Old House - New Kitchen

Our young homeowners bought their dream home in a great neighbourhood, but quickly discovered the place needed a lot of work, and with two toddlers and a baby, they have their hands full. But the promise of a great new kitchen was a challenge they couldn't refuse.

[left] Tearing down the walls between the kitchen and the family room was hard and dusty work, but with a little muscle and some power tools, the walls quickly started to disappear.

Since the wall was load bearing, Darcy decided to put some extra support up in the way of micro-lam beams [right], which is basically several pieces of wood that are laminated together. This should supply plenty of support for the wall. The other option was to put in steel I-beams, but they're "heave and hard to work with," Darcy said. When knocking down load-bearing walls, you will need to insert temporary structural support until the new beam or lintel is in position.

The architect, came up with a plan that starts with a refrigerator pantry on one wall, a sink under the "new" windows and a hob opposite the refrigerator wall - and in the middle of the room will be a new island. Most homeowners are familiar with the "triangle" theory for kitchens, but this design features a unique "circle of work" plan that incorporates the sink area and island, cooking area and island and the refrigerator area and island - basically working in circles. The circles overlap to form the whole, which is more efficient use of the space in the kitchen.

A new great room [right] was created that will feature a fireplace and cabinets that will match the ones going into the renovated kitchen.

Construction on a barrel-vault ceiling [right] in the entryway is taking place as well. The design for the new kitchen included the entryway and great room. In fact, once you enter the house you can see the kitchen and great room. "The kitchen will be the focal point of the whole house," Darcy said.



[next: installing box beams]

  source: scripps networks interactive