N.J. home makeover: Two homeowners dramatically transform their own kitchen - NJ.com

Troy Marshall is a high school science teacher, but he frequently took on a student’s role when he and his wife, Annie, updated the kitchen and added a powder room to their 1939 Colonial in Union.

"I was fortunate to know people who were professionals," he said.

Those people - friends, neighbors and contractors - were able to teach and advise him and to answer questions in a project that involved fully gutting their kitchen, removing a wall between the kitchen and the dining room, and adding a powder room where the pantry used to be.

It was do-it-yourself on a grand scale.

"The sink and countertops were professionally installed, but everything else in the kitchen - from demolition to the electrical, gas, plumbing, framing, tile work and cabinets - was done by us," said Annie Marshall, a math teacher.

"Whenever someone comes to the house to fix something, Troy follows them around to observe," she said. He has also consulted books and watched numerous instructional videos.

His approach to home renovation has been to find contractors willing to let him take on much of the work himself. In renovating a previous home, he was able to work out money-saving deals where he took on various aspects of the project, in some cases being taught by his contractors how to accomplish certain challenging but manageable jobs, including electrical and plumbing work.

"The more you do it, the better you get at it," he said. So when it came time to remodel their kitchen last year, Troy Marshall was ready to do almost every job.

"We had to hire a plumber to replace the plumbing stack in the basement, which wasn't planned, but Troy was able to do all of the other plumbing work himself," his wife said.

He was also able to rewire kitchen outlets, move the gas line to relocate their stove, and add the water hookup for their new refrigerator’s ice maker.

“Troy also framed out and completed the bathroom project with minimal help from me,” she said.

To install cabinets, he got an in-home tutorial and some help from a colleague who teaches wood shop at Union High School, where they all work. For many of the jobs, Troy Marshall was able to tap the knowledge he had gained from having helped out in previous renovations.

The couple began their project in Union on Memorial Day weekend. It took them a day to demolish the old kitchen.

“Troy removed the ceiling and the studs between the kitchen and the dining room,” said Annie Marshall, who was actively involved in reconfiguring the kitchen to maximize its square footage.

They had a contractor friend confirm that the wall was not load-bearing before they removed it.

With an old house, there were numerous large and small jobs to tackle. Troy Marshall had to cut into the garage and build out nearly 3 feet of extra space for the new powder room. He built a small platform in the garage and squeezed himself under it to conceal the bathroom's plumbing. In the kitchen, he had to strip away layers down to the subfloor and install 500 screws so it wouldn't move and break the new tiles he would later install.

The updated kitchen would need greater electric capacity, but electrical work he had done previously was of a lesser magnitude.

“I was going to hire an electrician, but then I researched more and decided it was something I could do,” he said. “I decided that I had to learn how to run the circuits.”

He watched YouTube videos, pulled wires through the walls and learned how to safely make the connections himself. Watching numerous videos also helped him sort good information from bad, he said.

With the knowledge that faulty electrical work can result in fatal injuries as well as fires, he took time to understand what he would be doing, and he exercised caution while doing it.

“With electricity, you have to respect it,” he said. “You can’t be distracted. One little mistake, and you get a big shock.”

All of his work was approved by municipal inspectors, and he took extra steps to show them he understood what he was doing and had done it correctly.

While Troy Marshall handled the kitchen's nuts, bolts and systems, Annie Marshall focused on selecting the surface materials.

“The pretty things, that was all me,” she said with a laugh. “I was the head painter.”

She worked with Express Union Tile in Union to redesign their kitchen. With the wall removed between the kitchen and dining room, they decided to add a compact peninsula that helps unify the spaces.

“We have two stools on the dining room side so it’s not like a harsh ending,” she said.

Above the peninsula an angled cabinet plays a role in both spaces.

“It doesn’t have a ton of storage, but it looks really nice,” she said.

On the other side of the kitchen, the range was relocated closer to the dining room, requiring Troy to work from the basement to extend the gas line. Above the range, a mosaic tile backsplash is a favorite feature, but it was not among his favorite installations.

"The glass comes mounted on sheets with mesh on the back," he said. "When you came to an outlet or a switch, you had to measure and cut. They were not easy to cut. It looks beautiful now, but it was very challenging."

A job that might have taken five hours took about 20, he said. They had aimed to finish the entire project before school started in September, but it stretched to December 2.

They had a beautiful kitchen for Christmas with the pride of having done nearly everything themselves. The new first-floor bathroom was much needed in their three-bedroom house with three children, Annie Marshall said.

“This house was built with just one bathroom on the second floor," she said. "To go to the bathroom, you had to climb two flights of stairs.”

Not to mention the challenges of having a single bathroom in a house with five people.

Troy Marshall attributes his success with the half bath and other renovation challenges to three personal attributes: "I'm a good learner and pretty handy. If I don't know, I ask questions."

What they renovated

They gutted and renovated the kitchen of a 1,450-square-foot, 1939 Colonial in Union, adding a new powder room.

Who did the work

Troy and Annie Marshall did everything but the kitchen sink and counters. A plumber was also brought in to replace the home's main plumbing waste stack in the basement. "The only company we really dealt with was Express Union Tile on Route 22 in Union," Annie Marshall said. "They were able to secure the tiles we chose and, working with two of their employees, I was able to design the kitchen of my dreams."

How long it took

About 6 months. Demolition began May 26, 2018 and the kitchen was completed Dec. 2, 2018.

What they spent

About $25,000

Where they splurged

On a stainless steel sink "big enough to fit two lasagna pans," a touchless Moen faucet, quartz counters, a counter-depth refrigerator and tiles for the kitchen and powder room.

How they saved

"We saved money by completing the labor ourselves and by having good friends," Annie Marshall said. "We saved several thousand dollars by shopping around for our cabinets and going with a lesser-known, yet quality cabinet brand (Fabuwood, made in Newark). I also shopped around online for the kitchen faucet, bathroom toilet, bathroom sink, bathroom faucet and kitchen and bathroom light fixtures."

What they like most

"I love how open the space is now," Annie Marshall said. "Now, I can see the fire in the living room fireplace while I am cooking at my stove."

What they’d have done differently

“Troy may say that we would have chosen a different backsplash, but we agree that it looks phenomenal.”

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https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2019/06/nj-home-makeover-two-homeowners-dramatically-transform-their-own-kitchen.html

2019-06-22 15:08:00Z
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