Reviews:
 ·AT&T Southeast
| Pics of our major kitchen/den remodel
The den prior to renovation | 
Turn around and take pic of kitchen from same location | 
A view from the den the night before destruction | 
First problem - leveling subfloor in den for hardwood | 
Drywall going up. Note they went over the old t-in-g ceiling | 
Jumping ahead, we picked out our granite slab at the factory | 
Started the paint selection process at the granite factory | 
Bought paint samples and made my selection board | 
Walls got painted so cabinets could go in | 
Down the hallway, unlevel conditions required big work to correct | 
Hardwood flooring is installed in the den | 
Granite cutting template is made and taken back to factory | 
Major cuts made at factory, but stove cut out made onsite, leaving me with 30x24 chunk | 
Under sink - my RedyTemp and Waterbug water detection | 
Skip to finished den | 
Decorative arc in countertop on den side | 
From den toward kitchen. Note new 6-panel door to downstair garage | 
Another view toward kitchen | 
Cool blue control lights on both sides of vent | 
Pantry cabinet where refrigerator was in old kitchen | 
Wide angle view 1 | 
Wide angle view 2 |
The kitchen/den are in a part of the house that was an addition in the early 1970s. So they had need been renovated in a major fashion since then. The pine paneling was here when we bought the house in 1983.
For those who like to know the answer to the, "Did you pull a permit?" question, the answer is YES, the contractor pulled permits. And the county sent inspectors for framing (though we were not changing any), electrical, and final.
We had budgeted $X, and with unexpected repairs for floor leveling, blown in insulation, and other change orders, we went over $X by $10K. The good news is, we had anticipated that and budgeted the original $X accordingly.
I was thoroughly impressed with the carpentry skills of the lead-man. Over 30 years in the house construction and renovation field. At other times, I was frustrated when he would not slow down and take a moment to think about what he was about to do in a sticky "old-house" situation. I work in a home office and we both suffered every day because of that.  My presence made for faster answers to show stopper questions that would come up.
Some related threads where various topics that influenced the outcome were discussed:
»Any Redytemp hot water recirculator pump experiences?
»Plumbing leak detection and shutoff devices
»Ideas for a 30x24 inch hunk of granite?
»NEC outlet requirement on peninsulas
Next up on the remodel agenda, the dining room. When we did the kitchen, the doorway to the dining room was moved over about three inches (because it was never lined up correctly with the wall to the right of the new pantry cabinet) and it was widened a little. So the drywall on the opposite side of the doorway in the kitchen needs a bit of work, plus the wife wants to take down the wainscot and wallpaper. So it will either bit a small bit of drywall work, or major drywall work. To be determined. But I intend to that work myself since I am now poor from paying the contractor.
--
nohup rm -fr /& |
|
 PacratOld and CrankyPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-10
Cortland, OH | Wow! That really opened up the space... a lot. It's beautiful! |
|
 dandelionPremium,MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN
kudos:4 | reply to sempergoofy
Really nice now and a big difference, thanks for lots of pictures! |
|
 The PigI know you want to be mePremium
join:2009-09-11 | reply to sempergoofy
First couple of pictures scared me with all that paneling!
Came out great!
Only thing I would have done differently is get rid of the kitchen L cutting off the living room and kitchen, then put the stove under the microwave!
Again it is very nice!
|
|
PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD | reply to sempergoofy
Amazing transformation. Nice work.
Have you considered painting the brick fireplace? |
|
Reviews:
·AT&T Southeast
| said by PSWired:Have you considered painting the brick fireplace?
We are thinking that we want to go over the brick with large floor light-colored tiles. Several inspirations on this site: »www.homebedazzle.com/diy_firepla···dels.htm (Be sure to look at "page 2" too.) Also are considering use the 30x24 chunk of granite (cut/polished/seamed) for a new mantle as discussed in this other thread mentioned above: »Ideas for a 30x24 inch hunk of granite?
The mantle in the picture is the old mantle that was there prior to renovation.
--
nohup rm -fr /& |
|
 VegasManAre We There Yet?Premium
join:2002-11-17
Schaumburg, IL | reply to sempergoofy
Nice transformation form 1970 to 2011. Also probably added 30k to the value of your house.
That small kitchen and all the wood panel would scare off a lot of buyers.
--
In need of a Vegas vacation.
|
|
Reviews:
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to sempergoofy
A few items of potential interest that I forgot to mention.
1) We switched from electric stove to gas. (Yay! I've wanted that for years!) There was a thread here recently about bad vs. good flexible gas piping. As a result, I assured the new-good was used.
2) The appliance brands are Samsung refrigerator, Bosch dishwasher, Whirlpool stove/oven (with convection cooking capability) and Panasonic microwave. The big items were bought primarily for their good reviews with the fridge overriding good reviews slightly for features (counter depth and other "this is neat!" items). The microwave was selected more for its size than anything else (yes, we could go a bit bigger).
3) The paint color is "Rice paddy" by Sherwin Williams. (Duron owns Sherwin Williams now for those who saw the Duron paint sampler.) I went to Home Depot and had them mix the S.W. samples in their Behr pint samples (computers are great!) because the samples are $3 apiece. So for $36 I got 12 different color samples for the sample board.
4) I have ordered a stainless steel trim kit for around the microwave from microtrim.com.
5) Four weeks after the ceiling was complete the contractor discovered cracks in some of the seams. After analysis and discussion with other drywall pros, the consensus was that the tongue-in-groove ceiling was probably moving a bit due to heat expansion. There was (always had been) too little insulation above in the attic. To address, I agreed to have insulation blown in (a winner any way I looked at it), and he agreed to go back and put screws every six inches through every board into ceiling joists. That is a LOT of screws. I was aggravated that we were opening up the drywall dust and painting world again, but it had to be done.
6) In the picture of the RedyTemp recirculator pump and Waterbug, you may see the X10 transceiver and X10 relay closer wall-warts. I have a wireless motion detector in the sponge drawer under the sink, and another in the bathroom. When either are activated, they signal the transceiver wirelessly that in turn signals the relay closer that momentarily closes a relay that signals the RedyTemp that hot water is desired. That kicks on the pump if the temperature sensor says it is necessary at the pump. The bathroom gets the benefit because it tees off of the line that goes to the kitchen as it passes beneath the bathroom.
--
nohup rm -fr /& |
|
Reviews:
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to VegasMan
said by VegasMan:Nice transformation form 1970 to 2011. Also probably added 30k to the value of your house.
That small kitchen and all the wood panel would scare off a lot of buyers.
I sure hope so! At least we made it look/feel like we wanted. And you are so right about the pine paneling. While it attracted us in 1984 as first time buyers, we were sick of it. (And frankly, still are because guess what? Our master bedroom on the other side of the house used to be the kitchen and the walls and ceiling are the same paneling that was removed/covered in the pictured part of the house. It, too, must go one day as soon as feasible.
--
nohup rm -fr /& |
|
 SandSharkLong may you runPremium,MVM
join:2000-05-23
Santa Fe, TX
kudos:3 | reply to sempergoofy
Awesome transformation! Thanks for sharing. |
|
|
|
 KenPremium,MVM
join:2003-06-16
Markle, IN | reply to sempergoofy
First off, looks great. Much better than the old dated room. I am wondering however why you didn't move the ceiling fan into the middle of the room, and just have a ceiling fan with light kit as opposed to a light and then several feet away a fan. Picture 15 just looks awkward to me with the placement of the ceiling fan. |
|
| reply to sempergoofy
Where did you get the Granite?
looks like A&A Marble and Granite in Norcross.
That looks like a great project.
What caused the sag and unevenness in the floors and how did they fix it? |
|
 nunyaWho is John Galt?Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
kudos:8 | reply to sempergoofy
It looks great. That's quite a transformation. |
|
 cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:7 | reply to sempergoofy
Why did you ruin that end cabinet and put an outlet on it.
Looks great. |
|
 jack bGone FishingPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-08
Cape Cod
kudos:1 | reply to sempergoofy
Very nice job!
I had a double sink just like that and for the most part hated it. Large (baking) pans would not lay flat in order to soak, and were a pain to wash.
I just replaced it with a single tub design.
--
~Help Find a Cure for Cancer~
~Proud Member of Team Discovery ~ |
|
 alphapointeDon't Touch MePremium,MVM
join:2002-02-10
Columbia, MO
kudos:2 | reply to sempergoofy
That is totally iced! |
|
 joakoPremium
join:2000-09-07
/dev/null
kudos:5
 ·Comcast
| reply to sempergoofy
said by sempergoofy:said by VegasMan:Nice transformation form 1970 to 2011. Also probably added 30k to the value of your house.
That small kitchen and all the wood panel would scare off a lot of buyers.
I sure hope so! At least we made it look/feel like we wanted. And you are so right about the pine paneling. While it attracted us in 1984 as first time buyers, we were sick of it. (And frankly, still are because guess what? Our master bedroom on the other side of the house used to be the kitchen and the walls and ceiling are the same paneling that was removed/covered in the pictured part of the house. It, too, must go one day as soon as feasible. Have you thought of paiting it? I painted my paneling white before I felt comfortable putting in the money for remodeling.
Also curious as to what you are using the X10 module for. I wouldn't rely on X10 for anything...
--
PRescott7-2097 |
|
| reply to sempergoofy
This was like watching this old house, only less "bawstun" accent! 
Nice reno! Many don't know the headaches and decisions...
Good luck!
--
Splat |
|
 Spork
join:2011-07-13
Methuen, MA | reply to sempergoofy
Did they happen to secure the dishwasher to the granite? There is 2 brackets to do so on the dishwasher typically and they failed to do that on ours. I ended up buying some brackets and doing it myself.
»www.granitegrabbers.com/ |
|
Reviews:
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to Ken
Picture with the furniture returned from storage |
said by Ken:First off, looks great. Much better than the old dated room. I am wondering however why you didn't move the ceiling fan into the middle of the room, and just have a ceiling fan with light kit as opposed to a light and then several feet away a fan. Picture 15 just looks awkward to me with the placement of the ceiling fan.
With so many years of experience with this den, we knew how the furniture would be re(placed) and like the fan over us while sitting on the couch. (The fireplace is a real pain when it comes to furniture placement.) We did consider placing the fan in the center with a light fixture, but concluded as we did. Sorry I do not currently have a better lit photo, and the room is not finished being decorated yet, but this should give you a better idea. The flat screen TV and stereo equipment are in the armoire. And the paint color really goes well with the dark brown leather.
--
nohup rm -fr /& |
|
