Kitchen Renovations Section
Kitchen Renovations
The kitchen renovation is not a complex undertaking. However, there is a lot of things which can go wrong. Firstly, a house cannot function without the kitchen. We can live without a lunchroom, a bedroom or a study but the kitchen is a different story. Thus, the prolonged, incomplete and incorrectly undertaken kitchen renovations can paralyse the entire home. There is always a limit as to how many times you can live on the fast food or cater in your mother-in-law's house. At the end your kitchen must function properly.
Kitchen Renovations Regulations
You can renovate and design the kitchen yourself.
However, electrical system, gas and water plumbing all require licensed tradesmen.
You can face hefty fines and even jail if the incorrect plumbing or electrical wiring will cause accidents.
Licensed tradesmen will provide you with the appropriate certificate which will protect you from the liability.
The rest is essentially up to you. You can do kitchen cabinets, tiling, painting and woodworking.
However, if you have not done any of the renovations in the past you may consider to leave it to the experts.
At the end it is the lady of the house who will judge the quality of the kitchen renovations.
And... this is the toughest judge of all!
DIY Kits
DIY kits are great for kitchen renovations. These units follow modern kitchen designs and are relatively simple to assemble. DIY kits save a lot of time because you do not need to build this furniture from scratch. However, you are limited with the pre-defined choices. The price for the DIY kit to furnish a medium sized kitchen is around $4000.
Kitchen Renovations Time Span
The time span for the kitchen renovation depends on the complexity of the job.
To replace the kitchen furniture it may take 1-2 days.
More complex jobs requiring custom made covers for appliances may extend it to 3 days.
Plumbing and electricity can take as little as 1 day.
However, remember that for plumbing and the electricity you take different contractors and they may not coordinate their efforts.
Unfortunately, this can stuff up the deadline for the project.
Thus, the general kitchen renovation should take about 4 days. This will exclude tiling.
Tile Replacement
If you must replace the tiles then the job is substantial.
Unfortunately there are no shortcuts.
You will need to beat the top layers out, remove the tile adhesive and smooth the floor.
Then, you can lay the new tiles.
Special glue or a cement is needed to place the tiles on the newly prepared ground.
Cross shaped spacers are necessary to ensure that tiles are equal distances from each other.
Finally, you need to place the grouter.
The question is when the tiles should be replaced (before or after replacing the cabinets)?
It is better to remove the tiles and prepare the ground before old cabinets are dismantled.
Once the new furniture is installed, you should proceed with the tiling.
Kitchen Renovations Costs
For self assembled kitchens you can expect to pay around $4000.
This, of course is based on the average household.
The labour for DIY kits is between $1500-$2000. Thus the total cost is about $6000.
However, custom made kitchens can cost a small fortune.
It is the customisation and not the material which will boost the price.
Thus, it is not unusual to pay $9000 for the kitchen renovations, which involve custom design (especially in L-shaped or U-shaped layouts).
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