Remodel Project

After 5 years in Sacto, we've decided to tackle a fairly extensive remodel of the first floor of our townhouse. This is inspired primarily by the limitations of the small kitchen and by my deep dislike of the tile counters and tile floor (grout - grr!!!). We'll be removing the wall between the kitchen and living room, extending the wall in the stairwell so that we can rearrange all of the appliances along that wall, and creating a large moveable wheeled island (cabinets, wine storage, countertop, stools) to give us greater flexibility with the space and layout.

Of course, the first step for any remodel is... DEMOLITION! Yep, the fun part!

Last Thursday, I began the carpet tear-out after getting inspired by a meeting with one of our potential contractors. I pulled up the carpet and padding and pried out the tack strips in the area by the couch. Later that day, once Mr. E came home, we joined forces to complete the project - he cut and rolled strips of carpet and pad while I continued to remove the tack strips. He jumped in to finish that part when I headed upstairs to participate in Congresswoman Matsui's phone Town Hall meeting on Health Care Reform. We both pitched in on the clean-up (sweep, vacuum, sweep again, vacuum again, etc.)

Here are some photos of the results:

Carpet pad and underlying concrete near the kitchen

Rolls of carpet and pad in the garage post-removal



Exposed concrete in the dining/living area

Lovely bare concrete in the dining area with Mr. E's "thumbs-up" for a job well done

Rather than install new flooring (e.g. hardwood), we're planning to have the concrete bead-blasted, polished, treated/coloured, and sealed. We both really like the look and feel of the concrete, and the various cracks and holes provide additional texture and interest. And later, we'll add some area rugs for warmth and to help define the different spaces.

I'm planning to post remodel updates here as we continue our journey. This is just the beginning of the adventure...