I was always busy at school, and there never seemed like a good time to dive into redoing the kitchen counter and backsplash.

Well, today I couldn’t push it back any further. I’ve got a week and a half off from school, so my dad and I finally got to work. And oh, did we work.

The Agenda

This was the general plan for the weekend:

• Demo the old counter and backsplash
• Put up drywall where the old backsplash was (so that we can later put up a tile backsplash)
• Add insulation behind the cabinets/backsplash
• Make some alterations to the electrical wiring
• Install a new counter-top
• Install a new sink
• Install a garbage disposal

And What Did We Get Done Today?

First stop? Home Depot.

We needed to pick up some supplies – namely the counter top. It was a pre-fab counter top, kind of sand colored. I snagged two pieces – a 8′ section and a 4′ section. Altogether, it came to about $150.

Next stop? Demo.

After taking apart the window sill around the kitchen window (which over-lapped the strange backsplash), we set to work on the main demolition. We unscrewed the countertop from the cabinets, we unscrewed the clips on the sink, and we pried the whole thing out.

Ahh… a blank slate. Or, maybe, a less than blank slate.

Beneath the backsplash, there was the remnants of a very old wall. The house was originally built in the 1920′s, and it had a plaster wall built on laths. Part of the wall had previously crumbled off (maybe 25%), but the remaining plaster was covered with some hideous old wallpaper.

There was also, oddly enough, no insulation in the wall. There was a small cavity – about 5 inches – in between the laths and the exterior brick wall. Doesn’t seem like the most efficient setup.

What to do? Another trip to Home Depot. Time to pick up some electrical stuff, some plumbing supplies for the new sink, some contractor construction bags to clean up with, and a roll of insulation to insert into the wall.

Installing the insulation was interesting. We didn’t want to remove all of the cabinets, so we had to kind of jam it up and down into the cavity.

We ended up removing three of the wood laths, creating a small opening into the wall cavity. Then, we cut the insulation into 24″ strips (wide enough to horizontally between the studs) and jammed them into the cavity one at a time. We found this easier than trying to push a longer piece of insulation into the cavity vertically.

After the insulation, we set about rebuilding the wall. It seemed easy enough to throw up some drywall, but it took quite some time. This was also complicated by trying to get the electrical boxes set up and fit into small openings in the drywall.

At this point, it was quite late, and we were about ready to call it a night. The last thing I started doing was to build a frame to sit on top of the cabinets and raise the countertop by about an inch. This spacer was necessary to bring it to the same height as the range.

12 hours later, we have a half-reconstructed kitchen. Hopefully, tomorrow, we can finish the countertop and install the new sink. We won’t be cooking much until then…!

As you can see in the picture, it was nothing too special when we moved in.  It’s a nice size, with tons of cabinets, but that’s about it for the good points.

Counter space is limited to the right wall, and there’s not much of it after you account for the range and the sink.  There is some pretty ugly paneling on the wall, and there is some hideous wood paneling above the cabinets on the right.

The vinyl tile isn’t pretty, nor is the counter-top.  The cabinets don’t match, either.  It’s a dated kitchen – functional, but in desparate need of a make-over.

What’s the Plan?

Well, if I had a ton of money, I’d rip it out and start all over.  But… I don’t.  So the plan is going to be a bit more limited in scope.

First, the paneling on the walls goes.  I’m going to strip it down, fix up the walls, and paint it an olive green color.

The cabinets on the left are going to be moved a bit.  They’re going up a few inches, so they are level with the highest cabinets on the right-hand side.  The low-hanging cabinet in the back is getting removed altogether.  That’ll open up that wall a bit.

The tops of the cabinets are going to get closed in with a soffit, painted the same colors as the wall (olive green).  That’ll get rid of the wood paneling above the cabinets over the counter-top.

That’ll take care of the cabinets and the walls.

The counter top is going to get replaced with a pre-fab counter from Lowes/Home Depot.  They’re nice and cheap (~$100), and look pretty good for the price.  Installing a new counter top will also let me install a smaller (single-tub) sink that a friend gave to me.

While I switch out the counter top, I’m also going to add a tile backsplash between the counter and the bottom of the cabinets.  That’ll probably end up being one of the more expensive parts of the project.  Right now, the backsplash is the same as the ugly old counter top.

Somewhere along the way, I’m also going to install a dishwasher and a garbage disposal.  Both house-warming presents, hooray!

Yes, home ownership is a lot of work.  Can’t wait to see how this turns out…

Fortunately, this is a relatively simple project. It’s also inexpensive, too. If you already have some scrap lumber lying around, you’ll only need to spend $10 – $15 for the entire project. If not, you’ll have to spend a bit extra for about 30 feet of two-by-fours.

What You’ll Need

The list of material is pretty short.  For each saw horse, you’ll need…

• Saw Horse Brackets (from Ace Hardware)
• About 15′ length of 2″x4″
• Nails (Approx. 1 1/2″ or 4d)

The Saw Horse brackets can probably be found in any major hardware store.  I purchased mine from Home Depot, although I can’t seem to find them on the website now.  They look like big metal teeth.  Should cost about $5 per pair – and each pair makes one saw horse.

A 15′ length of 2″x4″ is enough lumber to make one saw horse that’s approximately 30″ high and 36″ wide.  If you want a taller or wider saw horse, you’ll need more lumber.

Hopefully you have a good supply of nails.  You’ll need about 20 per saw horse, so go buy another box if you’re getting low.

You’ll also need a few tools for this.

• Saw – Preferably a circular saw or table saw, but you can do it by hand if you want
• Hammer
• Tape Measure

Cutting the Wood to Length

The first thing you’ll need to do is cut the wood to length.  You’re going to need four pieces for the legs and one piece for the cross bar.

The saw horse brackets that I bought had a nifty conversion chart on it.  It provided the correct length to use for the legs to achieve a certain height.  I followed the chart and cut mine to approximately 27 3/4″.  Using the circular saw, I cut four pieces to this length.

Next, you’ll need to cut the cross-piece.  I intended to use a 36″ cross-piece.  However, I looked through my scrap lumber and realized I already had two pieces cut to 30″.  Rather than waste a whole new 2″x4″, I figured it would be ok to build the sawhorse slightly more narrow.

Attach the Legs to the Bracket

Once you’ve cut all of the pieces to length, you can start the assembly process.

Slide one of the legs into one of the brackets.  There should be a piece of metal punched out to stop you from pushing the leg in any further – about one to two inches from the top of the bracket.  Secure the leg with two nails in the side.

Insert the next leg, and secure it with two nails.  Then flip over the legs and secure them with nails on the other side.  You should now be able to spread the two legs apart, allowing them to stand up in an “A” shape.

Repeat the process to create the second pair of legs.

Insert the Crosspiece and Secure the Brackets

Finally, place the cross piece in between the two brackets.  It is probably easiest to do this with the sawhorse standing up-right instead of laying down on your workbench.

Slowly spread the legs apart until the teeth in the bracket begin to grip the crosspiece.  I found it helped to place my feet inside the sawhorse legs and slowly push them outwards.  It may also help to have an assistant spread the legs apart until you secure the bracket completely.

Once the legs are open, use a nail on each side of the bracket to secure it to the cross piece.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat, and Enjoy

That’s it!  Told you it was simple.

You’ll probably want to repeat the process at least once to make a second sawhorse.  They just aren’t as useful by themselves…