The Kitchen Renovation Project
Phase 2 - Rebuilding
 
While the demolition was underway, Lisa selected paint color, cabinets, countertop and flooring. Everything was ready for building the new kitchen. It was the middle February 2002.

This computer generated image came from the web site of the cabinet maker. We supplied the dimensions of the room, the cabinets Lisa selected and other details. It turned out to be a reasonable approximation of how the finished kitchen would look. 
 

I made this scale image of the countertop
with the cook top and sink Lisa wanted
to see how they would fit. We ordered the
cook top online.
Before the new ceiling went up, 
Vic had some wiring to do. We planned for new
ceiling lights for the combined space, and extra
lighting over and under the new cabinets.


The digital camera came in handy for seeing what was going on in tight places.
Here's a view inside a wall, showing the path of a wire.
Getting the new ceiling up was a little awkward, but careful measuring and the power tools got the job done. The room is only 5 by 12 feet, so it didn't take  many cuts. Some new insulation was used too.

In early March, all the sheet rock is in place, ready for Vic to fill in the cracks.
Several layers of joint compound and it's time to sand and paint.
Oh boy, the sanding dust goes everywhere!

The primer coat went on with no trouble,
but there was an ugly incident while I was
applying the finish coat. I fell backwards off 
the ladder and sat in the paint tray. It made
quite an impression on me.
It's late April and the walls are finished.
This halogen track light created some dramatic patterns on the walls. 
Lisa ordered her new cabinets from Home Depot. We picked up the kits in twenty something boxes, with instructions in several languages.

Assembly wasn't too difficult once we had a little practice.

I bolted a piece of plywood directly into the wall studs to make sure there was plenty of support.
I made a stand out of old lumber, just high enough to hold the wall cabinets in place while I bolted them to the wall.

The new floor is from Pergo, some kind of very dense composite material with a clever tongue and groove system which locks the planks tightly together without nails or glue. It went down quickly and looks great. The hardest part was trying to cut the pieces where required.

The countertops were custom made by a Home Depot supplier and delivered
to our house. This photo shows the refrigerator from Home Depot. I let them
deliver it to the upstairs location.
This counter had to be trimmed a bit because of irregularities in the shape of the walls.

Later I had to cut two holes in it for the sink and cook top.
Lisa and I picked up the sink from Home Depot one late night in early June. I thought it was about the heaviest thing I ever tried to lift. Later I put it on some scales and found out it weighs around 75 pounds. By the time I got it upstairs, I would have guessed twice that.
Heading down the home stretch on June 2, 2002. The sink and cook top are the only major things left to install. 
Time to connect the power and water. 
Everything is working, only minor trim is left to do.