Long overdue was the upstairs overhaul. It was time for new flooring (AGAIN - the hardwoods had been destroyed by our dogs - and apparently gently walking on them with heels), new kitchen cabinetry, paint throughout the upstairs (walls and ceiling), new floor trim, and a new railing. To say that it took a lot of TIME (and frustrating - waiting for the cabinet installer) is an understatement.
We decided to do a lot of the work ourselves (kitchen demo and paint). But, this time, we decided to let professionals handle more of it. Gettin' old, ya know. *wink*
Before pics:
During:
Me in January: Standing on 2x12's in order to paint above the stairway. Zoinks! Having to use a ladder on these boards was thrilling, but not necessarily in a "good" way!! Gah!
By late January, the entire upstairs ceiling (UGH... 2, sometimes 3 coats to cover the light mocha color), all walls, and crown molding had been painted. I'd also installed new black traversing curtain rods and pull backs, plus new black door knobs.
And... then we waited... and pestered contractors... and waited... and pestered more.
After FINALLY getting an install date of "end of April", I took a few days off from work and got to the "fun" part.... DEMO DAY!!! Sidenote: I had NO IDEA just how much CRAP we (ok, probably "I") had crammed into the cabinets. We had about a dozen plastic tubs and toes chock FULL of spices, supplements, food, dishes, etc. Oye.
I couldn't WAIT for that darn soffit to become history. I had punched holes in all three soffits months ago, confirming there were no electrical wires, pipes, etc, in there. (Eric hadn't been pleased about that, as it was quite an eyesore.)
Removing the cabinetry was pure hell. Whoever installed these cabinets in 1976 was serious. They installed them to be darn near apocalypse-proof. They installed them with not only ridiculously long screws with flathead turns (we were lucky when we were able to find the screws), but also with heavy duty 4" nails... that were mostly COUNTER-SUNK into the wood cabinets. I had to call in Eric for some assistance. We'd take turns chipping out the wood around the nails and prying the #$%% things out.
On one hand, I was impressed by the longevity the installers had in mind. On the other hand, this was not only tedious, but extremely difficult. My bum shoulder got a ridiculous workout for a few days. Incidentally, it was better therapy than all the targeted exercised I was assigned to do by my PT! We'll call that part a WIN.
The soffit was ridiculous to remove also, but not as bad as the cabinets. The long nails were used to pound the framing boards into place too. And, I had to score the ceiling so the drywall wouldn't be damaged when removing the crown and soffit.
Once it was all said and done, we had a helluva pile for landfill disposal. Ugh.
The porcelain tiles were also a peach to remove. We installed them, so we knew how they were seated. They had been set atop a .25" piece of plywood that had been nailed and stapled down. So, both layers had to be removed. The demo was a crazy messy and dusty process and we had plastic everywhere. Eric did most of the flooring decom. Good times. 🥴
Once the flooring had been removed, we had to either remove the floor staples or pound them down. We removed the "easy ones" and just pounded the other ones down. We put Ramsey to work for a bit so he could "appreciate" the efforts of this remodel.
Demo DONE! We called in the electricians to then rough in the under-cabinet lighting, relocate the electrical for the microwave/hood vent combo, and upgrade some of the outlets.
Once that was complete, it was time for the cabinet installers to start in a few days.
But... first... I had some drywalling to patch up. There were some very uneven walls and such, from the soffits. It was crazy. I had multiple layers of mud and had to feather it out so the areas weren't such huge eyesores or very noticeable. To say that I was freaked out was an understatement. I'd never done this type of drywall work before. And, our buddy Jonah was not available to help us at such spur-of-the-moment. Doh!
There were four uneven and whacky locations. Pictures don't show the extent of it. Much of the old drywall wasn't even finished (where the soffits were) - and that's where the 1/2 to 3/4" gaps and differences were. Ugh. I've got tape and a few coats of mud on these areas. ...guess I chucked the horrific pics of how bad they were initially.
So... cabinet install started the following week. ...White uppers and brushed linen black lowers in the sink area and peninsula. I was already giddy! Love the black! But, we had an issue with the under-sink plumbing. The pipes were not in the correct spot for the cabinets to fit properly, so they had to be moved. Luckily, our plumber is a nice guy and was able to get there the next day.
And, when the cabinet installer and interior designer came to survey our place and take measurements, they did not take into consideration the location of our existing pot lights. So, we had to call the electrician back to relocate them.
I had previously booked a flooring contractor. But, for the past month, he'd not been responding. He'd officially ghosted me, after a number of text messages and voicemails. Shocked, I had to HURRY and find a new flooring crew! I went on Facebook Rants & Raves, inquiring. I got immediate feedback and made some calls. A guy who owns a small construction company called back. His wife was going to have a baby soon and he needed a smaller project for his main employee to complete while he was on leave with his family. The timing was good for both of us. They were scheduled for the next week.
The logistics of the flooring was tricky. The large 100+ gallon fish tank resides in the SE corner of our house. We knew we would have to disassemble the fish tank, house the fish in buckets, allow the flooring crew to decom the old and install new flooring in this area, place the floor trim in this corner area... and I would have to finish painting that area (which I could not reach in January).
The second (medium-sized) fish tank had to be removed from the dining room as well. I was up at 6AM and Eric was up a few hours thereafter. The flooring guys were scheduled to be there right after lunch.
As the guys were demo'ing the old floor (we helped!) and starting to lay the new [seemingly-bulletproof] laminate, they rammed their heads into the new light fixture in the dining room about a half dozen times. The glass shades are now crooked and it won't ever be the same (we tried!). ...Can't help that much now (guess I should have waited on the light install). Oye. Lesson learned.
Here was Jango while the flooring guy was here... he was freaked out and just stayed on the couch (which had been moved to be out of the way).
We had two dozen buckets full of fish and aquarium water stashed in our bedroom. It was chaos.
This day was a CONSTANT 20+ hours. We did NOT sit down at ALL (to rest, eat, or anything) until very late in the evening. Our bodies were so sore that if we did sit, we wouldn't want to get back up. At about 2AM, I couldn't take it anymore and had to get to bed. Eric followed about an hour or so later after finishing up the large fish tank [re]installation.
BTW: We're not moving the fish tank EVER again. It will stay there until we die.
The countertop crew came to measure. Something "came up", so they were a day late. When they were here, the cabinet guys were working, plus the electricians had to return for the pot light reloc and to install the pendant. It was a zoo.
We temporarily placed the old countertops onto the new cabinets so we had a work surface. It would be weeks before the new ones would be installed.
Once the cabients were in, I immediately placed the cabinet pulls. (Instant gratification!!) Some of the cabinet doors were dinged or wonky, so they would have to be replaced later. But, things were starting to take shape.
Sidenote:
The cabinets are great. Every cabinet on the lower level has pull-out drawers to make things easy to access. We have four lazy susans - two uppers and two lowers. I wasn't sure why that was necessary, but now that I have them and started filling them up - I would be lost without them! And we have an awesome floor to ceiling pantry for food storage. Then.... time to install the quartz countertops!
I started decorating a bit, just so it wouldn't look so unfinished. Cuz... why not?
I had an issue with the way the waterfall was done (the veins didn't line up at all - as they were supposed to). I had brought my concerns up to the lead installer early during the installation process, but he rudely dismissed me. I left, with my tail between my legs and jumped on a conference call. Eric was outside mowing. :-(
I couldn't take it anymore, so I brought up my concerns again. The guy blew up, got red-faced, his eyes teared up, and left the house for about a half an hour, sitting in his vehicle. That was awkward. Then, he just left, leaving the second guy behind. After feeling like I was a horrible person for just wanting what was expected, I spoke to the owner and made a plan to remediate this situation.
We put white duct tape over the seam of the waterfall since, at our request, it had not been bonded together yet. (Having bonded this piece could have had all sorts of issues when having to remove it later. Plus, the waterfall also did not hit the floor; it was about .5" too short.)
Once the old countertops and all of the flooring was in the trailer, Eric and Connor took it to the dump. It was quite a load!
We had over an actual ton of refuse.
A few weeks later, while Eric was gone to a fishing tournament (around my birthday), I threw some new artwork on the walls and new covers for the couch and pillows. I later confirmed (already knowing, really) that off-WHITE was a poor choice when you have a dog. And, the couch cover never wanted to stay on. Eventually, it was just removed. Maybe we'll get a different couch next year.
The custom railing craftsman came too. He installed the iron railing first.
He later came to install the handrail, banister, and floor cap (after the flooring vendor fixed their boo boos).
The new railing is actually STURDY. So... fashionable AND functional! Win Win! This is probably one of my favorite things from this renovation.
The orange-ish/cherry-stained doors had to go too. White was too bland and the wood stain was just bad with the grey trim. We conferred and nixed the light grey trim. I painted all of the doors and door trim out with the dark grey color to "go" with the fireplace. The bifold doors got new black knobs as well. Much better!
We worked with the countertop installer a few more times to get the waterfall completed correctly (oye - what a deal)
For what we're paying, the dream kitchen had to be right!! This was much better. They had to make yet another return trip to get the dishwasher adhered to the cabinetry too (the lead installer had previously - mistakenly? - thrown out the mounting hardware - another hiccup). I had purchased four sets, just to make sure there wouldn't have to be a FOURTH trip by Mr. Crabby Pants.
Then... without hesitation, I was able to start installing the backsplash!! Sidenote and lesson learned: Do not EVER purchase backplash online! Just go pick it up from the store. I reordered it TWICE and all boxes came back smashed to pieces. I picked some up in Sioux Falls when I was there for a work project.
Trowel in hand, vat of mastic ajar... ready to go!
Since it was decided to install the 3x12 tiles in a modern stacked pattern vs. a running bond, I had to do some measuring to get it done correctly, as to alleviate any potential OCD spikes when viewing them in the future. I installed a ledger board to make sure everything was straight and didn't sag whilst the mastic was still wet.
The countertops were covered up too so they wouldn't get nasty and full of mastic. Each and every one of the tiles was properly adjusted slightly, to avoid an uneven/unlevel installation. The backsplash install was FUN!! It was a bit wonky and difficult on the ol' back, but with the aid of an electric tile saw, it was a good little project! ...love me some power tools! Ar ar ar!
The next day, I grouted the tiles. And, when that was dry, I caulked all around the places the tiles met cabinets and countertop. For now, I could only do the north and northeast walls, as the cabinet vendor had to return to install the shelf above the sink (plus the crown moulding and reordered doors too).
Sidenote: Our new "do-everything" microwave is awesome. Kudos to the company for creating a piece of kitchen hardware that can microwave, steam, broil/grill, convection bake, convection cook, air fry, defrost, and more!
The above-cabinet ledger, crown moulding, and shelf took TWO DAYS to wrap up! The carpenter (a very precise young guy, Connor's age) actually put the crown pieces together on the floor and THEN put up the one wonky chunk. To me, that took some seriously mad measuring skills.
Literally, the MINUTE he left at 5:30 PM, I started caulking all around the top of the cupboards It made all the difference in the finishing.
The next day, I started installing the backsplash above the sink and the smaller areas on this side of the kitchen. The cabinet guy still one "quick" (half day) to install the custom shelf above the sink.
Once that shelf was in, the final tiles went in. And, new white cover plates were installed over the old outlets. To save a couple hundred bucks or so, we opted for that quick fix (a full cover plate) vs. replacing some of the electrical outlets.
I love checking off the boxes!
After pics:
The fireplace had gotten a paint job in January too. I found some new hydrangea and greens at Hobby Lobby for the tops of the pier cabinets.
I found a fun new shag rug at Target. Of course, the Roomba gets stuck on it, but fashion wins here. Plus, it feels like you're walking on marshmallows.
We didn't replace the black-out curtains that we had custom made back in 2009. They were spendy and they're super functional. And, now they actually kind of "work" in the space.
...still have to hang a few pictures.
The ONLY thing we have left is to touch up the old pot light locations on the ceiling in the kitchen. Our buddy Jonah (the drywall guru) says he will take care of that one of these days. So... ok. :-)
The backsplash tiles have a bit of a wave to them; they're not flat porcelain subway tiles.
We don't think these bifold doors need to be replaced now. They're not as awful as we once thought they were.
Yup, this kitchen is definitely "for dancing" again!
(PS... That's the candle I found at Marshall's. ha!)
