I had a week-long unplanned trip out of town so I’ll be doing two updates nearly back-to-back. The fourth week progress occurred while I was gone so it’s possible that there are small things that I didn’t notice.

The most important item: The inspection was completed with no issues. The contractor said that the inspector took only a few minutes to walk through. I think we have one more final inspection when the project is completed.

Several areas that were open for inspection now have been closed up with drywall. The most significant is the wall behind the new stovetop placement. On this new wall, the vent has been installed for the hood including the part that is outside.

The hood over the stovetop is an upgrade for us. We’ve always had the freestanding stove/oven with the microwave vent above. We cook from scratch and so many times when smoke resulted from burning or sauteing, we had to open all the windows on the first floor to clear it because the microwave vent just didn’t cut it. Having a hood that vented directly outside was one of the ‘gotta haves’ for the remodel.

One nice thing about the hood itself is that it is free! I had shown the contractor a picture of the type of hood I wanted (basic stainless steel) and he did a job before mine on a house that wasn’t even 5 years old and they were taking out the hood to replace it with a fancier one. (Many of them in magazines or on Houzz look like cabinets. I think that’s the look for high-end kitchens but it’s not my preference.) Instead of throwing it away, he snagged it for me. We looked at the screens/filters on it and we don’t think it’s ever been used.

The hood itself is not up yet because it’ll go on top of the backsplash which hasn’t yet been done.

Another thing that was done this week is the structural portion of the new pocket door for the triangular laundry closet. This closet was a creative idea from the contractor when we first walked through the project. I wanted the stovetop at a 45-degree angle in a corner (next to the exterior wall for venting) and that resulted in an unused triangular area behind the stove. I realized that but just assumed that we’d wall it up. He offered to open it on the laundry side of the wall and put an 18” pocket door to access the closet. At first, I was reluctant to consider it because I didn’t think I’d use a tall skinny triangular closet in the corner of the laundry room. You can’t even install shelves in the space. Then it occurred to me: the ironing board! I could store the ironing board in a mini-closet instead of hanging it on the wall like I did before. So now the closet is becoming reality.

    free hood with closet area exposed                                     vent for hood installed

We received disappointing news from the countertop company: they are so booked that they won’t be able to measure until mid-August and install 2 weeks later. Wow. Both the contractor & I had assumed that we’d be done with the kitchen by then. Of course we’re rolling with it. He’s even planning to do some things that he’d normally do at the end. For example, he’ll be doing the backsplash but starting a couple of rows up from the countertop level and then doing just those lower rows after it’s installed. He’s also planning to tile the floor before the countertop now. Also, he’ll likely complete the laundry room before the kitchen is completed now since it isn’t impacted by the countertop delay.

The dishwasher, washer & dryer, ovens & laundry faucet arrived and were evaluated with no issues thank goodness.

There’s nothing left to order and only the exterior door left to arrive.