After taking out three layers of flooring and equal amounts of sub-flooring we have finally unearthed the hole that prompted our whole kitchen revitalization.
It seems our previous dishwasher which we replaced recently had been slowly leaking for quite some time. The leak never surfaced in the kitchen itself minus some warped flooring by the sink. We now know that the reason we never saw the water was the improper way various layers of flooring were laid over the years. Additional layers were not laid under the areas where the fridge and dishwasher sat next to each other, creating a lower area with a lip. This allowed for what was likely a small steady leak to never be noticed until it had done a good deal of damage. It was only after we replaced the old dishwasher that the problem was revealed. Since we plan to live in this house forever, we decided it was time to rip all the flooring out and do it properly. Our new flooring tile arrived last week and is in the garage awaiting installation.
Before the new floor goes down, we have to be certain we have made all the kitchen layout changes we want to make. I can now say with confidence that we have. As I mentioned in a previous post, we removed a closet we had used for toy storage. I also finally convinced hubby last weekend to widen the opening between the kitchen and the dining room. He was instantly glad I pushed the issue with him when he saw the additional light it let into the room. Just one of the many reasons I wanted this change made. The twins seem happy with the change, it's really made it easier for them to ride their bikes and scooters in and out of the kitchen.
We are reusing our cabinets, but did take out a total of 5 for the final layout. That may sound like a ton, but honestly two of them were used to store non kitchen items like craft stuff and none of our cabinets were overly packed. We also added a very large buffet (an inexpensive Craiglist find) with a good deal of storage in the area where the previous closet stood. The buffet is currently mid makeover with a paint job, new knobs, and a new top in the works.
Speaking of tops, we decided to replace the laminated countertops while we were at it. After much research and practically sleepless nights ... We finally decided on Black Quartz counters by
Hanstone for the main part of the kitchen and an incredible remnant piece of Calcutta Gold Marble for the Buffet. The misfortune of our countertop company and some other homeowner was our lucky find. It seems they broke this very high grade slab of marble meant for another job. We were able to pick up a beautiful remnant of it at practically a steal.
We also changed out our sink for an apron front farm sink and new faucet from
Overstock.com. This required some changes to the cabinet and a new set of shorter doors. It was something we were able to do in a few hours ourselves. A couple other cabinet doors were in bad shape so we replaced those for new too. We were able to order very high quality exact matches from an online find called
Rawdoors.net.
All the appliances will remain the same and most of the lighting is being reused though we are adding some scattered downlights and a special fixture over the buffet. My curtains will be reused as well as the current counter height breakfast bar & stools. A white tile backsplash will be added and the same tile will replace the fake brick oven surround. We decided to go with the beveled arabesque tiles I mentioned in a
previous post.
No surprise, the walls & cabinets will all need to be repainted. That was a must with the drywall repairs and what not anyway. And of course, we have a lot of trim work to cut and paint too. Watch for another follow-up post soon that talks more specifically on the painting. We have some great products to feature and of course stay tuned for more posts as the kitchen project moves beyond demo.
