Chapter 8: Kitchen Renovation

The decision to tackle the cabinet and bulkhead removal on our own was partially due to the fact that we wanted to save a few extra bucks and because Keith and his brother Andy wanted to flex their muscles! lol

I think the moment Andy heard we were ready for cabinet removal he was in his car, speeding to Pittsburgh. What is it about men and destruction? They all love the idea of grabbing a hammer and tearing something apart. I stayed clear of the testosterone except when I needed to snap a few photos of the boys in action!

Before Andy arrived though, Keith got some much needed help removing the ceramic tile from my brother-in-law Chad the weekend before. As mentioned in earlier chapters, we decided to replace the somewhat grimy tile with hardwood. Fortunately, the tile was already coming loose from the floor and it made the removal a bit easier…although since I wasn’t physically doing any of the removal I’m sure Keith and Chad would disagree.

Andy arrived on a Friday night to help Keith for the weekend and they immediately got to work. Seriously – they were excited like 10-year-old boys.

Much to all of our surprise, the cabinet and bulkhead removal was fairly painless and no roadblocks or catastrophes occurred. Whew!

Keith and Andy even found some hidden treasures from behind the cabinets!

And the June 1965 date stamped on the cabinets further proved how desperate this happy house was in need of a new kitchen upgrade. I mean, WOW! 1965 baby!

By the time Andy was ready to head back to Columbus on Sunday, our kitchen was officially empty. So sad! Keith and I both made the comment that there was no turning back now. Andy pointed out that we already paid for half of the cabinets already, but for some reason seeing our happy house without a kitchen made this big renovation commitment even more final – and real.

Stay tuned because there is so much left to do – removing waste, installing floor, cabinets and granite!