What To Do Before Remodeling Your Kitchen
Kitchen remodeling is an exciting project that has the potential to not only improve your quality of life but also add to the value of your home. However, it’s not something that you can just do on a whim. Rather, it requires careful planning beforehand to ensure that you know what you want, know what to expect from the process, and have contingency plans in place just in case something goes wrong.
Your remodeling project is more likely to go smoothly if you hire a contractor to do the work, but that doesn’t mean you can avoid the planning process. The plan just looks a little different than it would if you were doing a DIY project. In either case, here are some steps you should take before demolition and construction begin.
1. Set Your Budget
The last thing you want is to get halfway through your kitchen remodeling project and discover you don’t have enough money to finish it. Decide how much you want to spend first and use that as a the guide for all your subsequent decisions.
2. Delineate Needs Versus Wants
Decide on what you absolutely have to have in your kitchen and assign those items to the budget first. Assign the rest to your budget in order of highest priorities. Concentrate on updates that will add the most value, especially if you’re thinking about selling your house in the foreseeable future.
3. Search for Design Ideas
You can do this by visiting home storerooms and hardware stores. Be sure to take pictures to show your contractor.
4. Hire a Contractor
Get referrals from neighbors or friends, shop around, and do your homework to ensure that you hire a trustworthy professional. Find out specifically if his or her fee includes the costs of building permits.
5. Set Up a Timeframe
Plan with your contractor how long the project should take to complete.
6. Make Temporary Arrangements
In other words, you’ll need to continue to eat while the renovation is going, so this may include setting up a temporary kitchen, if possible.
Use this checklist to ensure that you’ve accomplished everything in order to get the kitchen you want at a price you can afford within a reasonable timeframe.