Week 2 Kitchen Reno: Progress. Trust Me

Our contractor determined that a structural beam is required to replace the old butler's pantry wall, so while the beam is being custom fabricated, he and his crew spent the week getting some miscellaneous stuff done on the project. Unfortunately for the rest of us, "miscellaneous" doesn't translate to "exciting blog worthy material". That said, progress was made in week two.

All of the old knob and tube wiring was taken out and I gave the electricians a rough idea of where we wanted the switches, can lights, and outlets to go (as in-we're going to hide our microwave in one of the pantry cabinets so there better be an outlet in there). By the way, when the electricians took a look at our plans they couldn't believe we aren't having any upper cabinetry installed. WHAT?!?! WHO DESIGNED THIS KITCHEN?!?!? HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE ANY UPPPER CABINETS?!?!
Eh, they'll eventually come around.

Parts of the old subfloor was removed and the contractors started to level out the floor. The entire subfloor will be replaced with brand new plywood.

 The dumpster was taken away and lumber delivered.

 And the pilings were dug for the new back staircase.

One of the more exciting things to happen this week was the discovery of two old receipts, both from November 1914 to the account of Mr. John R. Freeman. 

John Freeman was a civil engineer and major real estate developer in Providence during the 1910's and 1920's. According to preservation society records, he purchased our home in 1913 along with most of the existing properties in the area so that he could build his own house and control development around him.

Freeman sold our house within a few years, but apparently he did some construction and remodeling during that time!