Remodeling My Kitchen -- What an Adventure!

For years I have toyed with the idea of adding on to my tiny kitchen and dining room. When a nice amount of money simply dropped out of Heaven, I decided to just go ahead and remodel. What the heck! The money would get spent one way or another, so I began planning last summer. What I really wanted was a dishwasher and another bank of drawers, but my contractor convinced me it was more cost effective to add 8-10 feet.

As the end of the 2009 school year came to an end, I assumed the project would begin immediately and be finished by the end of July with plenty of time for me to get everything back in order again. That did not happen! The rear of my house looked the same way it had for the last 6-7 years. Notice the beautiful Linden tree that has provided very nice shade this summer.


On July 27 the contractor finally showed up in my back yard, followed by a little back hoe and driver. Within two hours a trench was dug for concrete footings, but unfortunately, my beautiful Linden tree had to be demolished and discarded.




On August 4, the concrete was set and the contractor showed up ready to work. By the following Tuesday, August 11, the addition was framed in and tresses were in place. One of the biggest challenges was how to connect the new roof into the existing roof because of the steep, angled slope of the old roof. Luckily, my contractor is also a genius math teacher, so the new roof seems just like a natural addition of the former. Today, while we were enjoying our first back-to-school meeting, the roofers came and finished roofing.


Even as I write, a new kitchen window and nice 6-foot sliding door are being installed and the old ones inside removed. On Saturday, we're knocking down the inside back wall of my kitchen and a friend and her husband will remove my cabinets and take my old stove.

Projected construction schedule:

• Electrician comes Monday morning to run wiring.
• Also on Monday, the rest of my windows will be replaced. Not as overwhelming as it sounds since I only have 3 bedroom windows and the big picture window in front to replace.
• And still on Monday, new siding will begin on the entire house. Can't wait to show those pictures!
• Sheet rock and plaster will be completed by the end of this week or next, and I will start priming the walls and ceilings.
• The old laminate flooring will be taken out, hopefully to be resold at my garage sale in a few weeks.
• On Saturday, August 29, my kids and friends are coming to paint and lay new flooring.
• Finally, the following week, the cabinets will be installed and my new appliances will arrive.

What a learning experience and exciting process! I can't believe what it takes to remodel. This remodeling project seem to have taken on a life of its own and has become much more than the I ever imagined.

One last reflection before I close. The night after the trenches had been dug and my wonderful shade tree destroyed, I woke up in a cold sweat, wondering if I was doing the right thing or if I was simply throwing all this money away. Good thing I didn't have that nightmare a week earlier!