We have finally turned a corner with the kitchen reno, we are decidedly into construction rather than destruction. The major stuff is done, and we are starting the process of turning an empty unfinished room back into a kitchen.

See our previous work at Kitchen Renovation Part 1

Here we have the first two rolls of tin ceiling wallpaper hung. What a royal pain in the ass. The endless string of obscenities that came out of my mouth was truly offensive. The first paste we had simply would not hold the paper up. After a run to the local hardware store, we found some heavier paste that did the trick. Still the process of hanging the paper was both physically and mentally exhausting. No matter how careful we were, the subtle imperfections in the ceiling drywall would cause both gaps between runs, and unavoidable bubbles and sags. (12/16/2012)

After a nearly sleepless night thinking about the many imperfections in the ceiling, I woke up early and did my best to address and touch up the bubbles and sags. We were able to cut a slice in the bubbles, and used a knife to butter in some past, then re-seal the flap. Its not perfect, but Its looking better. Even looking at this picture, I see a few more bubbles that need to be addressed. (12/17/2012)

We put a quick coat of flat white on the textured ceiling, then installed the recessed LED lighting. We went with small 3" gimbal fixtures which give a nice clean look. (12/18/2012)

We put drywall and corner bead up on the beam (12/19/2012)

The first few cabinets finally make their way into the kitchen - even if it is only temporarily. (12/19/2012)

We cut up two sheets of 3/4 oak plywood to give us makeshift countertops for the time being. A quick poly stain went down just to offer some sort of water resistance. (12/21/2012)

The sink installation was a nightmare since all the old retaining clips were rusted and needed to be broken to get the sink out of the old countertops. I screwed 2x4s under the plywood to hold the sink in for the time being. On the floor, we painted the crown moulding before we put it up. (12/21/2012)

My dad and I hung teh cabinets and wrestled the range hood into position. I already know Im going to be moving this range hood anagin, as it's just sitting way too low for my tastes. Ill have to get a tighter exhaust elbow to bring it up a few inches. I fit needs more than that, Ill have to move the vent outside and remove a 2x6 crossmember from the wall. Guess Ill see how much it bothers me. (12/23/2012)

Our old ass pushmatic service panel gets the replacement kitchen circuits and two new double pole breakers. Found a few loose grounds while I was in there too. (12/23/2012)

The crown moulding looks nice against the tin ceiling wallpaper. (12/23/2012)

Here we have the cabinet over the fridge as well. (12/23/2012)

Cooking our first meal in the new kitchen. French onion soup with grilled ham and cheddar sammiches to dip. (12/23/2012)

After 64 days of waiting, we finally received our appliances on Christmas eve, just in time to quickly wire up the electric oven to cook Christmas eve dinner. We are still waiting on the propane installation to hook up the gas cooktop. Of course, the range is missing pieces. Nothing has been easy about this particular order. The appliances are lovely, just be wary of buying from US-appliance! (12/26/2012)

We framed out the back of the island, and wired it up. Two outlets face the dining room, and the middle outlet faces the kitchen for the wine fridge. (01/01/2013)

We sheetrocked both sides, but no paint. (01/01/2013)

The propane guys came today and hooked up the range, and left a stub out for a BBQ connection out back. (01/02/2013)

We put bead board masonite on the back of the island to protect the sheetrock from getting holes kicked into it. I didn't acount for the wall thickness when I cut the temporary plywood counter tops. When the granite goes in, the overhang will be larger. (01/02/2013)

Lauren cooks her first meal on the new stove. Also, Lauren cooks her first meal - period. (01/02/2013)

We reclaimed the lighting pigtails from the pot light installations, so we wired them up as temporary pendant lights above the island. They seem to be pretty well centered over the countertop. (01/07/2013)

We installed the chandelier and the pendants above the island. Unfortunately I can now see that the pendants are off center above the island by about 2 inches. I'm hoping that nobody really notices. (01/22/2013)

We finally finished the tile in the kitchen after putting it off for two months. We had to remove the washer and dryer to tile through the hallway and into the laundry and even into the tiny broom closet. What a relief to finally have this finished. (01/22/2013)

The marble thresholds were installed where the kitchen tile ends. I had to remove some cracked grout from the tiles at the edge, so I'm hoping the marble and thinset packed behind it will help support the tiles and keep the grout from cracking in the future. I may have to remove the grout and caulk between the tile and marble, but Ill try grout first. (01/22/2013)

Here we have the crown moulding for above the cabinets. We framed it out in 1x2 with flat L brackets on the opposite side to give it some strength, then attached the moulding. (03/19/2013)

The granite countertops are going in now. We used marble.com and couldnt be happier with the process and the price. (03/20/2013)

The granite countertops are in. The island overhang came out perfect. Its about 6 inches of overhang at the sides, and about 8 inches in the middle, giving it a nice radius along the back. You can also see the cabinet crown moulding and the valences above the sink and range. (03/20/2013)

Free Sink! But a 200 dollar cutout. Still, its a Free Sink! (03/20/2013)

Mockup of the subway tile inlay behind the range. (03/20/2013)

Lauren backbutters the last mosaic tile. Notice how well she's dressed while doing all this dirty tilework. (03/20/2013)

The subway tile inlay. I wish it had come out a little better. I lost sleep last night about the many imperfections. Despite all my measuring and layout drawn on the wall, the inlay wound up 3/8 off center. Then, because the wall itself has a slight bow, some tiles are sticking out at the heel and toe where it goes over the hump. And possibly worst of all, the tiles at the bottom sagged slightly before they set. I should have used a ledger board to hold everything straight. Live and learn. (03/20/2013)

From a distance things look pretty good. Luckily I'm the only one that gets close to the stove! (Just kidding Lauren) (03/20/2013)

We plumbed the faucet. The spring could use a bit more tension to hold the spray head in place, but what do you want for 89 bucks?!? Looks good to me, and its a pleasure to use compared to the old one. (03/21/2013)

Here you can see exactly why we need to remove this tile. It just looks horrible. The bow in the wall is keeping the subway tile from laying flat, nothing is straight or square, and the whole things is off center. Im embarassed by the poor quality of work my wife did. :) (03/23/2013)

Oh, the joys of doing things twice. Here we are, chipping the first backsplash tile out. You can see the thinset is pulling chunks of drywall out with it. (03/23/2013)

We had to patch a large secion of sheetrock after pulling off the tile. (03/23/2013)

After a week long standstill waiting for our tile to arrive, it was hung on the wall within 3 hours of delivery. We decided to take it up above the range hood, all the way up to the valence. (03/28/2013)

Ahhh, this looks much better now. The bow in the wall is much less noticeable with the mosaic tile, even with the range lights on. We brought the tile along the sink window as well. We also added the corbels and onlays to the valence above the range and sink. We still need to grout, but we needed to reassemble things in time for Easter dinner this weekend. (03/29/2013)

Finally sealed and grouted the backsplash and covered the outlets. We went with snow white unsanded grout. (04/07/2013)

The kitchen is really starting to look finished. The white grout really lightens up the whole kitchen, making everything seem brighter. (04/08/2013)

After a slight mishap in the kitchen, we had to replace two cracked and chipping tiles. We drilled a couple of holes, and started breaking up the bad tiles with a hammer and chisel. (06/03/2013)

The tiles were quite a pain to remove, so I guess the adhered well. I used my oscillating multi-tool with a carbide attachment to sand down the remaining thinset. Since the underlayment pulled up along with the tile fragments, we put in a handful of 1" drywall screws to keep the underlayment from causing too much flex and float. (06/03/2013)

New tiles go down. Sadly these wont be as strong as the originals, since the underlayment is no longer well adhered. Hopefully we wont have to replace too many of these in the future. (06/03/2013)

See our previous work at Kitchen Renovation Part 1

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