Kitchen Remodeling
So you
want to completely update your kitchen and you don't know where to start?
I wrote this page to give you a basic understanding of the kitchen remodeling
process.
I've included a list of the various trades that may be involved.
For the uninitiated homeowner, the
kitchen remodeling process can be a daunting experience. Armed with a
little useful information at the beginning, the experience does not by any means
have to be a negative one. The goal, of course, is to end up with a beautiful
and functional space in your home in as little time as possible and by spending
the least amount of money for the level of quality you expect. Your family's
survival during this period is essential also, with as little disruption of
family routine as is necessary.
The key to having your goal realized is
having people involved in the project that you feel comfortable with and that
you trust to give you a fair price for the work they do and do their work conscientiously.
These people must be able to perform their job with consideration for and in
coordination with other tradesmen. They must take into account the many details
and aspects of their part that overlap with another's part.
Above all, it will be important to
choose the general contractor well. This is the person that you will have the
most contact with, and will be in charge of every other workman in your
home. He will need to have the capacity to have a firm grasp of the "big
picture", and at the same time, focus on the hundreds of tiny details
throughout the course of your project. He will stay in communication with you
and help you make large and small decisions. In the end, he will be responsible
for the entire project. This is what he gets paid for.
Let me briefly touch on the subject of
communication again. In order for you to end up with "the kitchen of your
dreams", your contractor must have a clear understanding of what is
important to you. Your contractor relies on you to communicate to him the
information he needs in a clear, concise manner. You must be able to rely on him
as well. Sometimes people have an idea in their mind of the way a thing should
be and they assume that others see it that way also. They may be so convinced that
they have been clear in their communication, but in reality, not. This will
invariably lead to disappointment when work is performed that doesn't line up
with how it "should" be. This is why written instructions, detailed
contracts, design drawings, and even magazine pictures play such a vital role in
keeping a clear and mutual understanding throughout the project. All of this
applies to every other workman in your home also. You need your contractor to
clearly relay important information to them on your behalf.
If by now you are starting to get the
idea that your contractor will play a vital role in the success of your remodel
project, and that your choosing the right person for the job is of maximum
importance, you are right. This is exactly the reason why price cannot be the
sole determining factor in choosing the contractor, or any other tradesman for
that matter.
At this point I'd like to list the
different aspects of construction that may take place. These are in basic chronological
order.
 | Kitchen Design
The first step will be to have someone help you to
arrive at finished kitchen design, complete with a floor plan drawing and
elevation drawings for each view in your kitchen. This needs to be a very
detailed and comprehensive set of documents that your general contractor
will need in order to accurately bid your project. With these scale drawings
you will be able to see exactly how your kitchen will look.
I specialize in kitchen layout design, and I offer this service at a
fraction of the cost that an architect would normally charge. I've added a cabinet
configuration page so you can visualize some of the door and drawer
layout possibilities.
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| Order Cabinets, Appliances and
Fixtures
In order to avoid any delays,
you'd want to make sure all the critical components
are ordered. Your cabinetry is one component that will take some time to
produce, so you'd want to get the process started as early as
possible. You probably want to have your project completed in the shortest
amount of time, so it would be a good idea to try to avoid as many problems
as possible by taking someone else's room for error out of the equation.
This means ordering the appliances and fixtures and then verifying that they
have actually been ordered and asking for delivery dates.
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| Demolition
Someone will have to carefully remove and store the existing
appliances, plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, etc. Then remove and discard
(or not) the old counters and cabinets, flooring(?), walls that need
relocating, furrdowns and so on. There needs to be adequate protection for
adjacent rooms and flooring or wall surfaces that will remain, as well as
furniture, automobiles, artwork, etc.
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| Foundation
This only applies if you are enlarging your kitchen by
adding square footage area.
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| Rough Carpentry
This will include framing any new walls, adding any
load-bearing support members below, in or above your kitchen, moving windows and
doors, raising ceilings and adding skylights, and any other structural
changes you can think of.
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| Electrical Work, Plumbing and HVAC
Depending on how extensive your project is and how much you
are varying from the original layout, you may have need of very little work
done in these categories or a lot. Also there may be communications wiring
such as phone lines, speaker wire, security system components, and any
built-in computer wiring such as cable or other networking lines. Usually
there will be switches to be moved and new light fixtures, including counter
top lighting, to be wired for and installed.
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| Insulation, Drywall and Drywall Finishing
Self explanatory
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| Wood Floor Installation
If wood strip flooring is what you've selected, this is the time
to have it installed. This allows the new wood floor a period of time to
acclimatize before it is finally sanded and finished. We will come back to
this later.
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| Cabinet Installation
After the drywall has been finished, your cabinetmaker
delivers and starts his installation. Depending on the size of your
project, this may take one week for a small kitchen, to a month or more for
a larger job. Most kitchens take about one and a half weeks. When the
installation is nearly complete, the countertop fabricator can be scheduled
to come and take his measurements.
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| Finish Carpentry
Any additional trimwork such as door casings, baseboards,
etc.
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| Paint and Cabinet Finishing
Cabinet finishing is best accomplished after the cabinets are
installed and the counter top fabricator has measured for counters. The
finisher will use plastic and masking tape and create a little spray booth
in your kitchen. The finishing process often takes about a week.
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| Countertop installation
Depending on what type of counters you've chosen, the
counters are either fabricated elsewhere and then installed, or fabricated
in place. Granite and other natural stone counters, solid surface counters
such as Corian, hardwood butcherblock counters, and stainless steel counters
are all fabricated at your counter guy's shop and then installed when ready.
Concrete, tile and plastic laminate counters are all fabricated on site.
Many times there will be a combination of materials such as granite counters
with a natural stone tile backsplash and maybe stainless steel or
butcherblock for a smaller separate area.
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| Finish Floors
Depending on what type floors you've selected, this is the
time to complete them. The wood floors are sanded and finished and tile
floors are installed. Then the finished floors are protected against any
possible inadvertent damage.
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| Appliance Installation, Plumbing
and Electrical Fixture Installation
This includes all applicable major appliances as well as your
kitchen sink and faucet, light fixtures, vent hood, electrical switches, plugs,
and cover plates, telephones, security devices, etc. Also, any glass work
you're having done such as the glass for cabinet doors or bathroom mirrors
can go in.
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| Cabinet hardware
After you've selected and purchased your cabinet door and
drawer pulls, you'll have your cabinetmaker come back and drill for and
install the hardware and make any final door alignment adjustments, put in
the adjustable shelves, put on the door bumper pads, and any other final
touches.
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