Day Four

Today was a big day in the renovations! Mom and Dad arrived at the apartment early this morning with coffee and donuts for the workers (but no coffee for me because it stunts my growth). They met with the cabinet maker and finished deciding on the kitchen cabinets. We will get the cabinet drawings next week so I can see where all my food will be stored. The kitchen and bathroom now are completely gutted except for a toilet and make-shift sink. I don't understand why the workmen don't use wee wee pads.

Here's where the shower used to be. All of the rough plumbing has been removed.

They also put down most of the plywood subfloor on top of the concrete. This will make it nice and secure when the new maple floor comes in. The next steps are to work on the new plumbing and electric. We want to make sure all the pipes and valves work well so we don't have any more floods!

This weekend my grandparents are coming to visit so I might not have time to go to the apartment. But don't worry, I will post another update soon.

Woof!

Goodbye Kitchen & Bathroom!

My arch nemesis the bath tub is still intact, but the rest of the bathroom is pretty much gone! Today they ripped out most of the tile from the walls, the sink and the medicine chest. We even discovered a second tile floor under the one we had. Who knew?



Sadly, the kitchen came out today too. The kitchen was my favorite room. I helped Mom cook and staked out the refrigerator often. Mom promises we are going to have an even better kitchen with a fancy big stove and fridge soon. All of this means more food for me I hope!

Here's the old kitchen:

And here's what it looks like now:

In the most exciting news of the day, they removed the wall between the kitchen and hallway. It's much brighter now and easier for me see what's cooking!

Can't wait to see what happens tomorrow. Until then I will be playing with my toys in my East Village second home. Thanks Dan, and don't worry - I'm taking good care of the apartment for you!

Day One

My saga began on January 17, 2009, around 10:00 in the morning. I woke my mom and dad because there was water on the floor and I hadn't peed on it (this time). Much of my apartment and stuff was damaged, including my dog beds and cat toy. It meowed non-stop, which drove me crazy.

It has taken my mom and dad three and a half months to battle the insurance company, pick a contractor and get the work approved by the coop. This blog will chronicle the process of renovating our apartment in Manhattan so that I can get back home soon.

The apartment construction has finally begun today! This morning demolition started. The original parquet floors and baseboards have been removed and the concrete sub-floor has been exposed.

This is the living room before:

Here's the living room after:Goodbye ugly parquet floors!


Tomorrow they rip out the kitchen and bathroom. On Thursday the fun part starts: we get to design the kitchen cabinets!