What's that hidden behind the cabinet?

C and I are getting a little antsy, and it's making us feel like we want to use sledgehammers and crowbars. We know we've got another 3 weeks or so before we should start demolishing things in earnest, but it hasn't stopped us from doing some minor exploration.

One curiosity we noticed after moving into the house was that the pantry cabinet next to the ovens appeared to be 26" deep on the exterior, but inside we only had 12". Hmm. What was occupying that extra 14" or so? A trip outside to examine the roof line, combined with a visit to the basement, seemed to indicate that there was a chimney running up through the kitchen at exactly this spot. We were excited at the possibility of finding some exposed brick to incorporate into our design, but didn't hold out much hope considering all the work done on the house previously (converting from coal to oil, as well as the previous remodel). For all we knew, the chimney was now made of cinder blocks.

So a few weeks ago, we ripped the side panel off the pantry cabinet, and this is what we found:

Lovely original brick!

It needs a careful cleaning and sealing, but really it's in great shape. We think it will be a fabulous addition to the final look of our kitchen!

Then, a few days ago, C was itching to bash a hole in something, so he took on the soffit. We had been hoping that the soffit was (as our GC predicted) installed for purely aesthetic reasons and not to hide important pipes, etc. A couple of good swings yielded this:

Not TOO big of a hole...

A quick peek inside with a flashlight, and we could rest easy. Nothing but the vent for the microwave, and our new vent will be routed differently anyway. He did notice an old hole for a wood burning stove pipe on the front of the chimney, now filled in with cement....guess we will have to find an old clock or sign or medallion to hang there!

I don't know how much demo we will actually get done ourselves; the amount of debris and dust will probably overwhelm us before too long. The kids are excited for it, though, and they did do quite a good job ripping out the sunroom carpet last summer....Goggles, masks, and gloves for everyone!