As part of my contract with Image Custom Homes, and to save a bucket or two of money, I said I would do the interior demolition and remove the exterior siding. I started taking out the kitchen interior a month ago, working when I had time, cleaning drawers and packing up the china, glassware, etc. The big cabinet move and the removal of the stove came next. Then I unlooked the sink and started busting out cabinets. The last thing to leave was the oven....I still had a turkey in the freezer and two pizzas! One last night of cooking and then out it went. I'm getting pretty good at unhooking electrical and I have a freezer full of cooked turkey now...good for all those sandwiches I'll be fixing while I have no kitchen!
The kitchen had wood paneled walls painted white- those came down pretty easy with my trusted hammer and crowbar. Underneath was drywall but all the screws were visible so it was a straightforward removal. As you can see in the photo above it looks like new construction- insulation good, studs clean....nice. Too bad they don't have a "moving" machine that would allow you to zap a wall and move it down about six feet and re-zap it into place! Once I got the ceiling down- a dirty job if there ever was one- it's evident where I was having the leaks. A layer of 1x paneling over the top of a sheet of 1/4" ply, plastic, insulation- it all still looks good and fairly clean but evidence of water getting in around the skylights and probably from the upper vent. And evidence as well where Mr. Mousey was living. He had several little pockets of food stored away. I guess I don't think much about it- we live in the country after all and he was on the other side of the ceiling, not in my kitchen really but my partner, George, found it unsettling...lol....Overall, the kitchen came apart fast after I beat apart the crappy cabinets. Didn't take a lot of beating since they were pretty cheesy. I saved some of the tiles- and made garden markers from some of the white ones. The blue and white decorative ones are boxed up for a future project...First the cabinets, then the walls, and lastly the ceiling....all down and out the door. Kevin Settele helped one afternoon with taking down the ceiling and helping me get the sink cabinet broken out around the plumbing. He's a good guy...easy to work with, funny, and a hard worker. Helping with the demo is just part of his willingness to do what he needs to do to get the job...plus I think he thought I could use the help...and frankly after everything else and all the beating apart, unscrewing, tearing down, cleaning lumber, moving it to the shop, sorting it out, loading up the trash...yeah-I'm a little tired out and achey. My hands especially.... bruises on legs and arms- looks like I've been in a fight and come out on the short end of it all...
Bottom picture is George working with Kevin Settele of Image Custom Homes to take out the ceiling in the entry. I had torn off the pantry and the closet and removed all the oak trim, cleaning all the lumber to be reused. Kevin arrived (for a second afternoon of fun) to help take down the last of the ceiling and final drywall in the entry. The kitchen and entry are demo'ed!
The top picture shows the view from my "dining room" into the new entry area thru the log wall opening...a re-configuration of existing space to make a new way to come into the house allowing the kitchen to expand.
Kevin brought me these great plastic barrels to use for the demolition- they would make GREAT rain barrels! But for now they are making great trash cans. By the end of the day the entire porch was full of these barrels and big pieces of drywall and all the siding is down, nails removed, and it's stacked on the south porch....ready for the "boys" to arrive on Tuesday to do the structural demolition.
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