Primed up, ready to go.

We did it. We finally buckled down and patched up all the holes, scraped off all the old paint, and primed our entire kitchen. Literally - we painted pretty much everything except the floor. And it is now all very bright!

Though, once again, Reagan got a little carried away scraping the window frames clean of their many layers of chipping paint, we were able to get a coat of paint on everything Saturday and Sunday evenings. Here's an example of just how gunky the windows got (and how they weren't able to be stripped totally clean):


And then we started priming:

You can see the very professional way that we covered the lights...with leftover NY Times delivery bags.

Ok, before we show you the totally primed shot, let me just remind you of how awful this kitchen once looked:

and

And now:

Very white! And clean!

The lights make the photo look a little yellow, but it's very nice, really. But don't worry, it's not going to stay totally white. We managed to choose colors to be painted next weekend! Trying not to be too yellow...again.

The cork sample (our floor) is sitting on top of the color we like for all the woodwork. The paint card is an off-white for the walls. The color to the left is (very) similar, but we promise the one on the right is so much better.

In other big news, we bought a sink this weekend! We still have no cabinets or counter in which to put it, but, eh, details.

And all the trimmings.

Progress! We now have lights! And woodwork! We're so close to the point of painting.

To have lights in the kitchen has turned it into a room we actually enjoy being in...even with the unfinished walls and floor. It makes cooking and using knives a lot more safe, in general, since we can see enough to get our fingers out of the way.

Our biggest accomplishment, though, has been completing the carpentry work of putting up the chair rail, cornice molding, and door trim around the new opening. Adam managed to figure out the miter angles and splicing methods necessary to make believe the larger door opening is original. Just kidding - that would be wrong.

Adam at his makeshift table-saw/workbench, complete with running water.

Lights and molding!

Another light and more molding!

Chair rail (and yet another light in the nook above the door).

More chair rail!

The door trim moldings on the sides are up, but since the header in this new opening is sooooo much bigger than it was before, we had to splice together some pieces to make molding long enough.

And done! It makes it a finished piece. Yes, the top piece is painted, but it will all get painted over eventually anyway.

What a ceiling!

Sorry, we watched Flashdance this weekend. But yes! We got our ceiling in! It took 2 days and our shoulders are sore, but the rain (and reign) of lead paint chips and mouse poop is over. We decided on tongue and groove boards - beadboard, actually, though we used the non-beaded side. And thank heavens our neighbors had a ladder we could borrow. Otherwise it would have been impossible.
In order to keep the new ceiling from falling on our heads at some unknown point in the future, we had to find the furring strips behind the plaster and add some screws where they cross the joists to reinforce them. Hopefully we did the right thing.


Our original plaster ceiling in all its glory (new light fixture boxes are in), with a few boards started along the end. We had to cut down each board and screwed them in a few places and nail them at others.

A close-up of the boards going in.

Reagan using the nail gun.

The boards marching their way across the ceiling. Cutting around the boxes for the light fixtures was a little tricky, but overall successful.

Done! The dinky old light fixture is still there, as it was the only light source for a while. But don't worry, its time on the new ceiling is very short-lived.

We had just enough to fill in the hallway area...only the last board is spliced together.

Weird, huh? It does kinda look like the floor is on the ceiling. But it will be painted white and hopefully look less cabin-like.

Walls are Nice.

It's amazing what a difference walls can make. We tried it, and we like it.

We got the kitchen sheetrocked! (Can sheetrock be used as a verb?) Just witness for yourself the many before and after shots:











This is all the crazy framework Adam had to create to be able to put sheetrock on that area and close it up.

It feels so nice and bright in here now that there are reflective surfaces! We still have a little more work to do on the walls, but first the ceiling must go in. We finally decided on some tongue-and-groove boards, which were delivered this weekend. It's going to be a very laborious process, but we'll post those photos when we have them!

Patching up the holes.

Putting insulation in the kitchen walls makes a big difference. Here's Adam in the process of insulating and also pulling out the duct from the old exhaust fan:


A close-up of just what was making our kitchen so cold:

This is where the exhaust fan...exhausted. A wee metal flap is all that was protecting us from the elements. Needless to say, this hole is now patched up and the vent will be removed and repaired when we do exterior work/paint in the spring/summer.
By the way, nice mortise and tenon joint to the right, huh?

We have also put up walls in the kitchen and will post those photos soon. Now THAT makes a difference in keeping the room warm.

A Warmer Kitchen.

I, yes I, Reagan, can actually write this entry in the first person. I did a lot of work - all by myself! Adam did give me some over-the-phone assistance, though, so that I wouldn't blow myself and the house to bits with the air compressor. But I'm pretty proud of myself.

Monday was a snow day. My boss called that morning to tell me to stay home, that the roads were bad (for Boston, that's saying something). So I stayed home and worked on the kitchen. All day. But what better time to add some insulation to the house?

In addition to putting in some insulation in the upper parts of the walls, where the old cellulose had settled and left empty space, I continued what we had started with the beadboard. I carefully (most of the time) took it off and then turned it around. (That's right - sing it with me: "Turn the bead around...love to hear per-cus-sion!" Or maybe "the nail gun.") But, since these walls are exterior walls, I put in some fiberglass insulation to try to chip away at our heating bill. One can dream, anyway...


All the boards off the back wall. There just seems to be a layer of plaster insulation between the room and the exterior clapboards. Well, at least there's something.


With insulation added, and some boards already in place. And let me tell you, by the way, that getting these boards out from behind the window sill and door moldings without destroying everything was no easy task. Thank God these are getting painted over.


All back on! Next...

This corner might not be necessary, since it's most likely going to be covered with cabinets, but it's a small area.


Done and insulated!


This is an old picture that you've seen before, but just to give you an idea of what the beadboard looked like before...


I decided to go only so far with this wall...the area behind the stove will be covered with cabinets, and, well, I was really tired by this point. Tired of battling the board.


And it's all done! I had to take a board from somewhere else to fill in that left side, but I did it. Now the kitchen has a rustic, cabin-like feel. And maybe it's just mental, but I feel like it's a little warmer in there now, too.

AND, now that our electrical roughing is in, we can put up sheetrock! Finally, we'll have some walls!

This Can't Be Good.

What good is a porch if it doesn't protect your head from deadly icicles?