Cabinets start being installed

Base cabinets were preliminarily 'dry fit' today to make sure they would fit the space. Grills were installed in the toe kicks for the HVAC systems return air.

This 'kinda' shows the rear wall / island and oven tower cabinets


Jeff and his dad (the Brandt's) mounting the frig and pantry cabinets

The rear wall with frig temporarily placed

Kickin butt and kickin back on vacation the last two weeks

The project is starting to show some progress. We were blessed with a long weekend at the beach (THANKS JIM AND BONNIE FOR THE USE OF YOUR GR8 PLACE) with all of the children and grandchildren (Leslie, Jeff with Koty and Tyler from Monroe, NC; Megan with Eleri from Albuquerque, NM (sorry you had to work Sam you missed a gr8 time) as well as Lauren and Eli with Vinny and Jaxon from Columbia, SC (soon to be from Boulder, CO.)) We will put some pics on the next post

We are shooting for Thanksgiving to be all done with the upstairs. Yes, I said the upstairs. As projects tend to grow and take on a larger scope so has this one. Starting as just a new kitchen has now expanded into a new half bath, moving the laundry, new doors throughout upstairs, new hardwood flooring, new on-demand water heater, new trim throughout upstairs, new paint in most of the upsatirs, etc, etc, etc.

Don't get me wrong, we can do it. I am married to the best woman in the world and she loves to assist, it makes the project go so much faster when everyone is on the same page. I am so lucky and priveledged

Drywall has been taped, primed and ceiling/walls painted. 1/4 of the cabinets came on Saturday 7/26 (yesterday). What you see is the oven cabinet that will house the double oven with microwave/convection oven abobe making it a three built-in oven cabinet.
Drawer units, refrigerator unit (upside down) and 9' corner pantry cabinet.
This shows the spice/seasoning rack that will be on each side of the cooktop housing all of the spices, vinegars, ect. We are playing with stain on the sides of the cabinets to determine what color they will be.
This is the base of the built in china cabinet that will sit on the left of the fireplace.
Looking hard you can see the six 4" can lights that are on the outside ceiling, there are six more on the other side of the ceiling and three pendent lights that will gp over the island.

This shows some of the cabinets that are on the side of the triple oven cainet. This cabinet goes around the chimney of the downstairs fireplace.

Drywalling and bringing it closer

The following pics show the guys taping. The rockers showed up on Friday and put up the majority of drywall in the new kitchen, laundry and 1/2 bath. Saturday they taped the seams and today, Sunday, they are putting on the bed coat.

Notice how the peak appears to be in the center of the fireplace, this was accomplished by lowering the ceiling on the left side of the following picture.

Cabinets are going where there is no drywall here. Power for the 3 ovens and speaker wires for the digital am/fm and surround sound will run between the wood on the brick

work continues

Just a short post to let everyone know that progress is still being made. The cabinets are almost all done after approx 10 weeks of construction. All the lights and outlets were wired into the new breaker box. The old kitchen got fitted with new can lights that look gr8. The box for the light/fan in the new half bath are in and wire run. We started running speaker wire for the new kitchen sound system and that will also be completed this weekend. Yard lights and outdoor outlets will be installed and wired this weekend as well.

Got inspection scheduled for next Wednesday p.m. after which, if all is good, will be drywall time...........

It seems that every time I look around the project I find something that is missing or should be upgraded. I either have to quit looking or decide that we will never finish this project (the choice is obvious isn't it!!)

The plumbers were here

Drain work under the new toilet and new location for the washer
New 3" pipe for the new half bath and relocated laundry. This will be extended into the kitchen addition once the island is in place.

Just a shot of the two new vents through the roof for the new half bath (there already was one there for the old kitchen sink). They will not be noticable once we spray them flat black.

New water outlet for new refrig's icemaker.

Drain and supply for sink in half bath. We had to build a wall out in front of the existing wall as there was a massive header underneath which prevented running the drains.

Rough in for the new toilet (water supply drain and vent.

Rough in for the new location of the washer.

Mr. Kerr, head plumber and company owner, figuring out just how all of this is going to go together.

Eatin out, at relatives and friends / 'WE DO NOT HAVE A KITCHEN' (edited per my darling wife)

Chicken spinning on the grill. We have done this twice so far and its better than finger licking!!

This actually is larger now and will be included in next post. The header has been removed and supports built in above the ceiling.

This is the old kitchen without drywall. It was ripped out and hauled away to the dump a week ago.

Same old kitchen but with the wall framed for the new half bath. No, there is not going to be two doors going into this little half bath, just keep reading this post.

Here was that second door we just saw above (sorry, hope you don't get a crink in your neck viewing this pic). This was Saturday p.m.

A view from the old kitchen side

The door has disappeared and the new defined formal foyer has been revelled. Sandy did an excellent job in painting the drywall work as well as finding the paint in the garage.

Additionally there has been electrical work, plumbing work and planning done that wasn't pictured. We have been trying to do as much as we can weeknights and weekends.

drywall coming in about 2 weeks

The brick closest to you is on the existing garage, where the wood siding turns vertical is the kitchen addition start and the chimney for the ne fireplace. Took pic to show you that the painting is complete (outside is done / except for water treating the new deck).

Pile of trash is cabinets and carpet that we removed yesterday.... Johnathan you're a good man!!
View of the front of the house. All trim and garage doors painted the same color, the heavey dark brown has left the building being replaced by a lighter colr that blends well with the existing brickwork. Hard to see here but we went with the green shutters which look great!!
This pic illustrates an old kitchen minus its cabinets except for the sink (which we are going to try and hold on to for awhile longer) and the frig. Everything was boxed and placed downstairs in the den. It is amazing how much STUFF you accumulate, we had three good size bags of canned food that was out of date. We called our middle daughter and asked her if it would still be okay to which she said we could eat it if we wanted to risk botulism (not sure if I spelled this correct). Anyway, we got rid of it
Another snap of a cabinetless old kitchen. This area will become a half bath at the far end and a laundry in the front with the washing machine and dryer behind louvered doors (stay tuned to future posts t0 this blog to see how that turns out).
Looking from the old kitchen through the new openning into the new kitchen.
We took some time yesterday to go to the 'PLANT SHOW' (an annual event in Columbia, SC at the farmers market where everyone comes and sells garden and yard items, plants, shrubs, trees, etc.) and planted an herb garden on the deck. This pot is approx. 15" in diameter.

Here is where the large window used to be that divided the old dining room from the new kitchen. This is now also removed and needs some framing and electrical work done before the drywall folks arrive.