Projects › Kitchens › 211 Thompson Street
Completed project · Greenwich Village, New York, NY
A Greenwich Village kitchen opened up by removing three things that were holding it in: the soffits above the cabinets, the knee wall under the peninsula counter, and the wall beside the refrigerator. The electrical panel had to be replaced too, because the one fitted would not pass inspection.
Job record
- Location
- Greenwich Village, New York, NY 10012
- Building
- 211 Thompson Street
- Scope
- Kitchen renovation, electrical panel replacement and floor refinishing throughout
- Removed
- Cabinet soffits, the peninsula knee wall, and the wall beside the refrigerator
- Kept
- The wood floor, refinished rather than replaced
- Completed
- 2021
The kitchen before the work
Arched white cabinet doors under a dropped soffit, a laminate counter, a refrigerator standing proud of the run, and a framed opening to the next room carrying a smoke screen drop above it. The room was not small. It was divided.
What the crew did, in order
Take out the things that were making it feel smaller
Beyond the usual demolition of cabinets, countertops, sink, hardware and appliances, three structural items came out: the soffits above the cabinetry, the knee wall supporting the peninsula countertop, and, as an addition to the original scope, the wall beside the refrigerator along with the smoke screen drop above it. The column was taken out too where that proved possible.
Keep the wood floor
The scope says it in capitals: keep the wood floor for refinishing. It stayed down through the whole job and was refinished throughout at the end, sanded with a heavy-duty dustless machine through progressively finer grades, edged, hand-scraped where needed, buffed up to three times, stained with Minwax, then sealed and given three coats of water-based polyurethane.
Replace the panel, because that one could not stay
The apartment had a Federal Pacific panel. The scope states the position plainly: those panels do not pass electrical inspection in New York City, and they are not permitted in a kitchen in any case. A new panel was installed on the opposite side of the wall to the plan.
Run five new dedicated lines
With a panel that would actually pass, the kitchen appliances were given the circuits they needed: five new dedicated lines, assuming one existing, to get through inspection. Six additional backsplash outlets were run from nearby sources and up to two existing outlets were relocated to suit the new design.
Replace the branch plumbing to the risers
New hot and cold shut-off valves at two points, primary and local, with new hot and cold lines and new waste and vent lines all run back to the risers as branch replacements. New check valves on the hot and cold, and new pipework insulated as code requires.
Fit cabinets to a ceiling with nothing above them
Plywood substrate first to anchor and support the wall cabinets, then wall, base and peninsula cabinetry with all doors, drawers, shelves, hinges and accessories, and toe kick molding at the base. With the soffits gone the wall units run higher than the originals could.
Template the counter, then choose how it meets the wall
The counter was templated on site for a precise fit after the cabinet tops were smoothed. The scope offers the same three finishing choices it offers on every job: a four inch lip backsplash, a full eighteen inch backsplash, or tile taken down to the counter, with the sink mounted over or under.
The finished kitchen
Handleless white cabinetry running to the ceiling, a white stone counter with a veined marble-effect backsplash, and a slate-toned floor tile in the working area against the refinished wood beyond. The appliances are set into the run rather than standing in front of it.
The cooking arrangement is worth describing precisely, because it is what the cabinetry was drawn around. A gas cooktop is set into the counter, using the existing gas rough-in with only the minor relocation that flexible piping allows. The oven moved into the cabinet run as a wall unit. Above it sits a microwave drawer, and above the cooktop a hood, both fed by new lines from the new panel.
The refrigerator was replaced in its existing position and panelled to match the cabinets, which is why the run reads as continuous joinery rather than as appliances in a row. The dishwasher was installed to the plan, on a new electrical line and connected into the kitchen sink plumbing.
Materials and finishes
Demolition and structure
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Soffits | Removed from above the cabinetry |
| Knee wall | Removed from beneath the peninsula countertop, with the column taken out where possible |
| Wall beside refrigerator | Removed, along with the smoke screen drop above it |
| Wood floor | Retained for refinishing |
Electrical
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Panel | Replaced and relocated to the opposite side of the wall; the existing Federal Pacific panel would not pass NYC inspection and is not permitted in a kitchen |
| Dedicated appliance lines | Five new, assuming one existing |
| Backsplash outlets | Six additional, run from nearby sources |
| Relocated outlets | Up to two existing, moved to the design |
| Recessed lighting | Two new cans run from the existing ceiling light and tied to the existing switch |
| Ceiling light | Old junction box capped and removed; track light replaced |
| Under-cabinet lighting | Low voltage throughout, on a new switch |
| Switches and outlets | Replaced with new GFCI |
Plumbing
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Shut-off valves | New hot and cold at two points, primary and local |
| Water branch lines | New hot and cold, run to the risers |
| Waste and vent lines | New, run to the risers |
| Check valves | New on hot and cold |
| Pipe insulation | New, to code |
Appliances and joinery
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Gas cooktop | Set into the counter on the existing gas rough-in, minor relocation via flexible piping |
| Cooktop hood | New, on a new line from the panel |
| Microwave | Drawer unit, on a new line from the panel |
| Dishwasher | New, on a new line from the panel, connected into the kitchen sink plumbing |
| Refrigerator | Replaced in its existing position |
| Cabinet support | Plywood substrate installed to anchor the wall cabinets |
| Countertop | Templated on site after the cabinet tops were smoothed |
Floor refinishing
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Extent | Throughout the apartment |
| Sanding | Heavy-duty dustless sander, progressively finer grades, edges by machine |
| Hand work | Scraping where required, wood filler or putty as needed |
| Buffing | Up to three passes, progressively finer plastic screens |
| Finish | Minwax stain, water-based sealer, three coats of water-based polyurethane |
The result
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Questions this project answers
What is a Federal Pacific panel and does it need replacing?
It is an electrical panel brand widely installed in American homes through the mid twentieth century, and this job’s scope states the practical position bluntly: Federal Pacific panels do not pass electrical inspection in New York City, and they are not permitted in a kitchen at all. If you have one and you are renovating, replacing it is not an upgrade you can defer, because the inspection that signs off your new kitchen will fail on it. Here a new panel was installed on the opposite side of the wall, and five new dedicated appliance lines were run from it.
My apartment trips a breaker whenever I use two appliances. Can that be fixed in a renovation?
Yes, and this job shows the real scale of it in an older apartment. The scope assumes one existing dedicated line and specifies five new ones, purely to get the kitchen appliances through inspection, plus six additional backsplash outlets run from nearby sources and up to two existing outlets relocated. That is a substantial electrical job sitting underneath what looks, in the photographs, like a cabinetry project. Ask for the circuit count in writing.
My NYC apartment kitchen is original to the building and feels cramped. What are my options?
Look for what is enclosing the room rather than what is in it. Three things came out here and none of them was a cabinet: the soffits above the cabinetry, which is what lets the new wall units run to the ceiling; the knee wall supporting the peninsula counter, which opened the view through to the next room; and the wall beside the refrigerator with the smoke screen drop above it. The floor area never changed. The room simply stopped being divided.
Should I replace my hardwood floors during a renovation, or can they be saved?
Usually they can. This scope capitalises the instruction to keep the wood floor for refinishing, so it stayed down through demolition and was refinished throughout at the end: sanded with a dustless machine through progressively finer grades, edged, hand-scraped where a machine could not reach, buffed up to three times, stained, then sealed and finished with three coats of water-based polyurethane. Refinishing costs a fraction of replacement and keeps a floor you cannot buy new.
What are change orders, and how do I avoid being overcharged by my contractor?
A change order is a written amendment to what was agreed. This scope shows the clean version: removing the wall next to the refrigerator and the smoke screen drop appears under a heading marked ADDITION, so it is visible as something added to the original scope rather than absorbed quietly into it. Elsewhere the scope hedges honestly, saying the peninsula column comes out “if possible” and that five new lines are needed “assuming one existing”. Those are the marks of a scope written by someone who expects to be held to it.
