First we exposed the back side of the wall that we are going to knock down in order to see what we were working with in terms of electrical wiring. Luckily we didn't find any surprises there. There is no plumbing through this wall, which makes things easier for us.
We had an electrician come to the house to work on some other things, so while he was there, we were able to talk to him about our plans for lighting with respect to our project. He was able to look at the wiring in the wall, and let us know what would need to be done before completely removing the wall.
Next, we got to work on removing the tile from the kitchen floor, which was not an easy task. We got started on Friday night (date nights have certainly taken on a new meaning :)).
Using a chisel, we loosened up the grout and there were able to pop the tiles out.
We removed about 6 tiles on Friday night and with one of us working at a time, it took about an hour to get that much done. It did not make us look forward to dealing with the rest of the flooring.
Saturday, we borrowed a second chisel from Karen and Steve, changed our technique and started on opposite ends of the kitchen. We were able to get the remaining tiles up by that evening, and only sustained some minor cuts along the way.
When the tile was installed, instead of putting a cement backboard down, they put a second sub-floor down on top of the existing sub-floor. The second sub-floor was secured with what seemed like a millions screws and nails, and we couldn't get all the screws out because of the thinset, so it would involve some brute strength to get this off. Thankfully, we have Dan for that!
Steve stopped by to bring over some tools for us to borrow and to brainstorm some ideas for how to remove the second subfloor. They were able to get the majority of the second sub-floor off, which was a huge help. I snuck in and snapped some pictures while they were working.
Now that the tile has been removed, this whole project seems more real! Here we go!
D&L
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