How I Re-Built My Own Kitchen (after a leak) | Pretty Handy Girl

2013 Could be called the year of the kitchen renovation in our house. Or the year that nearly killed me. Or the luckiest year of our lives. I’m still debating the title. What I do know is that, I decided to take on my biggest DIY project to date. I re-built my own kitchen from bare studs and subfloor.

It started one morning as I was confronted with a foul odor. It’s only describable as that odor that usually lives in the high school gym locker room. I thought my 9 year old son’s feet were starting to stink. Unfortunately a stinky pair of shoes wasn’t the culprit, it turned out to be a very minor leak that turned into a very big kitchen renovation. We persevered through 45 days without a washer and dryer and many months without a kitchen. But, it was like being a contestant in Survivor. I lasted the year of construction; the set backs and sore muscles; and in the end I was rewarded with a brand new kitchen!

Today, I walk into our beautiful kitchen and I know it was all worth it! It was worth all the sweat equity, the daily Advil doses, and the tree falling on the house. If you want to reminisce with me as I recap my kitchen renovation of 2013, here’s your ticket to all the tutorials and posts:

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The Water Leak (and What You Should Know about Mold and Polybutylene Pipes)

What You Should Know about Water Leaks, Mold and Polybutylene Pipes

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The Asbestos Discovery and What You Should Know about Asbestos

What Everyone Should Know About Asbestos

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 The Moment I Decided to Take a Kitchen Renovation into My Own Hands

Gutted Kitchen, When I Decided to Renovate My Own Kitchen

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How to Level a Concrete Subfloor

How to Level a Concrete Subfloor

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Installing Warmly Yours Radiant Floor Heating Mats 

How to Install Radiant Floor Heating

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My Design Plans for the Kitchen

My Kitchen Design Plans

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How to Remove Soffits

How to Remove Soffits

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Words from the Trenches: How to Survive without a Kitchen

How to Survive without a Kitchen

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How and When to File a Building Permit

How and When to FIle a Building Permit

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Ahhh, Just when we thought things were moving forward:

Termite Damage: How to Spot it and How to Protect Your Home from Termites

Termite Damage: How to Spot a Termite Infestation and How to Protect Your Home form Termites

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Progress! Framing Out the Wall and Moving the Ventilation

Kitchen Framing and Moving Ventilation

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How to Install and Trim a Casement Window

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How to Install Drywall (Sheetrock)

How to Install Drywall (Sheetrock)

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 How to Finish Drywall Seams

How to Finish Drywall Seams

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How to Install Recessed Lighting

How to Install Recessed Lighting

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How to Paint Your Ceilings Like a Pro

How to Paint Ceilings Like a Pro

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How to Install Planked Walls

How to Install Planked Walls

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How to Make a Smooth Chalkboard Wall (even if you have imperfect walls)

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How to Install a Herringbone Cork Tile Floor

How to Install a Herringbone Cork Tile Floor

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Protecting the Refrigerator Ice Maker Line from Future Leaks in 2 Simple Steps

Protect Your Refrigerator from Costly Leaks in 2 Simple Steps

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How to Build a Wall Mounted Hutch

Build a Wall Mounted Hutch

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Building a Counter Height Desk with a Habitat Desk and Free Table Top

Counter Height Kitchen Desk Tutorial

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How to Re- finish an Old Table Top to Make a Desk Top

How to Turn an Old Table Top into a Beautiful Desk Top

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The Distressed Painted Side Panel Tutorial

The Distressed painted side panel tutorial

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How to Move a Floor Register (into the front of a Window Seat)

How to Move a Floor Register

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Building the Window Seat

How to Build a Built-in Bay Window Seat with Storage

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Choosing cabinet hardware

Choosing cabinet hardware

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How to Install a Hard Wired Pendant Light

How to Install a Hard Wired Pendant Light

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How to Build a Custom Wood Range Hood

How to Build a Custom Wood Range Hood

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How to Tile: Tilesetting

How to Tile: Tilesetting

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How to Tile: Grouting

How to Tile: Grouting

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Final Touches! How to Hang a Keybox

how to hang a keybox

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Faux Painting Aged and Chippy Corbels

DIY Aged Chippy Paint Technique | Pretty Handy Girl

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How to Install Shelving on a Tile Wall

How to Install Shelves on a Tile Wall

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The Final Reveal (& Holiday Home Tour)

Kitchen Home Tour | Pretty Handy Girl

And that my friends pretty much sums up 2013! It was a very productive year. Thank you to everyone who left me comments and cheered me on. Your faith in me helped me persevere.

Now that the kitchen is done, you’d think I might take a break. Nope, not my style, I am looking forward to another DIY-ful year! How about you? What are your plans for 2014?

PHGFancySign

38 replies
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  1. Rainne
    Rainne says:

    This is incredibly inspiring. Thank you so much for posting your extremely helpful recap! It gives me hope that I can possibly maybe tackle my parents kitchen renovation on my own, at least in part!

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] It started that morning in October, 2012 as I was confronted with a foul odor. It’s only describable as that odor that usually lives in the high school gym locker room. I thought my 9 year old son’s feet were starting to stink. Unfortunately a stinky pair of shoes wasn’t the culprit, it turned out to be a very minor leak in the wall between the laundry room and the kitchen that turned into a huge renovation project. […]

  2. […] abatement), I took the ugly bi-fold doors off and fully intending to include the pantry in my complete DIY kitchen renovation. By the time I finished the kitchen renovation, I was exhausted and longing for a break. Four years […]

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