Header drywalled

I finished drywalling the header over the old wall and doorway today. I also started chipping out the old mortar between the bricks of the chimney. This feels like a major victory because I was avoiding doing the tuck pointing since I've never done it before. Now I've broken the barrier and can move forward without fear of the unknown. That sounded a bit epic.

Ceiling done

Yesterday my Dad helped me drywall the ceiling. We finished it, and got one wall board up. I had thought of putting 12' sheets on the ceiling to avoid butt joints, but I decided I'd rather spend a little extra time mudding and sanding than struggle with 12 footers. I'm glad I did, because we had a hard enough time with the 8 footers.

Lots of wires

I've added 9 new circuits in the kitchen: one for each outlet, dishwasher, disposal, microwave, oven and one for the lights.

Some Pink Stuff

Last window

Here it is at last. It looks a bit small in the picture, but actually lets in a lot of light and affords a nice view of the back yard. I've started insulating already.

windows!

Today we had three new windows put in. The one on the right has been made smaller to allow for the fridge to the left and a counter below.

The blank wall below will have a new window in it tomorrow. You can just make out two small holes the workmen drilled in the siding to locate the position of the new opening.

The other big news is that all the wiring is finished, exept the plugs for the dishwasher and disposal, which I will install after I tear out the old base cabinets and counter top. I plan on insulating and drywalling the rest of the room before I do that so we can postpone tearing out the sink until absolutely necessary.

Progress

(This is Mindy posting)

We've had some progress in the last couple of weeks, but haven't taken time to post. First off--Mark finished tearing down the plaster, and tore out the wall cabinets. Here is the sink wall before:

and after:

Besides the fact that we no longer have a place to store many of our dishes or our boxed and canned foods, this development has made things very dismal in the kitchen. While it is still functional (sink and oven/stove still work fine), I don't like being in here. I have avoided cooking for the last three or four days.

On the bright side (pun intended), today Mark finished installing the recessed lighting. Before, the one overhead light we had was very dim, and cast shadows whenever you stood in front of the sink or stove. Also, there was only one switch to turn it on or off--that switch was by the back door, which didn't help if you weren't coming in to the kitchen from the outside. Now, we have a switch at both doors, and with three can lights strategically placed, I think we'll have plenty of light. Mark still plans to install a light right over the sink, and some under-cabinet lighting, but aleady the kitchen is significantly brighter.