Before and After

Before-and-after picture time!  It's not TOTALLY done, but it's close enough dammit!  The biggest remaining project is the floor and trim, which is going to have to be a springtime project when we can get some ventilation going.  There are a few other very minor projects remaining in the kitchen but nothing urgent and nothing you'll notice in these pictures. 


So, without further delay, here is an HGTV-style before and after montage.  The "before" pictures all come from the real estate listing for the house or the appraisal.

Penultimate progress post

No more posts until we're finished.  I'm hoping to to put together a nice set of before-and-after shots, but it might be a while because the floor, the almost-last part of the project, will likely be performed by some not-us person and we are unsure of the schedule on that.

Backsplash!

The backsplash is almost complete.  Like so many kitchen projects, it took longer than expected... it was hard to make progress during the week.  I was left alone for the weekend while Andy's traveling for work, and I devoted as much time as possible.  Almost done now, still about half the grout to do.


Below, Andy got in some quality time with the Sawzall AND the big ladder cutting a hole for the vent:

 The end of the line on the tiling job:

Tiles up!

Grout (halfway) up!

Backsplash

 It quickly became apparent that a power saw would make the tile project much, much easier, so we are one power tool richer this weekend.  Above, Kirby helping with the sawing.

Below, progress as of Saturday afternoon:

Progress by end of Sunday:

Interior trim and backsplash

 I have drywall dust in my lungs and joint compound in my veins.  The east wall almost looks like a paintable surface after several rounds.

Andy has been working on the trim and it is almost done, pending one more trip to the "real" lumberyard.

And the backsplash project is underway.

Siding Time Lapse

This post is out of order... on August 17 Dave was down for one day only, and friends Nate and Claire were also visiting.  Nate set up a camera to take time lapse photos while the boys got started on the siding. 

The resolution on this video is not great (our fault, not Nate's), and unfortunately I am not willing to take the time to figure out how to set it to ragtime piano music.

Siding etc.

No updates for a while but we have been at work.  The main recent accomplishment is getting the exterior finished.  Siding hung over the past few weeks, and painting this past weekend.

Here is the before (top) and after (with Andy posing with nail gun in the foreground):

Here is "during" (the beginning of this weekend):

Hanging by Andy, painting by Shari.

 I painted the inside of the door pink, because why not, Andy is colorblind:

Andy worked on various interior finishing and trim, including but not limited to the trim around the dishwasher:

And gaps between the cabinets:

No better time to crank up the ole nail gun!

Dishwasher and unpacking

Today was Day Two of our weekend with Dave.  On the agenda were the dishwasher and some wiring that would allow for hooking up the over- and under-cabinet lighting.

 

The dishwasher was a bit of a hassle as initial efforts to hook it up were unsuccessful and we thought we were going to have to invoke the manufacturer's warranty.  Dave and Andy returned to it in the afternoon and got it working, for reasons that neither of them totally understands.

This led to several photo opportunities (try to count the wiener dogs in these pictures):

Success! 

At the location of the former sink, Andy spent some time tearing out additional plaster in order to facilitate the wiring and also to allow for easier re-drywalling:

The old sink and faucet went away for free to a friendly gent located via Craigslist.

A successful weekend's work was celebrated at the Tap:

And when we got home, I finished unpacking our stuff into the cabinets, which I had been working on throughout the day.  Here is the scene at the end of the night:

Bonus dog pictures:

Dave Part Three, the Re-Daving

We got a surprise visit from Dave for the weekend!  Much has been accomplished already.

Friday planning and procurement sessions:

On Saturday, things kicked off early and we got a new faucet:

The old sink is gone:

 The work crew moved to the dining room for a couple of hours to work on securing our new light fixture to the ceiling, which turned out to be more work than expected.

Here, Dave demonstrates proper ladder technique:

 The new light!

 The dishwasher and garbage disposal installation is in process.  Andy demonstrates proper form with the Sawzall:

 The next two pictures make a pretty good flip-book:

Kirby and Daisy spent a lot of time in the clink today:

Cupboards and counters

 Today we got countertops!

Note the big-ass sink:

 Cupboards just have a few spots that need to be tidied up, and Andy has also started working on the exterior.  Got a ton of ^&*@ expensive siding delivered today.

Here are some dog pictures: