kitchen redo

[disney obsessed]

Has anyone redone their kitchen lately? We have been searching for a new house for over a year with no luck. So we have decided to stay where we are, update the kitchen and floors and make the move after our youngest is out of school. She is now in the 10th grade.

I believe that I have found a great price but I am very nervous about how long they will take. They keep telling me less than a month and I am praying they are correct. My neighbors added on to their house and their kitchen was down for 6 months. I cannot do that.

We are not making any structural changes but we are pulling out the tile, putting in hardwood, putting new cabinets in the old foot print, granite and a new backsplash.

Any coping techniques or ideas to make this easier?

[DizneyRox]

Demo is quick, if you're not saving anything. We had custom cabinety made and it took a couple of weeks. Off the shelf stuff is easier. Granite shouldn't measured until the cabinets are in and may take a week or so. Backsplash goes in last and our took a couple of days.

A month sounds about right. If it were me...

Had the kitchen wired for undercabinet lighting. Make sure your electrical is up to par, NOW is the time to add recepticles.

FInally, think about venting your exhaust through the roof as well, not back out into the kitchen. You can hide the venting with cabinetry.

Just a couple things to think about.

[buzznwoodysmom]

My parents did a kitchen reno about two years ago. They did pretty much what your planning. It took about a month. Good luck and I hope it all turns out the way you want.

[azdisneymom]

We did our kitchen a couple of years ago. Granite done in a week. The installer made a template and installation took a day. We did the backplash ourselves, tumbled marble in a day. Didn't do the cabinets. Best wishes, hubby did construction for a while and said it always takes longer than you expect.

[tinksmom02]

We did our kitchen last spring and it took about a month. We did exactly what you're planning, because it made more sense to do the hardwood first, then the cabinets and the countertop. We were absolutely without a kitchen for a solid couple of weeks--ordered a lot of take out, used the bathroom sink for washing coffee cups. Set the fridge on the back deck (LOL fortunately it was April!) and the coffeepot in the spare bedroom. We were horribly inconvenienced, but my kitchen is very pretty now--and much more functional than it had been.

To me, there seemed to be a lot of "hurry up and wait." If one thing is off, or if one cabinet arrives and is incorrect, it sets the whole project back. While overall I'm pleased with our kitchen, I was very disappointed in the quality of the work and would never recommend the company we used.

DH did all the demo himself, and the backsplash, too--which can really be done at any time after the cabinets & counter are put in.

Ooh, make sure they measure the granite so that the seam is in the middle of your sink.

[diz_girl]

Make sure that they don't throw away your old countertops when they take out the old cabinets. You can use the old counters over the new cabinets until your new counters are ready, so your kitchen can be marginally functional while you wait for the counters. Then they can haul away your old counters when the new counters are installed.

[Tinkerfreak]

My husband and I own a construction company and that time frame sounds about right. Just keep in mind that whenever you are ripping anything apart there can be hidden problems that come up that the contractor won't know about until he gets stuff ripped out. There is alot of hurry up and wait in the construction business. You are not just worrying about your own schedule but the schedule of your subcontractors who have other projects going at the same time. It takes time but will be worth it in the end. I agree that now is the best time to do any electrical updating.

[Ed]

Make sure that they don't throw away your old countertops when they take out the old cabinets. You can use the old counters over the new cabinets until your new counters are ready, so your kitchen can be marginally functional while you wait for the counters. Then they can haul away your old counters when the new counters are installed.

That's exactly what we did when we overhauled our kitchen about 3 years ago. We had totally gutted the room, and after laying the floor, installing the cabinets on the old footprint and having the new countertops templated, we put the old one in place until the granite arrived a few days later. We were doing all the work ourselves (except the granite), and had estimated a month, doing most of the work on our days off, and it ended up being more like 6 weeks. Lots of carry-out, pizza deliveries, and microwave meals and doing dishes in the bathtub, but in the end it was 100% worth the inconvenience.

[Mickey'sGirl]

Make sure that they don't throw away your old countertops when they take out the old cabinets. You can use the old counters over the new cabinets until your new counters are ready, so your kitchen can be marginally functional while you wait for the counters. Then they can haul away your old counters when the new counters are installed.

ALSO, Habitat for Humanity has RE-Stores that will take donations such as previously used kitchen counters and cabinets, even knobs and face plates for electrical outlets or light fixtures! They then put these things for sale in their RE-Stores and they get some money, you get rid of your junk and someone else finds something they are looking for at a reduced rate!!!

Good luck with your redo!

[Missy_Mouses_Dad]

I would also put in new plumbing and shut off valves to the sink..we put in two walls of cabinets in a weekend. Working from the corner out with the upper first, it was pretty quick. A level, straight edge, and drill were about all we needed. Don't forget shims. (make sure you use phillips head screws if doing this yourself, much easier on the knuckles ).

[disney obsessed]

Thanks for the feed back. I like the ideas of waiting to haul the countertop and donating to Habitat for Humanity.

We start picking cabinets in the morning!

[SteveL]

Ours is taking about a month. Two weeks for the quartz countertop. Delayed because during the demo of the floor there was asbestos underneath, and I'm sure the neighbors are wondering about those big biohazard signs in the windows

[NewDVCowner]

I just finished pretty much the same thing as you are doing. I'd say a month sounds about right from the time of demo to completion - at least as along as they don't find any problems that need to be fixed. It took two weeks for my cabinets to come in and that's when I tore out what I had. Putting in the new cabinets took three days. That was when the granite was measured, and that was the biggest delay before they put it in. I put in my flooring after the cabinets were in so was able to use my kitchen before that part was finished.

[Cjsmom1811]

We redid a kitchen and really missed home cooking. I would recommend cookin a bunch of meals and freezing them. You can hook up a microwave any where in the house and you will have dinners all ready.