Removing and painting

So we decided to widen that kitchen doorway. It's probably better to do it now than regret it later. Like many before us , we had to figure out how to cut through plaster and lath without accidentally ruining our whole house. If you have an old home, you know what it's like to pound a nail in the wall and have a 1x1 foot chunk of plaster fall to your feet. Here's how we did it:


Well I, thank you, had the brilliant idea that we should score the paint, layers of wall paper, and who knows what else. We drew a few marks and then held up a big ole level (straight edge) and scored along it with a box knife. It was working pretty well and then I noticed I was hitting lath. So I decided I could go all the way through. With a little bending and prying, we got all the plaster off. The only thing left was lath. The reciprocating saw did the job. A little plaster fell off, but the new molding should hide it. The only thing left is the heater. We'll re-route it under the cabinets in the form of a toe kick. You say "what about the floor?" I know. I called back the hardwood guy and he said it would be about another $100 to put in some new Fir and Oak pieces. Done!

Here's Buddy helping. He enjoyed the demo. He sat under the plaster and saw the whole time. This is after we cleaned him up a little.

Oh and we picked a paint color. I'm not sure about it. It's pretty blue. I was trying to match it to the backsplash a little. We'll see if it works. If not, it's only paint.

Keg cups! Love them for painting. Hate them for drinking.
We're not wasting any time or paint. This is where the stove will go...surrounded by cabinets. Why paint what will be covered?

Did I mention we're taking care of the neighbor's dog for TWO WEEKS?! Nightmare. Luckily it's almost over. First day was first day of demo. Could the timing get any worse? I just broke out the blow horn. It stops them both in their tracks, so it's worth the ear ache.