Day 2: New day, new plans

Monday was Day 2 of construction and lots of progress has been made!

Let's start with a very early morning delivery from IKEA..  So in order to scrimp and save on our already spiraling budget, we decided to go with Ikea for our kitchen cabinets.  We chose the classic shaker style Akurum Adel in white.  We had a few hesitations going in with this decision initially, so we shopped other cabinet suppliers out there (mainly Lowe's, Cabinets to go, and Airoom Home Remodeling).  But in the end Ikea seemed to have not only the best price, but some pretty decent reviews on consumer reports and through word of mouth.  Although CTG, had some pretty competitive prices, we also couldn't deal with the longer wait and also didn't want to risk dealing with their reputed bad customer service.  Lowe's, on the other hand, blew our budget out of the water (and I won't even talk about Airoom's six figure quotes).. So Ikea it is! (I'll elaborate later when we actually assemble and install to get our real opinion on these cabinets)

Ikea cabinets: Like a puzzle in multiple packaging (98 to be exact)

R.I.P. Old-timey vent

Onwards and upwards.  So demo was a success on Day 1, so Day 2 started of without a hitch.  Our hardworking guys moved quickly to create temporary supports for the two walls we plan on adding headers to.  And off they went knocking down the rest of the original studs, giving us an even better glimpse of that open wall.  And we only had one casualty in the process, our older than dirt vent in the kitchen fell apart as they were moving it.  But Peter, our awesome contractor, promised to take care of that little mishap, no sweat!

Beam me up!

Installing the headers was probably one of the most exciting parts for me.  Not only have I been freaked out by the fact that supports weren't added to the addition originally, but the looming settling cracks in the master bedroom only got a bit larger since Day 1.  And this is when our contractor informed us that the addition has sunk about 2 inches since being built. Yipe!  We couldn't get that header in fast enough, in my opinion.  After hiking up the temporary walls an extra inch, we were able to move that 2nd floor another inch.  In our contractor's professional opinion: much better.

They used a 12in x 10.5 ft laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beam for the kitchen ceiling.  Apparently, these are manufactured from thin sheets of veneer structurally bonded together to make headers and beams which span much longer distances and support heavier loads than ordinary lumber.  That's pretty comforting to know.

Beam Cross Section

Up she goes!

Also amidst all the mess, a shining beacon of beautiful brickwork appeared.  Ok, we knew there was a chimney right smack in the dining room, but taking the wall off on one side, we didn't realize how ridiculously good looking it was.  So that inspired one of several new plans: we are exposing the vintage brick on all sides!  Another great discovery,  one of the loose bricks had an imprint of the Chicago Brick Company which has a time-tested reputation for their durability in enduring harsh Chicago climates.  Not only do we now have brick, but we have the coveted Old Chicago Brick, that tells a story, aged over a century, and was manufactured during the Industrial Boom at the turn of the century.  How cool is that!?  I can't wait to clean and seal it up real nice. sigh.

Old Chicago Brick!

Once the beam was up, it was time to remove the temporary jacks. This was our moment of truth.  Luckily the 2nd floor stayed up and now we have a rather large 10ft x 6 inch opening in our kitchen/dining area.  Ta da!

Ta Da!

Day 3 (Tuesday), our family room/dining area wall should see the same fate.  OH, and we are scrapping the half wall idea (that I gushed about on Day 1) in favor for a complete open look.  It looked like those supposedly troublesome vents weren't so troublesome after all.  Although I was falling in love with the idea and charm of the half wall, I guess our ultimate goal is open living, and that just wins out every time.

More HVAC and electrical work will be at hand on Day 3 as well.  Thanks again to the JP6 Enterprise Handyman construction crew.  They've really been great to work with and would readily recommend their services to anyone in the greater Chicago area.  (I'll go into more mushy detail about their work when all is said and done)

If you guys want to read the rest of this *exciting* remodeling series, CLICK HERE!

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