Remodel

We're in the middle of remodeling the house this week. The kitchen isn't quite finished, but the hardwood floors are in. Here are some pictures of what's been done.

The upstairs hallway before:

 

After:

The stairs before:

 The stairs after:

 I'm going to wait a little while to reveal the kitchen. The floors are in, but the granite and sink are coming today.

Kitchen Remodel

Next week starts the kitchen remodel!!

Not just the kitchen either, but all the floors. Well, all the floors that need work.

Total work being done:

 - hardwood in the kitchen
- replace the carpeted stairs with hardwood
- upstairs hallway gets hardwood
- new carpet in all 4 bedrooms
- new carpet in the TV room
- granite countertops
- new sink
- new faucet
- includes all labor, removal, installation, plumbing, and disposal

Additionally, we're doing the lighting, backsplash, cabinet knobs, painting, and contact paper ourselves. I will post before and after photos next week. The kitchen is actually a little worse than usual because we stopped cleaning the floors and counters. I mean, would you? Also, when we started removing the tile backsplash, it was impossible to do without taking huge chunks of the wall. So pretty much, instead of removing the tile, we're taking the wall down and putting it back up.

We also have to get all the small stuff off the floors. The crew will move the furniture around as they go room to room, but stuff like shoes and fans and my sewing notions all have to be packed out of the way. It takes them too much time to move those things, and I want to keep them on schedule.

There are more small stuff than you think on the floor. Look around your house and in closets. It's a lot of work.

This is one the last house projects we have before I can officially say we turned our foreclosure around. The only thing remaining is finishing the basement.

New Kitchen

We decided to remodel the kitchen this fall. Disclaimer: this is not a picture of the design, but it is a beautiful kitchen and generally shaped like ours.

Except ours has green Formica counters, green back-splash tile, dirty white cabinets, terrible linoleum floor, and a fluorescent light over the island.

It's stylin'.

Kitchen crashers? Hi, we need you.

We're on a limited budget, so the white cabinets are going to have to stay. We'll clean them with bleach and replace the hardware.

The green back-splash tile will have to go. I think we can do that ourselves though. It'll give the hubby an excuse to buy a wet saw. I also think we can replace the fluorescent light ourselves. It can't be much different than the ceiling fans. Switch out the fixture for some pendulum lights and voila. Done in 5 minutes just like the HGTV shows. ( you can laugh now)

Unlike the HGTV shows, we're probably going to need someone to do the floor. Yeah, I know, the shows make it look very easy. They also took sledgehammers to the place first and are dealing with a blank floor. I really don't want to disconnect the stove and fridge and make all those cuts around corners and small areas.

Besides, it's not just the kitchen that gets new floors. The laundry room, foyer, bathroom, closet, and yes, even the stairs. I want to rip up the carpeted stairs for hardwood. A broom and a Swiffer sound a whole lot easier than lugging the Dyson into place and attach all the accessories to clean the stairs.

Back to the kitchen, we'll replace the counters for granite, get a better kitchen sink, and I would like to replace the shitty builder-grade molding if there's money left over.

I'm not sure where to start though. With a general contractor, kitchen remodel center, or do it piecemeal hiring people as we go.