Remodeling Diary 1

 

May 3, 2006

 What a beautiful spring day we had today. Sunny, nearly 70 degrees, nary a cloud in the sky. Looked like the perfect day to install our new through-the-wall kitchen ventilation fan.

 

Our kitchen layout is such that it's impossible to install a real over-range vent...there's no way to run the duct outside. We used to have one of those amazingbly worthless range hoods that just blew the air back into the kitchen, but I'll be damned if I'm going to spend money on something so totally worthless. As such, I decided to just install a through-the-wall exhast vent to get the odors out of the kitchen (I've always been good at covering pots and pans to keep grease at bay, so it's only the odors I need to get rid of). Of course, the only place to mount the fan is 9 feet away from the stove, but hey, it'll do the job.

 

At some point in the past, there was a humongous exhaust vent installed at countertop level. By the time we moved in, the fan itself was gone, but the outside shroud was still nailed to the exterior of the house (you can catch a glimpse of it here. So, my project for today is to not only install the new fan, but get rid of the old shroud and patch the ENORMOUS hole it left behind.

 

   

And here's what it looked like at the end of the day today. The new fan is roughed in at the top of the wall, and the old shroud is gone. I patched the very out-of-round hole left behind on the outside, and will do so on the inside once I finish the electrical work. Installing the fan was pretty easy...it was removing and reinstalling the asbestos siding afterwards that was a colossal pain in the ass. The shingles that are different colors are original spares that'll get painted at some point in the not-too-distant future.

 

And now, a quick tip about cutting holes in plaster. Cutting drywall is way easy, but plaster is a pain...do it wrong, and you'll wreck your wall. The trick I use is to trace out the opening you want with a pencil, then "perforate" the line with many small holes drilled with a small (less than 1/8") bit (spaced about the width of your drill bit apart). Then, take your favorite flathead screwdriver or beat up chisel and gently tap out the gaps between the holes (essentially "tearing" the perforation). Pry gently at the edge, and the whole piece should pop out (like mine did...see picture below). Using a compass saw and something to keep the wood lathe from being pushed away from the plaster (which will break the physical bond between the two), cut out the lathe. Easy peasy!

 

 

  

May 4, 2006

Not as dramatic a day today. The (pricey) dumpster we rented for the kitchen debris was only half full, so I spent part of the morning gutting our small root cellar. 80+ years of old crappy shelving and household debris is gone, and the root cellar is completely empty and usable. Picked up some plastic shelving so I can store some stuff in there.

As for the kitchen, I did some shimming of the ceiling patches today in preparation for sheathing the ceiling with plywood. Also cleaned up the walls a bit, marked out where the studs are, made/used a water level to mark out where the tile will be going, and investigated some of the old wiring so I can work out how to replace it. I also donated our old kitchen sink and a light fixture to Habitat For Humanity...they operate a used household stuff store here in Rochester.

May 5, 2006

Spent the day stripping the painted gumwood trim in the kitchen. Only got about half of that done, even though I was using my spiffy new Silent Paint Remover. Probably would have helped to have sharp scrapers instead of the worn out ones I've been using for the last few years, but I remedied that problem with a trip to the hardware store tonight. Probably won't finish the stripping until I take another day off from work...don't want our 4 year old in the house while I'm doing it.

Being 5 days into this project, I've come to learn two valuable lessons. First, it's necessary to have a good idea of what you want the finished product to be, but you need to be flexible about things. You can do whatever you want when it comes to new construction, but when remodeling an old house, the house is going to dictate to a large extent what you can and can't do. The locations of studs, things buried in the walls (ducting, pipes, etc.), and hidden surprises from previous remodels are going to have an effect on your final product. Be willing to accept these things and adjust your plans as needed.

Second (and on a related note), keep your work schedule flexible. Have a plan as to the rough order that things need to get done, but be willing to reorder some things as needed. Case in point: I only got half of the paint stripping done during the week (when my kid is out of the house). Instead of finishing it tomorrow when he's home (and could potentially be exposed to some of the lead paint), I'll hold off on it until I can get another day to myself when he's not around. I'll work on electrical this weekend instead.

May 6-7, 2006

Spent the weekend updating/upgrading the electrical wiring in the kitchen (lots of scary old cloth covered wire, dontcha know). Also patched the hole in the wall left by the old exhaust fan.

May 8-12, 2006

Spent the week completing the outside portion of the exhaust fan install (priming/painting the siding around the fan), patching holes in the plaster walls, and stripping the paint off of the gumwood trim. This weekend I'll finish cleaning up the gumwood, at which point the "out with the old" phase of this project ends. The "in with the new" phase will then start with me installing the cement backerboard for the tile.