Kitchen Remodel

After living for 2 years in the house Leonor and I decided it was finally time to remodel the Kitchen. The remodel took place in February / March 2004.

The progress was filmed for a TV show - Weekend Warrior - on HGTV. Look for the airing of Episode 1006 on the fall 2004 schedule.

Weekend Warriors
Episode WAR-1006

Mullis Bungalow Kitchen
When Leonor and Martin Mullis purchased their bungalow-style home, they quickly realized that the kitchen would need to be remodeled. They love to entertain but their outdated kitchen is just not functional for large family gatherings. Martin and Leonor think that their kitchen remodel will take just under a week to complete and they'll save as much as $5,000 by doing the work themselves. Friends and family members pitch in and the demolition goes smoothly. Leonor documents the work with pictures for her scrapbook. After patching up a few holes in the walls the team moves on to the construction phase, and the work progresses smoothly with the help of Martin's father. Once the Mullises have installed their new flooring, countertops and cabinets they finish the pass-through window. After that it's time for new appliances and furnishings. They end up with a bright, stylish kitchen with a more functional layout and celebrate by inviting the family over for dinner in their dazzling new space.

Below are a few pictures from behind the scenes of making that TV program.
Click on the individual photo to get a any particular day.

For a Flash slideshow click here. (high speed internet connection recommended, you may have to download a flash player from macromedia.com)

Day 1

The first day consisted of the crew filming the entire house and interviewing Martin and Leonor. My dad supervised all activities from the office.
Prior to the first day of filming my dad and I raised portion of the kitchen floor (the section where the fridge is loacted). Also we changed out 2 large windows for shorter ones where you see the wine cooler.

Click on the individual photo to get a larger view.

Day 2

Now it was finally time to get all the old cabinets and counters out of the kitchen. Leonor's sister Angie lend us a helping hand.

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Day 3

After demolition was complete, we had a contractor come in and cut a window in to the wall, install new gas lines and reroute the hot, cold and wastewater pipes.

Click on the individual photo to get a larger view.

Day 4

My dad came back up and helped us install the cement board as a subfloor for the new tiles. We then proceeded to lay down the tiles wich took about 2 days.

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Day 5

After Martin finished laying the tiles over a few evenings, Billy finished the job by grouting for most of the day.

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Day 6

With the new floor completed, Martin painted the wall in this new "Appalachian Tail" color. Most of it wil be covered by the new cabinets. He also installed new recessed lighting, replacing the fluoresent fixtures we had before.

Click on the individual photo to get a larger view.

Day 7

Again Angie stopped by to help us to finish assembly of all cabinets. Martin and Leonor already assmebled most cabinets in the days prior to installation.
After leveling and securing all base cabinets we had a contractor install Ubatuba granite on all countertop surfaces. Finishing tasks such as painting the trim molding, cabinet hardware installation and the hook up of the new dishwasher took another day. We also installed a new microwave over the stove.

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Before/After

Here are a few pictures to compare the old kitchen with the new and very much improved kitchen.

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