Have you ever looked around your kitchen and thought “I hate the way this looks. I really need to change it,”?
It’s not unusual to have that feeling, whether you’ve been in a place for a while, or after you’ve just moved in. And certainly many of us have been staring at our walls long enough that we’re starting to daydream about ways to change things up.
This poor man is bored silly.
Starting this week we’re going to be walking you through how to plan a kitchen remodeling project.
Before you get to start tearing out cabinets or painting walls, you need to create a budget. After all there’s no point in picking out tile if you only have the funds for replacing cabinets and painting. It’s also a good idea to prioritize.
Start by taking a look around at what exactly you want to change. Make a list. Do you love the window you have but want to re-frame it? What about new cabinets and appliances? Or are you looking even larger and wanting to take the room down to studs so you can expand or shrink it? Or change it from a galley kitchen into something like a U shaped one?
This is where you start, by figuring out what all you want to do, and how much of it needs to be right now vs what you’d like to do in say 10 years.
Based on the numbers prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus, a major remodel should be roughly 15-20% of the value of your home. So if your home is valued at $300,000, you should be setting aside something between $40,000 -$60,000 for accomplishing this. Making this type of investment in your home can see a return of up to 85%.
We took a look over at Lowes.com and found that they had a breakdown on doing a Refresh, vs a Minor Remodel, vs a Major Remodel. Many of the items repeat at every level because what changes is not what you are doing (say replacing a sink) so much as the cost of what you’re purchasing (such as that all granite sink.)
Refresh $1,500-$10,000
MAY INCLUDE:
Painting existing cabinets
New cabinet hardware
New countertops and backsplash
New sink and faucet
New lighting
New window treatments
One or more new basic appliances
Painting your walls
So if you're wanting to do a weekend project, this is what you are going to be looking at spending.
Minor Remodel $10,000-$25,000
MAY INCLUDE:
New window treatments
All-new budget-friendly appliances
New countertops and backsplash
New lighting
New basic cabinets and hardware
New ceramic tile or laminate flooring
The first three on this list would be able to be completed in a weekend, either by yourself or with someone else installing them. The second four though, unless you have someone installing them, are not going to be done in a weekend.
Major Remodel $25,000+
MAY INCLUDE:
Mid-level or premium cabinetry
Professional-style appliances
Stone countertops and backsplash
Apron-front sink and pull-down faucet
New island
Stone flooring
Multilevel lighting
Designer window treatments
Tearing out walls
Redesigning your kitchen's layout
Again, the first four are going to be something that can be done in a weekend. The remaining six not so much. These are ones that are going to take far more planning.
According to Architecture Design Pro,
" Costs of American kitchen remodels are as varied as the styles of homes across the nation. Spending ranged from $1,024 for a single replacement to upwards of $19,000 for a full remodel, with more than 48% of respondents indicating they spent over $15,000 on a complete renovation. If you're wondering what your fellow homeowners are splurging on, the study found that 48 percent of total spending went to appliances and cabinetry, whose average costs are $3,995 and $3,903, respectively. Some things are worth the investment."
The thing is you don't want to cut corners, but you also don't want overspend if you don't have to. Why pay someone else to paint your walls if you can buy the paint and get it done on your own in is how we look at things. By that same token though, and to continue the analogy, you don't want to buy the cheapest paint you can just to save money because it's going to look terrible not long after the paint dries. It is a delicate balance that you have to consider when you’re organizing a project. A poorly done remodeling job doesn't just look bad and reduce the price if you ever decide to sell. They can also land you with structural problems for your home and expensive safety hazards that you then have to pay to have repaired.
So, while you are considering your project at this phase, also look into these important questions.
-Do you know the entire scope of what you're wanting to do? From the budget, to the materials needed, to the codes that your city and state requires?
- Do you have the skills, knowledge and tools that are needed for every stage of the job?
-Do you have the time needed for the project?
-Can you deal with acquiring permits, licenses and having people do inspections?
If the answers to some of these questions are no, that's alright. There are plenty of skilled tradesmen who are willing to take on the project for you! We commend you for knowing when you cannot do something yourself, and when to call in others. We'll circle back around in a later post to cover how to find contractors/builders/designers to help you in your remodel.
If you answered yes to all of these questions, consider checking out this free printable from Lowes that covers everything from what layout you want to why you're doing this project and how you can pay for it.
Thank you for starting this journey with us, and we hope to see you next time when we'll be talking about inspiration, layouts and features.
If you have any questions, please, let us know either in the comments below or over on our Facebook. Or if you have any suggestions or topics that you'd like us to cover in the future, let us know about those as well.
If on the other hand you need help with your appliances now, go over to our scheduling page and set up an appointment with one of our technicians. We're here to help for any all of your appliances and keeping your home running as smoothly as possible.