One Month of Being Kitchenless

A Long-Awaited Construction Update

When we first purchased our 125-year-old Vermont farmhouse, we knew it would be a lot of work. What we didn’t anticipate, however, was that a simple bathroom remodel would cost us the use of our kitchen for an entire month. Four long weeks later, and we’re here to tell you all about it and to announce that our kitchen in back in use, if only for a short time.

Everyone knows that there will be surprises with any construction project, so we did go into it expecting the unexpected. Thankfully, some of our worst-feared surprises weren’t even issues at all. There was no mold under the bathroom floor despite the showerhead being so leaky that the entire bathroom got soaked every time someone took a shower. The toilet valve broke while the plumbers were already here, and they knew where the emergency water shut off was. In its final days of existence, the original shower did spring a leak, but conveniently, it was directly above the downstairs shower which was fully equipped to handle the dripping.

What we didn’t expect, however, was the discovery that pretty much all the current plumbing in the house was done incorrectly. (The shower, by the way, started leaking because its drainpipe was at a 22-degree angle instead of the standard 90-degree angle. Worse, the pipes hadn’t even been glued together.) Unfortunately, access to the complicated network of pipes that supplied water to our entire house was hidden behind our kitchen cabinets. This meant they had to go.

A Few Holes In

The workers began by removing a few of the upper cabinets, hoping that would be enough access. They cut the smallest hole possible in the ceiling, and when they realized they needed a bit more access, they cut a slightly larger one. This happened on repeat every day until most of our ceiling on the right side was gone. I believe the final hole count was about eight or nine. With every cut, more drywall dust sprinkled down, coating every surface in the kitchen. The most exciting day was when the workers found a hole beneath the bathroom floor that was filled with ancient mouse droppings; according to their shop-vac, it was five gallons worth.

Removing More Cabinets

After a while, it became apparent that the workers would need access to the entire wall. They removed the bottom cabinets and cut more holes in the ceiling and wall. While they tried their best to vacuum up the dust each day and to cover the growing holes with plastic before each night, the air quality in the kitchen was a real issue, preventing us from using it even when the workers were away. Things were even worse when they were here. This video I captured shows the type of situation we would walk into every time we needed to pass through the kitchen. Accessing any of the food in our pantry or refrigerator was impossible, and we felt lucky every day we simply managed to not trip over tools or step on a nail.

Finally, the plumber got all the pipes fixed, and the contractor was able to patch some, although not all, of the holes. The mouse droppings are gone, and our new bathroom was worth the effort. Obviously our kitchen is not where we’d like it to be, but at least it’s usable. We’ve put up some shelves to provide us with storage, and we’ve finally cleaned the drywall dust off of everything, meaning we can actually get food from our kitchen in a safe way. Speaking of which, here’s a little tip: if you’re ever redoing your kitchen and you decide to pour yourself a glass of milk while the workers are drilling away, if the milk is gritty, you’re drinking drywall dust. Ask me how I know.

The Current Kitchen Situation

So this is what our kitchen looks like as of today. It’s far from perfect, but after a month of being unable to use it in any way, shape, or form, it’s nice to get back to baking. We’re planning to redo the kitchen for good in January, but as rough as that will be, at least it will be planned.

I do want to say, though, that our contractor, plumber, and all the workers have just been fabulous. The quality of their work has been top-notch, and they’ve been some of the most pleasant, impressively calm people we’ve ever worked with. Kudos to them for getting the bathroom done, despite all the setbacks.

Thanks also to you, reader, for your patience with us as we navigate this latest chapter in our Vermont journey. We’re excited to get back to baking, at least for now.