Kitchen Remodel
The following is a guest post by Jennifer Kardish from Kitchen Cabinet Mart.
The prospect of remodeling your kitchen may bring to mind several unpleasant phrases, mainly “expensive” and “difficult”. And this is sure to be the case if you plan on outfitting your space like a magazine spread or a model home. But sprucing up the room where your family gathers to eat, unwind, and catch up can be cheap and easy if you know what to look for. Just follow a few simple steps to save some money and still build your dream kitchen. Here are five simple ways to save on your upcoming kitchen remodel:
1.Shop around for contractors. Sure, there are a few things you can do yourself, like putting up a backsplash or installing the faucet. But there’s a reason contractors have a job, so when it comes to installing a soffet or doing the plumbing, it’s best to leave it to the professionals. That said, don’t get taken in by someone who’s going to nickel and dime you into bankruptcy! Compare price quotes and, whenever possible, go on recommendations. If your friends are happy with the price and service they received, chances are that you will be, too.
2.Do it yourself. I know, I just said hire a contractor. And you should, for the big stuff. But when it comes to the little extras, you don’t want to pay for labor when you can do it for free. So get yourself a home-improvement guide and learn how to do the simple stuff like swapping out the lighting fixtures or putting slide-out shelves in your cabinets. You can literally save thousands of dollars by taking on the lighter tasks.
3.Stick to your budget. There are places to splurge and places to save, so know the difference. Here again, a good contractor can be a real help. You can probably expect to spend a little more on good quality cabinets (you don’t want them to fall apart), but save on countertops (there are a lot of great alternatives to marble or granite that are way cheaper and look just as nice).
4.Take advantage of the recession. With retailers going under left and right, everyone wants your business. Do a little comparison shopping to see who has the best prices, then try to get them even lower. Don’t worry, they’re not going to lose money on you, so talk them down to get the price you want. Otherwise, go to the competition. And don’t forget to look at discount outlets online. Although they don’t offer installation, you may get find the designer merchandise you crave at bargain basement prices.
5.Buy used. Recycled items like cabinets and flooring can save you a ton on your remodel, so check out retailers that offer salvaged goods (ReStore Home Improvement Center) or simply look on one of the many websites where private individuals can sell their wares (Craig’s List, eBay, etc.). You may not get the hottest new items, but it’s the best way to get more bang for your buck.
Note from The Thrifty Mama: Check out local garbage dumps or salvage centers as well as yard sales and thrift stores for deals on kitchen sinks, faucets and more! Have you recently done or are planning to do a kitchen remodel? What are some of the ways that you saved or plan to save money?
Jennifer Kardish is a communications coordinator at Kitchen Cabinet Mart. You can check out their free design tip for your kitchen and home.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
We are in the midst of a kitchen remodel right now with a contractor doing most of the work. We saved $1000 by doing all the painting ourselves. While it took some late nights of work, it was totally worth it. We opted for a laminate countertop – the corian/granite options were over $2000 and we got our countertop for $350. Big savings that we decided to spend on quality cabinets. We’re also doing all of the lighting fixtures ourselves and other little jobs that my husband can take on. Trying to save where we can but paying for someone with experience to do the major stuff!
If you find a good contractor, they’ll show you how to do some of it yourself and let you work along side them.
We kept our cabinet “skeleton” and just made new doors, with wood bought from the ReStore. Pottery Barn kitchen for very little money! (We did hire my brother in law who’s a professional rustic cabinet builder).
#1 kitchen remodel tip–set up a “kitchen” in the garage with a toaster oven and microwave, and, if you can, a sink!! So many headaches can be avoided especially if you have to keep feeding kids through it all!
We’re in the middle of a kitchen remodel right now. A couple of things I wanted to note:
1) Granite is not actually as expensive as many contractors tell you it is. It just has a HUGE mark-up. If you can get your contractor to give it to you at HIS price, it can be one of the more affordable options.
2) Choosing the cheapest contractor is NOT always a good idea, unless you don’t mind having your kitchen torn apart for weeks and weeks. Ours got torn up over two weeks ago, and we haven’t seen them since. We’ve had a lot of so-called “miscommunication” (i.e. they say they’ll be there on Thursday and just don’t show up.) So consider how much of that you’re willing to put up with. It is a lot more likely when you’re working with a discount contractor.
My experience/research has showed me to spend/splurge where it counts.
1 – spend it on Good plumbing.
2 – love a solid surface/stone countertop? put it on the island.
3 – you don’t need to buy uber-expensive cabinets. A good stock cabinet can do the trick for many many years. but make sure the drawers are dovetailed, not just stapled. and go for wood doors. if your tastes are simple you’ll spend less on cabinets. It’s custom sizes and finishes that will jack up your price.
I recently did a (bath) remodel and did some of the contractor work myself. Bought beautiful winter white subway (2″ x 6″) tiles at the local home improvement store and got gorgeous travertine marble 12″ x 12″ tiles from a marble / stone tile outlet. Less expensive than ceramic at the major home improvement store, and much more beautiful.
I do plan to do some renovating myself in my kitchen. I currently have mirrored backsplash– a real *1980s* look, and will tile myself with the same inexpensive white subway tiles. I tiled the kitchen of a rental apartment I own, and it looked absolutely gorgeous when I was finished. I was amazed that this girl (me), could do such a good job tiling. Just googled lots of places for DIY tips, and followed the instructions on the bags of grout, mastic, etc. Also the home store guys gave me tips, but I often found that googling various sites gave me better information.
One more tip: A girlfriend who is an interior decorator had her kitchen backsplash done in a special crackled-look subway tile. But from a few feet away, you couldn’t really see or notice the special crackled effect. She told me to save the bucks and just buy the regular ceramic white subway tile, that the look really wouldn’t be any different, and the cost would be significantly less. Just my few tips. Hope this helps.