This weekend I took a big risk for me: I started peeling up floor tiles in the kitchen. The peeling up floor tiles in and of itself was not a huge risk – I’d planned on taking up the floor tiles to put down different ones. However, the risk is more of the whole I-need-to-take-up-subflooring thing. By myself. Eeek! (I work on house stuff while hubby watches Max – as much as I love my husband, he’s not very handy)
Why do I need to take up the subfloor, you may ask?
Because our dishwasher is leaking so I need to pull it out and check the hoses. No biggie, right? It wouldn’t be a big deal, except a previous homeowner put in a ½” layer of subfloor (and those ugly tiles) ON TOP of the dishwasher feet.
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| glorified dish drainer |
And he fit it so tightly that I can’t push it back further and then lift it up and out. No, that’d be too easy. So it’s either rip out a layer or two of flooring, bringing it back to the subfloor that the dishwasher currently stands on, or rip out the countertop (which I’m not doing). I debated cutting the legs off the dishwasher, but as you can see in the photo there isn’t a lot of leg to cut.
So, up come the tiles. Then I have to figure out a way to make the dishwasher continue to be accessible while still having an adequate amount of subflooring. <sigh>
When I start to get too frustrated with my kitchen reno, I look at this photo and remind myself that our kitchen has come a long way.
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| before - dark and ugly |
Even with the slanted floor (yeah, I’m not sure why either), the unfinished countertops, the non-existent backsplash, and the other problems it’s leaps and bounds ahead of where it was. (Excuse the dirty dishes and the general lack of picking up before I took the photo.)
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| now - bright and in progress |
I have the vision in my head, and it will look fantastic when it’s done. The countertops will be white/gray marble-esque tile (the gray paint is a temporary sanity saver), the backsplash will be a simple row of 2” square white tile (sitting in the garage), the sink will be properly aligned and have a new faucet, the floor will look like wood (but really be vinyl tile), and all of the cabinet doors will be hung and functioning. And the dishwasher will be fixed.
I’m linking up to Nesting Place for her National {not really} Take a Risk Day. Check out her site for more people taking risks in their home!
UPDATE: Click on some links below to see the progress on my kitchen
Kitchen Floor Update
Countertops?
I Have a Kitchen Floor!
UPDATE: Click on some links below to see the progress on my kitchen
Kitchen Floor Update
Countertops?
I Have a Kitchen Floor!
4 comments:
GOOD LUCK!!! I hate reno's where one problem leads right into another. Kitchens are the most frustrating, because its way harder to go on with it out of service! Good luck with this, wish I was there to help you- we'd brew a pot of tea and get busy!
visiting from the nester
the kitchen looks so much better! Im sure you will love the new floor you now "have to get!"
Looks awesome! Are those new countertops or did you do the at home redo kit? Also, what kind of paint did you use for the cabinets? I would love to paint my bath vanity, but I am afraid the doors and drawers will stick. Did you sand the wood first or just paint?
Ashley - For the cabinets I sanded lightly and used an oil primer and a high-gloss oil floor paint for the top coat (no tint, just bright white). Super sturdy! For the counter I lightly sanded the existing counter and painted with a latex floor paint. It's scratched and isn't going to hold up. I have a feeling that if I had primed and used oil that it would have held up a lot better, but I needed a VOC-free quick fix.
To avoid sticking, make sure to remove the doors and drawers before painting, and give it 2-3 days to cure (up to a week in high humidity) before reassembling.
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