Day 7 -- Plumbing and Concrete

At least I've finally caught up with today and can report real time going forward.  Today , the plumber is working to finish the piping.  It's a drag because I have to turn off the water in the entire building (all four units) to enable this (and had to on Monday as well).   The joys of communal living. But my neighbors are being real troppers and their cooperation is very much appreciated.  Today, the workers are also pouring concrete to reinforce the footings under the beams in the kitchen crawl space.  I'm hoping to get some pictures of that today before they close up my floor again.

Next Step Framing

After the demolition was complete, the guys began framing the new support beams above the bar.  This is twice as strong as the wall it replaces.

At the corner, there will be a column to hold up the beams.  The 2"x4" are temporary support and will be removed.

Temporary support for the second floor during framing.  These will be removed.

Muy Fuerte

The bathroom framing also came along quickly and was largely complete by Monday, December 21.  The tub arrives today (I hope).  They will install it and finish the frame around it.

Hello walk in shower!  Bye bye annoying shower curtain rod!

Deep whirlpool bath -- here I come.

Let the Destruction Begin

After several days of wrangling with the City of Palo Alto, I was issued a construction permit on Monday, December 13 (wouldn't have been my choice date for obvious reasons).  The team came in literally tore the kitchen and bathroom to the studs on the following day.  Neighbors reported 6 workers, lots of dust, and serious noise.  What will be will be.  I hosted several tours with curious neighbors.  Everyone wanted to see "what lay beneath" the plaster walls of the VCA.  See for yourself.

This shows where the range and exhaust were.  This wall will now be open with a granite bar.

Bathroom

Bathroom

The white wall shows where the bookshelf USED to be.

Bathroom looks bigger now.  The builders wondered why our condo kitchens are so small but the bathroom is so big.

This is the wall that's coming down

Preparation Preparation Preparation

On Tuesday, December 7th, the team began to prepare my house for the seige.  I moved into my guest bedroom and bathroom for the duration, while barriers were framed around the work space.  I'm down living in about 500sq ft.  But the upside is that my condo will feel like a palace when I can reclaim it.



All framed in



Before

I'm hoping to capture every delightful moment of my kitchen/bath remodel on this blog -- enabling my intrepid followers to share in my pain.  Let's start with a few before shots to set the stage.