Our kitchen renovation is now underway.
This is going to be a big change for us. We have done renovations to a couple of bathrooms over the years, but nothing this involved. We have been working with a designer to get everything organized and ordered, and to make sure it turns out the way we want it.
The time finally came to get really ready for the big change. While this this a kitchen renovation, we are having new flooring put in all of the connected areas as well, so the living room and a room we call the breakfast room. So in in anticipation of new flooring, everything had to be cleared out at once.
We now have the lovely addition to our driveway of a storage container to hold our belongings. While our main living space, kitchen, living room, and family room and empty and gutted. 
Out with the old. Below are the pictures of demolition of our old galley kitchen. Already gone is the stove and oven. Soon to be gone, all those cabinets.
I did expect a few “surprises” as long the way. I figured as wall were being opened up and floor boards picked up there would likely be some problem that had thus far gone undetected. Would there be a mold problem, would there be rodents? Something surely must go wrong, right? I assumed that there was no such thing as smooth sailing in a construction project. So what was the problem? Termites!
As beam began to be revealed, so did evidence of the wood being eaten away. There was some testing of the beam, trying to determine just how much damage had been done and what should be done about it. After the workers knocked on it, picked at it, and inspected it, they decided it had to go and be replaced by a stronger, more reliable beam. I’m all for a sturdy house, but it did set back the “all-done” date a couple of days.
While our old kitchen is gone, the workers set up this small space for us to have a mini kitchen to feed ourselves somewhat during this process. Behind the plastic zip-up curtain is our refrigerator, microwave (sitting awkwardly on a dining room chair), dining room table, and most importantly, the coffee/espresso maker.
We are making do. It is certainly a step up from camping, but not quite the same as having a real kitchen. The zipper is meant to keep the dust out. I appreciate the effort, however, I’m not sure it entirely works. There is a lot of dust; it’s unstoppable.
We were a bit concerned about how our two chihuahuas would put up with process and all the change. It seems they will go to great lengths to sit in their usual sunny spots, even if the spot has completely changed.
Stay tuned for the progress of the kitchen and surrounding area.
Starts with K... 