Cant get to photos from phone at the moment.

I am at finishing the walls stage. I have new wider trim for the window too.

Planned on doing those things and got a grand daughter surprise visit for my week off. (School district Spring Break.) So work with tools and drying paint is out until the 2yr old returns to her mom.

I have 6" ripped plywood underlayment to be fastened to the range wall.

Diy shiplap.

But am still working on what to do with the sink wall and lighting. Oh and a wall color for behind my open shelves.

Which is hard to settle on with out the new lighting. :)

I'm impressed with this DIYing!

We're 11 months in. I'm tired. Yet, seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

The tile is being installed, and the counters are being fabricated. Painting is 75% done. Floors are almost in. For our kitchen, the cabinet doors should come in right after that. The cabinet doors were a big design risk that I took and I'm a little apprehensive. I hope they turn out like they are pictured in my mind.

Here's the kitchen as of last week:

The tile install in the guest and kids' bath is going well:

Moving forward is always good, even if it's at a snails pace. :) Everything looks like it's coming along.

Pipdog, I LOVE your wall of windows and hope that is a deck I see outside for you to sit and enjoy your view!

This is week 9 for me. Walls primed today with tile starting later this week. I'm dreading the tile a bit as I'll lose my only bathroom once more. After this I will never take my toilet for granted again! The toilet was out when I came home from work today, but luckily GC came along soon to put it back for the night. I'm like, don't scare me like that, I thought I had more time!

Before:

Now:

Caligirl, we did a 1 bath remodel with 2 adults and 3 boys ages 10, 6 and 3.

They took the toilet out every morning and put it back every afternoon. Thankfully it was only 3-4 days and 2 were in school.

But no tileing that time around.

Whooaa, luckily it's just me and the furbaby here. The original timeframe was 4-5 weeks for the bathroom. A friend was sweet enough to host me for 6 weeks, but after that I'd had enough and said, I need to be back in my house!

Caligirl, what a difference it has made taking out that corner room (vestibule? Mudroom? Laundry?)

We were a full 2 days without running water a few weeks ago while we ran new water supply to the kitchen and kids bathroom. It was really hard working hard and getting sweaty and dirty and not even being able to wash your hands. We flushed with buckets from the neighbors' hose and showered at my mom's. It was awful.

DH took the weekend off in the hope that we could get the framing wrapped up so we'd be ready for the electrician. No such luck. We had to take down more siding than we wanted to to reframe a bigger window over the sink and turn an unused French door into a window. Here was our house from the back on Saturday afternoon, with heavy storms expected overnight. We got the house wrap up and the top row of siding up and 1 window by working until almost 10.

Then we took a mental health day on Sunday to spend time with the kids, with plans to install the second window and frame the pantry and be done. Still no luck. We realized we needed to drill out for water and waste under the sink before we put it in. So by 3, we had drilled 3 holes and reinforced with code-required stud shoes and 42 hand driven nails, which almost made my arm fall off even though DH. did well more than half. That somehow is pretty much the sum of 5 hours of work.

We did get the window in before we called it quits for dinner, but it still needs adjusting.

All in all, it was an incredibly frustrating weekend and I was near tears more than once. Five weeks in and I'm really tired of open walls and a pile of lumber in the middle of the kitchen. But I do know that we've made good progress. We completely reconfigured 3 load bearing walls and run new water to half the house. On the weekends. By ourselves. But ugh. Really really ugh

Exterior wall this morning. Only 4 original studs remain.

Pipdog, everything g looks great. Are you building or doing a whole house remodel?

Beachem, good to see your blue star all installed! Looking forward to seeing your island countertop installed. Have you made yourchoice yet?

thanks townlakecakes, it's a whole home remodel and addition. The house was a teardown with failing systems that we decided not to tear down but instead gutted and replaced all the systems and re-configured the space to make it larger and more open.

thanks mgmum, outside the glass wall will be a pool. We're way behind on that portion of the remodel, but it will get there eventually! We hope to pour concrete in the next month.

Excited to see everyone else's progress.

Day 16. If it ever stops raining here, maybe we can get something accomplished.

Love seeing everyone's progress! Beachem, loved the new slabs you picked out (in a diff thread) and pipdog gorgeous tile. Love seeing all these projects coming along.

We're finally making some visible progress after finishing electrical rough ins (and segueing slightly to replace some ailing rough plumbing in the upstairs half bath before we finish drywalling.

We've been kitchenless since September, sooooooo yuck. But I got really excited last week and started pawing through cabinets.

Pictures aren't that great, there will be another set of larger windows to the left of the beam (lots more light!) but we ran out of time before winter to install them. I'm looking in from the LR/Mudroom direction. The fridge will go next to the side door, stove in between the window and beam and then an island will have a prep sink and out of view will be the DW/clean up sink on the left side of the perimeter.

Our goal is to have the perimeter installed in about 10 weeks, then the island and flooring after that. Did I mention it's all soapstone and we're doing all the on site trims, sanding and cut outs . Can't wait to have a kitchen back. So much pain, not being able to cook.

We are a few weeks into a remodel also. Here is what we started with. We took down the wall behind the stove.

And here is where we are now (picture is from the other side of the room. Husband is mudding the seam in the ceiling from the wall coming down)

We are trying to leave things as functional as possible for now since we still live here. Sink, dishwasher, stove all still work.

This weekend we are taking out the rest of the cabinets and countertops aside from the sink. We are going to prime/ paint ceiling and walls. Next weekend everything comes out, floors get ripped out and new stuff starts going in!

cant wait to have my house back together soon.

Amber, we kept all appliances functioning too. :) It just meant careful planning and steps or areas being worked on. I'm not going to fix the ceiling and patchwork from wall and cabinet removal. I'm going to put ceiling tiles. :)

Well I was really hoping to have the "shiplap" up and painted this week. I don't like stand stills. But quality time with the GD is way more important. Right now it's a lot of Frozen watching and mess picking up.

CaliGirl5, your new space looks like it's on it's way to being amazing, but i have to say, I find your old retro kitchen really charming with the lime cabinets and tea towel cafe curtain!

I liked the look of the old kitchen too. Pink counter, green cabinets, and yellow walls, but somehow it seemed to go together.

The layout though....range was on the peninsula. Also in real life the laundry was half in front of the back door.

I am so impressed by all the DIYers--you all are awesome!

MIL moved in in August she's 98....things for this DIYer is a snail's pace, she doesn't like the restoration process. Hubby also traveling 70 plus %. I have some progress, but not since Christmas so here's some pictures!

need doors on some cabinets, middle shelves stay open.

Island not finished on other 3 sides...

undersink pullouts! DONE.

I think the edging will get done over Spring break. Funny a burst of progress at another holiday. Its nice to see everyones progress!

Oh my! So cute!

Yea! a stack of baseboards! You must be getting close, around here baseboards are the last thing in.

Well yes, baseboards, door trim reinstalled, toe kicks.

In addition to the kitchen walls, back splash, lighting, ceiling tiles and window trim.

This summer a new front door too.

Then a new list will start, but not until the last one heads to college. :) He graduates 2018.

Soapstone counters! yayeahyayeahahayeahh!!
I am putting together a cabinet, waiting for face frames from Brian @ TheCabinet Joint.com to put some on some reclaimed cabinets. Yeah! Yahahahahah.

Am working on my reclaimed pine kitchen floor, with splines in between spaces I think are too big.

Put down the systemic bug killer around my trees. 3rd year, because it's done amazing things for the health of my beauties. Got way too many trees, though, both in ground and out in pots.

I'm going to move a wall of cabinets from the dining room to the mudroom shortly. Give my space a little lighter feel.

I am so motivated again, finally, to get something done!

Heather, we always make the most progress on *anything* at holidays and before a party. And I love your country kitchen! The floral fabric is a nice touch

CEFreeman, I feel like we've bit off a lot, but you doing your own cabinets is incredible. I know you've been waiting on your beautiful soapstone for a long long time, but do you have a goal to get finished now that it's in?

Terri, that's a little punkin there!

amber, good to see your progress! I can't wait til we get on to drywall.

Jml, your. Kitchen most reminds me of ours, but we don't have actual walls yet.

Love this thread!

what a cutie, Terri_PacNW! I bet she is keeping you busy!

motivation is good, CEFreeman! Those cabinets sure are looking good.

stu, crossing fingers that the rain stops. We've had a good two months of rain which slowed things down considerably on our project. But I can't complain because we've been in a drought for years and we badly needed the rain. And the wildflowers are incredible right now.

progress happened today at our house! Today they fabricated the slabs for our master shower. We did a combination of Caesarstone and Neolith on the shower wall. The Neolith sure is a pain to work with and I heard the workers cursing over and over. But it sure is beautiful. This is the Caesarstone slab that went up -- excited to have a solid surface shower:

I am just blown away by the DIYers here. I want to hear more about your skills!

Pipdog. I like your tiles and Windows.

Townlakes -. Wow just wow that you did all that yourself. I'm in year two of no kitchen because of my DIY. Hang in there, you're Speedy Gonzales compares to me.

It is great to get the Blue Star ovens in. I've seasoned the electric one and started using it already. Haven't had time yet for the 12 hrs of seasoning on the gas.

It took hours, 4 men and three different days for them to get the Blue Star installed.

I've picked out the island and waiting for install.

Everyone's progress looks amazing and your DIY skills are awesome.

I love seeing all these pictures! Reminds me I'm not alone in chaos.

I certainly didn't start out with much more skill than most people, and a lot less than some. But I grew up with a mom that didn't wait for dad to do much of anything. Sometimes it was just moving furniture. Sometimes it was tearing down a wall or laying ceramic tile. DH didn't realize how handy he was, having gotten to 43 before ever being a homeowner. He helped his dad with a lot of big projects when he was in his teens and twenties, but it still took a couple of years in our house before he didn't look at me like I was crazy when I said we could and should do things ourselves.

Ive done a lot of online research on building codes for the plumbing and framing, so I'm confident that our house won't fall down and we'll pass inspection when the time comes. DH has watched lots of YouTube when it's something he's really unfamiliar with, like waterproofing newly framed windows. Really I think most people could do it, they just either don't realize it they can, or they really don't want to or have time to, but can afford to pay someone to do it for them. One of my neighbors dropped in today while I was putting up drywall in our closet under the stairs. She said "women can hang drywall?" and wasnt totally joking. Like so many things, it's nature *and* nurture.

The best things about doing it ourselves are not having workmen in the house all the time, that we alone drive the pace and don't have to wait on contractors that may or may not come on time, and that we know the quality of the work being done. Our house prior to purchase was spruced up by a handyman that did incredibly shoddy work. We don't want that.

Of course the huge down side is that our weekends are all work and we're tired tired tired.

My DIY'ing comes from wanting things I couldn't afford to do otherwise. If you take labor out of the expenses, you can upgrade finishes. :) My husband has expensive taste but is thrifty. He wont buy anything that isnt heavily discounted.

Hence why my new fridge came with a dent. It was more than half off! :>]

Off topic for all the DIYers. Where do you buy your long clamps. I've spent so much money buying construction equipment even though it's through Craigslist and garage sale.

I'm making the countertop next and need 36" clamps but they're running around $100 for 2 on Craigslist. I clamped my face frames by putting the cabinet on its back and then piled on cardboard, then a sheet of plywood then books and everything heavy I can find. I can't quite play that game with a countertop edge.

Beachem-

We don't think we'll have a need for long bar clamps on the project, but in the past we've used speaker wire and scrap wood and a length of pipe. We have a roll of speaker wire from years ago that we put to use as strapping and clamps and all kinds of things. It's strong wire inside and insulate plastic outside so it can also be stapled and screwed and doesn't bite.

Screw 2 2x4s together to form an L cross section. One long edge goes on top of the counter. One long edge goes along the side. At regular intervals, run a loop of something strong that won't snap or cut into the wood, slide the length of pipe underneath, and twist until it won't easily twist any more. Secure by whatever means you have available to you.

OR DH thinks you could probably do the 2x4 cross section and then clamp it to the counter from top to underneath. I think it would hold it in place well, but not sure it's enough pressure to laminate.

Is this for the zinc?

We were fortunate enough to inherit a bunch, the farm had a few and DH has been picking them up at second hand stores, "he's buying them for when kids move out" or so he says....;^). A wide array of clamps.

We also use 2x4s and motorcycle ties- sounds like Towns with a wider string.

He's also vacuum sealed boards to create laminated ones, instead of using clamps.

Hope that helps!

Thank you Heather and Townlakes. This to glue the counter edge of hard oak to the MDF counter. This will make sure that the edge stays crisp as the zinc gets banged down. MDF dents easily.

Clamps: eBay.

Goal: Someday.

Pipe clamps are $10 to $20 per set and can be used with galvanized pipe.