Kitchen Renovation FAQs, Tips and Tripping Points

I always warn excited bright eyed clients that a kitchen renovation is the single highest stress project any homeowner lives through (followed by refinishing wood floors…)

Here is a FAQ tip sheet to help you in your kitchen renovation:

1). Do I hire a builder or a kitchen group?

Either way, you’re paying mark up. The kitchen group will mark up the labor. The builder will mark up the cabinets. If it’s a straight reuse of exciting space – even if you’re changing layout, a kitchen group is fine for your needs. If you’re moving windows, walls or amending room openings – all of which requires major carpentry and usually some electrical work as well, I advise hiring a builder.

2). Should I be my own GC?

Good grief no! This is one of those situations where you don’t even know what you don’t know. Hire a pro.

3) What do I do if my kitchen is too small and we can’t enlarge the physical space?

1. A) Purge. Now’s the time. Be brutal and honest. How many teacher of the year mugs do you need? By freeing up more storage space, you can move more off your precious counter space and into storage cabinets.
2. B) Consider built in banquet seating to help move a dining table closer to a wall thus opening up more floor space.
3. C) Consider a peninsula instead of a full island.
4. D) Trade the kitchen dining table for a sitting island or peninsula.

4) What’s your best stress lowering advice?

1. A) Hire a great, highly recommended team
2. B) Heavily check team members before hiring
3. C) Plan the kitchen renovation during the summer months when school’s out and the grill is accessible.
4. D) Pad your timing expectation for completion with buffer to allow for damaged shipments, back orders or unexpected site problems.

Sure kitchen renovation is a pain in the rear end. But on the other side of the renovation tumult is your dream kitchen you’ll live in and love using 3 times a day, 7 days week, glorious month after month and year after year.