Substituting Kitchen Remodeling as Off-Season Training

The reason for this blog post is answer the questions: "How was my off season?, How's training going?, Did you race over the winter?, Why haven't you updated your blog?

Old Kitchen

Winning the Rev 3 Triathlon series and finishing 3rd in the Toyota Cup series last season allowed me to take on remodeling our Kitchen and back entry this off season.  I enjoy construction projects.  Solving spacial problems and good old fashion hard work is satisfying.  It also helps ward off winter depression.  We've done a fair amount of work on our 1890's house since we purchased it, but this was the biggest and most expensive project.  The back of the house or kitchen had the issues with a walk through bathroom to the back stairs, treacherous stairs to the basement, no rear entry closet, bad kitchen flow, little kitchen storage, and multiple so-so revovations over 121 years.

Here's a little outline:  Blue - contracted, Gray - contracted but I helped, Black - did it ourselves


End of October

• Clean out backyard and start jack hammering out the old side walk and backstairs
• Haul in new landscaping rock to put under the back deck and mudroom
• Pack up everything in the kitchen and basement and move in to storage
• Cover basement floors
• Build temporary kitchen in laundry room with old kitchen cabinets

November

• Pour footings for deck, kitchen bump out, and mudroom
• Framing bump out, mudroom, deck
• Move electrical service panel and exterior connection
• Cut hole for new stair case
• Seal kitchen of from the rest of the house
• Demo interior - dusting mess, sweating, and cold
• Sheeting, weather proofing exterior walls
• Install windows and exterior doors

December

• Rough in plumbing: new sink location, toilet, move gas line for stove and dryer
• Roofing - brutally cold and snowy 16 inches fell halfway through
• Demo of old exterior walls
• Rough in new electrical
• Insulation: basement and kitchen
• Build and install kitchen to basement stairs in new location
• Demo and frame new location for ovens
• Demo old stairs for new bathroom and insulate
• Install venting for new bathroom fan and stove top

January

• Repair subfloor
• Floor: remove bad sections and relay with extra from cut of new stair location (difficult work)
• Sand and seal and cover for dry wall installation
• Dry wall
• Mud and Taping 
• Sanding
• Painting
• Finish coat: floor stairs, windows

February

New Kitchen

• Install in-floor heat in mudroom
• Cabinets: We helped install cabinets.  Hardest strength day of the project.  Cabinets are heavy.
• Finish electrical work
• Tile bathroom, mudroom, and stairs ledge
• Counter top installation
• Finish plumbing: connecting fixtures
• Clean up and up packing kitchen and basement

Remaining work

• Siding
• Decking
• Interior trim for windows, doors, and floors
• Walk-way in backyard
• Backyard clean up