Kitchen Renovations Have Started.

Well as it turned out I needed a new water heater.  Plumber was calling around to get prices and wasn’t happy with what he was getting.  It’s great he’s watching my money for me!  We were going to just meet at Home Depot tonight and get one, but a review of the website showed me they do not offer oil fired hot water heaters, only natural gas and electric.  I was told to steer clear of electric because they really run up your electric bill sky high.  Shane, the plumber confirmed that.  He also said that I’d need an electrician to come in and install it.  Shane was getting prices up near $2,000.00.  He called around some more and said he found a 40- gallon at $1600.00.  I was going to go for it, then he got another call from another supplier, a 50-gallon water heater for $1337.00.  So I met him at Ferguson and purchased that as it’s a special order.  It should be installed Thursday morning.  Since this was not part of my original quote with Shane, he said he would go easy on me for the installation charge.  So far I’ve spent $4,037.00 in plumbing…to replace all the old pipes and to buy the water heater.  Goodbye money…you just keep disappearing.  Good thing is when Shane started removing all the old copper/steel pipes?  They were literally crumbling in his hands, so it was a good call of mine to just get this done now.  I don’t want to deal with that shit once I am moved in.  He said the water pressure is freaking amazing now since running larger lines from the street into the house and larger lines inside the house. I will see tonight for the first time.  Well, kind of.  Thursday I should have hot water, finally.  However, I have no sinks now…only the old soap stone one in the basement which the washer drains into. Ah well…

Chris went over last night after soccer practice and ripped out the old cabinets in the kitchen along with the counter top.  I was at a dinner party for the CCD teachers.  It was a lovely evening even though only 4 of us showed up with Eileen and her husband Tom.  It was a nice evening.

Today I did some research online from This Old House on how to remove all that shitty painted over wallpaper.  I am off to Home Depot at lunch to get some supplies to get moving there.  I want to head over there tonight, and will be there tomorrow waiting for the tree guy…I hope to get all that wallpaper off in the kitchen so I can paint it this weekend!  Please wish me luck!  I want the kitchen painted before the new cabinets are installed.  I cannot get Home Depot to come out to measure and make a template for the counter without the cabinets in place.  I can install the backsplash later.  I also wanted all of this done before the appliances are delivered. 

This is the color I have chosen for the kitchen.  It’s called Joyous.   I thought it would brighten the area and really pop against the white cabinets and trim.

This is the color of the laminate counter I chose: 

I am going with either of these as a backsplash:

I might go a little lighter tones of blue for the backsplash.  

What say you?  I am leaning more towards the lighter…

Why the fuck won’t the landscaper I met with on Saturday call me back?  WTF people, I thought everyone was hurting for business.  Get off your ass and call me so we can get this shit done already.  We need to get the clean up done so we can see where we are and get the gutters and downspouts dealt with to hopefully help with the water seeping into the basement!  Gah!!  It’s the exact corner of the basement where my damned washer and dryer need to go!

I fucked up this morning and forgot to meet the insurance person at the house at 8:30 AM so he could do his inspection.  Ah well…I tried to reschedule but he said they wouldn’t send him back out and he’d do a partial outside inspection.  Wouldn’t have mattered if I went over any way as Shane has my set of keys.

I will take pictures tonight of my demolished kitchen.  I don’t have a bathroom sink either anymore as the vanity was ripped out by Chris.  Damn he loves to rip shit out and demolish.  I am still battling him on his need and desire to bash down my walls to open areas up.  *sigh* I keep telling him AND my brother, "leave my walls alone!  I happen to LIKE WALLS and designated rooms!"  Not everyone in the world likes an open concept home.  I am one of them.  Leave my cute house and it’s walls alone and intact…thankyouverymuch!