Kirk
Taking on a kitchen remodeling project is never easy, but what if you’ve never done anything of the sort before? What do you need to to be aware of to avoid disaster? How much can you do on your own, and where can you find help? The good news is that there are a lot of useful resources out there, because everybody has a first time sometime – you just need to make sure that you don’t take on too much too fast.
The first thing to think about is your budget. If you’re a beginner, you’ll need to approach this all the more carefully and leave a larger amount of capital free to cover for things going wrong or taking longer than you expected. Bear in mind that unless you can approach your project so that you’re able to use part of your kitchen as you work on the rest, you’ll also need to budget for living on snacks or take-out food.
If you’re taking everything out, you’ll need to start by fixing up your floor. It takes an average of two to three days for professionals to fit and seal a new wooden kitchen floor – longer if you’re doing it yourself. Linoleum is relatively easy to fit but needs to sit and settle for a couple days after delivery (still on the roll) before it’s ready to go down evenly. Tiles are the fastest and easiest solution and are fairly easy to get right even as an amateur, especially if you choose the kind that don’t need to be sealed with grout.
Although most kitchen plumbing is fairly simple once the under-floor fittings are in place, it’s worth employing a professional, especially if you want to make a change such as moving the location of your sink. The cost of such services is not overwhelming, and it could save you a lot of money in future by reducing the risk of hidden damp developing. It also means you won’t run the risk of accidentally voiding your home warranty.
If you want to save money, a better way to do it is by searching your local furniture stores for discount furniture. You’ll often find offers on kitchen cabinets, which are generally designed for easy self-assembly using very simple tools. This is a two-person job, especially with wall-mounted cabinets, as you’ll need one person to hold sections of each cabinet in place while the other adds screws.
Think carefully about how you will position your new kitchen furniture. Remodeling kitchens isn’t just about making them look better – you’ll also need to be able to move around them safely, get easy access to everything you need and arrange illumination (during the daytime and at night) so you can see what you’re doing properly. You’ll need to be able to carry things through the room to the points where they’re needed, and you may also want a dedicated space to sit and eat there.
Planning this out carefully will help you to make good decisions about what you can and can’t include before you visit the furniture store. For most people, the biggest factor affecting priorities is size. Can you fit in that big fridge you want or would a smaller one make sense? Do you really have room for a dishwasher, and would a drawer-sized one make that easier? Can you fit in both a washing machine and a dryer or would it be better to combine the two – bearing in mind that dual purpose machines usually don’t last as long? Spending will also be a factor in these decisions, and in your choice of appliances. If you have the cash available, spending a bit more now for well engineered goods can save you money in future because you won’t have to replace them as quickly.
Kitchen remodeling doesn’t necessarily mean you have to replace everything. If you’re keeping some of your older appliances or pieces of kitchen furniture, think carefully about how they’ll fit in with new ones. Make sure you measure everything carefully, so you know what there will be room for. Remember that using woodstain or paint can be a cheap and easy ay to fix up an older item, so it fits in beautifully with your new kitchen.
The more carefully you plan, the easier it will be to create the kitchen of your dreams, even if you don’t have much experience. Don’t let the project overwhelm you – take it step by step and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be a success.
