Everyone dreams of flat top grill like those used by professionals, but most of us if not all of us have to keep costs down. Cost is one of the major factor that kitchen remodelling may be put off time and again. It is important to know what you like, even when on a budget. With careful planning one should be able to bring down the cost of kitchen remodelling to a level that will be less stressful on the pockets while giving you what you desire most.
One of the areas that takes the biggest cut in kitchen remodelling is hiring a professional company or contractor to carry out the work, so try to either reduce this cost or dispense with it altogether. If planned properly, your professional help could be reduced or eliminate altogether but that would mean advance knowledge on your part what you\’re capable of to limit your kitchen remodelling cost without compromising what you want ultimately.
Knowledge and abilities on carrying out basic remodelling task will help. Try looking for end of ranges, ex-demonstration stock, or deal with manufacturer directly. Look in local newpapers or store that advertise (even on the internet) for kitchen equipment around. Some kitchen suppliers actually sell unwanted kitchens in the effort to recycle products. This can help reduce remodelling cost.
It would be a real consideration on your own part to know if you will be able to confidently approach this project with a view to complete most, if not all the work yourself.
Kitchen styles
Kitchens come in many styles. Choosing a kitchen style requires serious thought as new kitchens are costly. Whether you prefer a classic or modern look, choices of colours to the cabinet, walls or doors, to picking specific designs like Art Deco or English Cottage, it is important to know your own preference which will ultimately give you more of a design road map.
Kitchen styles can be placed into several categories:
- Traditional – Traditional kitchens have formal, elegant looking characteristics of American or European homes of 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries
- Country – cheery and welcoming, with light and/or bright colors, painted and glazed cabinets, woven baskets, floral motifs, and decorative shelving and molding.
- Transitional – include elements of both traditional and contemporary design.
- Contemporary – modern, minimalist and geometric. The characteristics include horizontal lines, asymmetry and a lack of molding and other ornamentation.
- Rustic – regional American flair: Adirondack or Pacific Northwest, for example. Others resemble a lodge or log cabin.
- Arts & Crafts – natural bespoke look with a strong emphasis on craftsmanship.
- Old World – large cooking hearths or grottos and distressed, unfitted cabinets—trace their look to pre-17th century Europe.
Out with the old, in with the new.
Something has to go. Something as small as those nasty laminated counters or as major as that load-bearing wall blocking the view of the living room. Kitchen materials may contain hazardous materials such as lead-based paint and asbestos, both of which require special handling. After that, you need to haul away the waste material and dispose of it. Waste stations may not accept hazardous materials, so you should first check up with them about acceptable waste.
Depending on your new kitchen\’s configuration, you may be taking on major construction tasks. Are you adding or replacing windows? Or removing windows to increase cabinet space? How about taking down walls to open up the kitchen to the rest of the house? Even minor kitchen remodeling may need joists strengthened to support heavier appliances or built-ins such as a kitchen island.
Rough-In the Plumbing
If you\’re doing the work yourself and learning as you go, this will be slow-going. Plumbing and electrical are not exactly trades you learn overnight. Hiring a contractor or hiring subcontractors may be recommended, your head will spin at how fast experienced plumbers and electricians can do this.
Your new kitchen may have a kitchen island with a sink or a refrigerator with an automatic ice-maker. Or you may decide to move the main sink to a different spot. In any event, it is almost certain that you will have increased plumbing needs. At this “rough-in” stage, new supply and drainage pipes are added for sinks, dishwashers, and refrigerators.
Add Electrical System
You should have at least a 200 ampere service panel to power a modern kitchen. If you have less than this, you will need to heavy-up, or increase, your service capacity. This is a job best done by an electrician. Electricians most likely will abandon your old wires in favor of running new wires through the walls to power lighting and appliance circuits. If you are doing the work yourself, you may also find it easier to run new circuits than to deal with a spaghetti mess of old wires.
