ORC - Week 3: Demo the Old Backsplash
I cannot believe we are already in week 3 of the One Room Challenge! We are inching closer and closer to the completion of this challenge and part of me feels like we have SO much to do still, and the other part of me feels confident that we may even finish early!
This week I was eager to take away the beloved tile that was behind the stove, let me give you a visual for reference.
Listen, I am sure it was the “hot thing” in 1993 but it not quite my style nor the look I’m going for. When we toured our house last year I told Chance “I really think this could be our home, but that tile has got to go!”
…and this week was the week it went!
THE TILE DEMO
We started off by using a chisel and a claw hammer - we figured this would be the best way to remove the tile. We soon realized that even though it was coming off in 1/2” pieces, this was going to take a long time and the drywall behind the tile was getting severely damaged. A lot of repair was going to have to happen to be able to prep for the new tile.
So, Chance had the idea to get the osculating saw/multi tool to just cut the entire piece out. We have to replace the drywall, but it will be very easy and not take much time.
He took the multi tool and cut around all three sides of the large tile square. It was only hanging on by the top, but we needed to remove the vent in order to get the entire piece off.
RANGE HOOD REMOVAL
Constructing a new vent hood is part of the kitchen facelift project so taking down the old vent was inline with the plan for the room.
First we turned the electric off, unscrewed the mounting and lastly unhooked the electric from the old vent, leaving plenty of wire to rewire the new one.
4” BACKSPLASH REMOVAL
We decided to not replace our countertops. The corian is in great condition, and even though it is not exactly what we would pick out if we were to replace them, the coloring is very similar and to us it just wasn’t worth it.
With that, there is 4” backsplash of the same corian that runs vertically up the wall. I really wanted to remove it so that the new tile would sit directly on the countertops and not 4” up. Plus, this was once a very popular look, however now it looks a bit dated.
With how the removal of the tile went, I was a bit nervous as to how this removal would go. To our surprise it went so smoothly.
First, I took a utility knife and scored the top and bottom of the 4” piece to slit the latex caulk. Next, we took a claw hammer and wedged the claw behind the 4” corian. As it would pop off the wall we slid the hammer down until the entire piece was out. Then did the same process for the other wall. The removal was quick!
I am thrilled with how this project is coming along! Take a look at the picture below to see how the kitchen looks now! Sure it all torn apart and in the “demo phase” - but that just means we have a clean slate to create what we want to make it what we want!
Next week we begin paint!!
If you’d like to see this mini-project unfold and follow along with the rest of the kitchen resurface, follow me on Instagram and catch up in the highlights @theshelbymiller.
