Because our kitchen cabinets were build in-place, the inside top of the upper cabinets is the ceiling of our kitchen. In one of the upper cabinets there was a hole. We’re not sure how it got there or how long ago it happened. My best guess is that there was awater leak at some point, as there was damage to the wall I repaired a while ago. Somewhere along the way, long before we moved in, someone had stuffed some rags or paper or something up there to close the hole… rather unsuccessfully.
It’s difficult to describe how awful it looked, with red rags and paper towels hanging down out of the ceiling above our tupperware. Occasionally some “ceiling or attic residue” would fall out of the hole and onto things. It REALLY grossed Vali out. Along with the hole there were a couple of other cracks and gaps too.
One day it became too much and she said “This weekend, we’re going to fix the hole in our cabinet!” So, being the couple that can’t just sit around on a weekend, we broke out the tools, put everything from the cabinet on the dining room table, and got to work. The first order of business was the rip out the ceiling above the cabinet. That was as horrible and shoulder-killing as it sounds. What’s normally on top of your ceiling? Insulation. What falls out all over you when you’re removing the ceiling? Yep. Awful, 80 year old insulation, walnut shells, sticks, and anything else critters long evicted have placed up there.
With the ceiling gone it was time to put some now, hole-free, drywall up there! Not too bad really. Two pieces of drywall, cut from a left-over sheet from the dining room work, and a few screws and it was sealed. Then more shoulder-crushing mudding, taping, and sanding to finish it off. A bead of caulking around all the gaps which weren’t sealed by the new ceiling and we were bug-impenetrable!
The front edge of the shelves got a quick sanding, then everything got two coats of primer and one coat of Chantilly Lace, semi-gloss. Now it’s beautiful and makes the other cabinets look due for the same treatment – minus the ceiling repair.
I made a quick shelf to utilize some of the upper volume of the upper cabinet and we moved everything back in. It’s much nicer not looking in and seeing the hole, but being met by bright white, clean shelves. Vali is much happier… and ready to do the other cabinets and reface all of them. That’s on the schedule when the weather gets a bit warmer.
