Let’s Try This Again — Getting Back to Work in the Kitchen

Note: I published this post at 6am this morning, but some awesome readers let me know that the photos weren’t loading. After much troubleshooting (photos from some past posts also weren’t loading, but sporadically), I found a comment in a thread online from someone saying they fixed the same problem by disabling the Jetpack plugin for WordPress. I tried this and it worked, but I have no idea why and I have to find out because Jetpack is actually helpful for things.

Anyway, thank you for your patience! To reward you, I have included a bonus photo at the end showing the first coat of the actual paint on the cabinets!

Our kitchen renovation has reached a critical stage: there are still major projects to be done (like painting the kitchen cabinets and putting in a new backsplash), but it is functional and doesn’t feel “under construction” so I’ve been procrastinating on those big projects that will make everything feel torn apart again. I also went on a vacation to Europe, so that halted progress.

I needed some motivation to get started on these daunting projects, so I did the only thing I could think of: I tore everything apart so that I had to get my butt in gear to put it all back together. Today I’ll be sharing on update on that destruction and my plans for fixing it all.

BUT, first I want to take a quick moment on an unrelated topic. Today is Columbus Day, or as it’s increasingly becoming known as more states realize we probably shouldn’t have a federal holiday commemorating a man who catalyzed a genocide, “Indigenous People’s Day.” The history of American colonization and centuries of injustice that have ensued is too long and complex to cover in a blog post (obviously), but one thing I wanted to encourage you to do if you haven’t already is learn a bit more about one particular issue that happens to be getting a lot of attention right now (this is one issue among thousands that routinely get no attention, but that doesn’t make it any less worthy).

I’m talking about the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the thousands of protestors who have gathered in the Standing Rock Sioux reservation to protest its construction. This pipeline was supposed to cross the Missouri River near Bismarck, but was moved at the 11th hour because of concerns about the hazards that an oil spill would wreak on the water supply. So not surprisingly, the Standing Rock Sioux were not thrilled when instead its route was shifted to half a mile from their reservation (on land that was taken from them without their consent in 1958, no less). The tribe asserts that building the pipeline will require digging up burial grounds (and a bulldozer has actually already cut through some), and they contend that the fast-track permitting to move the pipeline means that the government did not consult with the tribe or they would have learned this.

I’m not going to dive into this more today, but I would encourage you to learn more about this situation. Here are two good articles to start with if it’s helpful:

• Near Standing Rock, pipeline protest meets a spiritual movement

• A Pipeline Fight and America’s Dark Past (by Bill McKibben, a leader in the environmental movement)

Okay, so awkward segue back to my kitchen….

I’ve been super intimidated by the work involved with painting my kitchen cabinets and demoing and redoing my backsplash, so I have been majorly procrastinating. But last weekend, I gave myself the push I needed to get going by spending Sunday afternoon demoing the backsplash, removing the over-range microwave, and taking off all the cabinet doors and drawers to prep for painting.

I’ll start with the backsplash demo. I worried I would totally destroy the sheetrock in the process, but it was actually a fairly straightforward and non-destructive process. I started by clearing off our counters.

Then I taped down trashbags onto the counters — I figured this would protect our new counters and make cleanup easier.

I also removed the outlet switch plates. Then I just worked with a flathead screwdriver and hammer, banging the screwdriver under one tile at a time and then popping it off. The most important thing is to get the screwdriver in at a pretty flat angle so that you’re driving it between the wall and the tile, not just driving it right into the wall.

I did have to move the stove to get behind it. I didn’t demo the backsplash behind the stove all the way to the floor because that seemed unnecessary, but I did remove the tile well below the top of the stove so that the vestiges of the old backsplash will be totally invisible.

It took me about an hour to remove all the tiles, which isn’t too bad. The sheetrock isn’t in perfect condition so I’ll need to do a little patching when I’m ready to install the new backsplash, but it’s in pretty good shape — definitely way better than I was expecting.

Next up was removing the over-range microwave and cabinet, since I’m planning to tile all the way to the ceiling above the stove and then install a range hood. I think that will make the space feel a lot more open. I enlisted Sam’s help for this, and I am not going to provide a tutorial because I can’t imagine we did this the best way possible. But basically we unplugged the microwave from the outlet inside the cabinet above, removed all the screws and bolts we could see holding the microwave to the wall and the cabinet, removed the vent tape connecting the vent to the ceiling, and then when it still wouldn’t come off we just pulled on it a bunch until finally it did. Then obviously we put it in the yard to await trash day because as always, we’re great neighbors.

It was so sticky and disgusting from years of grease build up, so we spent about 15 minutes just washing our hands. Then we were ready to tackle the cabinet. First we had to remove the outlet, though, which we did by turning off the power to it and removing the outlet fixture. Sam wanted to try his hand at it, so I gave him instructions and he did great.

After that the cabinet came down pretty easily with just a few screws to remove.

The last steps were just unscrewing that metal plate that apparently had been supporting the microwave on the wall, and capping off the wires from the disassembled outlet. We’ll hard wire the range hood, so these will come in handy soon. That left us with a “beautiful” open space above the stove!

Not one to rest on my laurels, I also removed all our cabinets doors and drawers (and removed their hardware, which we’re replacing) and brought them to the basement. To make sure that I could easily put them back in the right places, I numbered each one on a piece of painter’s tape and then put the same number on a piece of painter’s tape where it should be returned to. It became clear that we should not have open shelves permanently in our kitchen.

During the week, I spent a little time in the evening filly the hardware holes with wood filler, since our new hardware will need holes in different locations. I did the fronts of the doors and drawers one night and then the backs of the doors a second night (the drawers don’t need the backs done because those holes will be totally hidden once I reinstall them).

That set me up to be very productive this weekend. On Saturday, I started by constructing one last cabinet piece that I needed in the kitchen, to fill the gap between the small base cabinet and the pantry:

My plan was to construct a simple cavity where we can store our cutting boards. I just cut two pieces to form the top and bottom, and then notched them using my table saw so that they will fit snugly against the side of the base cabinet:

Then I attached them to the side of the base cabinet using pocket holes.

Next I nailed a thin piece of scrapwood along the back.

The cavity won’t be as deep as the cabinet and pantry because i wanted to use scrapwood for everything and didn’t have the right dimensions, but that’s fine because we don’t need anything super deep for our cutting boards.

I slide the base cabinet into place so that the new cabinetry fit snugly against the pantry. The fit wasn’t perfect (ie a few gaps), but I knew caulk would fix that. To secure the cabinetry from the pantry side, I just drove in a few screws through the side of the pantry into the top of the new cabinet.

Easy peasy.

Next up was filling every gap in the kitchen with wood filler or caulk. That took me a solid 2 hours because we have so many disparate cabinets that I’ve Frankensteined together and want to look like a solid piece once I paint. After that, I made my way to the basement where I sanded all of the doors and drawers using my orbital sander and 80-grit sandpaper. This was obviously necessary to smooth out where I’d used wood filler on the old hardware holes, but it’s also essential for roughing up the surface for maximum paint adhesion. I am usually terrible about good prep, but I really want these cabinets to hold up so I was sure to be thorough (basically I just did whatever Young House Love told me to do in their cabinet painting tutorials).

Next I used a liquid deglosser. This is an easy step since you need to wipe down everything after sanding anyway, so it may as well be with the deglosser. That left me ready to start priming, and so I got to work! I used the Kilz no-VOC primer and a small roller plus a 2″ angled brush for the detail work.

I did the backs of everything first.

When I was done, I trekked back upstairs to the kitchen, where I sanded everything down since the wood filler had been able to dry by then. Then I deglossed and primed the whole kitchen. By then it was 8:30pm and I realized I’d better eat dinner and go to bed because I had a half marathon the next morning and had to get up at 5am for it.

On Sunday morning I headed to the race (the BAA Half, in southern Boston), where Maddie and I both had great runs. I was expecting not to PR because I’m injured and have only been halfheartedly training (running 3 days a week, no speed work, and no weekday runs over 3 miles, which is much less than I normally do to train and definitely less than I did before my 1:41:31 PR in the Harwich Cranberry Half last fall). It was pouring throughout the race and there was a decent headwind, but somehow I ended up setting another PR, coming in at 1:40:34. It was a 7:33 minute/mile pace, which I’m pretty darn pleased with. Maddie PRed too, so despite the cold rain it was a good morning. Here are some “we’re soaking wet but we PRed so we’re pretty freaking excited” photos:

Anyway, I made it home from that, took a bath to warm up, and got back to work. Fortunately I’d intentionally pushed hard on Saturday so that I wouldn’t have so much to do on Sunday. All I needed to do was prime the fronts and sides of the doors and drawers and do a few touchups in the kitchen.

To prime the fronts and sides at the same time, I set up all the doors and drawers on little dixie cups to elevate them off my work surface. They sell little devices for this at the hardware store, but I got 200 cups for $5 so that seems like a better deal and worked just as well.

And that’s where things stand now! Doesn’t it look amazing?!? (I jest.)

Today I plan to do a first coat of actual paint on the backs of the doors and drawers and on the kitchen (see sneak peek below!), and I’ve mapped out the precise schedule for getting this thing finished. It’s a complex logistical undertaking to get the order of operations right and plan around work and life and such, so it will take another few weeks but here’s what I’m planning:

• Tuesday 10/11 after work:
  • Second coat of paint on back of drawers and doors
• Friday 10/14 after work:
  • First coat of paint on fronts of drawers and doors
• Saturday 10/15:
  • Second coat of paint on kitchen
  • Second coat of paint on fronts of drawers and doors
• Sunday 10/16 – Saturday 10/22:
  • Cure
• Sunday 10/23:
  • Drill holes and install new hardware
  • Add bumpers
  • Reinstall drawers and doors
  • Reinstall school cabinet door
• Saturday 10/29:
  • Buy toe kick, quarter round, crown, back of kitchen island
  • Cut toe kick, quarter round, crown, back of kitchen island
  • Prime toe kick, quarter round, crown, back of kitchen island
• Sunday 10/30:
  • First coat of paint on toe kick, quarter round, crown, back of kitchen island
• Tuesday 11/1 after work:
  • Second coat of paint on toe kick, quarter round, crown, back of kitchen island
• Wednesday 11/2 – Saturday 11/5:
  • Cure
• Sunday 11/6:
  • Install toe kick, quarter round, crown, back of kitchen island

So by early November, this big project should be done! I’ll obviously keep you posted along the way!

Bonus update: Since I had to repost this after fixing the photo issue, I figured I’d throw in a photo from today after I finished a first coat of paint on the cabinets. What do you think?!?