Kitchen Remodeling
Summary: Kitchen remodeling can bring you to your knees if you have not planned for all of the disruption and surprises. Don't wait until the last minute to think about all of the possible kitchen remodeling ideas. Discuss those during the planning phase. A few kitchen remodeling tips are planning, patience and a cozy, but efficient, temporary kitchen in your basement or another part of your home.
DEAR TIM: A major kitchen remodeling job is about to start at my house. The needle on my anxiety meter is pegged causing me to lose sleep. Is a kitchen remodel supposed to be this stressful? How am I going to survive for five weeks without a kitchen? Is there a way to minimize the pain and suffering I am about to endure? What did you used to do to keep your customers happy each day? Nancy A., Seal Beach, CA
DEAR NANCY: My internal radar is picking up all sorts of serious negativity from you. We need to turn your bad feelings into excitement, joy and bliss about this amazing transformation that is about to happen. If you don't, you will undoubtedly come totally unglued before you are halfway through this traumatic event. Worse yet, if your anxiety transfers to the workers, all sorts of bad jujumagumbo will happen.
I have lost count of the kitchen remodel jobs I have done over the years, but the visions of what happens are crystal clear right now as four days ago a crew started to completely gut my own kitchen. If you go upstairs right now, my kitchen looks like a bomb exploded. Don't ever underestimate the convenience of going to a kitchen sink to get a simple glass of water.
You minimize, and possibly eliminate, all pain and suffering related to a kitchen remodeling project with excellent planning, scheduling and timing. A little pinch of luck is also a great ingredient if you can conjure it up.
I was by no means the perfect remodeler, but I knew that kitchen remodeling jobs had to run like the passenger trains of old. My jobs were almost always on time, I constantly strived for first class service and I knew the job had to keep moving forward everyday. Even when unforeseen problems popped up, most customers saw that we were working as hard as possible to solve the issue and complete the job.
Your remodeling contractor should have produced a schedule that shows what will happen each day. On that schedule, you should be able to see when all of the materials, appliances, cabinets, countertops, etc. must be onsite so there is progress each day.
You don't want surprises as the cabinets are being installed. If utilities are in the wrong place or not sized correctly, delays are inevitable. Kitchen appliances can be very persnickety as to where electrical and plumbing connections are located. It is vitally important that you or your remodeling contractor ensure that all utilities are sized correctly and they are in the right location before the plaster or drywall is installed.
I am astonished that your remodeling contractor has left you in the dark with respect to a temporary kitchen. On each of my jobs I was able to setup a temporary kitchen, albeit small and cramped. If need be, we took out some of the existing cabinets and used them to make a temporary kitchen in a basement or a garage if the weather was nice. To expect a family to eat out for the entire duration of a kitchen remodeling project is completely unreasonable.
All sorts of modern appliances allow you to create a miniature kitchen that allows you to do 90 percent of what you are now doing in your existing kitchen. My wife just bought an amazing electric appliance that allows us to fry eggs, bacon, cook meat, brown sandwiches, etc. This briefcase-sized appliance coupled with our microwave and two smaller refrigerators placed around our basement wet bar will allow us to survive our kitchen remodeling job. I am sure you can have a workable temporary kitchen fabricated in some part of your home.
Be sure to take many photographs or a video with an audio description of the entire process. Each night after the workers leave, document every surface that was worked on. The photos or videos could come in handy in the future if you need to see what is behind a finished surface.
Make sure your remodeling contractor does not fidget with any utilities on a Friday. You do not want to have a plumbing or gas leak pop up after the workers leave for the weekend. Be sure you know how to shut off all utilities in your home in the event a leak develops or you sense something is wrong with the electricity. Mimic an experienced boy scout - be prepared.
Do not make the final payment on the job until all work is complete and you are 100 percent satisfied. Never work from verbal promises. Your money is the only leverage you have and you must always have enough money in your possession to complete the job in the event your contractor disappears or you decide to kick him to the curb.
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Comments:
MaryM 16 Jul 2008, 11:04
We are replacing our existing kitchen cabinets and countertops w/
in-store/non-custom cabinets and pre-cut granite tops. No plumbing or
electrical changes, just same place replacements. What should I expect as
turnaround time and things I should look out for when they do the
replacing? What else should I be watchful of? I don't feel as if it is as
major as a complete remodel. Am I right?
JIM ALLEN 07 Aug 2008, 11:38
I AM INSTALLING NEW CABINETS IN MY KITCHEN THAT I BUILT MYSELF :{ I AM
REMOVING THE OLD ONES AS I WRITE. I AM TRYING TO REMOVE THE OVER THE STOVE
MICROWAVE AND I CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHATS HOLDING THIS THING UP ! CAN YOU
PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO REMOVE THIS MICROWAVE FROM THE WALL, I HAVE LOOSENED
OR REMOVED EVERY SCREW, BOLT THAT MY WIFE AND I CAN SEE! HELP :{
JIM ALLEN
Roger 08 Aug 2008, 07:44
Jim,
Have you tried searching the Internet for the model microwave you have? Some times the manufacturer will have the installation manual online. That would allow you to see how your particular microwave is mounted.
Rita Lowry 30 Aug 2008, 12:25
My daughter & husband are remodeling their kitchen, putting in new cabinets
& flooring. There is ceramic tile on the floor now but they want to change
it to either satillo tile or a different ceramic tile. Is it necessary to
take out the old tile or can the new be laid over the existing tile? They
have asked different people & get different answers.
Thank you, Rita
Fred 06 Oct 2008, 16:55
Rita,
I would remove the old tile down to the subfloor. Unless there is no basement and the floor beneath is slab on grade, 2 layers of cermic tile is going to be a lot of weight. I saw a house where ceramic tile was installed in the kitchen and the extra weight caused the structure to settle enough that the sliding basement door no longer opens.
Sharon 19 Jan 2009, 21:34
We are helping friends redo the kitchen floor. One section of the counters
is curved. We planned to use molding to hide the space between the
flooring and cabinets - but what do you use for a curved cabinet?
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