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House Addition/Renovation

15K views 57 replies 13 participants last post by  Boxguy 
#1 ·
The Beginning

First of all, I wanted to start by saying that these posts are happening well later than the actual events occurred, roughly 6-7 months later for the beginning posts and 2 months after the final pictures.

In the summer, I was able to refinance my current Mortgage loan (which had about 18 yrs left on it) down to a 15 yr loan at a fixed interest rate of 3.00%. With that refinancing, I took out additional money based on the current equity I had in my house. Because I bought my home on foreclosure and refinanced once already (roughly 5 years ago), I had a decent amount of equity.

My Wife and knew that we wanted to add-on to our current house instead of moving. We have 2 daughters, 4 and 6 yrs old, who currently share a bedroom. I started having nightmares about them being 14 and 16 years old and still sharing a bedroom. Here they are from Halloween of 2017, which is the same day the project started.

Clothing Face Shoe Smile Facial expression


SO the project has 2 main parts to it: a second floor master bedroom suite with bathroom, and a first floor addition for a larger kitchen. This picture was taken in the fall prior to construction, and shows the old patio that will be replaced with a new kitchen.

Plant Outdoor furniture Brickwork Brick Grass


As you can see from the picture, I already have several courses of cinder block exposed. Because of that, We decided to splurge a little and just excavate out the entire area to gain another basement room. We figure the room will be 9Ă—14', which is kind of small, but it'll be worth the extra $$ to get extra storage.

Knowing that this would be a large scale project with lots of permits and inspections, I hired a general contractor to do most of the shell. As part of the agreement with the contractor, I will be doing most of the demo work, loading the dumpsters, and all of the finish work (interior finishes, plumbing, light fixtures, etc.). After the first day of work, I can tell that this was already more than what I expected.

Wood Land lot Grass Plant Window


the roof was ripped off where the second story addition will go, and the new deck was already put in. This is the first of many piles I need to load into the dumpster.

Wood Land lot Grass Plant Window


The good news is that the first lumber order also arrived. So far, I'm excited, nervous, and anxious.

Wood Road surface Asphalt Tire Wheel


looking forward to posting more about this, next up is excavating and pouring the footer.
 

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#2 ·
The Beginning

First of all, I wanted to start by saying that these posts are happening well later than the actual events occurred, roughly 6-7 months later for the beginning posts and 2 months after the final pictures.

In the summer, I was able to refinance my current Mortgage loan (which had about 18 yrs left on it) down to a 15 yr loan at a fixed interest rate of 3.00%. With that refinancing, I took out additional money based on the current equity I had in my house. Because I bought my home on foreclosure and refinanced once already (roughly 5 years ago), I had a decent amount of equity.

My Wife and knew that we wanted to add-on to our current house instead of moving. We have 2 daughters, 4 and 6 yrs old, who currently share a bedroom. I started having nightmares about them being 14 and 16 years old and still sharing a bedroom. Here they are from Halloween of 2017, which is the same day the project started.

Clothing Face Shoe Smile Facial expression


SO the project has 2 main parts to it: a second floor master bedroom suite with bathroom, and a first floor addition for a larger kitchen. This picture was taken in the fall prior to construction, and shows the old patio that will be replaced with a new kitchen.

Plant Outdoor furniture Brickwork Brick Grass


As you can see from the picture, I already have several courses of cinder block exposed. Because of that, We decided to splurge a little and just excavate out the entire area to gain another basement room. We figure the room will be 9Ă—14', which is kind of small, but it'll be worth the extra $$ to get extra storage.

Knowing that this would be a large scale project with lots of permits and inspections, I hired a general contractor to do most of the shell. As part of the agreement with the contractor, I will be doing most of the demo work, loading the dumpsters, and all of the finish work (interior finishes, plumbing, light fixtures, etc.). After the first day of work, I can tell that this was already more than what I expected.

Wood Land lot Grass Plant Window


the roof was ripped off where the second story addition will go, and the new deck was already put in. This is the first of many piles I need to load into the dumpster.

Wood Land lot Grass Plant Window


The good news is that the first lumber order also arrived. So far, I'm excited, nervous, and anxious.

Wood Road surface Asphalt Tire Wheel


looking forward to posting more about this, next up is excavating and pouring the footer.
Looks like a lot of hard work.

GOOD LUCK! Even material costs have gone totally crazy here.
 

Attachments

#3 ·
Excavation & Upper shell

So it didn't take long for the contractors to get this swimming pool dug. I came home from work, walked around to the back of my house, and saw this.

Plant Window Building Brickwork House


For now, they just dropped all of the dirt into this big pile. I guess we'll deal with that later. The concrete was busted up and set to the side, awaiting a "clean fill" dumpster to be delivered.

Sky Plant Window Building House


Also, the walls and roof of the second floor were built. For now, this roof is covered with tar paper and the window openings are covered with a tarp.

Sky Window Plant Building Wood


The next day they made some progress by putting shingles on the roof of the second floor. Sorry the pictures are bad but by the time I got home from work it was getting dark.

Road surface Sky Wood Brickwork Tree


This is a good shot of the old roof and shingles, which will eventually be removed and rebuilt.

Plant Building Road surface Asphalt Brick


They also got a majority of the front, existing portion of the roof re-shingled.

Plant Sky Building Window Tree


Sky Building Window Plant Lighting


If you noticed that big red dumpster in the driveway and were wondering "what the heck will go in that?" here are a few shots of the old shingles and other debris.

Window Plant Wood Grass Groundcover


Despite my best efforts to load the dumpster by stacking everything neatly, It did fill up pretty fast.

Wood Motor vehicle Floor Gas Waste


In this photo, you can see the old gutters all folded up:

Plant Road surface Wood Grass Gas


They had obviously been painted at least twice in their lifetime, but as I was looking at them a little closer, I noticed that they were COPPER GUTTERS. I had never seen a house with copper gutters before, and my friend (who was helping me load the dumpster) and I joked about the neighborhood scrap pickers getting really excited about them. Luckily I didn't put them in the dumpster or out for the garbage. I ended up loading them into my pickup and took them to a local salvage place, thinking I'd get maybe $40 or so. The bed of my truck was pretty well full, and when we put them all on the scale the guy gave me a slip to get paid. I left the office with over $450!!! Thank God I didn't put them out for trash!!
 

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#4 ·
Excavation & Upper shell

So it didn't take long for the contractors to get this swimming pool dug. I came home from work, walked around to the back of my house, and saw this.

Plant Window Building Brickwork House


For now, they just dropped all of the dirt into this big pile. I guess we'll deal with that later. The concrete was busted up and set to the side, awaiting a "clean fill" dumpster to be delivered.

Sky Plant Window Building House


Also, the walls and roof of the second floor were built. For now, this roof is covered with tar paper and the window openings are covered with a tarp.

Sky Window Plant Building Wood


The next day they made some progress by putting shingles on the roof of the second floor. Sorry the pictures are bad but by the time I got home from work it was getting dark.

Road surface Sky Wood Brickwork Tree


This is a good shot of the old roof and shingles, which will eventually be removed and rebuilt.

Plant Building Road surface Asphalt Brick


They also got a majority of the front, existing portion of the roof re-shingled.

Plant Sky Building Window Tree


Sky Building Window Plant Lighting


If you noticed that big red dumpster in the driveway and were wondering "what the heck will go in that?" here are a few shots of the old shingles and other debris.

Window Plant Wood Grass Groundcover


Despite my best efforts to load the dumpster by stacking everything neatly, It did fill up pretty fast.

Wood Motor vehicle Floor Gas Waste


In this photo, you can see the old gutters all folded up:

Plant Road surface Wood Grass Gas


They had obviously been painted at least twice in their lifetime, but as I was looking at them a little closer, I noticed that they were COPPER GUTTERS. I had never seen a house with copper gutters before, and my friend (who was helping me load the dumpster) and I joked about the neighborhood scrap pickers getting really excited about them. Luckily I didn't put them in the dumpster or out for the garbage. I ended up loading them into my pickup and took them to a local salvage place, thinking I'd get maybe $40 or so. The bed of my truck was pretty well full, and when we put them all on the scale the guy gave me a slip to get paid. I left the office with over $450!!! Thank God I didn't put them out for trash!!
Jackpot on the gutters! Looking like a lot of progress was made pretty quick
 

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#8 ·
Interior framing upstairs

While the ladder was ratchet strapped to the house, I climbed up onto the roof and snuck into the 2nd floor addition to check out the interior framing and see how everything looks. It's so tough to tell what the size will really be when you are just looking at a computer screen or pictorial rendering of the print. The overall exterior size of the master suite is a little over 16'x21'. because of the stairs, walls, closets, etc., we should have a bedroom that is about 12'x12', a bathroom that is 5'x12', two full closets in the bedroom and a linen closet in the bathroom.

This is a shot of the bathroom, located on the West (front) side of the house. I was able to shimmy through the 12" tall window and onto the scaffold to gain entrance. Luckily, these pictures were taken in November. Had it been after the holidays I would have looked like Whinny the Poo stuck in a log.

Wood Building Composite material Metal Flooring


This is the main bedroom, which faces the East (back) side of the house. I couldn't believe how big the window openings are! I knew what size they would be prior to getting into this whole project, but they still seemed a lot bigger than what I expected.

Building Wood Floor Flooring House


This is the opposite view of the bedroom. The two openings will end up being the 2 closets.

Wood Building Flooring Wood stain Floor


The stairs will be located on the North-most wall. Right not they have been packed with insulation to prevent the cold air from getting through and into my house.

Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor Plank


In the picture above there is a little area above the stairwell. This will end up being the linen closet for the bathroom, and also eventually have access to the new attic space.

Wood Wood stain Flooring Hardwood Ladder


One last little bit of framing that was finished was in the basement Laundry room. In order to reinforce the the load for the second floor, the contractors added this new stud wall. The bearing will eventually shift from an old wall to this newer wall, but its crazy to think that this little bit extra is necessary.

Wood Floor Wood stain Flooring Hardwood


Wood Wood stain Beam Plank Hardwood
 

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#9 ·
Interior framing upstairs

While the ladder was ratchet strapped to the house, I climbed up onto the roof and snuck into the 2nd floor addition to check out the interior framing and see how everything looks. It's so tough to tell what the size will really be when you are just looking at a computer screen or pictorial rendering of the print. The overall exterior size of the master suite is a little over 16'x21'. because of the stairs, walls, closets, etc., we should have a bedroom that is about 12'x12', a bathroom that is 5'x12', two full closets in the bedroom and a linen closet in the bathroom.

This is a shot of the bathroom, located on the West (front) side of the house. I was able to shimmy through the 12" tall window and onto the scaffold to gain entrance. Luckily, these pictures were taken in November. Had it been after the holidays I would have looked like Whinny the Poo stuck in a log.

Wood Building Composite material Metal Flooring


This is the main bedroom, which faces the East (back) side of the house. I couldn't believe how big the window openings are! I knew what size they would be prior to getting into this whole project, but they still seemed a lot bigger than what I expected.

Building Wood Floor Flooring House


This is the opposite view of the bedroom. The two openings will end up being the 2 closets.

Wood Building Flooring Wood stain Floor


The stairs will be located on the North-most wall. Right not they have been packed with insulation to prevent the cold air from getting through and into my house.

Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor Plank


In the picture above there is a little area above the stairwell. This will end up being the linen closet for the bathroom, and also eventually have access to the new attic space.

Wood Wood stain Flooring Hardwood Ladder


One last little bit of framing that was finished was in the basement Laundry room. In order to reinforce the the load for the second floor, the contractors added this new stud wall. The bearing will eventually shift from an old wall to this newer wall, but its crazy to think that this little bit extra is necessary.

Wood Floor Wood stain Flooring Hardwood


Wood Wood stain Beam Plank Hardwood
Mike, you will have a whole new house just like you want, too!

Good progress…..............cheers, Jim
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Footer and Foundation work

So the last post was regarding the 2nd floor, but this post will show how the footer and foundation was built. AFter the frame for the footer was built, I hung outside of my old back door to snap a few pictures:

Composite material Slope Gas Foundation Building material


Wood Composite material Foundation Brickwork Gas


I had loaded up the base with some modified limestone and compacted it down for the workers to pour the concrete footer. I figured that they would havea concrete truck come in and shoot the footer and floor all at once, but they actually mixed the concrete up themselves. Seems like I have some true craftsmen working here…

They laid roughly 3 courses of block per day, and each course was perfectly level… I checked.

Wood Flooring Floor Composite material Gas


The outside of the block was coated in weather sealer/water sealer, and a pipe was connected on both sides to the house drain, which was huge. The weather was really cold for these couple days, so the jet furnace was there to help keep the mortar thawed and the viscosity of the tar sealant thin.

Road surface Asphalt Composite material Gas Urban design


Be sure to look out for that first step, it sure is a big one. We had to be extra careful to lock the door and make sure that neither of our little ones tried letting the dog out, as this had typically been his exit/entrance to go to the bathroom.

Road surface Brickwork Brick Building Flooring


There will be one glass block window, which is where the opening is on the right side of the cinder block.

Rectangle Wood Building Building material Flooring


While the bricklayer was completing the block work, the carpenters were also setting up to build the new section of roof. It started with this temporary post and beam:

Wood Tints and shades Cottage Building Brickwork


Since this was around Christmas time, here's a little rhyme for you:

The joists were hung onto the beam with care, in hopes that the shingles would soon be there.

Building Wood Window Floor Flooring


Wood Window Building Amber Beam


on the roof by the chimney I heard quite a jingle,
but alas it was an air compressor, not Kris Kringle

Wood Brickwork Brick Building Rectangle






While Chaos reigned outside, we still tried to maintain sanity in our house by having some hot chocolate and getting muffins ready for the Elf on the Shelf:



Now that the foundation is done, we will be working on removing bricks from the outside of the house, removing the remaining portion of roof, and enclosing the 9Ă—16 area where the new addition will be.
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Footer and Foundation work

So the last post was regarding the 2nd floor, but this post will show how the footer and foundation was built. AFter the frame for the footer was built, I hung outside of my old back door to snap a few pictures:

Composite material Slope Gas Foundation Building material


Wood Composite material Foundation Brickwork Gas


I had loaded up the base with some modified limestone and compacted it down for the workers to pour the concrete footer. I figured that they would havea concrete truck come in and shoot the footer and floor all at once, but they actually mixed the concrete up themselves. Seems like I have some true craftsmen working here…

They laid roughly 3 courses of block per day, and each course was perfectly level… I checked.

Wood Flooring Floor Composite material Gas


The outside of the block was coated in weather sealer/water sealer, and a pipe was connected on both sides to the house drain, which was huge. The weather was really cold for these couple days, so the jet furnace was there to help keep the mortar thawed and the viscosity of the tar sealant thin.

Road surface Asphalt Composite material Gas Urban design


Be sure to look out for that first step, it sure is a big one. We had to be extra careful to lock the door and make sure that neither of our little ones tried letting the dog out, as this had typically been his exit/entrance to go to the bathroom.

Road surface Brickwork Brick Building Flooring


There will be one glass block window, which is where the opening is on the right side of the cinder block.

Rectangle Wood Building Building material Flooring


While the bricklayer was completing the block work, the carpenters were also setting up to build the new section of roof. It started with this temporary post and beam:

Wood Tints and shades Cottage Building Brickwork


Since this was around Christmas time, here's a little rhyme for you:

The joists were hung onto the beam with care, in hopes that the shingles would soon be there.

Building Wood Window Floor Flooring


Wood Window Building Amber Beam


on the roof by the chimney I heard quite a jingle,
but alas it was an air compressor, not Kris Kringle

Wood Brickwork Brick Building Rectangle


Brown Road surface Rectangle Flooring Floor


Road surface Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


While Chaos reigned outside, we still tried to maintain sanity in our house by having some hot chocolate and getting muffins ready for the Elf on the Shelf:

Table Furniture Tableware Sharing Smile


Now that the foundation is done, we will be working on removing bricks from the outside of the house, removing the remaining portion of roof, and enclosing the 9Ă—16 area where the new addition will be.
Looks like you have some excellent helpers. The dog would definitely be in for a big surprise if running out the back door. Looking good buddy
 

Attachments

#15 ·
Removing Bricks

In my last post there were lots of pictures of the footer and foundation, as well as the new roof. Now that is taken care of, we can start prepping to enclose the structure. Step 1 is cutting the brick line and removing the exterior bricks. For now, we still have a large clean fill pile in the backyard, so we will be pitching all of the busted brick there for now.

Sky Wood Tree Plant Building


We started with 2 vertical cuts through the brick layer, one on teh left most extent and one to the right. Next we will swinging a sledge to bust up the brick and move it piece by piece.

Jeans Property Window Building Wood


I called a couple buddies to come over and help me swing the Sledge hammer. After a while, 8 lbs gets pretty heavy to swing. Always nice to know that friends will come over on a rainy 35 degree day to help swing a sledgehammer to bust up blocks and haul them out of a 8' hole in the ground.

Here's Ryan. He's normally a Medical equipment sales rep, but moonlights as a pretty good construction worker.

Building Window Wood Brickwork House


Matt is in the bottom of the hole in this picture. He normally sells mortgages and mortgage insurance, but also is a pretty good person to have when needing to move large, heavy things.

Window Building Wood Brickwork Brick


Progress was slow, but we eventually got there.

Window Property Building Brickwork House


There were little metal brackets attached to the backer-boards, that alternated in between courses and held the bricks up pretty well. Those things made life miserable, especially at interior corner, which we saved till the very end.

Property Window Brickwork Brick Wood


This is only one of the multiple piles of bricks that we ended up with.

Tire Wheel Vehicle Wood Plant


After a hard Saturday removing bricks, My daughter and I took Sunday to visit the ballet for a performance of the Nutcracker. My wife was slated to go with Meadow, but she woke up with a migraine. Although I appreciate the art of ballet, I can sure think of other ways I would rather spend a Sunday in December, especially when the Steelers are playing…. Anyways, I had to step up and got to spend a great afternoon with my girl. I must say the purple tie really brings out the color of my beard.

Suit trousers Footwear Tie Dress shirt Collar


Later that week is was time to get back to work, this time on the inside. There was an old shower stall built in the laundry room, and it was time for it to come down. With my trusty sledgehammer in hand and wheelbarrow on the inside of the house, it came down pretty quickly… brick by brick.

Wood Gas Cookware and bakeware Aluminium Metal


Wood Interior design Flooring Floor Gas


Bathroom Flooring Floor Toilet seat Toilet


Bathroom Plumbing fixture Toilet seat Flooring Floor
 

Attachments

#16 ·
Removing Bricks

In my last post there were lots of pictures of the footer and foundation, as well as the new roof. Now that is taken care of, we can start prepping to enclose the structure. Step 1 is cutting the brick line and removing the exterior bricks. For now, we still have a large clean fill pile in the backyard, so we will be pitching all of the busted brick there for now.

Sky Wood Tree Plant Building


We started with 2 vertical cuts through the brick layer, one on teh left most extent and one to the right. Next we will swinging a sledge to bust up the brick and move it piece by piece.

Jeans Property Window Building Wood


I called a couple buddies to come over and help me swing the Sledge hammer. After a while, 8 lbs gets pretty heavy to swing. Always nice to know that friends will come over on a rainy 35 degree day to help swing a sledgehammer to bust up blocks and haul them out of a 8' hole in the ground.

Here's Ryan. He's normally a Medical equipment sales rep, but moonlights as a pretty good construction worker.

Building Window Wood Brickwork House


Matt is in the bottom of the hole in this picture. He normally sells mortgages and mortgage insurance, but also is a pretty good person to have when needing to move large, heavy things.

Window Building Wood Brickwork Brick


Progress was slow, but we eventually got there.

Window Property Building Brickwork House


There were little metal brackets attached to the backer-boards, that alternated in between courses and held the bricks up pretty well. Those things made life miserable, especially at interior corner, which we saved till the very end.

Property Window Brickwork Brick Wood


This is only one of the multiple piles of bricks that we ended up with.

Tire Wheel Vehicle Wood Plant


After a hard Saturday removing bricks, My daughter and I took Sunday to visit the ballet for a performance of the Nutcracker. My wife was slated to go with Meadow, but she woke up with a migraine. Although I appreciate the art of ballet, I can sure think of other ways I would rather spend a Sunday in December, especially when the Steelers are playing…. Anyways, I had to step up and got to spend a great afternoon with my girl. I must say the purple tie really brings out the color of my beard.

Suit trousers Footwear Tie Dress shirt Collar


Later that week is was time to get back to work, this time on the inside. There was an old shower stall built in the laundry room, and it was time for it to come down. With my trusty sledgehammer in hand and wheelbarrow on the inside of the house, it came down pretty quickly… brick by brick.

Wood Gas Cookware and bakeware Aluminium Metal


Wood Interior design Flooring Floor Gas


Bathroom Flooring Floor Toilet seat Toilet


Bathroom Plumbing fixture Toilet seat Flooring Floor
Always satisfying to seen clean lines after the demo is done. Nice progress!
 

Attachments

#20 ·
Framing/Enclosing the new kitchen

So before I start, some full disclosure: We are far more along on our project than what I am posting now. In fact, most of these pictures are from exactly 1 year ago today. Makes it very interesting to take a look back and see how much progress we've made, and just how much can be done in a year's time.

The first step (no pun intended) was to frame in the new floor so we could have access to our back door again.

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


Wood Rectangle Wood stain Flooring Hardwood


Then the plywood went down over top of the floor joists and the framing for the wall began.

Wood Shade Hardwood House Glass
Building Wood Ladder Window House


All of the original structure remained standing, including the old walls and roof. The new walls and roof went up completely around it, and I got my first glimpse at my new attic storage space.

Brown Wood Beam Rectangle Tints and shades


I had to go up there to remove the old insulation, and it was pretty spacious. I'm actually able to stand up against the new 2nd floor wall, which will be nice.

Property Light Fixture Window Lighting


Once everything was closed in, we began using the back door to move supplies in and out. Although Bo was happy to us the back door, he was a little confused as to what was actually going on.

Window Building Wood Door Living room


Now that everything was closed in on the outside, it was time to start cutting in the steps to the second floor, which meant much more Demo. Because the stairs will be stacked on top of each other, we had to cut out the walls and ceiling about the existing steps.

Brown Wood Building Fixture Floor


Wood Building Floor Flooring House


Heres the view from the other side. We put up a temporary barricade to prevent the kids or dog from a bad fall.

Wood Fixture Floor Hardwood Wood stain


Even the ceiling in the mud room had to go.

Wood Shade Building Fixture Composite material


Because this opened up the house and the new rooms were un=insulated, we move the old back door to block off where the old mudroom was. Our house is supposed to be getting bigger, but its officially shrinking.

Fixture Door Wood Flooring Gas


After a few days, the stairs were finally in.

Building Window Fixture Wood Shade


Property Building Window Wood Fixture


The second floor wasn't very warm, so we layed some Tyvek wrap across the opening and covered it with insulation

Stairs Fixture Wood Floor Flooring


Most Importantly, my daughter Meadow was very concerned about Santa Claus being able to navigate with all of the construction. I tried to reassure her that he would figure out, but she wasn't convinced. So I made this sign at school and posted it up in our front yard. Not only did it help convey some important information, but it also helped to ease my 6 yr. old daughter's curiosity.

Sky Window Building Plant Tree


And with that, we were pretty much closed in. here's a good look at the big picture from the outside, all new construction is wrapped.

Building Cloud Sky Window Snow


Well i think thats enough for one post, I'll try to get back to the next steps soon. Up next, you guessed it, more Demolition!
 

Attachments

#21 ·
Framing/Enclosing the new kitchen

So before I start, some full disclosure: We are far more along on our project than what I am posting now. In fact, most of these pictures are from exactly 1 year ago today. Makes it very interesting to take a look back and see how much progress we've made, and just how much can be done in a year's time.

The first step (no pun intended) was to frame in the new floor so we could have access to our back door again.

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


Wood Rectangle Wood stain Flooring Hardwood


Then the plywood went down over top of the floor joists and the framing for the wall began.

Wood Shade Hardwood House Glass
Building Wood Ladder Window House


All of the original structure remained standing, including the old walls and roof. The new walls and roof went up completely around it, and I got my first glimpse at my new attic storage space.

Brown Wood Beam Rectangle Tints and shades


I had to go up there to remove the old insulation, and it was pretty spacious. I'm actually able to stand up against the new 2nd floor wall, which will be nice.

Property Light Fixture Window Lighting


Once everything was closed in, we began using the back door to move supplies in and out. Although Bo was happy to us the back door, he was a little confused as to what was actually going on.

Window Building Wood Door Living room


Now that everything was closed in on the outside, it was time to start cutting in the steps to the second floor, which meant much more Demo. Because the stairs will be stacked on top of each other, we had to cut out the walls and ceiling about the existing steps.

Brown Wood Building Fixture Floor


Wood Building Floor Flooring House


Heres the view from the other side. We put up a temporary barricade to prevent the kids or dog from a bad fall.

Wood Fixture Floor Hardwood Wood stain


Even the ceiling in the mud room had to go.

Wood Shade Building Fixture Composite material


Because this opened up the house and the new rooms were un=insulated, we move the old back door to block off where the old mudroom was. Our house is supposed to be getting bigger, but its officially shrinking.

Fixture Door Wood Flooring Gas


After a few days, the stairs were finally in.

Building Window Fixture Wood Shade


Property Building Window Wood Fixture


The second floor wasn't very warm, so we layed some Tyvek wrap across the opening and covered it with insulation

Stairs Fixture Wood Floor Flooring


Most Importantly, my daughter Meadow was very concerned about Santa Claus being able to navigate with all of the construction. I tried to reassure her that he would figure out, but she wasn't convinced. So I made this sign at school and posted it up in our front yard. Not only did it help convey some important information, but it also helped to ease my 6 yr. old daughter's curiosity.

Sky Window Building Plant Tree


And with that, we were pretty much closed in. here's a good look at the big picture from the outside, all new construction is wrapped.

Building Cloud Sky Window Snow


Well i think thats enough for one post, I'll try to get back to the next steps soon. Up next, you guessed it, more Demolition!
The progress is looking up.
I kind of remember those days but don't want to think of them anymore. Keep up the good work, it's interesting.
Great picture of the girls standing out in front. It will make more memories as they get older.
 

Attachments

#28 ·
Insulating and final demo (I think)

So after a few weeks the windows and new back door finally came in and we were able to get the big holes in our house filled in.

Sky Building Property Window Fixture


This meant we could get the mechanicals put in the walls and insulate around them. We had a minor setback of needing to get a mini split system put into our 2nd floor master suite, which set us back about $4k. Apparently our furnace was big enough to go upstairs but our ductwork was not. Here's a view of the inside of the new bedroom.

Property Window Wood Shade Interior design


Notice there are some holes in the insulation where the new ducting will go.

This will be the new bathroom. Right now it doesn't look like much but give it some time.

Wood Building House Hardwood Flooring


We had a plumber come to rough in all of the fixtures, but apparently he couldn't read very well. I marked the center line for the toilet and when I came home from work this is what I saw:

Gas Wood Flooring Musical instrument Pipe


not even close. I could make an entire blog entry about how much I hated this sub-contracted plumber, but This will have to do for now.

Next we insulated what will be the new Kitchen.

Wood House Tints and shades Ladder Ceiling


Its nice to have friends like Jeff who work for beer. Notice our OSHA approved respirators and lids on the cups. Safety First!

Wood Interior design Floor Flooring Ladder


After we got that taken care of, we needed to prep for the Final Demolition. This included moving everything we have into our 14'x18' living room. If you look close you can see our Dining room table, couch, recliner, refrigerator, toaster oven, coffee pot, TV, and last but not least, a 4 ft Doll house that Santa brought.

Couch Furniture Picture frame Window Television


And a zip wall will help keep the dust out. I know it looks like a scene from Dexter or Goodfellas, but i swear it worked pretty well.

Furniture Picture frame Table Couch Wood


Then, it started. First came removing the old window above the sink.

Window Wood Fixture Building Tints and shades


Then, the wall cabinets.
Kitchen sink Tap Cabinetry Sink Property


Cabinetry Countertop Kitchen stove Kitchen Wood


Then we busted through the exterior wall from the outside. There's my good buddy Matt again. thanks for the help, Matt!

Wood Building Window Tradesman Workwear


Then we just took turns swinging the sledge hammer and cleaning up.

Wood Interior design Flooring Floor Gas


Wood Floor Flooring Gas Event


I went into the new attic and busted through the ceiling from above, which made it go pretty quickly.

Wood Beam Flooring Hardwood Ceiling


Wood Beam Floor Wall Flooring


Wood Natural material Beam Composite material Building material


And just for the heck of it, lets rip that wall down too.

Wood Gas Flooring Building Tints and shades


and that arched opening looks old and a little small, so lets cut that off too!

Property Wood Fixture Flooring House


the view from the other side
Building Wood Stairs Fixture Door


Brown Furniture Comfort Window Wood


Oh I almost forgot about the last wall by the new back door. This used to be our computer/mud room.

Window Wood Floor Fixture Flooring


When it was all said and done, we had our new room fully exposed.

Wood Interior design Floor Flooring Gas


Cabinetry Building Wood Kitchen Floor


Wait a second, That old hardwood won't match, so lets rip it up.

Wood Floor Flooring Door Hardwood


And that old plaster board texture will be too hard to match, so tear it down!

Dog Property Furniture Wood Building


We left the sink and dishwasher in place so we could still have a "functioning" kitchen

Building Floor House Audio equipment Wood


But the stove got moved to its new location. First dinner in the new kitchen!

Textile Wood Floor Flooring Sunglasses


And what can I say about this poor guy. In case you can't tell from this photo, the last few days have been very traumatic for him.

Dog Dog breed Carnivore Wood Road surface


but eventually he got used to the new surroundings

Dog Wood Carnivore Flooring Floor


Ok I think Thats all for now. I apologize that some of the pictures may be a little out of order, so please don't hate me for that.

Thanks for looking and following along!
 

Attachments

#29 ·
Insulating and final demo (I think)

So after a few weeks the windows and new back door finally came in and we were able to get the big holes in our house filled in.

Sky Building Property Window Fixture


This meant we could get the mechanicals put in the walls and insulate around them. We had a minor setback of needing to get a mini split system put into our 2nd floor master suite, which set us back about $4k. Apparently our furnace was big enough to go upstairs but our ductwork was not. Here's a view of the inside of the new bedroom.

Property Window Wood Shade Interior design


Notice there are some holes in the insulation where the new ducting will go.

This will be the new bathroom. Right now it doesn't look like much but give it some time.

Wood Building House Hardwood Flooring


We had a plumber come to rough in all of the fixtures, but apparently he couldn't read very well. I marked the center line for the toilet and when I came home from work this is what I saw:

Gas Wood Flooring Musical instrument Pipe


not even close. I could make an entire blog entry about how much I hated this sub-contracted plumber, but This will have to do for now.

Next we insulated what will be the new Kitchen.

Wood House Tints and shades Ladder Ceiling


Its nice to have friends like Jeff who work for beer. Notice our OSHA approved respirators and lids on the cups. Safety First!

Wood Interior design Floor Flooring Ladder


After we got that taken care of, we needed to prep for the Final Demolition. This included moving everything we have into our 14'x18' living room. If you look close you can see our Dining room table, couch, recliner, refrigerator, toaster oven, coffee pot, TV, and last but not least, a 4 ft Doll house that Santa brought.

Couch Furniture Picture frame Window Television


And a zip wall will help keep the dust out. I know it looks like a scene from Dexter or Goodfellas, but i swear it worked pretty well.

Furniture Picture frame Table Couch Wood


Then, it started. First came removing the old window above the sink.

Window Wood Fixture Building Tints and shades


Then, the wall cabinets.
Kitchen sink Tap Cabinetry Sink Property


Cabinetry Countertop Kitchen stove Kitchen Wood


Then we busted through the exterior wall from the outside. There's my good buddy Matt again. thanks for the help, Matt!

Wood Building Window Tradesman Workwear


Then we just took turns swinging the sledge hammer and cleaning up.

Wood Interior design Flooring Floor Gas


Wood Floor Flooring Gas Event


I went into the new attic and busted through the ceiling from above, which made it go pretty quickly.

Wood Beam Flooring Hardwood Ceiling


Wood Beam Floor Wall Flooring


Wood Natural material Beam Composite material Building material


And just for the heck of it, lets rip that wall down too.

Wood Gas Flooring Building Tints and shades


and that arched opening looks old and a little small, so lets cut that off too!

Property Wood Fixture Flooring House


the view from the other side
Building Wood Stairs Fixture Door


Brown Furniture Comfort Window Wood


Oh I almost forgot about the last wall by the new back door. This used to be our computer/mud room.

Window Wood Floor Fixture Flooring


When it was all said and done, we had our new room fully exposed.

Wood Interior design Floor Flooring Gas


Cabinetry Building Wood Kitchen Floor


Wait a second, That old hardwood won't match, so lets rip it up.

Wood Floor Flooring Door Hardwood


And that old plaster board texture will be too hard to match, so tear it down!

Dog Property Furniture Wood Building


We left the sink and dishwasher in place so we could still have a "functioning" kitchen

Building Floor House Audio equipment Wood


But the stove got moved to its new location. First dinner in the new kitchen!

Textile Wood Floor Flooring Sunglasses


And what can I say about this poor guy. In case you can't tell from this photo, the last few days have been very traumatic for him.

Dog Dog breed Carnivore Wood Road surface


but eventually he got used to the new surroundings

Dog Wood Carnivore Flooring Floor


Ok I think Thats all for now. I apologize that some of the pictures may be a little out of order, so please don't hate me for that.

Thanks for looking and following along!
That is really cool. I think the Plummer missed it a wee bit. Lol Looks like yall are making good progress. Great job buddy and look forward to next update. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas
 

Attachments

#37 ·
Hanging Drywall And Painting

For the next few days I will be proctoring Keystone (PA Standardized) Tests, so I figured I can catch up a bit on posting the progress of our Addition project. The last time I posted, we had a small victory of getting the First floor kitchen opened up and insulation installed in the new kitchen/dining room and new bedroom upstairs. We were able to take the Zipwall down and were able to get a good glimpse into what the future would hold.

Dog Property Furniture Cabinetry Comfort


Here's a view from the opposite corner:

Wood Floor Building Flooring Beam


All of that demo left just a little bit of cleanup to take care of:

Wood Building Plant Building material Event


After getting all of that tossed into the dumpster, it was time to start putting up some wall board. I knew that I wouldn't have that much time to work on hanging wallboard (other than nights/weekends by myself) and this was a really big job. Luckily, my in-laws came through and helped us out with getting it done as a Christmas Gift for the whole family.

Those are some long 12' pieces….

Building Wood House Flooring Floor


Window Building Wood House Floor


Starting with the upstairs bathroom.

Wood Floor Electrical wiring Flooring House


Wood Floor Flooring Gas Composite material


Interior design Window Fixture Wood Floor


Fixture Wood Flooring Composite material Ceiling


And into the new Bedroom:

Wood Flooring Floor Hall Fixture


Window Fixture Wood Shade Interior design


Window Wood Fixture Interior design Shade


Down the steps:

Fixture Wood Composite material Flooring Concrete


Wood Flooring Stairs Floor Beige


And into the new Kitchen:

Cabinetry Interior design Wood Flooring Floor


Building Floor Flooring House Event


Now about this time, I realized that the BRAND NEW back door was leaking a bit. Its important to note this, because, it had really only been installed about 4-6 weeks prior, and was BRAND NEW. Also, some of the paint was chipping/pealing right where the handle hardware was installed.

Handle Fixture Wood Door Rectangle


Plumbing fixture Tap Fluid Plumbing Gas


This is of some importance, mostly because this posting is of picture from more than a year ago (pictures of the door were actually taking February 22, 2018) and I am still dealing with this issue. Its not that the company didn't want to take responsibility for the defective product, but rather, I have gone through 5, yes FIVE exterior doors since then between 2 different companies and it is still not resolved.

The original door (door 1) was custom order from Masonite doors, and we paid extra to have it painted a specific color. The first replacement (door 2) was just the slab and would have fixed the leak, but it had a big dent in it from shipping. So we had to call Masonite back and get the second replacement door (door 3) which had large scratches in it when unwrapped at the store. The third replacement door (door 4) was wrapped with a foam pad before the paint had fully cured, so when we unwrapped it at the store the door that was supposed to be smooth had a slight texture to it. At this time the manager at Lowe's was supremely pissed off, so we decided that we were going to abandon Masonite and go with a whole other company. They purchased a door for me from MMI doors (slightly more expensive but Lowe's covered the added cost) and about a month after I replaced the whole door (frame and all) I saw this:

Brown Door Fixture Wood Rectangle


a closer look:

Brown Wood Paint Tints and shades Wood stain


so here we are, roughly 17 months after the original purchase date of the first door, and I am still having issues. Good Gawd y'all.

Anyways, back to the original story…. It was time to prime and paint the wall, which meant all hands on deck!

Easel Flooring Floor Wood Ladder


Meadow was kicking butt with that roller:

Floor Wood Flooring Door Jacket


And Daphne has her good work shoes on.

Hair Footwear Leg Smile Sleeve


Then we worked downstairs as the kitchen cabinets were coming in soon. Here's a few shots of the walls after getting them all painted. we decided to paint the whole walls even though most of them would be covered with cabinets anyhow.

Building Wood Floor Flooring Fixture


Moving counter-clockwise..

Wood Floor Flooring Paint Hardwood


Window Building Wood Fixture Paint


Wood Floor Flooring Wall Comfort


And that pretty much sums up this chapter of the project. Next post will be about installing the cabinets and flooring.

Thanks for stopping in to checkout the progress. I should be able to get another post up tomorrow, as well.
 

Attachments

#38 ·
Hanging Drywall And Painting

For the next few days I will be proctoring Keystone (PA Standardized) Tests, so I figured I can catch up a bit on posting the progress of our Addition project. The last time I posted, we had a small victory of getting the First floor kitchen opened up and insulation installed in the new kitchen/dining room and new bedroom upstairs. We were able to take the Zipwall down and were able to get a good glimpse into what the future would hold.

Dog Property Furniture Cabinetry Comfort


Here's a view from the opposite corner:

Wood Floor Building Flooring Beam


All of that demo left just a little bit of cleanup to take care of:

Wood Building Plant Building material Event


After getting all of that tossed into the dumpster, it was time to start putting up some wall board. I knew that I wouldn't have that much time to work on hanging wallboard (other than nights/weekends by myself) and this was a really big job. Luckily, my in-laws came through and helped us out with getting it done as a Christmas Gift for the whole family.

Those are some long 12' pieces….

Building Wood House Flooring Floor


Window Building Wood House Floor


Starting with the upstairs bathroom.

Wood Floor Electrical wiring Flooring House


Wood Floor Flooring Gas Composite material


Interior design Window Fixture Wood Floor


Fixture Wood Flooring Composite material Ceiling


And into the new Bedroom:

Wood Flooring Floor Hall Fixture


Window Fixture Wood Shade Interior design


Window Wood Fixture Interior design Shade


Down the steps:

Fixture Wood Composite material Flooring Concrete


Wood Flooring Stairs Floor Beige


And into the new Kitchen:

Cabinetry Interior design Wood Flooring Floor


Building Floor Flooring House Event


Now about this time, I realized that the BRAND NEW back door was leaking a bit. Its important to note this, because, it had really only been installed about 4-6 weeks prior, and was BRAND NEW. Also, some of the paint was chipping/pealing right where the handle hardware was installed.

Handle Fixture Wood Door Rectangle


Plumbing fixture Tap Fluid Plumbing Gas


This is of some importance, mostly because this posting is of picture from more than a year ago (pictures of the door were actually taking February 22, 2018) and I am still dealing with this issue. Its not that the company didn't want to take responsibility for the defective product, but rather, I have gone through 5, yes FIVE exterior doors since then between 2 different companies and it is still not resolved.

The original door (door 1) was custom order from Masonite doors, and we paid extra to have it painted a specific color. The first replacement (door 2) was just the slab and would have fixed the leak, but it had a big dent in it from shipping. So we had to call Masonite back and get the second replacement door (door 3) which had large scratches in it when unwrapped at the store. The third replacement door (door 4) was wrapped with a foam pad before the paint had fully cured, so when we unwrapped it at the store the door that was supposed to be smooth had a slight texture to it. At this time the manager at Lowe's was supremely pissed off, so we decided that we were going to abandon Masonite and go with a whole other company. They purchased a door for me from MMI doors (slightly more expensive but Lowe's covered the added cost) and about a month after I replaced the whole door (frame and all) I saw this:

Brown Door Fixture Wood Rectangle


a closer look:

Brown Wood Paint Tints and shades Wood stain


so here we are, roughly 17 months after the original purchase date of the first door, and I am still having issues. Good Gawd y'all.

Anyways, back to the original story…. It was time to prime and paint the wall, which meant all hands on deck!

Easel Flooring Floor Wood Ladder


Meadow was kicking butt with that roller:

Floor Wood Flooring Door Jacket


And Daphne has her good work shoes on.

Hair Footwear Leg Smile Sleeve


Then we worked downstairs as the kitchen cabinets were coming in soon. Here's a few shots of the walls after getting them all painted. we decided to paint the whole walls even though most of them would be covered with cabinets anyhow.

Building Wood Floor Flooring Fixture


Moving counter-clockwise..

Wood Floor Flooring Paint Hardwood


Window Building Wood Fixture Paint


Wood Floor Flooring Wall Comfort


And that pretty much sums up this chapter of the project. Next post will be about installing the cabinets and flooring.

Thanks for stopping in to checkout the progress. I should be able to get another post up tomorrow, as well.
lookin real good tooch,great construction crew youve got there.that door issue just doesn't want to go away u.looking fprward to seeing more.
 

Attachments

#48 ·
Installing Kitchen Cabinets

As of the end of the last post, we ended with painting the Kitchen walls. Today's post will reflect mostly the challenges faced when installing the Cabinets. First, I would like to acknowledge the fact that I purchased these cabinets from Lowe's. Although I thought that I could easily make cabinets for a fraction of the cost (as evidenced by this miter saw station ), the overall scope of the addition project led me to feel like I had enough work to do, and building cabinets would add an extra 2 months minimum to the project.

We did a ton of design work even before we broke ground and the project began. Here was a picture of a display we saw at Lowe's that the wife really liked:

Cabinetry Countertop Furniture Kitchen Drawer


We knew that we would have a window and slightly more room to work with, so we decided that we were going to add floating shelves on either side. The floating shelves that Lowe's offered were very expensive and could not be cut to size, probably because they were filled with cardboard, so I promised my wife i'd build some fore her later. We also want to switch the refrigerator to the adjacent wall and leave more room for counter space next to the stove for food prep.

It started with fastening down the 5/8" pine panels for the subfloor and putting the stove back in place:

Window Building Fixture Wood Door


Property Window Building Wood Interior design


Then the cabinets were delivered in boxes. Lots and lots and lots and lots of boxes.

Wood Building Shipping box Interior design Floor


Furniture Wood Table Living room Couch


There were some boxes with visible damage due to transit,

Brown Wood Flooring Floor Beige


and as I unpacked the boxes I noticed some cabinets with damage to the doors or face frames.

Brown Amber Wood Wood stain Hardwood


Creative arts Rectangle Material property Wood Triangle


One cabinet was completely split on the back end, which was causing it to fall apart. Cheap particle board…

Wood Material property Wood stain Hardwood Tints and shades


The back panel (shown below still in packaging) which would be used for the island also showed damage

Wood Boat Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


So I had to call and reorder all of the pieces damaged due to shipping, which wasn't difficult, but they told me it would be another 2 weeks before the replacements would be in. So for now, we just get to put the base cabinets in place and look at them, but not mount or use them.

Table Building Wood Interior design Desk


Property Furniture Window Building Table


Window Wood Interior design Fixture Floor


Sooooo let's fast forward two weeks…

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I'lll let you scroll so you can see how anxious I was getting
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While waiting for the replacement cabinets to come in….
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How annoying is this???
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To have to wait for something due to damaged goods while being delivered….
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..
.....Ok I think I'm done now.
.

The items FINALLY came in and we were able to start mounting the wall Cabinets. I started in the corner and figure everything would work its way out from there.

Shelving Wood Hardwood Rectangle Wood stain


Notice the outlet above the range? Don't forget to cut out the back of the cabinet so the microwave has power!

Rectangle Countertop Wood Wood stain Hardwood


A few beers later the left side of the "L" shape was all installed and looking good.

Cabinetry Property Countertop Building Kitchen appliance


And then the right side:

Cabinetry Property Furniture Kitchen appliance Countertop


Before we could install the Island, I had to remove the old sink. Since our countertops wouldn't be in for at least another 4 weeks, We planned on just hooking it up to the new plumbing so we could get running water. Luckily The wife was there to help me move it after i disconnected the plumbing.

Cabinetry Kitchen sink Tap Countertop Sink


And I had a special helper holding the flashlight when I reconnected the new plumbing!

Cabinetry Countertop Kitchen sink Property Sink


With the last of the old out of the way we were able to get all of the rest of the sub floor installed and the island cabinets in. I mounted 2Ă—4's directly to the sub-floor and was able to attached the island cabinets to them. This took a lot of measuring, cursing, remeasuring, and drawing on the sub-floor.

Cabinetry Property Countertop Kitchen appliance Wood


Cabinetry Property Wood Countertop Flooring


Cabinetry Window Drawer Wood Building


and that is where I'm going to end this post. If you notice there is no microwave, you are correct. Since our existing microwave was 9 years old and suffered some damage during the demo/construction, we decided to wait and buy a new one. For now, all of the cabinets are installed, and we are now waiting for the counter tops to be measured, made, and installed.

Thanks for stopping by the check it out. The next post will include the flooring conundrum and getting the microwave in.
 

Attachments

#49 ·
Installing Kitchen Cabinets

As of the end of the last post, we ended with painting the Kitchen walls. Today's post will reflect mostly the challenges faced when installing the Cabinets. First, I would like to acknowledge the fact that I purchased these cabinets from Lowe's. Although I thought that I could easily make cabinets for a fraction of the cost (as evidenced by this miter saw station ), the overall scope of the addition project led me to feel like I had enough work to do, and building cabinets would add an extra 2 months minimum to the project.

We did a ton of design work even before we broke ground and the project began. Here was a picture of a display we saw at Lowe's that the wife really liked:

Cabinetry Countertop Furniture Kitchen Drawer


We knew that we would have a window and slightly more room to work with, so we decided that we were going to add floating shelves on either side. The floating shelves that Lowe's offered were very expensive and could not be cut to size, probably because they were filled with cardboard, so I promised my wife i'd build some fore her later. We also want to switch the refrigerator to the adjacent wall and leave more room for counter space next to the stove for food prep.

It started with fastening down the 5/8" pine panels for the subfloor and putting the stove back in place:

Window Building Fixture Wood Door


Property Window Building Wood Interior design


Then the cabinets were delivered in boxes. Lots and lots and lots and lots of boxes.

Wood Building Shipping box Interior design Floor


Furniture Wood Table Living room Couch


There were some boxes with visible damage due to transit,

Brown Wood Flooring Floor Beige


and as I unpacked the boxes I noticed some cabinets with damage to the doors or face frames.

Brown Amber Wood Wood stain Hardwood


Creative arts Rectangle Material property Wood Triangle


One cabinet was completely split on the back end, which was causing it to fall apart. Cheap particle board…

Wood Material property Wood stain Hardwood Tints and shades


The back panel (shown below still in packaging) which would be used for the island also showed damage

Wood Boat Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


So I had to call and reorder all of the pieces damaged due to shipping, which wasn't difficult, but they told me it would be another 2 weeks before the replacements would be in. So for now, we just get to put the base cabinets in place and look at them, but not mount or use them.

Table Building Wood Interior design Desk


Property Furniture Window Building Table


Window Wood Interior design Fixture Floor


Sooooo let's fast forward two weeks…

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I'lll let you scroll so you can see how anxious I was getting
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
While waiting for the replacement cabinets to come in….
.
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How annoying is this???
.
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.
.
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To have to wait for something due to damaged goods while being delivered….
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.....Ok I think I'm done now.
.

The items FINALLY came in and we were able to start mounting the wall Cabinets. I started in the corner and figure everything would work its way out from there.

Shelving Wood Hardwood Rectangle Wood stain


Notice the outlet above the range? Don't forget to cut out the back of the cabinet so the microwave has power!

Rectangle Countertop Wood Wood stain Hardwood


A few beers later the left side of the "L" shape was all installed and looking good.

Cabinetry Property Countertop Building Kitchen appliance


And then the right side:

Cabinetry Property Furniture Kitchen appliance Countertop


Before we could install the Island, I had to remove the old sink. Since our countertops wouldn't be in for at least another 4 weeks, We planned on just hooking it up to the new plumbing so we could get running water. Luckily The wife was there to help me move it after i disconnected the plumbing.

Cabinetry Kitchen sink Tap Countertop Sink


And I had a special helper holding the flashlight when I reconnected the new plumbing!

Cabinetry Countertop Kitchen sink Property Sink


With the last of the old out of the way we were able to get all of the rest of the sub floor installed and the island cabinets in. I mounted 2Ă—4's directly to the sub-floor and was able to attached the island cabinets to them. This took a lot of measuring, cursing, remeasuring, and drawing on the sub-floor.

Cabinetry Property Countertop Kitchen appliance Wood


Cabinetry Property Wood Countertop Flooring


Cabinetry Window Drawer Wood Building


and that is where I'm going to end this post. If you notice there is no microwave, you are correct. Since our existing microwave was 9 years old and suffered some damage during the demo/construction, we decided to wait and buy a new one. For now, all of the cabinets are installed, and we are now waiting for the counter tops to be measured, made, and installed.

Thanks for stopping by the check it out. The next post will include the flooring conundrum and getting the microwave in.
Amaizing kitchen… Just amaizing!!!
 

Attachments

#55 ·
Sub panel and New Flooring

So I never got to post where all of the new electric was coming from for the Range, Fridge, mini-split, all the outlets, etc. Knowing that we were going to add on to our house, we decided to update our electric to a 200 amp panel a few years prior. The contractors were able to pull enough to run a subpanel in the new storage room in the basement. To give a better idea of the location, here is an old picture of what the outside used to look like. The Glass block that is circled would become the new doorway into the storage room.

Plant Property Building Window Brickwork


and here was a throwback picture to the first day of construction, when we broke ground and excavated that area out.

Plant Window Building Brickwork House


I had to bust out the bricks and glass block, and this became the new entrance from the inside of the basement.

Cabinetry Property Wood Fixture Floor


and right inside to the left of the doorway is our sub panel which runs electri to the new upstairs bed/bath, and all of the kitchen outlets. I think it ended using 16 or 17 different breakers; the new code requires every appliance to be on its own breaker, which is nice.

Electrical wiring Electricity Gas Font Wood


So now that the electric has been documented, lets get started with some flooring. I found some Oak Hardwood flooring (T&G) during one of my many trips to Lowe's for a reduced price of $2/sq. ft. That was a steal considering it normally retails at $4/Sq. Ft., and there was nothing wrong with it! someone just over bought for their project and Lowes' couldn't send it back, so they reduced the price for a quick sale. First we started with some underlayment to cut down on the squeaks of a normal hardwood floor.

Wood Flooring Floor Fixture Hardwood


Window Fixture Wood Flooring Floor


A buddy let me borrow his hardwood nail gun, all I had to do was purchase the nails (which are pretty GD expensive) and tip him a case of Yeungling.

Finger Gesture Font Thumb Nail


There was a little bit of a learning curve, but after the first few boards I was able to fly through the rest of the room. Having a few buddies there to help sure made things go quicker too. The hardest part was on my lower back… using that thing really puts a strain in places your body's not used to having strained.

Brown Wood Interior design Fixture Flooring


Wood Building Fixture Flooring House


Window Wood Flooring Fixture Floor


I was able to buy just enough to have an extra few feet to do the inside of what would become the linen closet. Notice the attic access is a nice, large, accessible door.

Brown Wood Rectangle Wood stain Floor


Since we are talking about upstairs, I should document the plan that started when the kitchen ceiling was wide open (throwback pic):

Property Light Fixture Window Lighting


I tossed up 10 sheets of floor paneling up there, and was able to finally lay that all down for a TON of extra storage space.

Wood Flooring Floor Tints and shades Hardwood


Building Wood Interior design Flooring Floor


Wood Floor Flooring House Wood stain


Amber Wood World Flooring Tints and shades


the space in the front of the house:

Wood Floor Flooring Gas Font


An then it was time to start laying the floor in the kitchen. Because I wanted a grayish/bluish floor, and Lowe's only offers wood floor and wood-look flooring, I decided to go to a small local business to buy the flooring for the kitchen. The Stuff I got was an LVT (luxury vinyl tile) and the main reason I purchased it was because of its durability. It was marketed to me as "water-proof, stain-proof, everything-proof" by the guy who sold it to me.

Again, after a brief learning curve, it went together PDQ.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Door


Had to move that YUGE dining room table in order to install flooring underneath, which really stinks when you're by yourself.

Table Furniture Tableware Wood Flooring


pull out the range to get behind/under it as well.

Table Cabinetry Wood Home appliance Flooring


and the last of the flooring was installed under the sink.

Cabinetry Property Countertop Kitchen appliance Kitchen


Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that somewhere along the way I installed the Microwave…. Here a shot of the new appliance.

Cabinetry Countertop Property Kitchen appliance Kitchen stove


not bad for a days work. Luckily it was nice enough outside to officially start grilling season, which was also a good excuse to celebrate.

Food Kitchen appliance Home appliance Ingredient Outdoor grill rack & topper


but then,
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a few days later .
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we noticed the "stain proof floor" was not very "stain proof".

Tile flooring Rectangle Road surface Asphalt Wood


Wood Rectangle Grey Flooring Road surface


Tile flooring Road surface Asphalt Floor Flooring


Tile flooring Wood Grey Flooring Beige


This started yet another game of "what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-this-defective-product-that-I-purchased??" between the retailer and me. To their credit, they thought it may just have been a defective batch, and paid to replace it. Since I had done the original installation, I asked about that (as it took me 2 full days to complete, time that I didn't have at this point) and they decided to send a guy to replace it, also, which was nice.

So that was the good news.

The bad news was that the same thing happened with the second floor. When I went back the second time and showed them the pictures, the manager blamed us, as a household, for staining & ruining the floor. So I asked, "what happened to 'stain-proof, water-proof, everything-proof'? Why are there all of these stains in the grout line?"

Long story short, an independent inspector came out to take a look at it. I'll spare the details of the 10 page document that he produced, but effectively the Surface of the floor was still good, it was only the foam grout lines that were porous and susceptible to staining. This was very concerning as it was MEANT TO BE IN A KITCHEN WHERE LOTS OF SPILLS HAPPEN. I never would have bought it if I knew about the staining issue.

Things again went back and forth between the manager and I. This lasted for about 3 months, which was so long that the retail store actully STOPPED CARRYING THE FLOOR THAT I USED IN MY KITCHEN.

Again, I'll Spare the details, but we ended up going with another manufacturer, another floor, and again they paid to install it. At long last, we had our floor. I don't have any pictures of the the floor itself, but here is a picture of my dog Bo laying on it.

Dog Dog breed Carnivore Collar Companion dog


The Tiles are much larger at 18"x36" (compared to 12"x 24), and the floor is much thicker and heavier than before. Also, its a little more gray and a little less blue, which works because the blue on the wall really made the old floor look more blue than what it was. Funny how that works. I just realized that I don't have any pictures of the transition strips yet from the kitchen to the living room or kitchen to hallway. hmmmm…. I guess I'll have to add one below.

So I guess that's it for now. Lots of pictures, lots of headaches, lots of aggrevation… but at the end of the day we are making progress which is very gratifying.

Thanks for looking!
 

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#56 ·
Sub panel and New Flooring

So I never got to post where all of the new electric was coming from for the Range, Fridge, mini-split, all the outlets, etc. Knowing that we were going to add on to our house, we decided to update our electric to a 200 amp panel a few years prior. The contractors were able to pull enough to run a subpanel in the new storage room in the basement. To give a better idea of the location, here is an old picture of what the outside used to look like. The Glass block that is circled would become the new doorway into the storage room.

Plant Property Building Window Brickwork


and here was a throwback picture to the first day of construction, when we broke ground and excavated that area out.

Plant Window Building Brickwork House


I had to bust out the bricks and glass block, and this became the new entrance from the inside of the basement.

Cabinetry Property Wood Fixture Floor


and right inside to the left of the doorway is our sub panel which runs electri to the new upstairs bed/bath, and all of the kitchen outlets. I think it ended using 16 or 17 different breakers; the new code requires every appliance to be on its own breaker, which is nice.

Electrical wiring Electricity Gas Font Wood


So now that the electric has been documented, lets get started with some flooring. I found some Oak Hardwood flooring (T&G) during one of my many trips to Lowe's for a reduced price of $2/sq. ft. That was a steal considering it normally retails at $4/Sq. Ft., and there was nothing wrong with it! someone just over bought for their project and Lowes' couldn't send it back, so they reduced the price for a quick sale. First we started with some underlayment to cut down on the squeaks of a normal hardwood floor.

Wood Flooring Floor Fixture Hardwood


Window Fixture Wood Flooring Floor


A buddy let me borrow his hardwood nail gun, all I had to do was purchase the nails (which are pretty GD expensive) and tip him a case of Yeungling.

Finger Gesture Font Thumb Nail


There was a little bit of a learning curve, but after the first few boards I was able to fly through the rest of the room. Having a few buddies there to help sure made things go quicker too. The hardest part was on my lower back… using that thing really puts a strain in places your body's not used to having strained.

Brown Wood Interior design Fixture Flooring


Wood Building Fixture Flooring House


Window Wood Flooring Fixture Floor


I was able to buy just enough to have an extra few feet to do the inside of what would become the linen closet. Notice the attic access is a nice, large, accessible door.

Brown Wood Rectangle Wood stain Floor


Since we are talking about upstairs, I should document the plan that started when the kitchen ceiling was wide open (throwback pic):

Property Light Fixture Window Lighting


I tossed up 10 sheets of floor paneling up there, and was able to finally lay that all down for a TON of extra storage space.

Wood Flooring Floor Tints and shades Hardwood


Building Wood Interior design Flooring Floor


Wood Floor Flooring House Wood stain


Amber Wood World Flooring Tints and shades


the space in the front of the house:

Wood Floor Flooring Gas Font


An then it was time to start laying the floor in the kitchen. Because I wanted a grayish/bluish floor, and Lowe's only offers wood floor and wood-look flooring, I decided to go to a small local business to buy the flooring for the kitchen. The Stuff I got was an LVT (luxury vinyl tile) and the main reason I purchased it was because of its durability. It was marketed to me as "water-proof, stain-proof, everything-proof" by the guy who sold it to me.

Again, after a brief learning curve, it went together PDQ.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Door


Had to move that YUGE dining room table in order to install flooring underneath, which really stinks when you're by yourself.

Table Furniture Tableware Wood Flooring


pull out the range to get behind/under it as well.

Table Cabinetry Wood Home appliance Flooring


and the last of the flooring was installed under the sink.

Cabinetry Property Countertop Kitchen appliance Kitchen


Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that somewhere along the way I installed the Microwave…. Here a shot of the new appliance.

Cabinetry Countertop Property Kitchen appliance Kitchen stove


not bad for a days work. Luckily it was nice enough outside to officially start grilling season, which was also a good excuse to celebrate.

Food Kitchen appliance Home appliance Ingredient Outdoor grill rack & topper


but then,
.
.
.
.
.
a few days later .
.
.
.
.
we noticed the "stain proof floor" was not very "stain proof".

Tile flooring Rectangle Road surface Asphalt Wood


Wood Rectangle Grey Flooring Road surface


Tile flooring Road surface Asphalt Floor Flooring


Tile flooring Wood Grey Flooring Beige


This started yet another game of "what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-this-defective-product-that-I-purchased??" between the retailer and me. To their credit, they thought it may just have been a defective batch, and paid to replace it. Since I had done the original installation, I asked about that (as it took me 2 full days to complete, time that I didn't have at this point) and they decided to send a guy to replace it, also, which was nice.

So that was the good news.

The bad news was that the same thing happened with the second floor. When I went back the second time and showed them the pictures, the manager blamed us, as a household, for staining & ruining the floor. So I asked, "what happened to 'stain-proof, water-proof, everything-proof'? Why are there all of these stains in the grout line?"

Long story short, an independent inspector came out to take a look at it. I'll spare the details of the 10 page document that he produced, but effectively the Surface of the floor was still good, it was only the foam grout lines that were porous and susceptible to staining. This was very concerning as it was MEANT TO BE IN A KITCHEN WHERE LOTS OF SPILLS HAPPEN. I never would have bought it if I knew about the staining issue.

Things again went back and forth between the manager and I. This lasted for about 3 months, which was so long that the retail store actully STOPPED CARRYING THE FLOOR THAT I USED IN MY KITCHEN.

Again, I'll Spare the details, but we ended up going with another manufacturer, another floor, and again they paid to install it. At long last, we had our floor. I don't have any pictures of the the floor itself, but here is a picture of my dog Bo laying on it.

Dog Dog breed Carnivore Collar Companion dog


The Tiles are much larger at 18"x36" (compared to 12"x 24), and the floor is much thicker and heavier than before. Also, its a little more gray and a little less blue, which works because the blue on the wall really made the old floor look more blue than what it was. Funny how that works. I just realized that I don't have any pictures of the transition strips yet from the kitchen to the living room or kitchen to hallway. hmmmm…. I guess I'll have to add one below.

So I guess that's it for now. Lots of pictures, lots of headaches, lots of aggrevation… but at the end of the day we are making progress which is very gratifying.

Thanks for looking!
I had to do about three edits because I lost track of the pictures and there were some that were in the wrong place. Hopefully I got them all fixed up
 

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