Your Kitchen Renovation Guide
Kitchens are the hearts of every home where meals are prepared and families gather to share meals and have fun. Every aspiring home owner has a mental picture of their dream kitchen. If you get to build your home from scratch, then you just give the contractor your ideas and they will put them down in the plan. For those who buy houses, they have the option of renovating the kitchen and turning it into the space they always dreamt about.
HOME APPRAISAL
The first step is a home appraisal to determine the value of your house that should be spent on kitchen renovation. The recommended scale is approximately 15% of the total cost of your home. However, this is just a guide; you can choose to go a little under or over the value.
HOME INSPECTION
You need a home inspection to determine whether other parts or rooms in your house need any work to support the renovation. If there is any extra work needed, then you have to know about it so as to include it in your budget.
DESIGNS AND PURPOSE
Before you call a contractor, ask yourself why you are renovating. It could be to increase the space, make your kitchen more functional or even more stylish and modern. Have a list of the things that you hope to achieve at the end of the project.
Next you need to have some design ideas in place before meeting with your designers and other contractors in the project. You can do some sketches or look up images on the web and save them for the designer to have a clear idea of what you want. The contractors will also bring in their ideas; but first you have to show them what you want the final outcome to look like.
ENERGY AUDIT
An energy efficient home will save you money and preserve the environment. Call an energy auditor to discuss more so that you can qualify for grants.
MAKE A BUDGET
Your budget should cater for materials, new appliances, labor and don’t forget to give a small allowance.
FIND AND HIRE PROFESSIONALS
For your kitchen renovation you will need designers, decorators and kitchen renovation experts. When hiring look at the license, experience, reputation and customer service. Arrange for a meeting with them and discuss details of the project. Ask for quotations and study them well before signing the contract.
PAPERWORK
After settling with the professionals, ensure that you have all the paperwork before the project begins. These include the contract, permits and other legal documents. The contractors can help you in getting the permits or you can do it yourself. If the contractor is getting the permits for you, make sure you ask if they will be charging extra for that.
For the renovation period, you can put up a temporary kitchen in your garage. If you live in an area that snows heavily in winter, consider investing in floor heating, heated floors, snow melting systems or driveway heating systems.
