Starting a kitchen remodel

We're having an unusually cold winter here in NC. Instead of our typical 55* highs, we haven't been above 32* yet this year! 6 cold days so far don't bother me as much as others around here, but our house is certainly less than comfortable. Back in November, Kelley had a prediction to head this thing off. The door to the backyard hung crooked, you could see daylight in there and feel a breeze blowing through. She had the bright idea to replace it.

You know, while we've got that door down we should go ahead and rip down all of that plaster on the walls so we can put insulation in the exterior walls here around the kitchen and this hallway and hang some drywall.

You know, while we've got all of that plaster down, we should really open up this wall between the kitchen and the hallway. We'll have to replace the header in this doorway with something stronger.

You know, while we're in there these countertops need to be - wait, stop right there woman. Save that for some other project.

This is step one. I'll start with some before pictures and get into replacing the door with this one. Started on 11/18/2017

Kitchen looking into the hallway where Kelley and Ella are standing. Refrigerator is through the door to the left.

It's a tiny green kitchen

The hallway on the other side of that doorway. Window, corner cabinet, big desk

Hallway looking towards the kitchen. Left has window & faulty door, right has refrig

missing baseboard - used to be baseboard heating.

Looking into the kitchen, refrig is inside an alcove

Plaster is gone, Kelley is hanging insulation. There was literally no insulation in the exterior walls

Clearly insulation is more important than the door or removing that cabinet

Facing the kitchen, removing plaster is terribly dusty

The faulty door is gone! So are the frames

Threshold & more plaster are gone now too

Got all of the plaster down from that side of the wall

New door goes in!

New door is nice. New door doesn't sag and is air-tight

Exterior wall now has more insulation & less plaster

Really I think this project is just a distraction maneuver from the wife. She doesn't want me to start building my next boat yet. But there is a lot of value to be gained by adding insulation, that hallway is now the warmest room in the house. This was the progress we made in one weekend, and I feel pretty good about it. But this project is already turning into a pain in the ass to get it all done right, so I'll feel good when it's over.

Step one is only the beginning. This thing can still seriously spin out of control.