Bob IS my best friend now.
Forgive me for modifying this from an email I sent him this morning. There's just no point in re-typing the same sentiment.
I may not have been clear enough in my post or on the photo galleries (since I originally set them up for family members....who likely started off with a good idea of the direction and scope of the project).
This is not a kitchen or bath rebuild as much as it is a plumbing replacement. The real thing that we're doing is replacing every bit of the plumbing from the street meter "in". It's old, leaky, freezes in the winter, etc. Incidental to that is replacing / updating the bathroom fixtures and replacing the kitchen sink.
The bath is kind of a given: Replacing the tub with a real tub / shower, a new toilet and new vanity / sink necessitate new flooring and that we get rid of the old pink tile (which I'm going to start removing in a few hours. You guys that like to demo stuff haven't shown up yet!!). The kitchen sink replacement is a little more complex, but basically seems to come down to: replacing the sink requires a countertop rebuild and a re-do of the backsplash / tile. We are planning on redoing the floor, but keeping the cabinets. (though it looks like Joyce likes the idea of painting the cabinets now).
Really, we're doing this without a solid plan because we don't have the finances nor time to make this into a total kitchen renovation. We came home three weeks ago to a kitchen sink drain that was leaking like a sieve, and we haven't had a kitchen sink since. We had planned on doing this whole-house re-plumb for a couple of years now, but it suddenly became a matter of "we're sick of this; let's just get this done!".
So really, what we're doing in the kitchen is not much more than what's necessitated by replacing the sink.
The counters in there are a couple of inches lower than standard, so I didn't want to pull out the existing counters; the current plan is that I'm going to build them up with a couple of new layers of MDF topped by Formica. (Stone takes too long and stretches the budget too much). We think we've settled on an in-stock laminate at Lowes, and this weekend I plan on getting the MDF and Laminate so I have the counters ready for the plumber this coming week. We haven't decided on the backsplash yet, but again, planning on something that will cover the sins of whatever mess I'm going to find behind the existing tile.
This just may not be our dream kitchen, but it's all we're going to be able to do. If it gets pulled out in 10 years for a "real" re-do, so be it.
