Christmas 2019
Well, this Christmas looks a lot different for a few reasons. First, we finished our kitchen renovation!! After months and months of never ending delays and working like crazy (while…
Kitchen Renovation: Part 10 – New Cabinets, Countertops and Appliances
One of the biggest ticket items for our kitchen was our new cabinets and countertops. When we first began the design phase, we asked our architect what we should do:…
Building a New Deck
When we started out kitchen renovation project, we knew that we’d have to replace our deck at some point but planned to push it off until next summer. Unfortunately the…
Kitchen Renovation: Part 8 – Framing and Drywall
Once the window and doors were installed, it was time to frame the interior and install the subfloor. This was probably one of the most exciting steps in the process…
Kitchen Renovation: Part 7 – Plumbing and Electrical
When we were looking for a contractor, we wanted someone who would let us do some of the work ourselves. Not only does it save on costs, but there are…
Kitchen Renovation: Part 6 – Structural Work
The biggest and most transformative part of the kitchen renovation was removing the chimney and installing a new window and door. The back of our house hasn’t received much love…
Kitchen Renovation: Part 5 – Demolishing the Kitchen
Once our contractor was finally ready to start (only 3 weeks later than planned…), we had to get the kitchen packed up so it could be demolished. Packing a kitchen…
Kitchen Renovation: Part 4 – Setting up a Temporary Kitchen
Despite what our contractor thinks, we know that this kitchen renovation is going to take longer than just a few weeks. And after living through our messy dining room wall…
New Basement Stairs: Part 3 – The Railing
Once the stairs themselves were finished, I still had to sort out how to build the handrail. I knew that I wanted it to match the style of what I…
New Basement Stairs: Part 2 – Building the Stairs
Once the stair opening was ready, it was time to install the stringers and build the stairs. Substairs Our contractor was originally supposed to only install the stair stringers, but…
New Basement Stairs: Part 1 – Opening the Stairs
When we opened the dining room, we wanted to also widen our basement stairs. But at that point we thought that we would have to reroute our radiator pipes, so…
Kitchen Renovation: Part 3 – Materials
Once we had our contractor on board, it was time to advance our kitchen project and start making some big decisions. With our general design nailed down, we could now…
Christmas 2018
Another Christmas, and another dash to a construction project finish line! With our dining room walls gone, we had a few last minute projects to complete before Christmas. Mainly finishing…