The kitchen is toast, so to speak, pun intended. We are having our kitchen gutted this week with subsequent remodel to follow. The first time I saw this kitchen I almost cried. It was that bad. Period.
You should see the other half.......
Words can not describe the hideousness of the....well...everything. The floors were nasty peel and stick tiles stuck on some kind of wood one step above cardboard. Said cardboard was stapled to one layer of vinyl flooring. The vinyl was glued to a layer of Forest green linoleum tiles. These green tiles were covering a yellow and white checkerboard pattern of linoleum tiles.
The walls were covered by a nasty type of paneling that can only be described as having a pattern like grandmothers curtains.....A faux brocade green tile paneling, it was magnificent in it's hideousness. The counters were a lovely white flecked Formica, tinged yellow with age.
The cabinets were solid wood and custom made.......IN 1950!.......oh yes, the contractors assured me they were solid. Poor guys.
Demolition began on Monday. Everything was ripped out. See below........
this is what I was left with on Tuesday. A nice new sub-floor........I had questions.......Aren't you going to close off this doorway and open this wall BEFORE you lay the tile......didn't the contract call for a total gut to the studs........AHEM.........it did.....wonder that!
Then the contractors did not show for work on Wednesday! Who knew? Who could know? I was waiting patiently all day...........Waiting, as often I am............NOTHING.............no call......so, I went to the Library, I needed to be near my people. Not that I know them, or that they know me. I have spent the better part of the last fifteen years of my life and career in libraries and I needed to get out of the @#$%ing house!
Well, This morning, Thursday, one of the guys arrived at 7:00 am, and asked me if we were all on the same page. I said "HUH?".......Evidently the guys raised questions with the project manager and they were informed that this was supposed to be a GUT TO THE STUDS! .....NO KIDDING..... I told them before that was what was in the contract. They didn't listen, or they listened enough to ask the PM more about the job. Well, everything took care of itself and I did not have to call anyone and complain. So this is what I have going on as I type.
A nice kitchen gut to the studs, just like we ordered. All is well that ends well i guess.
The picture is not blurry, that is just plaster dust hanging in the air, of which I am allergic.
Claritin, Sudafed, anyone?
I almost laughed in the guys face when he told me the cabinets would be hung by Friday, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I just had to add that as sometimes my own laughter is just not enough.
Right..........Total gut and drywall hung, ceramic floor laid, cabinets hung, new plumbing, new electrical in three days.......I wasn't born yesterday, even if I do look it! ;)
So, I will be having Chinese takeout for Thanksgiving dinner, or maybe a Swanson frozen dinner...but I digress.....
I will say one thing bout the contractors. These guys work hard. They don't even stop for a lunch break. From 7:00am till they leave it is contant activity. They work hard for their money and they deserve every penny of it.
Through all of this I have been listening to Uma, my cat MEOWING CONSTANTLY from the confines of HER bedroom. Life goes on in Virginia. I am a third of the way done on knitting the front of Hugh. All for now..........
It will soon be over.You will survive,and you'll be so glad you had it done.
Stay calm and keep knitting.
x
Posted by: Emma | November 18, 2004 at 11:52 AM
One of your best posts yet~"I needed to be near my people!" See, you sound Southern now after all these years (now if we could only shake you of your Midwestern "sensibility," aka rude comments, when one is shopping!) Has Uma shut up yet? Does she ever? When is your interview? I need more info! Love, Me
Posted by: Avril | November 18, 2004 at 12:22 PM
The end is worth the trip...or something like that
Posted by: Rosslyn | November 18, 2004 at 03:46 PM
I can relate. In my quest for a modern kitchen we gutted a bedroom to the studs.
I know what you are going to ask and yes, the old kitchen is on the way to becoming a bedroom!
~Tigrelily, a beginner knitter and librarian
Posted by: Tigrelily | November 18, 2004 at 08:21 PM
Oh my goodness! I love that you ran to the library. I would have done the same thing. Library or bookstore;-) Hung by Friday. Yeah, that would be TODAY! LOL Hang in there and enjoy the take-out food!
Posted by: Karen | November 19, 2004 at 09:42 AM
Wow, you just described MY kitchen exactly! The flecked countertops, the Forest green linoleum tiles... Ah, but lucky you, you get a new kitchen this weekend!
Posted by: Felicia | November 19, 2004 at 11:06 AM
I can relate. We gutted 75% of the house we live in. The kitchen re-do was the most rewarding part. Enjoy!
Li
Posted by: Li_B | November 20, 2004 at 01:21 PM
Oh my. I can see why the gutting! I hate kitchens, and that one would have made me catatonic! Just keep heading for the library, and it will all be ok in the end. That's been my mantra lately, anyway. :) Repeat with me....It will all be ok in the end. It will all be ok in the end.
Posted by: Lisa | December 02, 2004 at 11:36 AM