Kitchen Project

We've wanted to fix this ever since we've moved in. The drywall in the background is from where we took the wall out to put in a new tub/shower in upstairs bathroom. We've been in a construction zone for years. Downstairs, new stairs, then new bathroom, then upstairs bathroom, then laundry room, then making opening from kitchen to dining room. About sick of it. And this is the last super major thing inside.

We crammed everything into the other rooms.

Had to take all the important stuff out of the cabinets before taking them down.

The old cabinet boxes basically fell apart. So many layers of nasty behind the stove. Old house.

All the materias laid out downstairs. All the bits and pices from Ikea. They've got a pretty amazing operation. Not a single mistake in the entire order.

Three unexpected days of scraping the old lenolium. New stuff, then luon nailed every six inches, and 2 inches on perimiter of boards, then the old stubborn stuff. And no sanding allowed due to concerns of asbestos in old glue. So it was all with a scraper.

Taking popcorn off the ceiling. Scrape big stuff off. Then spray with a garden sprayer with hot water. That loostens the bond, scrape that. Dry. Sand. Shoulders killing. Took about 20 man hours for both rooms. Then another two coats of drywall mud.

Floor needed five jackposts underneath in crawlspace to remove the bounce. Pouring leveling compound to make up the difference. We put down 18" tiles, so it had to be pretty close. Now varation over 20f is about 1/8".

Screed. The 7 foot level that Bryan accidentally bought me is been one of the most useful tools I've got.

Laying 3/8 BC plywood over the leveling compound to make the tile/carpet about the same level. This needed to be nailed down on a 6in grid with 4in around perimeter.

Much drywall work and painting.

Finally putting down the Ditra! This stuff is warrantied for 5/8 plywood on 16in joists. Hopefully the extra cost will prevent cracks.

Bryan came to help lay the Ditra and the first course of tile. Most helpful with the precision.

Decided to back butter each tile to be absolutely sure it had a good seat and no pockets for cracking. Took forever, but hopefully worth it.
Using same subway patter as in rest of house.

My awesome NASCAR hat. Ready for grout. Ruthie was a big help with grout. I decided to do the entire floor in a single pass. Was working so fast that I got deep blisters. Ruthie did the shaping and wiping, a huge help.

Assembling the first cabinet from Ikea. Ruthie tries out her new pantry.

Ame was a huge help with painting and cabinets. Her sister, Elisha, came over to help. Thanks Guys.

Most of the cabinets up. We had to reinforce the top and backs with BC to increase strength for concrete counter tops.

The mountain of cardboard from cabinets.