Old kitchen on 09/24/2003 Tiny gas oven was one of the first things we wanted to replace when we bought the house... 9 years ago!
	Funky kitchen had gas stove built into the counter.
	Nasty gas burners, prone to have pilots go out. During the Spring we often smelled gas after being gone for the day.
	Bottom cabinets went to back corner but items stored there never saw the light of day. Too difficult to reach items. Found lots of interesting stuff when we cleaned out cabinets.
	Old fashioned vent was installed in wall. (Look to the right of the yellow bananas.) This vent allowed cold air in during Winter so we blocked it off years ago. Silly location for vent since gas stove is located a few feet away.
	Notice how sink is not centered under back window. Funky mini-door next to dishwasher only held cookie sheets/racks. Dishwasher was added a few years ago and non-matching counter top was added. (Better than the old stand-alone dishwasher that was there originally.)
	Cabinets over fridge are rarely used. Put cleaning supplied up there to keep away from tiny hands. Top of fridge collects all kinds of "stuff".
	Original back door. Started sticking over the Summer. Threshold was rotten.
	Knick-knack rack replaced built-in ironing board from original owners eight years ago. This was a dust collector for the miniatures so it was eliminated during remodel.
	Another view of knick-knack rack and notice wall phone. Prior owners snaked a phone cord up the side of the dining room door.
	Rotten threshold. Should have painted when we bought the house... each year it just kept getting worse.
	Prior owners had weather stripping nailed inside door. Left nasty marks on doorway after we put better storm door in.
	09/24 - Day 1 Gas stove and oven gone! Plumber came and disconnected the gas for stove. Let the demolition work begin!
	Everything in cabinets got relocated to the cellar.
	At least the sink is still working. (for now...)
	09/25 - Day 2 Started ripping off wallpaper.
	Bob ripped out the sink and cabinets. It really helps having someone who knows what they are doing when it comes to demolition/building. Bob had the tools and know-how to make the job go smoothly.
	Couldn't remove the vent because it was still connected to power.
	Ripped up floor and found missing sub-flooring under cabinets. It was interesting reading old newspaper clippings from under the flooring.
	09/26 - Day 3 Cabinets were delivered and had to be stored in dining room, which became project central for all supplies, etc. We were told the cabinets would arrive at 6:30am so it was an early morning!
	New back door installed. Took Bob a half day due to the gap left by the old door. He needed to build support all around the new steel door. Bob the builder, can he fix it? Yes, he can!
	No more rotten threshold! Nice pressure treated wood covered by metal threshold of new door.
	Electrician ran a new power line for electric stove/oven. Doesn't look like much from this shot but new cable was run to circuit breaker box in cellar. Notice the new floor Bob installed. He put sub-flooring where needed and plywood over everything.
	Here is another shot of the new plywood covering the floor.
	Electrician started installing recessed lights.
	We ran into a problem trying to install recessed light over the sink. After cutting the hole we found the heating duct right above the hole! (Not a happy camper when this happened...) Electrician couldn't finish his work, will come back on Tuesday.
	09/30 - Day 7 Electrician returned to finish lights. We decided to try two recessed lights over sink. Luckily we didn't run into any more "surprises" in the ceiling. (Unfortunately the electrician did a poor job installing the light cans but that's another story...) Bob fixed the hole in the middle. You can't even tell there was a hole there!
	10/01 - Day 8 Bob fixed the wall after removing the knick-knack rack.
	Also fixed the vent hole using his "California" patch. Very ingenious way to patch drywall without using tape. Solid patches that required little sanding.
	Had to fix the mess left by the electrician. The junction box needs to stay in place but will be covered with a plate to hide it.
	Started moving the cabinets into the kitchen!
	Unfortunately we couldn't install them because the drain pipe lined up exactly where the rails for the drawers needed to go. We thought we would be able to cut the cabinets. Disappointing day...
	The old water pipes for the sink need to be cut to make it easier to install the cabinet.
	10/03 - Day 10 Had to get the plumber back in to replace the drain pipe! Rick did a great job notching the wood and installing new PVC pipe. He also cut the water pipes to make it easier to install the cabinet.
	New pipe goes right into the "stack" pipe.
	Had to move the fridge into the living room! Getting ready to have the floor installed.
	10/04 - Day 11 Russ installed the new floor in about an hour. It really helped that there was nothing in the room! (Russ is a professional floor installer, friend of Bob's.) Had to stay off the floor for 24 hours.
	10/05 - Day 12 Bob started installing the cabinets!
	Sink cabinet installed easily thanks to the cut pipes!
	Lazy susan cabinet does not go back as far as we would have liked... oh well.
	Working stove! We cooked a simple dinner on the new stove and made brownies in the oven. Unfortunately we "forgot" about the missing sink. Had to clean everything in the tub!
	10/08 - Day 15 Installed counter top and cutout hole for sink. Positioned sink and moved dishwasher into place. Bob worked on custom woodwork above cabinets. This hides the space between top of cabinets and ceiling.
	10/10 - Day 17 Plumber installed sink, faucet, disposal and hooked up dishwasher. We have a working kitchen again!
	10/13 - Day 20 Installation of microwave over stove went very smoothly. (Very cool, internal venting feature.) Painted walls.
	Notice the woodwork above the cabinets. Bob created custom tops to extend cabinets up to the ceiling. They look like they came with the set!
	New ceramic stove top will take some getting used to. Like the new features but it has been years since we cooked with electric.
	Started to get small appliances back in place.
	Here is a shot of the new floor against the new cabinets.
	10/15 - Day 22 Painted all trim around doors and windows (twice). Cleaned up old window frames. Moved boot benches, coat rack and old microwave cart back from dining room. Makes corner look a little cluttered but the dining room is finally back in order. Small table and chairs will eventually go here.
	10/16 - Day 23 New Forever storm door installed. Bob also repainted the ceiling and touched up the walls Kitchen finished in time for the birthday party on 10/25!
View side-by-side comparison of before and after kitchen remodelling shots.