The Kitchen: Part II - The Arch

 With the header in place, Nick was then able to remove the majority of the wall and open up the dining room into the kitchen. He used his trusty Milwaukee multi-tool to cut straight lines into the lathe and plaster, which enabled him to remove the wall cleanly and without cracking to the areas we wished to retain.

 

Nick's grand vision was to have the new arch mimic the existing arch in the living room. I helped him trace the curves of the existing arch onto a template that he transferred onto plywood, making the required adjustments given the larger opening. He cleverly created a decorative tie-in where the arched upper would meet the adjacent vertical wall. This was necessary because we stole about 6 inches from the dining room for our counter peninsula.

 

The laborer who installed the drywall had a difficult time with the arch, but eventually got it to Nick's satisfaction. The way to install drywall on a curve is to get it damp until it softens enough to bend. I read that it works best to use 1/4 inch drywall and install two layers, but I think our guy was working with 1/2 inch drywall.