Steps to Remodeling Your Kitchen
Unlike any other home remodeling project, kitchen renovation encompasses so many things–from the raw to the sublime, from the picayune to the important–that it can easily overwhelm even the most determined homeowner. On the other hand, a fine kitchen remodels instantly raises the value of your home, provides you with a more effective cooking space, and makes you the envy of all of your friends.
Start with solid kitchen design
Explore different design of kitchen available from various sources. Research carefully on term of material and also adjust with the budget during the design phase. The reason is not to make the project exceeding the dedicated project.
Determine who will execute it
Hiring a Contractor by finding a licensed contractor who deals extensively with residential kitchen remodeling. Commissions based on the price of the project range from 15%-25%. Another is by doing It yourself.renovating the kitchen by yourself, you spend no money on labor charges but you may slow down your project as you learn skills necessary to remodeling. Another choice is Acting as your Own Contractor. This method is required of the owner hiring of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and other subcontractors by themself and save the contractor’s high commission.
Doing the actual work
Demolition need to take place because in this project, 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.
Apart from demolition, then it is continue with building and repairing. 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.
New Plumbing and Electrical Systems
This work will be easier if this pass to contractor or using subcontractor. Using a contractor or hiring subcontractors, the work will be quickly finished when experienced plumbers and electricians done the job.
Closing up the wall
This step is next to do by gibing insulation then finally close the wall. Exterior walls will be insulated with fiberglass batt to provide a buffer between the kitchen and inclement weather. Before the walls are closed up, the electrical system must be looked at and approved by an inspector from the local permitting agency. Drywall is hung and the seams between the drywall sheets are filled in with joint compound. After drying, the joint compound is sanded several times until it is smooth. Finally, the walls are primed and painted.
Flooring for the kitchen
Kitchen floor is laid after the heavy work of building, drywalling, and painting to save wear and tear. Some of the choices for the kitchen flooring are namely Vinyl, Tile, Engineered Wood, and Laminate Flooring. Laminate flooring is a highly popular choice for kitchens because of its tolerance to moisture. Unlike engineered wood, the laminate is scratch and dent resistant.
Cabinets and countertops
Cabinets and countertops are essential parts of kitchen. Cabinet-hanging requires patience. Your local cabinet supplier should have work crews who can hang your cabinets, usually over a period of a day or two. If you are sub-contracting the work, any competent carpenter can do this job. Or you can do it yourself as long as you have an extra set of hands.
Many materials can be used for the countertop such as ceramic tile, granite, marble, Silestone, Formica, or Corian. Installation looks easier than the actual work. One requirement is all counters must be level enough that an egg can rest on them without rolling off. It is impossible to level the countertops if the base cabinets were not installed correctly. Almost similar with the cabinet installation, this requires special attention and patience.
Finishing touch
Additional sinks and fixtures can be added. To this point, the plumbing was roughed in. Now it’s time to set the sinks into the countertops and make final connections. Sink faucets and handles–the fixtures–are put in place and dishwasher hooked up. Next finishing involve by painting the kitchen accordingly.
