Steps to a Kitchen Remodel
Compared to other single-room renovations, kitchen remodeling is the most expensive. However, it can also provide the biggest return on investment, both in the ease and convenience you gain from updating your kitchen and the favorable impression it can make on potential buyers if you eventually decide to sell. If you don’t know very much yet about how to remodel a kitchen, here are some of the most important steps in the process.
1. Work With People Who Know How to Remodel a Kitchen
Your approach to a kitchen remodel can fall along a spectrum between two extremes. Either you can hire a contractor to handle the entire job for you or do the whole project yourself. Many people end up somewhere between the two extremes, taking some aspects of the remodeling themselves and hiring professionals to perform those that require a higher level of skill. The less you already know about how to remodel a kitchen, the more you should rely on professionals.
2. Set a Budget
Before you learn how to remodel a kitchen, you should decide how much you can afford to spend on the job. Plan your budget carefully and make it as detailed as possible because your plans for the project will be based largely on it.
3. Determine Your Must-Haves
There may be things that you want your kitchen upgrade to include as well as essential things. You’ll need to differentiate between the two and prioritize your needs over your wants. Once you have made this determination, go back over your budget. If it is not covering your needs, you may have to revise it, sacrificing some wants in the process.
4. Map Out Your Kitchen
Having schematic designs of both your existing kitchen and your planned changes can help you communicate how you want your kitchen remodeled to others. It also allows you to anticipate any potential problems and fix them before the actual work begins.
When mapping out your kitchen, pay particular attention to the location of the utilities, including electricity, gas, and water are. In some cases, it’s possible to move these, but it is often difficult. Most of the time, you have to leave them where they are and design around them.
5. Find Examples to Demonstrate How Your Kitchen Remodel Should Look When Finished
Look in home design magazines and visit storerooms and hardware stores to find ideas and inspiration for your kitchen remodel. You may find the look you want in a magazine, but the materials are not in your budget. You can then design a showroom and find a more affordable material that looks very similar. You can also show pictures and samples to a contractor, who can make realistic suggestions about how you can achieve the look on your budget.
6. Keep Functionality in Mind
It’s perfectly appropriate for you to want your kitchen to look nice, but don’t get so hung up on aesthetics that you ignore the kitchen’s intended function. A kitchen that doesn’t have an intuitive and efficient design can cause frustration in the long run, even if it is pretty to look at. It also isn’t likely to impress any future buyers.
7. Learn How to Remodel a Kitchen in the Right Order
Before you begin the actual remodeling, you should understand the overall process of how to remodel a kitchen. Remodeling tasks have to be carried out in a certain order, and if you try to jump ahead, it will cause problems for you. Not every kitchen remodel will include every step, but remodeling jobs typically have to be carried out in the following order:
- Demolition
- Plumbing
- Electrical
- Drywall hanging
- Painting
- Flooring
- Cabinetry
When you look at this list, it may be obvious why some jobs have to be completed before you can start others. For example, painting the drywall before hanging it would present problems, and you might understand why you want to finish painting before you lay new flooring, so you don’t drip on it. You may also run into trouble if you attempted to save time by working on the plumbing and electrical system simultaneously.
HG Luxury Homes Knows How To Remodel a Kitchen
HG Luxury Homes has more than 75 years of experience in remodeling. Find out how we can help you revitalize your kitchen. Contact us today for your free consultation!