Another bid in

We got in our 2nd bid today with 2 more to go.  While bidding is exhausting, I really like to get multiple, especially on something so pricey, so that I know we have made the best decision for us.  Along with this bid came more drawings, and drawings are always fun to share.  Our floor will be marmoleum-the grey color eiger and the backsplash will be white dal tile with grey grout. 

I really like how these drawings give some really nice views of what it will all look like when completed.  The fridge and dishwasher will have wood panels to match the cabinetry.

Rolling In

I'm super excited to share sketch ups of the first kitchen bid that I just got this morning.  And even more excited to say that I did not faint or swoon or even gasp at the price.  While the price is really overwhelming, it could have been much much worse.  I am optimistic that we can get this bid to work within our financial constraints, even if we need to tweak a few things first.  We still have one more cabinet builder to meet and a couple more bids to receive after meeting with contractors, so we will have to see where the rest of the bids come in. 

view looking into the kitchen from the dining room

looking into kitchen from dining room, on far wall to right of cabinet bank is the back door

looking down on wall with kitchen sink, fridge and dishwasher

view from back door

And the best part-drawings!   I think the kitchen is going to be awesome!!! If you see anything that you think needs some changes, please do share!  Any good bungalow design ideas for the hood vent cover?  Any tips on kitchen remodels?

Sorry for the screen shots-couldn't figure out how to download the sketches.

One down

One doorway down and one more to go.  Steve took out the doorway between our bedroom and the kitchen yesterday.  not really quite sure why it was ever there but let's just say that the builders of our home liked doors.  I think that our 2 bedroom house originally had about 14 doors.  A little excessive, don't you think?  I guess it's good for heating the house...  Currently we have (or will have once we reinstall the door to the basement stairs) 10 doors and will have 9 after we take out the extra doorway that leads to the front entry way in Ben's room.  The doors are missing to the kitchen, the upstairs, hallway and the extra in our room. 

Before....with the strange extra bedroom door

 After-temporary piece of panel in place.

Do you have any extra seemingly useless doors in you home?  How many total doors do you have?

Kitchen Leftovers

I promised more kitchen pix and info and, well, here I am to deliver.  Despite being exhausted even though I have done none of the demo.  NONE.   Which is awesome-ly awesome.  However, I have been left to organize everything that came out of the kitchen which is really not so fun. 

waiting for Elmo 4D to start

touching a dolphin

right before Ben had a total meltdown-the result of a day in sun with no nap

playin in the water with his cousins and uncles

Ben with grandma, grandpa (who returned our last day in LA after canoeing down the Yukon for 2 months) & great-grandma

You see, it all started by Steve deciding to "surprise" me (the words he used) by taking everything out of the kitchen cabinets while Ben and I were still in California visiting family.  A homecoming surprise indeed.  I came home last Wednesday night to a dining room table covered in plates and bowls and you name it.  But where were the knives and food and coffee maker?  In the back of the basement of course!  And this girl needs her am coffee!
While it was a very sweet gesture, I just wish he had consulted the family organizer and cook first.  It was rather frustrating to come home to that and have no idea that we even had immediate plans for demo.
Anyways, we had an awesome trip to California and Steve was even able to join us for half the trip.  We took Ben to Seaworld for the first time and he loved it.  Have to say the Shamu show is not quite what I recall from my childhood-could it be that now I am an adult or that now the trainers can't get in the water to do tricks with the whales so the show consists of the trainers dancing and the whales splashing water.  We also got in a lot of family time, a tid-bit o friend time and some beach time. 

sauerkraut warming in a can along with the rest of our tasty campfire dinner

Ben inhaling his first ginormous roasted marshmallow

Anyways, I decided to just let all be as I had work the next day and then we were off the following day, Friday to Mt. Hood for camping.  I had so much unpacking and packing and shopping and laundry to do that my head was swimming.  But I got it all done, all the while thinking I would have this week to organize everything before Steve got further along with demo.  Boy was I wrong.  Steve literally stopped at Beaumont Hardware on the way home from camping to pick up plastic and tape.  So as I unpacked, Steve emptied the rest of the kitchen who-knows-where.  Amazingly, I wasn't mad; I think I was, and still am, for the most part, just overwhelmed with everything.  We arrived home at 3:30.

the green appears to have been where maybe a cabinet stood to support maybe a drainboard sink as the plaster does not have the faux-tile affect there.You can see the prestine faux-tile-kills me that we let it go.

what it may have looked like originally

 

 

beadboard to the left, I love it and am wondering how we can incorporate some into our new kitchen, maybe as a backer to the cabinets that have glass (if we do any).  This beadboard was at the bottom of our large cabinet that stood behind the range.

more faux tile below the sink

A few pix I snapped at probably around 5 or 6, just before taping and prep work was complete and demo began.

And that is what my tired hubby looked like a few hours later.  And look how much kitchen is still behind him.  hot, i know.  and he told me he would finish the whole thing that night, yea right ;)

Well friends, I have much more to post as that only brought us to Sunday but more tomorrow, I promise :)

By the way, does anyone in the area have good plaster, drywall or

electrical contractors that they can recommend? We have a few leads but would like to get multiple bids.

The Hole

Steve got going on the stair project this weekend after spending a bunch of time figuring of just what he needed to purchase from Home Depot as well as finishing his drawing in CAD. 

Doesn't look like much right now.  Except a big big hole.  Or pit of doom.  Or pretty scary way to go about doing laundry. 
All of last week, I at least had the old staircase jerry-rigged so that I could still use it, but now that is completely gone, or at least disassembled and on the side of the house.  Steve was nice enough (enter sarcasm) to leave me a ladder to use.  But no, it is handy to have in case I need to go grab something from the basement.  Just thankful I am not 9 months pregnant and trying to use the ladder. 

What is really difficult to see in these pictures is that Steve did get the wall that will be on the side of the new stairs all framed.  The triple 2x4 on the left is to add some structural support as he figured out that there was a centimeter difference in height on the ceiling from one side of the stair opening to the next.
Wish I had a picture of it, but Steve used the car jack to help lift the one side of the ceiling and level it all back out. 
Steve should be in business to spend his father's day weekend (poor guy) cutting and hopefully (cross your fingers) installing the stair stringers.  Hopefully we will get a bike ride or hike in as well.

E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial

via

The taping off required for the basement staircase took probably more time than the actual demo...and when you add clean up to the prep, well, time consuming.  No wonder why contractors charge so much for demo when it requires taking Lead precautions.  So pretty much, the whole basement staircase reminded Steve of the E.T. plastic sheeting/containment thing.  I agree.

After giving me the middle finger when I asked him to pose, he was nice enough to pose again with his E.T. finger. Oh, and, ignore the partially unzipped fly, sexy, I know.

All taped off. and nowhere to go.

it was extremely tedious to tape off between the joists

There it is in progress. Lots to see from outside-some kinda sci-fi plastic.

Mid Demo.

Steve found these hidden in the wall  Not too old.  Maybe added in when the upstairs was re-carpeted in maybe the 90s

Nice feeling to have the first phase of demo complete.  We can't decide if we should make a small trip to the dump this weekend or keep the sealed bags in the garage until we demo the whole kitchen and then just take one big 'ol trip.  We'll see what we feel up to.  Probably the latter.  Cuz we're lazy like that, seems like a waste to take a half load and it's Steve birthday weekend. :)

This is the view at the top of the basement stairs, behind the door.  This is the back of our dining room buffet.  We were so relieved to see that the buffet appears to have been built separately from the house.  The grey you see is the mirror.  It should be relatively easy to move the buffet to make room for the new staircase leading upstairs.

Feeling like watching E.T. like me? Undertaking any home improvement projects that remind you of a movie scene?