When it comes to renovating your kitchen, you need to prepare yourself for a long-term project. Not only does properly renovating the room take time, but it will also be expensive. Most homeowners find that the kitchen to be the most expensive room in their home to remodel. On the other hand, nearly all homeowners find they fall in love with their home all over again once the project has been completed, and feel that the stress and expense was more than justified.
One of the best ways to cut down on the stress and expense of the kitchen renovation project will be knowing which parts of the project you can do by yourself, and which ones should be handled by a professional contractor. By doing at least a portion of the work yourself, you will be able to save money, which you can later use to help finance the cost of new appliances, or countertops. Keep in mind that when you do the work yourself, completing the project will take a little longer. The best scenario will be finding a friend who knows what they’re doing and who will be willing to help out. Not only does it lower the cost of the overall kitchen renovation, but it also turns the experience into a social event.
The biggest thing that gets people in trouble when it comes to kitchen renovation is not realizing exactly what it is they need, or calculating the actual cost. Most homeowners prepare themselves for the expense of replacing a granite countertop, redoing the plumbing, and the cost of new appliances, but they fail to calculate the little things which can really add up. Things like a new backsplash and the cost of replacing all the cupboard door handles can quickly eat into the budget.
Even a jack-of-all-trades will run into things that they simply can’t do themselves. When this happens, you will need to enlist the services of a general contractor. Even then, you will find some things you can do to lower the final bill. Shopping around until you find a contractor who quotes you a reasonable estimate and one who has a reputation for doing good quality work helps. Another thing that helps is making sure you do as much of the prep work as possible. Most contractors charge an hourly wage for their services, by getting the prep work done, you will have lowered the number of hours that they’ll be there. Another cost saving tip will be making sure you do the clean up as well.
Before starting your kitchen renovation project, give yourself plenty of time to shop around. Look at all the different suppliers of the appliances, cupboards, and other items you will need, and really compare both the cost and the quality. Last minute purchases will quickly eat up a kitchen renovation budget.