#demoday : The Kitchen

When we first saw our house we LOVED the size and layout of the kitchen. We did NOT love, the formica counters, the worn out cabinets, and the shallow/dirty sink. At first we thought to be cost effective we would replace the cabinet doors, but after meeting with our cabinet guy, realized the cost of just totally replacing them and the cost of getting new doors was pretty much the same (crazy right?).  So we decided out with old and in with the new.

We've been in the house for a while now, which has helped us to figure out what changes we need to make to create a more functional layout. We did away with a weird small counter top area to the left of the fridge and decided to add a pantry. We also went for all new appliances, and opted for the microwave being mounted over the stove, instead of in the oddly shaped cabinet to the right of the range (see below). This change would give us a whole new, larger cabinet. We also decided to go with 36in tall cabinets, adding a total of 6 inches storage everywhere!

So boring.

And now it's time to say goodbye, to our ugly old cabinets! It's also time to say good bye to the weird pulls, terrible counter top and yellow outlet plugs.

Slowly but surely..

Our cat, cringer, was very interested in this whole process.. for about 10 minutes and then he went back to napping.

Sorry for the mess, but it's demo! It took us two days, but we got it all out! Except for the island, but we'll save that surprise for later. We only had two cabinet casualties in the process and the rest are now living in our garage where they will be repurposed. Once everything was out we prepped the walls, filled in any holes, and also swapped out some of the outlets for brand new ones. 

**TIP: People  tend to overlook the affect new switches and plugs has on a home, it's an inexpensive change to make and instantly makes a room feel more modern. No one likes yellow plugs on their freshly painted walls, YUCK. Make sure if you decide to do this yourself that you turn the power off at the breaker!

The Master Bath: Prepping for The New Bathroom

Master bath update time! Demo was way smoother and easier than expected. We were both in shock that the floor tiles were laid directly on the sub floor, and barely attached at that. But next it was time to prep. This step was a lot more labor intensive than we originally realized, however, it's probably the most important part of the whole process so we made sure to get it right!

Once the tub/shower combo was gone we had to remove some odd studs in the wall and make sure the framing was secure. We also had to cut plywood to act as the base for our shower pan and water proofing. 

Because the floor joists ran through the middle of the shower, our plan to center the drain had to be scrapped. We did move the drain out a little bit to be under the rain shower, but this meant we had to have a custom shower pan built - bye $400. Oh well. 

Remember that weird soffit from the demo post? We had to sawzall that bad boy out. The opening leads into one of the master closets - weird right?!

So we bought sheet rock and got to work! **Side note: we've used quite a bit of sheet rock tape in our day but this stuff was amazing - self adhesive and mold resistant, it's perfect for bathrooms. 

Then it was time to mud and sand. And mud and sand. And mud and sand some more! The walls we're pretty uneven, and had clearly had some bad patch jobs from renovations past. Once that was done, our amazing tile guy got to work waterproofing the walls. 

Let the tiling begin!

D-Day: Master Bathroom Demo!

We've been in our new house for a few weeks now and there's one thing I've been counting down the days to do - demo the master bath! We couldn't wait to say goodbye to this weird bathroom and all its soffit filled glory!

Oh those broad way lights. 

What even is that in the shower?!

A little demo is good for the soul, and a major stress reliever.. Until you realized you're down a bathroom. Now the fun can begin!