be working on phase one without your help hauling, hammering, prying and drinking. (That part might have been more so from Andy and Meagan than my parents...)

 This tool was my favorite. I don't think it left my hands all day.

Isn't she scary? You should see what she can do.

We done did rip the snot out of everything!!!! Many of the holes in the walls were already there. Apparently they just put the bead board over whatever was there--or, technically, wasn't there. However, some of the holes were put in by yours truly and my mom. Beau and I weren't sure what the insulation and electrical situation was going to look like. Fortunately at this point it looks like the wiring is good. The insulation, on the other hand, is nonexistent. Nope. No pink fluff behind any of the walls. As soon as mom and I realized that we'd need to insulate the whole kitchen, we stopped being careful pulling the tile down.

Today's project to to tear down to studs. Beau is chomping at the bits, so I've got to get back to work. he's got his work outfit on: pants with a reflective ring around each calf. Where does one get such pants and why don't I have a pair. more importantly, why don't I have a pink tool belt?

What do you think so far? Can you believe the mess? Tell me I have no reason to fear and that our house will be back in order before we know it. Even if you're lying between your teeth I'd like to hear it...

Off to destroy more walls and then insulate. Wish me luck!