Having a plan helps achieve kitchen and bathroom remodeling goals more efficiently. Part of the remodeling preparation includes selecting a design layout, planning a timetable, and reducing the use of installations. Here are seven steps to remodel a kitchen:
1. Plan Your Remodel
Identify areas in your kitchen that need upgrades, like cabinets, counters, and lighting. Decide whether updates should improve function, style, or energy efficiency. Tally up a list of tasks needed to meet your goals. If you’re looking to install new cabinets, countertops, and appliances, pick your layout strategically for maximum use. Map out where you will place everything, and make good use of your space.
2. Design Your Layout
Choosing a layout and materials impacts your kitchen’s new look. Options like U-shaped, L-shaped, and galley kitchens work for different needs. Use floor plans to decide the placement of things like refrigerators and stoves for better traffic flow. Cabinet finish options include wood species like oak and maple, while countertop materials range from granite to quartz. Pick lighting that levels up workspace illumination, and confirm electrical capacity for new light fixtures and appliances.
3. Obtain Your Permits
Permits may be needed before launching your remodel, and each municipality has different requirements. Larger remodels that involve moving major kitchen components may need more permitting. Ask your contractor whether your plan needs a building, plumbing, electrical, or HVAC permit. They can handle submitting plans for approval to the relevant inspectors.
4. Demolish Your Fixtures
Preparing your kitchen for renovation involves demolishing existing structures that will be replaced. This means the removal of old cabinets, countertops, lighting, flooring, appliances, and any other structures slated for upgrade. Your contractors handle demolition work to avoid damaging areas and elements that will remain. Attempting to demolish yourself without expertise may cause destruction or hazards. Damage to electrical wiring can create fire risks, and removing load-bearing walls imperils structural soundness.
5. Upgrade Your Systems
Once demolition is complete, the current kitchen is gone, and you work on the inside. Electrical and plumbing rough-ins provide the foundation for maximizing your kitchen’s capability. Contractors run wires to locations where new lighting, outlets, and appliances will sit. Upgrading breaker boxes and circuit capacity supports additional electrical loads. Plumbers reroute pipes to supply water to sinks, refrigerators, and dishwashers. Installing framing or structural supports enables your new layout’s heavier features like beams or islands.
6. Install Your Features
With the basic framing in place, new cabinets come out, and new countertops are installed. Here, installers level and secure base kitchen cabinets are configured to your specifications. Next, your new appliances will move into their designated spots, and the contractor connects all hookups to get the kitchen going.
7. Conduct Final Touches
Once major kitchen and bathroom remodeling elements are installed, adding final visual touches helps bring your vision to fruition. Painting walls with an accent trim provides cohesion. Installing baseboards and crown molding supplies a finished look. You can also add a backsplash to coordinate with countertops and cabinets. Affix hardware like cabinet handles or drawer pulls selected to amplify your chosen design style. Add final lighting touches through any remaining fixture installations, including pendant lighting and under-cabinet accents.
Schedule Kitchen and Bathroom Remodeling Today
The first step in kitchen and bathroom remodeling involves finding qualified contractors. The best kitchen contractors offer a no-hassle consultation where they discuss your goals and explain their process. Book your consultation to start planning your new dream kitchen and bathroom. Keep your remodel on time by working with seasoned professionals. Experts help you avoid pitfalls that slow construction or hurt new appliance performance.
