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Kitchen Progress

2011 July 9
by Sarah

It’s been 2.5 weeks since our kitchen looked like this:

Here’s what it looks like today:

Progress has been slower than expected though I’m not sure if that’s because things have just taken more time/work than expected or because the guys have done more half days than we expected. Regardless, we thought we’d be back to an almost fully functional kitchen by now as yesterday was the original estimated end date. We’re learning that estimated is a key word here.

The cabinets arrive on Monday thanks to a little delay called “no shipping on the 4th of July.” Our best guess now is that everything will be done and hooked up by end of day Wednesday. If that’s the case, we’ll have gone without a kitchen for exactly 3 weeks. Monday should be the beginning of things starting to look like a real kitchen again: painting, flooring, and finishing the electrical. Maybe they’ll even set the base cabinets in the room! Tuesday we’re expecting the cabinets, countertops, sink, and appliances to go in. We’re still not sure when the plumber will be able to hook up the water, but it’s supposed to be Tuesday or Wednesday.

Here are some snapshots of the progress:

Old Stove Corner/New Sink Corner

Old Refrigerator Wall/New Stove Wall

Old Interior Window/New Landing Built-In

Ceiling

One very dusty day, they spent a long time chiseling out space in the two solid brick exterior walls to run electrical. A layer of drywall + a layer of cement + a layer of brick = no space for wiring. It also meant the living room got foggy with cement dust and I had to make my escape to the front porch for some fresh air.

We got a lot of new plumbing in the basement including a new sewage pipe. Sounds exciting, huh? Check out how rusted and gunked up our old lead sewage pipe was:

That hole is about the size of my pinky. That’s a lot of build-up. After seeing that, I was actually really happy to have new modern pipes in the basement.

Look! New outlets! Woo hoo!

The new window in progress:

Exterior window shot, still in progress:

Right about now I’m really ready to have my kitchen back. I miss having a sink on the main floor (our only bathroom is upstairs). I’m tired of our dining room and living room also being in upheaval. I want to use the dining room table to spread out and work on other projects.

Though as much as I’m ready to be done with this project, I’m still sure it will be worth it when the kitchen is done. I can’t wait to see it start to really take shape next week! So far I haven’t been stressing out too much about the baby coming early while the house is still in upheaval. Statistically we should have plenty of time to run all dishes through the dishwasher, unpack everything from the basement, and thoroughly dust the whole first floor before he makes his entrance. We’ve done pretty well eating-wise too — lots of sandwiches, a little grilling, Trader Joe’s microwave meals, and coupons for meals out have made it very doable if not quite as healthy or economical as usual.


17 Responses
  1. July 9, 2011

    Your pictures are amazing (especially that gunky pipe!). I love seeing what’s going on in your kitchen. Yes, things usually take longer than “estimated”, but once it’s all done, the irritations of now will be quickly forgot. Thanks for sharing! ~ Barbara

  2. July 9, 2011

    Your pictures are amazing (especially that gunky pipe!). I love seeing what’s going on in your kitchen. Yes, things usually take longer than “estimated”, but once it’s all done, the irritations of now will be quickly forgot. Thanks for sharing! ~ Barbara

  3. Alice permalink
    July 9, 2011

    Exciting progress! I’m sure it will be lovely!

  4. Alice permalink
    July 9, 2011

    Exciting progress! I’m sure it will be lovely!

  5. July 9, 2011

    Progress is looking good! Patience seems to be the key word of the moment. It probably feels good too to come up to standard pipes and get out of the olden days – that was an impressive photo of the pipe – wow! I really like how you guys have been able to eat healthy and avoid the fast food – well, you have, right? : ) I’m sure those yagoot coupons will come in handy!.. Hope it all comes together this week! ~Karen

    • July 11, 2011

      The only fast food we’ve eaten has been Chick-fil-a! Even when we eat out we try to keep it fairly healthy: sandwich shops, local Mexican joints, etc. Not sure if Steak ‘n’ Shake qualifies as healthy though… hmmm…

  6. Annetta permalink
    July 9, 2011

    I’m thinking your mom will be back from vacation in time to help you put everything back in place before the baby comes…or if/when the baby comes!
    Exciting for both..new kitchen and new baby. Enjoy them both!

    • July 11, 2011

      Thanks, we plan to! :) It would be great to have mom’s help, but we don’t yet know when she might come out to visit. Probably not until a bit after the baby is born. Sometimes the 5-hour distance stinks more than others!

  7. Annetta permalink
    July 9, 2011

    I’m thinking your mom will be back from vacation in time to help you put everything back in place before the baby comes…or if/when the baby comes!
    Exciting for both..new kitchen and new baby. Enjoy them both!

    • July 11, 2011

      Thanks, we plan to! :) It would be great to have mom’s help, but we don’t yet know when she might come out to visit. Probably not until a bit after the baby is born. Sometimes the 5-hour distance stinks more than others!

  8. Desi permalink
    July 9, 2011

    You’ll be getting meals and ordering pizza when he comes, right? 😉 I hope this is done before then for your own sanity, but things will be fine either way, I’m sure!

    • July 11, 2011

      Yes, the experienced parents like to laugh at me when I mention wanting the kitchen done first. It will work out! Our church is great about providing meals and our favorite local burger joint happens to be literally around the corner from our house. :)

  9. Desi permalink
    July 9, 2011

    You’ll be getting meals and ordering pizza when he comes, right? 😉 I hope this is done before then for your own sanity, but things will be fine either way, I’m sure!

  10. July 9, 2011

    I’m sure it will be worth it end the end. But, I can imagine that being in upheaval like that for so long would get old. It’s fun to see the “in progress” pictures!

  11. July 9, 2011

    I’m sure it will be worth it end the end. But, I can imagine that being in upheaval like that for so long would get old. It’s fun to see the “in progress” pictures!

  12. July 9, 2011

    Um, yeah, that should have said “worth it IN the end.” Sorry! ; )

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