Phase One in my plans for the Great Kitchen Reno of 2008 is now complete. Last night, we had a structural engineer come round to take a look at the space we want to renovate, and tell us whether we can knock out a few walls without the whole house falling down. After about an hour of surprisingly technical investigations, he determined that none of the walls in question are load-bearing, and can indeed be taken down without the need to install any beams or bracing. Yay! Very good news.
Phase Two is the design and planning stage, and that's going to take me some time. Propitiously, it turns out that one of our neighbours is an interior designer who specialises in kitchens - score! This lady has also been using our driveway to park her car for the past few winters (with our permission, since her own driveway is very steep and icy) - so I'm hoping that some expert design advice will be forthcoming. She recommended the engineer we saw last night, in fact.
So now comes the hard part - planning and costing the reno itself. We need everything - walls taken down to enlarge the space, cabinetry, floors, lighting, tiling, countertops, and of course appliances. I can't wait to replace my cooktop with its warped burners, and the tiny old oven with its missing racks and burned-out grill (for which parts are no longer available, it's so old).
God knows how much this is all going to cost, though. Yeerks.
1 comment:
Whoot! Good news. See ya in Montreal next month for full-scale planning! (and a little post-planning eating and drinking)
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