Our Cabinets Are in As Ordered! Can you be serious?

This past week, I had some time on my hands and wanted to work on making our temporary kitchen a bit more functional for me.  The material I had for the counter needed replacing and the over all organization wasn't working.  I had stopped at Restore Habitat for Humanity to see if they might have a piece of formica or other material.  I noticed in their construction area a new maple kitchen had been delivered just a few days earlier.  Many were stopping to look due to the sheer quality of the material.  It was a custom ordered set.

Greg and I have seen other hodgepodge collections and he had told me often they require more work than they are worth to make them fit your space.  Restore had done the deconstruction of this particular set, so they had taken a picture of the kitchen as it had been previously installed.

The picture of the kitchen as it was previously.  This corner with the refrigerator caught my eye!

It appeared they were a new install, but the homeowner decided to go another direction.  In examining the photo, even with my untrained eye I saw this kitchen was a "U" shape design like ours and the one side was an exact match to the layout we had just designed at a local store the week prior. If I had not observed that corner, I would not have thought twice about it.  The door style also caught my attention (something hard to do) because it was the exact door style Greg and I had decided on the week previous.

We will not have room for a separate desk, but we can use the upper cabinets here.

It is more of a framed door with modern lines and not a raised panel door.  I made a few small purchases to ease my temporary kitchen woes, and left the store thinking it's not the right time to be buying cabinets, but the memory of these cabinets worked on me.  In about an hour, I called Greg and said we may want to take a closer look.  Just the similarities I saw peaked Greg's attention. He was near his lunch hour and drove over to examine a bit closer.

Greg first inventoried the individual boxes to be sure they matched the picture of the original install. Restore did well to take photos of the kitchen before it was disassembled. Then, he measured the pieces against our design and walls.  It was nearly a perfect fit with a few extra cabinets left over for any modifications.

We will modify the double oven and stove top here!

 He only had to alter one base box two inches.  The maple color was even my initial choice for wood.  I preferred a light color, but wanted the warmth of stained wood.

THIS IS HUGE.  We are still in shock.  This home has been an amazing journey of recycled finds, but to have that in an entire kitchen is yet more amazing. Our savings over the cost of a new install was 80%.   There can be no other explanation that God is looking out for us....of this we are sure.

The difficulty in all of this awesomeness is this impacts our construction timeline.  We have little to no storage for all these cabinets, so this weekend we are NOT framing our new addition, but installing the new kitchen cabinets!  Our cabinets were not really ordered, or were they???  (Twilight Zone music fades....)

UPDATE:
The old temporary kitchen I lived with for over a year....

After several hours unloading Friday and an inability to literally walk through our living area, and a 12 hour day on Saturday installing the upper cabinets and some of the base cabinets, our kitchen was partially installed.  The stove has to be relocated and the built in's for the refrigerator completed.  In case you were wondering we are using a laminate door as our temporary counter top and yes, that's our faithful laundry sink inside of our sink cabinet.  Part of the perks of having a plumber in the family, they can hook it up any way, any how....at least we have a sink.

We still have an open area in the addition and little Charleston gnat-type creatures creep in.  Pardon the fly paper!  The life of a renovator...we take many things for granted in sealed homes.

Two weekends after our purchase, Greg has completed the cabinet install.  You can see here the space under the raised cabinet was where our stove/microwave combo is now placed.  We thought about using a stainless decorative hood, but due to constraints on space, we have opted for a vented-hood/microwave combination.  We began our search for sinks and counter tops, pricing quartz and eco materials.   Greg pre-sanded our hardwood floors around the edge of the cabinet install to make it easier for refinishing later.  Ideally, we preferred our floors finished, but timing was not our choice on these.

This final picture is our current kitchen.  We may be installing a filler panel over the refrigerator , but overall it was a reasonable fit.  Greg will be pouring some concrete counter tops samples to determine if we want to attempt to create a custom top.  Our leftover cabinets will be used in our utility/mudroom for extra storage.  

  We expect a busy fall as the weather cools and many weekend projects ahead!  Thanks for looking in on our progress.

Summer of Weddings and Windows

Anyone paying attention might discover 5 long months since my last post.  We have been on a necessary Haidas from the grind of renovation.  Our daughter got engaged in January. While construction continued as the wedding approached through the erection of our new addition, it was as if providentially we had to focus on the upcoming once-in-a-lifetime event.  It was a hot, but beautiful day in Westminster at a plantation built in the early 1800's where she began her new life.  I believe Greg needed this life event break.  A year and a half of 16 hour weekends had caught up with him.  We are happy to announce, a renewed energy and fervor has brought us to a place where we can persevere again with this never ending project!

The hot days of summer always hinder quick work from taking place in the June and July temperatures in Charleston were showing heat indexes of 110 degrees!  Greg has focused his work on the interior of our latest addition. 

 The structure was primarily a shell and it was time to frame in the floor system, tie in the plumbing both sewer and water supply to the Jack and Jill bathroom of the house , and he installed a temporary door on the rear of the house to

have some cross ventilation while he worked.  The dirt floor had to be cleaned of debris, leveled and covered in a plastic liner.  Once the joists were in place, he continued with the insulation board used in the main part of the house and laid insulation in between the joists.  This has been now throughout the house to provide the required R- Value.

The plumbing and setting of the tub became the focus over the next few days.

During the late part of July, we began to research what style and type of window would work to somewhat keep with the look of other homes of the period.  We decided on a vinyl window made by Artium and custom ordered a three over one grid configuration.  We noticed several of the home on Race Street one block East of us had this style of window.  They arrived in record time and by ordering when we did, we save a significant amount of money on the purchase.  We could not be more pleased with the installation or look these will provide.  Not to mention the cross ventilation for our continued construction endeavors!

Windows comes before siding and siding before the new electrical panel and HVAC and Exterior hot water heater will soon follow.  All in good time and in good order!  ONWARD WE GOOOOO....

With our House, It's a Wrap!

This is a short post to allow those who like to see what we have done for the weekend.  Greg has stepped back for a bit enjoying some time off which included visiting his "snowbird" parents in Sebring, FL for a long weekend and then participating in the charity event Walk for Water which took place just a few blocks away at Brittlebank Park.

Walk for Water "No Running"  

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As I reminder, I have included a picture of where we began the weekend.  Greg and our two sons got the addition in the dry with black paper on the roof.  Greg had much to do this weekend to complete the bracing and close in the top portion of the structure.  With the rain coming by Tuesday, getting the exterior walls protected from water was our first priority.  The high humidity had already caused a few bows outside walls.  While the time off did us both good, there is no time to loose to get things covered.

As we ended our last weekend of work, this is the structure we began with this week.

 Greg wrapped the building.  This reminded me of doing the background cover on a very large bulletin board!  There is a method to getting it covered.  The joints are even taped with a special tape.  There are several windows to be cut in on the street side and near the piazza, but until the windows are purchased, Greg is leaving them closed for security purposes.

 The next several weeks we anticipate much work on the outside of the structure.  Details such as jacking up the porch, working on the trim, boxing, preparing for the roof and siding are priority.  Our electrical service needs to be upgraded and removed from the piazza and placed on the back corner. This has really become a way of life over the past months!  Each weekend brings us a little closer to a completed cottage!

Up, Up and Away with a Whole New Structure

The last several weeks has been a dynamic push to get the "wing" erected and the area into the dry and secured.  An elderly lady who lives across from us said in astonishment, "He tore all those rooms down by himself!  And then hauled it away!"  It has been a difficult time, but I have seen the excitement rise in Greg as he has been framing this past weekend.  At this stage, it's amazing to see the progress. He began with getting the foundation ready to support the structure.

In order to marry the new with the old, he had to jack up our piazza and I wasn't aware how much it was leaning until he got finished.  

The walls on the room are next to be framed.  We used the 1950's block to lay added foundation along the side here and one the cement pads under these floor joists.  He was able to get these done prior to our framing this weekend.  These blocks from the front wall I may have mentioned earlier are heavier and are made with three sections instead of two.  We are going to be using them to pillar our back deck.  We have that type of debris in our courtyard currently.  Hoping the city gives us a few weeks to get them moved.

When you see a structure rise, it almost feels like it was out of nowhere.  A surprised neighbor called down the street to Greg and said she went into her house and there was nothing and came out to find their were walls suddenly.  It is amazing to watch a structure come up.  Greg lifted that first wall by himself.

Greg has left the sheeting over the windows to keep people from being able to jump into the area and visually give some privacy. 

The last weekend in February, this is what the structure looked like.  The roof is the next thing we tackle and help is on the way.  Inside, you can visually see the three windows that will be across the elevation on Carondolet Street.  

New foundation along the sidewalk entrance

The supports are tied to the floor joists that outline our Jack and Jill bathroom that will be between the two larger bedrooms.  As hard as it was to see the wing come down, this new area is larger and much more stable.

Fortunately, our sons are coming to help us with the sheeting of the roof.  They work well with their dad and their youthful strength will prevent him from needing to hoist all those sheets up to the top.  He framed in the bathroom area, but has left the flooring open until the plumbing and sewer lines are complete for the new drain.  We spent time cleaning up the ground which had all manner of debris.  Large amounts of soil have to be removed to give the area a more accessible crawl space.

View from Congress Street.  Courtyard is filled with block.

I emotionally cannot even process having this area available, much less the concept of a new space. It is sure to feel like a new haven.  By extending the area to the street, it opened up for us an added linen closet, storage cubbies over the bathroom ceiling, and added wall space in each of the bedrooms making a king-size bed possible in our room.  The ceilings to come will be vaulted to add a feeling of openness.  The windows have been matched to the size of the main house and the third door will remain off of the piazza.  Three porch doors traditionally exists on a Freedman's cottage.  Much has not really changed from the original house plan.

Roof rafters from inside the structure

We were so excited to have our boys come for the weekend to set the rafters and sheet the roof.  They left with it in the dry, ready for shingles which you will see below.  It's been an intense 5 weeks, just 10 days of work.  Greg tore down the three rooms, cleaned up the debris, removed the block wall and converted it into the foundation of the new rooms, framed the walls and roof, sheet-ed the roof with some help, and applied black paper.

Sheets are going onto the roof one by one

 Needless to say we need a free weekend to recover!  Enjoy the pictures of our progress as of tonight.

Our current structure and how it ties into the original house.  

The Wall Came Tumbling Down!

 As fun as it has been to see some of the finish work moving forward with new ceiling and drywall in the center of the house, we had to face the fact that our "WING" had been leaking and was in need of being evaluated.  The wing protrudes off of the main house and is located just inside the wall below.

Roof coming off!

The more Greg pulled it apart, the more he realized the rot was too deep to save and it would have to be built back new.  In the long run we expect this to be even easier than repairing.  The wall can now be the foundation of the upcoming addition and match the other homes on the street. You can see the roof coming off on the left.This is the front bedroom.  The green door is a front entrance to the piazza.  The side green door enters our residence.  Of course, securing the dwelling because we are currently living here is priority.

 The weather remains cold which is a problem in making the house comfortable as we move forward.  if you look within the walls, a lack of insulation gives the lack of R-Factor.  These rooms while in horrible condition were acting as our garage for miscellaneous tools.  Without much room, tool storage has been an issue.  We have to keep them secure.  The amount of debris is staggering when tearing down these three rooms.  Greg asked me to stay away on Saturday for fear I would get hurt trying to help him.  He did not want me underfoot for him to worry about with so many boards falling.

Front window facing Carandolet

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Cast Iron pipes from the previous bathroom

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We were approached by a young man who retrieves and recycles pine from Charleston houses to create custom furniture pieces. He was able to use over a truck load of wood.  His website is waingreenwood.com  You may get a piece of our wood!  You might wonder on this tiny lot, where all the debris went?  I wondered that as well.  I have a few shots of just how high the pile grew in our courtyard.  We rented the dumpster above but did not realize City of Charleston requires a permit of 10 dollars per day for each day it sits in a parking space.  They did not fine us, but we got it promptly once we knew!  Greg then wisely covered our exposed area of the house with plastic.

This door is the entrance to our guest bedroom.  Greg has it bolted to keep unwanted guests out.

This past Saturday, Greg began to take down the block wall that bordered our property.  We decided to make the last two rows the foundation of our new rooms.  This wall was built in 1958 if the newspapers stuffed in the top of the block indicates when the block was laid.

Bringing the rooms to the street will match up our house to the neighbors and add over 40 square feet to our two bedrooms and jack-n-jill bathroom.  This allows us to add a linen closet.  This puts the total square footage to 1020+, these are welcomed storage spaces.

By the end of our weekend, the wall was down and the foundation of our rooms started.  The temperature in Charleston this weekend has been very cold with lows in the 20's.  Greg installed a silt fence to keep our yard area a bit more secure and help with any debris that could blow on the street.  If you'll notice the green house next door, this side will match their front.

To get the rooms removed and the site cleaned as well as the wall removed, it's been several weekends to get to this point.  The neighborhood has been asking lots of questions.  Many of those who have lived here for years, hate to see the change, but know the house was in bad shape.  We are bringing life to a real eyesore in the community.  We want to breathe new life in an old structure.  Some are weary with how long it is taking us, but Greg is doing most of the work himself.  It's been awhile since I update our blog.  I'll try to do another sooner!