Bob: We are replacing all the kitchen cabinets with new light oak cabinets with hunter green countertops. This will make it easy to restore the condition of the kitchen. Here, we see silhouettes of the previous cabinetry.
Nan: There are three cabinets here. One tall pantry cabinet, one eighteen-by-eighteen
above that, and a thirty-by-eighteen over the refrigerator. We are going to remove the
pantry cabinet shelves and turn it into a broom closet for the utility room. The other
cabinets will be distributed in the utility room and the pantry.
Bob: Is this the Ancient Chimney of the Gods? I don't really know why this one is here. On the second floor, it has been removed.
Nan: As this kitchen was built, the stove would stand right against the chimney. We
will move it to the left by twentyfour inches and place a set of cabinets above and
beside the new stove placement. We also will put a cabinet (upper and lower) around
the corner, and then build in around the chimney with countertop. It will be my Baking Center.
Bob: Here's a 3D rendering of how we envision this corner will look when complete.
Nan: I can't wait to see this come to life!
Nan: These are the cabinets in the kitchen now. Someone has antiqued them, and
they look awful. The bad thing about that is they antiqued lovely oak-faced cabinets.
Some of them have pull-out shelves on glides. We are going to paint them and put them
in the utility room and the pantry. Lots of storage space.
Bob: The first base cabinets have been removed here, the better ones, I might add.
Bob: All cabinets on the refrigerator side of the kitchen are out.
Nan: This looks really nasty, but when we get through with it, you won't recognize it.
Bob: The kitchen sink resides in the computer room for now. We shall install the garbage disposal on the right side later.
Nan: I love this sink. So deep, and that tall faucet is fabulous.
Bob: Piece by piece, inch by inch, we dismantle these fine relics...
Nan: Sink Gone. Is that something like doggone? Well the cabinet is a dog. :)
Bob: They were all dogs at this point, Nan.
Bob: The countertop is gone, to be used for salvagable base cabinets in other rooms.
Nan: Is tearing things apart fun? Bob seemed to enjoy it.
Bob: Actually, I did! ;-}~
Bob: Now all the cabinets are gone.
Nan: Having the cabinets gone sure does make the kitchen look bigger.
Bob: Just the pipes left, something to chew on, after I've dry-fitted the new cabinets...
Nan: Snakes? Snakes? Don't talk to me about snakes! Get 'em gone, I say.
This is a job for Matt Shue, Master Plumber. Quick! What's his number?
Bob: As it turned out, Nan, this was a job for ME ;-}~
Bob: This cabinet didn't make it. Any questions why?
Nan: C'mon, Bob, you can fix it!
Bob: Actually, we end up keeping the facade (not seen here) of this one.
Nan: I have a secret. We created something unique and really gorgeous with the facade
of this very nasty-looking sink cabinet.
Bob: Yup, more floor scraping. To provide a good solid base for the new cabinets, all this old tile (at least the two top layers and a thick coat of asphalt and tarpaper underneath) had to be chiseled out.
Nan: I watched Bob doing this scraping, and all I can say is I am very grateful that
I didn't have to get on my knees to do this.
Bob: And just when I thought things were going well. Actually, this looked a lot worse than it was. The placement of the cabinets and stove required this portion of the floor to come up, and the flooring will loan itself to repairing other portions here in the kitchen.
Nan: This is just the beginning of a wonderful new kitchen.
Bob: The new Baking Center cabinets on this wall require the removal of part of the floor. Also visible here, on the right, is the result of popping out the portion of the floor in front of the stove gas inlet in the last picture: a separation in the laminate floor courses.
Nan: Baking Center: such a wonderful thought. Next winter, I'll be baking my bread right
here. Well, OK, not "right" here, but on the counter that will set here.
Bob: This hole, a relic of the broom closet cabinet, plus a couple other badly joined joints in the laminate flooring, convinced me that the only way to do this right was to remove ALL of the flooring. Later on, I will reassemble it, substituting some of the slabs leftover from in front of the stove for this spot, as well as migrating some of the damaged sections to underneath the refrigerator.
Nan: The Other Hole - this title makes it sound like a "two-holer" outhouse! It's an
eyesore that will disappear right before our eyes.
Bob: Laminate flooring is installed course by course, and in this case, it was installed from the refrigerator side to the stove side. It therefore comes up in reverse. Several courses have been removed here, and I've numbered the parts to make it easier to reinstall it later, after all the new cabinets are in place. Underneath is a lightweight foam padding, and under that, a heavy blue crepe rubber padding, heavily glued in place (I've been told that it's the same as the padding used in horse barns).
Nan: Truth to tell, I was terrified of doing this! I could just imagine it not going back
together. But after I saw how easily Bob removed it, and how the joints are done, I realized
that Bob can do it. Why? Well, because he's Bob, that's why!
Bob: The blue crepe under the new Baking Center has been cut away, and the layers of tile pried and scraped off.
Nan: This was nasty work. It makes me grateful that this junk won't be in my new kitchen.
Bob: Now go check out
Kitchen Rehab...