You’ve reached your own personal tipping point: the toaster doesn’t work when the coffee pot is on, you only have one burner working on your stove, only one person can be in the kitchen at a time, so your family eats in turns . , and finally the microwave blew up the morning of her big presentation at work, and she decided, “Enough is enough. We need a new, functional kitchen!”
You’re not alone. Usually everyone has a particular turning point; that last thing that sends them into the renewal pool. He tries to hold out for as long as he can because he fears noise, dust, disturbance, and disruption to his daily life. When your space becomes unusable, it’s time to do something. But you can’t just jump into a renovation, particularly one that’s as expensive, time consuming and inconvenient as a kitchen renovation, you need a well thought out plan of attack if you’re going to get it done in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of hassle and bills.
Start by developing a design plan: A renovation will only be as successful as the research and planning that goes into it. Like any business proposal that you develop for the job, you need to have a clear objective of what you want to achieve with the reform. Do you want to update electrical wiring, maximize storage space, add an eating area, working appliances?
You can start by visiting kitchen renovation stores to see the latest features available in kitchen design. Talk to the staff, tell them you’re at the start of your trip, and see if they have any ideas for you.
Cut out pictures of the kitchens you like from magazines and save them in a folder. Identify why you like the kitchens you have chosen: is it the space? The lighting? The color? The style of the cabinets or the countertops? It’s even helpful to give your designer pictures of things you definitely don’t like. That way they won’t offer those same things in your dream kitchen. Once you’ve determined what you really want, you’ll help your kitchen designer come up with the plans that work best for you.
If you have a friend who recently renovated her kitchen, take photos of her and identify what you like about her, too, and stick it in the folder with your other photos.
Toronto architect Jacqueline Rhee says that when she sits down with potential clients and they say, “Design us something beautiful,” she has to explain that they’re not giving her enough information. She says, “What’s their idea of ’beautiful’ and what I might have in mind could very well be two different things. They might want French Country, but I have an idea that they might prefer sleek contemporary cuisine.” The more direction clients can give their designer about their likes, dislikes, and what their goals are for the space, the better the design can live up to their expectations.
Budget: The good news regarding a kitchen renovation is that it is usually a good investment. The Appraisal Institute of Canada estimates that renovating a kitchen will return 75-100% of your investment if you were to turn around and sell your home. However, the sky is never the limit, not even for Donald Trump. Just as he would plan his company’s annual marketing budget, he must develop a budget for his kitchen renovation. A general rule of thumb for how much to spend on a kitchen renovation is up to 10-15% of your home’s value. But don’t feel like you have to spend so much; If you can do more with less, do it. For example, if your cabinets are in the right location and strong, but worn and outdated, consider refinishing them. Refacing comes in at around 50-75% of the cost of new custom cabinets.
Hiring a Kitchen Company and/or Contractor: Most people hire a kitchen contractor or designer through word of mouth. If you’ve been to a friend’s newly renovated house and like what she sees, start asking questions: Who did the work? Did you work well together? Was it on time and within budget? Is the final result what you expected? Was it well organized or did you push yourself to finish at the last minute? Were there any major issues during the build, and if so, how did you handle them? If you liked the answers your friend gave you, assuming your friend isn’t shocked by the direct questioning you just received, get your card. Now find at least two other kitchen contractors and/or companies so you can compare quotes.
Meeting with the Designer and Contractor: If, while meeting with a designer or contractor, your gut tells you that no matter how good the job is, you couldn’t bear to be in the same room with them for more than a minute, cross them off your list of candidates. . You may have to meet with this person every day. If your personalities don’t blend, you’ll never be able to solve problems together. However, chances are if you’re feeling that vibe, the contractor or designer is, too; it is better to break up before a relationship has started.
If, on the other hand, your first meeting is fantastic and you’re overwhelmed with your enthusiasm and ideas and you get along like you’ve known each other your whole life, you still need to do your research. Ask him how many jobs he can handle at one time and how many he currently has and make sure he is insured and bonded.
More Research Needed: The Internet Is Your New Best Friend: Researching kitchen companies and contractors has become much easier with the internet age. There are now websites that specifically focus on capturing word of mouth reviews from online consumers. If the companies you are interested in using do not have reviews, you may want to search for other companies that do and compare their services. See also the company’s website. If they don’t have one, you have to wonder how professional they are.
Another tip you can try is to enter the company name into search engines like Google and Yahoo!. You can find some comments that people have posted about them on various forums. You can also post a question asking if anyone has ever used this company. Finally, check any references he or she gives you too, talk to some of their past clients and see the work they’ve done for them.
Once you have chosen your designer, contractor and/or kitchen company, prepare yourself: Ask yourself if you can survive the renovation by installing a second kitchen in the garage or basement. Do you have small children who would be better off away from the construction site? Arrange to be away from the house for a specific amount of time, and make sure that you and your project team have discussed the most reasonable dates to move in and out.
Did you have to factor furniture storage into your budget or can it be wrapped up and stored on site? Again, your contractor will tell you the best option based on the size of the job and the availability of on-site storage space.
During the renovation: Assumptions: One of the flaws in communication between the owner and the contractor is in the assumptions made by one party or the other. For example, a woman had purchased sinks and bathroom fixtures for a new home. The contractor saw that the vanity fixture would be equipped with separate faucets and a faucet, so he drilled three holes in all of the sinks because he assumed all fixtures were the same. Unfortunately, they weren’t and the owner had to replace the other hardware to match the holes.
But the homeowner can just as easily make incorrect assumptions. A homeowner gave a water filter kit to the contractor and asked him to install it. The homeowner had read on the box that the water filter was good for the whole house and could be installed on the main water supply. When he returned at the end of the day, the contractor had installed it under the kitchen sink. She had never told him where he was to go, she had just assumed that he knew he was meant for the whole house.
Problem resolution: With any reform, no matter how small, there always seems to be unforeseen problems. It’s not as surprising as you might think. What happens behind the walls stays behind them until they are smashed. Until that moment, you may not have known that the insulation used was actually newspaper or that the pipe went through the wall that needs to be demolished. How you and your contractor handle these issues depends on how proactive your contractor is.
During Sue and Leon’s main floor renovation, the designer called for the laundry room backsplash to be stainless steel tile; beautiful, but at a cost of about $5,000. Sue resisted. The contractor instead suggests a row of tiles, two feet high, just behind the washer and dryer at a cost of $500. Sue appreciated that the contractor informed her of her costs and had an alternate suggestion for her.
The final result: the space of your dreams: Living with dust, noise and strangers in your home for weeks or months can be exhausting. Although you get along well with the crew and your contractor, you may find his temper to become irritable, particularly if there are delays during the project that lead to lengthy construction. He recognizes that delays are often unavoidable and that one day he will be back home, the workers will be gone, and his beautiful new kitchen will be all his.
Online Resources: This Old House – This website is a DIYer’s dream. There are videos and tips on probably every aspect of a kitchen renovation. Kitchens.com – A wealth of information on everything you ever wanted to know about kitchens, including information on how to “green your kitchen.” Better Homes and Gardens has an extensive section on renovating your kitchen that includes an “inspiration gallery” to give you some ideas. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation – CMHC has a great website for any home purchase or renovation. The kitchen renovation area has downloadable charts that you can use as reference guides as you go through your renovation planning. Appraisal Institute of Canada: The Renova section of this website allows you to enter the cost of your renovation and it will calculate how much you would receive if you sold your home.
Online forums: Forums are a great place to ask questions on all sorts of different topics. First search the forums to see if there is already a thread on the topic you are interested in.
- HomeStars Forum.
- This old house forum.
- Bob Vila Forum.
- Style at Home Forum.
- Canadian House and Home Forum.
- Holmes at the Forum of Houses.