Let There Be Light (and floors)

We are approaching the end of our second week of the kitchen remodel, and things are going well so far.  The first week they only worked 3 days, which was a blessing, since they had planned extra days for all of the surprises they could encounter during demo.  They didn't find any!  We had not been sure about the subfloor before starting, so we didn't know whether the hardwoods could be woven into the existing hardwoods in the dining room.  We were prepared for the worst and expected their to either be an issue with the height of the subfloor in the kitchen and/or sunroom.  We were pleasantly surprised!

When they took out the floors in the sunroom, which was an addition that the previous owners had built, we found that before the sunroom, there used to be a bump out in the wall of the kitchen, similar to a bay window.

It was interesting finding out something about our house from before we bought it almost 9 years ago.

We also had new lighting by the end of the first week.  Not all of the lighting has been installed or even chosen at this point, but we have 4 fantastic recessed lights.  The lighting is already better in there than before, and it's only going to get better.

We found our first surprise when the hardwood floor installer came this Wednesday.  They found that the floor joists in the kitchen and sunroom don't run the same direction, so the hardwoods won't be able to run in the same direction throughout.  That's fine with us.  Actually, I like the look of it.  I'm just thrilled that the floors can all be the same level!

Today they should be finishing up the floors, except for the sanding and staining, which is one of the last things that will be done.  They should have the floor boards all squished together (technical term) before they leave today, so they will look more finished than they do in the photo above.

We've already gotten a preview of the finished look because they finished weaving into the dining room floors.

Let me tell you, we're excited!

As for next week, the cabinets are going to be delivered on Monday.  On Thursday, the granite people will come to take their template for the countertops, and they will be installed the Thursday after that.  Next week, the room will definitely start looking like a kitchen again!

I know that we are only 2 weeks into this long process, but so far so good.  We seem to be doing fine without our kitchen, and our temporary kitchen already feels like our norm.  Hopefully, we can stay this patient for the next month!