Our First House – Page 14

Ventilation

Published on October 18, 2011October 9, 2012 by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

Everyone can use a little ventilation. Unless you’re Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton and you’re getting out of a car with swarms of paparazzi watching every move you make. Maybe I should say every kitchen should have adequate ventilation, especially over the range. Just to pull the smells, heat, and moisture out. It comes in really handy when you burn something, too. Not that I’ve ever done that. My point is, after tearing down the wall between the kitchen and living room on Saturday, Ben installed our new vent hood. I briefly explained our vent hood choice in this post, but we’re sharing all the details now.

We started with a 40 inch insert, with plans to hang it as close to the ceiling as possible. You know that nice hole we opened up? Yeah, we didn’t want to cover any of it.

To get started, Ben found the center of the wall and marked it. Of course, it came out on a joist. Ben did some bracing in the attic and then proceeded to cut a hole in the sheet rock and joist to run the duct work.

Our vent hood, like most, had one flat side and three angled sides. Typically, the flat side would be mounted against the wall and the remaining three sides could be boxed out either square or following the angles.

For about two seconds, we considered building a box that followed the angles of the fan, but we decided not to for two reasons. Number one, we’re planning to add decorative trim and paint everything white and the angles would complicate that. Number two, Ben worried (and I did too after he mentioned it) about grease and dust settling on the angle and we’d have a perma-dirty hood. We opted for the simpler square box frame. Ben carefully measured the vent and built a 2 by 4 box surround to support the new fan. He screwed it into the joists to make sure it was securely held in place.

In goes the vent, held 1/2 inch from the bottom using the adjustable brackets that came with. Smartie Ben used a piece of sheet rock as the guide for the spacing. You’ll also notice that we put the flat part to the front. This is because our vent has several buttons (for lights and various fan speeds) on the inside of the insert. I’m short and this sucker (literally) is tucked right up to the ceiling. If we had turned it 180 degrees, I wouldn’t be able to reach the buttons without either burning myself or getting a chair to stand on. Neither of which seem ideal.

With everything wired up, Ben covered the box with sheet rock. Now, our giant hole in the wall looks something like this.

In all honestly, I was a little shocked at how deep it was. In the week since we took the cabinets and soffit down, I had gotten used to the open feel. And I really liked how much more open everything was after knocking down the wall. So this seemed heavier than I anticipated. But, I was so happy the vent hood only drops 1/2 inch below the sheet rock of the support beam.

Not to mention getting task lighting and a fan back.

And it’s still pretty from the underside.

The 1200 CFM fan provides more than enough air circulation and it’s still quiet. After installing, Ben turned it on the highest setting and we could still hear the music and carry on a normal conversation between the kitchen, living, and dining areas. Two weeks ago, this is what you saw when you walked in the front door.

And now, behold our kitchen (and Vincent’s head) from the same angle.

It was difficult to get a good picture with all that new light streaming in from the dining room and sink windows. Still more sheet rocking to do. And, don’t pay attention to the too tall stove back, microwave, and jumble of wires. If you’re concerned about safety, we’ve securely closed off the outlets so little fingers can’t get in.

Consider your self up to date on the kitchen progress. Hopefully we’ll get some sconces, finish up some cabinet work, and look for countertops soon. Of course we’ll keep you updated on any and all progress. You’ve been warned. Annoying minute details are in your future.

The boys and I are off to do some shopping. Cross your fingers for a good deal!

And the Walls Come Tumblin’ Down

Published on October 17, 2011March 26, 2013 by Our Humble Abode21 Comments

If you follow us on Facebook, you already know we tackled more demo work this weekend. Quite literally. Ben got pretty physical with it. The destruction took place in the kitchen, to the wall standing between the living room. The process was pretty straight forward. First, Ben removed the baseboard, chair rail, and an old no longer in use vent. Just to make sheet rock tearing easier.

Then, from the kitchen side, Ben kicked some sheet rock butt. Meaning he actually kicked his foot through. With the rock loose, he used his hands to tear out chunks. Some small.

Some large.

Because this wall is load bearing, Ben has reinforced everything in the attic, but we’re also keeping a beam and support posts down below. To try to minimize sheet rock repairs, we decided to try to save the sheet rock which will cover the future beam. Ben had an idea that sounded like it would break the sheet rock cleanly, both from the lower rock and studs. First, he measured the height of the beam and marked the wall. Then, he screwed a scrap of wood and scored along the edge. He left the board up while tearing the sheet rock off.

Luckily, it worked like a charm. Now we hoped the studs would come off cleanly.

Using a hammer and brute strength, Ben knocked each stud out, first at the bottom, then at the top. And, the sheet rock stayed nearly perfect. Wahoo for not having to patch more drywall and install new crown.

Open sesame!! It’s so much brighter. Funny story. Just after Ben tore the sheet rock off the wall, I had to put something in the entry closet. I noticed a sliver of light and looked for something reflecting light. Then, I realized, this was the first time I’d ever seen fresh light at that angle. Such a happy moment. I know, I’m a mega nerd.

Even better, we can finally see from the kitchen into the living room. No more wondering why Everett is crying when he’s on the other side. I can see him. Oh, and you can see the recessed can lights Ben installed on Thursday night. Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. We centered one over each work surface for direct task lighting. We’ll also have lights in the vent hood over the range.

Genius Ben had another great lighting idea. You could say a light bulb moment. Ahah. He wisely suggested we move the stove side lights closer to the beam, rather than centered over the counter. Why? So people on the couch wouldn’t be blinded by the light (name that band). Once the decorative halos are in, the lights closer to the sink won’t be as visible either.

And here we are after a day of demo. You’ll notice boxes for our sconces as well as our child safe light switch placement. Of course that is temporary, but we’re moving stuff around so much lately.

Now for the best part. Looking from the back door through the kitchen to the living room and beyond. And, you can see the beam Ben installed along the top, which matches the dining room perfectly.

Yes, I did stop vacuuming to get Vincent a yogurt and take this picture. Excuse the mess and the giant microwave that won’t stay. We’re all so excited to finally see our plans come to life. Vincent and Everett already love to sit on the chair near the stove to watch and beg for snacks.

That’s how we like to spend our Saturdays. But we did a little more on Sunday, involving our vent hood. What did you do?

P.S. Manfred Mann.

There’s No Turning Back

Published on October 13, 2011November 2, 2012 by Our Humble Abode20 Comments

We’ve already made progress on our kitchen remodel, like building cabinets and buying sinks, stoves, and flooring. All of which are easily stored until we’re ready to use. But, on Sunday, we made some changes, and there’s no turning back. You remember what our kitchen looked like when we last saw it.

Ben built drawers on Saturday, then climbed in the attic to reinforce the load bearing wall. I thought we’d prime everything on Sunday. After breakfast Sunday morning, Ben informed me of his plan.

Ben: “Yeah, I want to take down the cabinets and tear down the soffit.”

Amanda: “Umm, why right now? I thought we were going to wait until we had the cabinets ready to install.”

Ben: “Because I don’t want to work over the new cabinets and damage them. Do you think you can take everything out so we can get started?”

Amanda: “O-friggin-kay. Let’s start moving stuff.”

We moved everything in the upper cabinets either into the guest bedroom closet, the pantry, or elsewhere in the kitchen. Then Ben the builder and Handy Sammy unscrewed the cabinets, occasionally cursing stripped Phillips head screws.

After unscrewing the cabinets, Ben pulled them all down.

Vincent and Everett loved the cabinets. I actually looked at the old microwave cabinet and thought it would make a cute play kitchen if painted.

Then, the real demo work started. Ben happily knocked a hole in the soffit.

Then, he used a utility knife to score the sheet rock. We want to keep the ceiling as nice as possible to decrease repairs.

Roughly an hour later, the boys had removed the built-to-withstand-an-earthquake soffit above the stove.

Now onto the wall, door frame, and soffit along the dining side. Again, he scored along the ceiling to pull out the crown molding.

The dining wall had two 2 by 12s as a beam, as well as soffit boxing. Apparently, that was more difficult to tear down.

Then the soffit above the sink. Ben cut a few pieces of sheet rock to fill the open areas and called it a day. But not before we considered tearing out the wall between the kitchen and living room. Go big or go home, right? I hoped we could get the majority of the demo done in one day. But I guess Ben still had some electrical work to do before that wall could go. Since Sunday afternoon, we’ve been living with a half torn apart kitchen.

Taking the cabinets down made a huge difference, but I think the biggest change was removing the wall along the dining room.

We also have a hole in the floor where the wall used to be.

Hopefully we’ll tear down the rest of the wall soon. Oh, and Ben picked up our range yesterday afternoon. It’s still in the box, so we don’t know exactly what it looks like.

A Vent Hood and a Sink Walk Into a Kitchen

Published on October 12, 2011October 12, 2011 by Our Humble Abode9 Comments

They fight to be the center of attention. After several minutes of witty banter, the vent hood is the victor. Which means the sink is left to mope in the corner. If only Johnny came into say, “Nobody puts ~~sink~~ baby in the corner.”

So what does this lame story mean? First off, our vent hood has arrived and it’s pretty. Strike that, the under side is pretty. Secondly, a little info on why our sink will remain off-centered.

Let’s discuss the range hood first. When we open up the wall between the kitchen and living room, we’ll have roughly a nine foot wide by three-foot tall opening. To keep the stove side of the kitchen as island-y (no, not tropical pineapple island-y) feeling as possible, we wanted a low profile range hood. So, we couldn’t go with anything that hung low, like this.

So, Ben scoured the internet for a high CFM range hood insert with integrated lights. We decided this 40 inch insert was best for us. The low price was a bonus. Now, I know $800 doesn’t seem like a low price, but we expected to pay about one dollar per CFM, or 1200 bucks. Ben called to place the order and the kind gentleman on the other end offered Ben 10% off with free shipping. Score! So we saved 80 bucks for a total of $719.95. About a week later, the FedEx man delivered a giant box.

Of course, Ben unpacked it right away, and plugged it in to make sure it worked. Man, did it work. And here it is.

Yeah, we know it’s not pretty, but we’ll build a frame around it and add trim for a more custom, less vent hood look. Kinda like this one.

So all of that ugliness will be covered.

But from below, you’ll see this.

Not quite because the hood also came with six dishwasher safe baffles, so it will look more like this.

Now we’ve got our own little kitchen supply store in the basement, complete with a few hundred square feet of wood flooring and a vent hood.

All we need is the kitchen sink. Oh wait, we’ve got that, too!

Now, here’s the low down on the off centered kitchen sink situation. Currently, our kitchen sink isn’t centered on the window. To the right of the sink, we have a dishwasher, then our refrigerator.

We plan to move the trash to the left of the sink.

Because we’re turning the drawers on either side of the stove into one large bay of drawers, we can’t keep the trash in it’s current location. Here’s what it would look like to center the sink on the window.

Better, right? Let’s get a closer look, though.

No, even closer.

We’d be stuck with a nine-inch cabinet, the same size as our current one, to the left of the sink. One thing that Ben and I don’t like is that cabinet. It’s pretty useless. We only have so many cutting boards and cookie sheets. What’s worse is the right side of the centered sink.

We’d have a really narrow six-inch cabinet. If we don’t like the nine-inch, you can bet we’re not going to like the six-inch. (Avoid the “That’s what she said” joke on that please.) Because Ben is using 3/4 inch plywood to build the cabinet frames, you’re actually left with an interior of 4.5 inches. Umm, no thanks. As much as I’d like to put design over function, I just can’t do it in such a small kitchen. Especially because we’re removing most of our upper cabinetry. And because Ben has already built the cabinets.

That’s the dealio. I guess neither the range hood or sink will be the center of attention in the kitchen. What will? You’ll just have to wait to see.

Now I’m wondering what you hate (or hated if you’re replaced it) the most about your kitchen? Do you prefer for the range hood to take center stage in kitchens? Perhaps the stove?

Sentimental Gallery Wall

Published on October 11, 2011October 11, 2011 by Our Humble Abode14 Comments

We’ve got another gallery wall in our house, for a total of three. Our hall gallery is filled with family photos and another is bird themed.

The most recent gallery doesn’t have a theme. Rather, it’s filled with pretty pictures and sentimental art. For months, we had paper templates hanging up. Everyone asked, “What’s up with your art?” I finally got sick of answering, and I had collected enough art to start hanging, so I did. First, I had to decide the layout I wanted. You see, the paper templates were completely generic papers to see if we would even like a gallery wall.

I gathered all the art in the large basement bedroom and shifted things around on the floor. I liked the general layout, so I started transferring the pattern to the wall.

Uh, oh. I grossly underestimated how large the wall was.

So, I rearranged my labeled templates on the wall.

The new layout filled out the wall nicely, with a few gaps to expand. I also left room at the top to add more frames once we move the flush mount light for a pendant.

Hanging was easy because I had already marked the nail holes and labeled each template, so I knew exactly which frame went where.

And here it is now. You can see the cast feet made it to the wall.

As I said before, I still have a few gaps to fill, like this to the right of the arrangement.

Overall, I really love the look. Ben kinda thinks it feels cluttered. I understand that, but I like the collected look more than one huge framed something.

What do you think? Do you prefer one large frame or a gallery wall? How many gallery walls do you have? What are your favorite pendant fixtures? How have you decorated your stair well? It’s a tricky little area.

P.S. We’ll be back again to share what everything is and where we got it from.