Few home remodeling projects come with more headaches and benefits than a total kitchen remodeling job. If you consider hiring a general contractor to transform your kitchen, the costs can easily have a six-figure range. On the other hand, if you find the courage to tackle all the work by yourself, your kitchen remodeling might take many months to complete. This means that you will need to live without a cooking space for a great amount of time.
Still, a brand new kitchen will make the entire house more liveable and will enhance the value of your real estate. The improved kitchen could become the center of social gatherings and will also be the focus of family life. A fully remodeled kitchen is a process that can take plenty of time, effort and money, but in the end, the results will prove to be worth it.
Here is everything you should keep in mind if you want to remodel your kitchen.
1. Assess your needs and wishes
If you want to consider kitchen remodeling, you should assess your needs and wishes first. Many homeowners become disappointed by how their remodeling project ends because they didn’t spend the necessary time to decide exactly what they want and select what they can afford. You don’t want that to happen to you, so you must ask yourself some questions first to decide if you really need to change some things around.
You should make a list of the things you would like to have in the kitchen and rank them in accordance with their importance. Additionally, it will be a great idea to distinguish the elements you need from those you simply want. For example, if your kitchen units are still functional, but you want to make a change, then it would be better to replace only the doors of the cabinets. Replacement kitchen cupboard doors is the best solution if you want to refresh your kitchen design on a budget. On the other hand, if you want to give a fresh look to your cooking area and the units are not functionable anymore, it will be better to consider new kitchen cabinets.
2. Choose whether you want to hire a contractor or consider DIY
Once you have made an idea of how you want the new kitchen to look, it is time to choose whether you prefer to hire someone to do the job or you want to do it by yourself. Here are the advantages of both options.
Hire a general contractor (GC)
A GC is usually a builder or a construction firm that specializes in managing important projects from start to finish. These firms can be small companies with only two or three people or large ones with dozens of employees. In big enterprises, the commission charged by the general contractor is somewhere between 15-20 % of the entire job cost. But there are also smaller GCs, where the remodeling is done mostly by the owner so that the overall cost will be reduced.
Do it yourself
The other alternative you have when you remodel your home is to do the work all by yourself. If you are a very experienced DIYer and have spare time and the skills required, then this might be a great alternative for you. However, this job is not suitable for the faint of heart, as kitchen remodeling is a major and stressful project.
3. Prepare your home
A kitchen renovation means you will not use the cooking space until the project finishes. Depending on the type of kitchen remodel you have in mind, your appliances and plumbing might still be operational in a part of the room. Still, there are also cases when the sink, stove and other appliances will be absent and disconnected for a couple of weeks and even months.
This is why it is important to make arrangements and consider the best ways to live without your kitchen for a period. For example, you might be able to move a few of the appliances in other rooms and set up a mini kitchen. Or you can cook a couple of meals in advance and then freeze them. In this way, you will only need a microwave to reheat those meals.
4. Kitchen demolition
The next step that follows in a kitchen remodeling is the kitchen demolition. This step is a messy and noisy one, so keep this in mind. Additionally, kitchen demolition can require hard physical work, and if you are doing this all by yourself, it would be good to take precautions and wear safety gear.
5. Kitchen structural build-out
When the demolition is complete, then the framing work comes next. Depending on the new configuration you want in your cooking space, your kitchen might need to involve some intensive construction tasks. This can happen if you choose to remove windows, increase the cabinet space, or open up the kitchen.
6. Wiring, plumbing and HVAC
After the framing work, the plumbing pipes, HVAC, and wiring come in. This process is also known as the mechanical rough-in phase, which, under normal conditions, is done by licensed electricians, plumbers, and HVAC pros.
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7. Finish walls and ceilings
When the walls and ceiling are all good, the kitchen will finally start to change its appearance of a battle zone and begin to look like a real cooking space. Once the wiring, plumbing and HVAC rough-ins are completed, then the ceilings and walls can be closed up. Installing drywall, insulating, priming, and finishing ceilings and walls are tasks that the majority of homeowners can do by themselves if they want to save money.
8. Install flooring and kitchen units
Flooring installation comes before the appliances, cabinets and other fixtures are installed. Additionally, this step is saved until the end because owners want to prevent wear and tear. Then comes the part of installing countertops and cabinets. Although at first, this process might seem an easy one, installing countertops is harder than it looks at first, and if you are doing this by yourself, you will need a couple of helping hands. The same goes for the appliances.
9. Inspection and completion
After all the essential work is done, it is time for the final finishes. If you are working with a general contractor, it will be good to create a list, so that your needs will be satisfied. These details might include trimming molding joints, fixing the dings and scars on the walls, placing the faucet handle and considering other discrepancies that can appear.
As you can see, kitchen remodeling is a complex project, but in the end, the result will be worth it, as you will have a brand-new kitchen.
