The Kitchen Renovation: Part 3 -- The Prep

After finalizing our layout and committing to it by purchasing the cabinets, it was time to begin prepping the space. In typical kitchen renovations, it's recommended to leave everything as is until cabinets and appliances arrive for inspection. This is crucial if your space is fixed around appliances, unlike ours. Our refrigerator and oven were standalone, allowing us to move them around easily -- moving them when we needed to, but putting them right back in place when we were done. Since our dining room is empty, our plan was to move the cabinets into the open space with all of our dishes and silverware still in them.

The kitchen before any renovations

With the plan set, it was time to put it in motion. We started by pulling up the thin, gray industrial carpet that did little more than complicate spill cleanup. Underneath, we found plywood, whose removal proved to be a frustrating project due to an overenthusiastic installer with a nail gun and apparently time to kill. Despite the challenges, we persevered and discovered yellow and green linoleum underneath the plywood. From the ~1950s onward, linoleum was made with asbestos. To determine if ours predates this, we sought insights from the internet and our grandparents. Internet sources suggested the 1930s or 1940s, aligning with our grandparents' estimation, with one noting an exact year: 1938. While we can't pinpoint the precise installation year, we took precautionary measures by sending a small sample for asbestos testing, and fortunately, it came back clear! We ripped that up and beneath the linoleum lay the original tongue-and-groove hardwood flooring, showcasing its age and wear but instilling confidence in our ability to restore it to its former glory.

Moving to the walls, we removed a non-original bead-board-ish feature and found linoleum underneath, matching the cabinetry's color. We suspected it was installed around the same time as the linoleum on the floor. Donning PPE just in case, we removed the linoleum, revealing the original bead-board on the walls.

The linoleum floors

Layers of previous wall decor

After restoring the floors and walls to their original state, our attention turned to the cabinets. I say "our," but credit goes to Austin. While I was away for work and house-sitting for my family, Austin took charge. Daily updates poured in as the cabinets came down, finding a temporary home in the dining room. As cabinets descended, so did the plaster, revealing the bare-bone lath and key beneath. The scene resembled the kitchen during early stages of construction, and I imagine what it would have looked like in the 1890s, when our home was first being built.

The final preparation involved the door and window frames, painted many times over the years. Unwilling to add more layers, we prepped them a few days before cabinet installation. Citristrip worked on modern paint, but the older oil-based layers required a different strategy. We used a heat gun to melt the paint away from the wood, avoiding sanding due to lead content. Though it left some imperfections, we embraced them as part of our home's character.

This covers the majority of our kitchen prep. There's one more intense project to share in the next post. Next week, I'll delve into the professionals we enlisted to ensure the job was done right and what that experience entailed.

The kitchen, fully prepped