Kitchen Floor Finishing

This is where we left off:

With the old floor removed, our good friend and contractor Lee sanded the original fir floor.

Sanding alone was an improvement:

And finally:

This last picture doesn't show much, but the floor looks great. Lee calls it "rustic." It could also be called "way better than what we had before."

Kitchen Demolition

This week, we moved into full cabinet demolition. Sledge hammer, claw hammer, scrapers, heat guns, paint remover, crow bar, pry bar and circular saw all helped us handle this task. Let's just get straight to the pictures.

Last week, we started with paint stripping.

This week, we removed the cabinets. The cabinets were constructed in place, and made of timber- not plywood. The cheap laminate refacing material stripped off easily, as did the plastic trim.

Before:

After:

Did you notice the larder in the picture above? You can see the vents in the wall still.

We did find one piece of an older flooring with what may have been a really nice pattern at some point.

The existing vinyl flooring pulled up without too much effort, the paper backing remained stuck on the floor. To remove that, we had to scrap by hand. Took all day, but we did it.

When we were done, we saw this:

Then, we went to dinner.

Special thanks to Norm (for the haul-off), Jes (for the loaner tools and radio), Ginny (for sharing great adhesive-scraping skills).

Another lesson learned: When you remove a garbage disposer, get ready for a very stinky mess.

Moss killer

Like the rest of the Pacific Northwest, our roof has provided a great a habitat for moss. This does not thrill these home-owners, so out came the moss killer. Not our most exciting project, but still... You know we have way more than just one picture, but let's not go overboard. After all, it's just moss killer.

Next Project: Operation New Kitchen

That's right, the kitchen. It's the project homeowners dream about, and home buyers focus on. It's the room where we congregate, and one of the first places we think to clean when company is coming over. The kitchen.

In the last eight weeks, or so, we've met a few contractors, and shopped around (online) for appliances, tiles, and cabinet styles. We've made most of the choices, purchased appliances (at a bargain- but that's another blog post), and have a start date.

In two short weeks, the floor will be refinished. We have that much time to demo, so a new post should be up soon (we've already snapped the first pictures of paint removal on the trim!). Stay tuned (if you are excited as this homeowner is!)!

"The List" of 2010

Remember this list? This list was posted in January 2010:

The upcoming projects include:

• stripping woodwork (in progress)
• removing old wallpaper (in progress, going great!)
• paint walls and woodwork (I know, I know)
• level yard
• retaining wall along front sidewalk
• french drains
• fix gutters
• repair driveway
• new back patio pavers
• Restore the 5 sash windows

So much for lists. In 2010 we've:

• fixed one gutter of the two
• finished the paint stripping/wallpaper removal and painting in the dining room

The yard project is about to get started, but the retaining wall is on the back burner, pending some other projects. This month, we're hoping to start the french drains and leveling of the yard, along with a landscaping overhaul. "Overhaul" sounds impressive, but mostly we'll remove most of the plants that aren't working, bring in some new ones, and (hopefully) build some raised beds for the 2011 gardening season.