Katie’s Remodel Week Two: Removing the “Wall” and Installing Cabinets

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Week Two: Removing the “Wall” between the kitchen and entryway and Installing the Kitchen Cabinets

Both the SE40 and NE40 townhomes in Rafter J were constructed with a galley style kitchen with a wall on both ends of the counter. In speaking with many other townhome owners, we learned that everyone that did a remodel, also removed the “wall”. In many of the remodeled units we looked at, removing the wall really opened up the entry way and the kitchen. It makes you wonder why the built it in in the first place! Here are some of the “before” photos of the wall taken from the entry way:

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If you ask Chris I would think demolishing the “wall” has been his favorite part. I envisioned taking a sledge hammer to the drywall, but it appears Chris handled it in a much more professional manner.

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After shoring up the bar wall to the height we want for the counter, Chris went to work on moving the electrical (dangling wires in the photos) to the wall closest to the entrance – he’s pretty handy! He also installed new energy efficient canned lighting fixtures in the ceiling.

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After the wall was removed and the wires re-routed, Chris went to work on installing our new kitchen cabinets. We purchased them from IKEA, which means they arrived in flat boxes – assembly required. Chris said it they were easy to put together; it just took time. I think they look great; we are really happy with our selection of color and style.

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For those that haven’t met Piper, she is our cute little Basenji mix pup. Chris takes her to the job site many days (unless it’s a big painting day). Below she is checking out the neighboring horses and enjoying her first bowl of crunchies at the new place – I think she is excited for our new house too!

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Up next: More painting (living room and trim) and tiling the entryway

Visit Katie’s Remodel Page to see previous posts including “before” photos.

Katie’s Remodel: Week One – Demolition and Painting

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Week One: Demolition & Painting

As soon as we were able to get into the condo, Chris began tearing out the old brown carpet and baseboards that were throughout the home. He also chiseled out all the old linoleum, which was quite the laborious task!

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Kitchen Demo: Chris dismantled the entire kitchen pretty quickly. We have new cabinets from IKEA, and hope to purchase new appliances in the next few weeks (although the original ones do still work – the fridge is keeping Chris’s afterwork beers cold!). Our plan is to knock down the wall on the right, which will really open up the entryway and then install a large granite counter top in between the kitchen and the living room.

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Bathroom #1: Our plan is to fully remodel one of the bathrooms (the smaller one) first. We figured we could work on the second (larger) bathroom once we are moved in.

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Chris got to use his new sawzall to cut apart the shower! He had to cut it into several smaller pieces to get it out of the house. (Note the concrete wall is the firewall between ours and the neighboring unit.) Our plan is to install a new tub and use shower tile all the way up to the ceiling, in addition to installing a new vanity, toilet and tile flooring.

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Painting: While Chris is doing most of the work for the remodel (I get the fun job of documenting it all), I was able to contribute my painting skills in the back bedroom (with my friend Lucille’s help!). We are painting both bedrooms a light blue color (my favorite) and painting the living room and hallway a beige/light brown color. We are also painting all of the trim an eggshell white. Everything was so dark in there (carpet, trim, doors, etc.) it will be nice to brighten it up!

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Up next: Removing the wall between the hallway and kitchen and installing the new kitchen cabinets.

 

Visit Katie’s Remodel Page to see previous posts including “before” photos.

 

 

Katie’s Remodel: We bought a townhome – Let the remodel begin!

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My fiance Chris and I recently purchased a townhome south of Jackson. It’s going to be a complete remodel and we are excited to get started. I thought it would be interesting for my readers to follow our progress (including successes and missteps). We’ve never done something like this before so it will be interesting!

Closing

Signing the documents for the purchase of the townhome

Here are a few of the “Before” photos. The townhome is 1,040 sq feet with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms along with a oversized 2 car garage. It was built in 1981 and has original finishes, including dark brown carpet and 80’s style “brick” linoleum in the kitchen and entry way. One of the bedrooms was painted bright pink (even the ceiling!).

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Needless to say there is a TON of potential! The south facing deck overlooks a neighboring horse pasture with mountain views. I have a feeling we’ll be spending plenty of time out there this summer.

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Stay tuned every week to track our progress!