How to plan a kitchen renovation

Kitchen Home Improvement Project

Homes get old and outgrow us. This is why carrying out renovations in our homes is often necessary. Some need home renovations to make their homes more attractive and functional, while others renovate their homes to increase the home's value prior to making a sale. No matter the reason you need a home renovation, it is essential to have a well-set-out plan before embarking on a renovation.

The kitchen is one of the house's most essential and frequently used rooms. It is also one of the most commonly renovated rooms in a home. The kitchen largely determines the final value of a home for someone considering selling their home. Similarly, the kitchen is fundamental in the daily operations at home and thus needs to be fully functional and operational.

Nobody wants to shift their cooking to the living room or to an empty space with no kitchen items due to a malfunctioning kitchen! This necessitates proper investment in a kitchen renovation. To make the investment profitable, it goes without saying that one needs to plan well for the kitchen renovation. There are various tips and factors to consider when planning for a kitchen renovation.

Some of these tips are specific, while some are more generalised. Whether you will be hiring an expert company to renovate your kitchen or you will be carrying out the renovation entirely by yourself, it is essential to have all the necessary information about a kitchen renovation. This article will offer a detailed look into the various factors to consider when planning for a kitchen renovation. Let's get started, shall we?

Planning A Kitchen Renovation

Any significant renovation starts with a great plan. A kitchen renovation can end up being complicated without proper planning. Here are some critical steps to follow in planning a stellar kitchen renovation.

Conduct research on kitchen renovation

Once you have thought about having a kitchen renovation, the first step is to conduct thorough research on kitchen renovations. While conducting the research, you can consult with your friends who have had their kitchens renovated. You could also look online for new kitchen designs, themes, products, etc. Reading this article is also a great start!

You could also hire the services of an expert to advise you on the best considerations for a kitchen renovation. Conducting detailed research will enable you to prepare a reasonable budget for your kitchen renovation and help prevent a last-minute rush.

Do you need a new kitchen?

After carrying out your research, next, you need to ask yourself whether you need a complete kitchen renovation or a simple kitchen remodelling. Needing a new kitchen would mean you have to pull out everything from your old kitchen and start afresh.

On the other hand, a partial kitchen renovation generally involves the replacement of kitchen tiles, perhaps replacing the cabinets and the benchtop, or maybe bringing in new cupboards. Sometimes all an old kitchen needs are the replacement of the ceiling or a simple repainting to make it look as good as new.

Why is this consideration essential? Deciding whether you need an entirely new kitchen or partial renovations is important because this will affect your budget preparation and time contribution.

Prepare the budget for your kitchen renovation

This is a crucial stage in planning for a kitchen renovation and needs a lot of attention. It is worth noting that conducting detailed research will help you in preparing a reasonable budget. When designing the budget for your kitchen renovation, it would help to identify what you need and can afford against the maximum investment anticipated.

This will help you avoid the danger of undercapitalising or overcapitalising. Various valuable practices help calculate the maximum investment; one such suggestion that stands out is the 3 per cent rule. Per this rule, your maximum investment for a kitchen renovation ought to be 3 per cent of the value of your house.

This is different from an entire house renovation that takes 10 per cent of the home's value. For instance, if your house has a value of $900,000, then your maximum investment for your kitchen renovation should be about $27,000.

This formula stands out due to support from various entities. For instance, the AU House & Home Renovation study indicates that the 3 per cent rule conformed to the median kitchen renovation spending in 2019.

Consider hidden costs in kitchen renovations

Once you have drawn up your set budget, it is now vital to consider whether you need to replace your kitchen appliances or simply purchase new items for your kitchen. Such costs are crucial considerations yet are always overlooked by many. It may be that you are not planning to change the structure or design of your kitchen, but you desire to purchase new items.

Now at this stage, you will need to note that the new items you purchase should align with the design of your kitchen. If you are replacing a cabinet, it will help to ensure that your cabinet maker designs a new cabinet that fits into the position of your old one. Such considerations will help you escape unnecessary extra expenses or damages in your kitchen. The following are examples of kitchen items that you may need during a kitchen renovation:

• Kitchen tap
• Kitchen sinks
• Kitchen lights or pendant lights
• Electrical fittings
• Benchtops
• Kitchen cabinets
• Kitchen tiles
• Kitchen accessories

It is also vital that you keep in mind the transportation or shipping costs of the new items you purchase for your kitchen. There are companies and wholesalers that provide free delivery or discounted delivery to their customers. However, others do not, and you'll need to bear the delivery expenses. So, it would help to check out companies or wholesalers that provide discounted deliveries as you conduct your research in the first stage.

There are other hidden costs when it comes to kitchen renovations. Some of these include the tiler's fee, the plumber's fee, the cupboard maker's fee, and the electrician's fee. Having a new kitchen or partially renovating your old kitchen may require the services of a cupboard maker, electrician, plumber, or tiler. Hence, it is essential that you include the expenses you would incur in settling these fees before you begin your kitchen renovation. Ignoring such costs can easily and gravely offset your kitchen renovation budget.

Kitchen design considerations

This is an exciting and essential part of a kitchen renovation. It is where you find most, if not all, the fun. Before you decide on the kitchen design that suits your desires, begin by inspecting your current kitchen to see if you will need some structural changes. Maybe you need to extend the kitchen space, demolish some walls, remove some cupboards, and so on.

After you decide on this, you can now start thinking about your desired layout for the kitchen. When deciding on the kitchen layout, you should factor in the kitchen's functionality. Always prioritise functionality over attractiveness. Your kitchen should not be too crowded that it does not allow room for moving around.

Experts suggest having about 900mm of space for the pass ways in the kitchen and approximately 1050mm for pass ways within the cooking zone. It is also essential to leave some room around the microwaves and ovens. Similarly, it is best to have about 375mm of space on each side of a fridge or cooker. Also, consider the location of the sink, the cooking area, and the bin location.

It would help to have the sink and the waste bin closer to the cooking area. Similarly, it is important to note how the doors open and close in the kitchen. To begin with, the kitchen should have free air circulation, which necessitates adequate and ample ventilation. It also helps to consider how the doors of dishwashers open and close to avoid blocking other people or yourself from moving around the kitchen.

Setting the timeline for the kitchen renovation

Another essential aspect when planning for a kitchen renovation is to have a reasonable timeline for the entire project. A project timeline will see to it that the renovation of your kitchen is conducted in good time effortlessly without unnecessary delays. Below are the various factors to consider when preparing a timeline for the kitchen renovation project.

• Carry out the research within a reasonable period. Whereas researching about a kitchen renovation is an essential factor, taking too much time during the research phase may be detrimental to the entire project, primarily if the renovation targets a specific period, such as the sale of the house.
• Allocate time for the demolition process, which is the first step in a kitchen renovation. The demolition may barely take more than a day if all the tools and labour are available.
• After demolition, follows the building work that entails the moving of walls, window and door fittings, and so on. This whole process can take roughly a day or two, depending on how much needs to be done.
• Another aspect to factor in when preparing the project timeline is the period for installing kitchen cabinetry and the kitchen benchtop. The time required for installing the kitchen cabinetry will depend on whether you are using pre-assembled cabinets or custom cabinets. Installing pre-assembled cabinets requires not more than a day, while installing custom cabinets needs close to three days. It takes about a week or more to make a kitchen benchtop with only a single day to install it.
• After all the above is done, the next activity should be the connection of electricity and plumbing to ensure the supply of electricity and water in the kitchen. The connection of electrical appliances, lighting, and the fitting of taps, sinks, and plumbing points should take a day or two to complete.
• Finally, you need to allocate time for the installation of the splashback and the flooring exercise. Installation of the splashback generally requires a day, while the flooring will need about four days, depending on the type of flooring you choose for your kitchen. A kitchen can have wooden flooring or tiled flooring. Choose the flooring that best suits your home and is within your kitchen renovation budget.

The process of demolition

Demolition is the first step during a kitchen renovation and also the last step during the planning stage for a kitchen renovation. It is best to hire a builder to carry out the necessary demolitions to pave the way for the new kitchen. If you have chosen to go the DIY approach, you will need to take note of the following tips.

• First, you need to be sure that you can handle it. You need to have the requisite skills and knowledge on how to carry out the demolitions without causing damage. Moreover, this process requires time and effort. If you don't have any of these requirements, it would be best to call an expert.
• The process of demolition requires you to have some tools and protective gear. Some of the essential tools include a drill, hammer, crowbar, flat-head, Stanley knife, slip-joint plier, a wrench, and a Phillips and square-bit screwdriver.
• Third, it is best that you call your plumber and electrician to turn off both the water and electricity supply. This would give you a safe environment and prevent accidents or damages.

Factors To Consider In A Kitchen Design

As elaborated above, designing a kitchen during a kitchen renovation is a critical step. It also requires a substantial amount of money, meaning that doing it the wrong way could be very costly. That aside, there are vital considerations to keep in mind when planning the design for your kitchen. These include:

• Kitchen appliances
• Kitchen layout
• Kitchen functionality
• Kitchen storage
• Hardware
• Bench space
• Cabinetry

Always remember functionality over all else. It is best that all the items you bring into your kitchen conform to and promote the functionality of the kitchen. Ever seen those kitchens with cabinets that are so beautiful but can't open due to picking beauty over functionality and space management? Yeah, don't be that guy. It is also recommended that you purchase items of good quality that your budget can accommodate.

Designing a kitchen during a kitchen renovation requires a substantial amount of money. However, there is no need to panic if you do not have enough money to get the perfect design for your kitchen. You can always save designing money by carrying out certain activities and choosing various options.

To begin with, where structural changes are necessary for the kitchen, you can always carry out the demolition of walls if need be. Similarly, you can choose to use pre-assembled cabinets instead of purchasing custom cabinets. Instead of buying stone or glass splashback, you can always go for a tiled one. The same goes for the benchtop; it would help to choose a laminate benchtop instead of a stone benchtop.

Saving As Many Costs As You Can

It may appear that kitchen renovations are expensive ventures. However, it is also true that renovating your kitchen could be one of the cheapest renovations you can conduct in your house. It helps to save as many costs as possible during a kitchen renovation or when planning for a kitchen renovation.

So, how can one save expenses when planning for a kitchen renovation? To begin with, you may choose to carry out the demolishing on your own, pre-assembling the kitchen cabinets and even fitting in the new cabinets on your own. However, this is subject to having the required skills to do so.

Having an entirely new kitchen involves the removal of the old kitchen, which requires a few tools. With these tools at your disposal, put in the muscle work and help with the demolishing. This enables you to save some costs at this stage of the kitchen renovation. Similarly, you may choose to carry out the painting yourself, so you don't have to pay a painter to paint your kitchen during the kitchen renovations.

It also goes without saying that purchasing discounted kitchen items online would help you save some costs as opposed to buying from a local retailer. At this point, ensure that you compare the prices between various suppliers to enable you to choose the best one.

Use Professional Kitchen Renovators

Never attempt to do what you do not know or are not sure about during your kitchen renovation. Do not be carried away with the idea of saving on costs and end up trying things that you have never done before or have no idea about. Always keep in mind that cheap is expensive in the end.

If you do not have the requisite skills and know-how, and if you do not have the right tools or just enough time to carry out certain activities on your own, do not risk it. It is better to employ a professional rather than do it yourself and cause more damages that would, in turn, cost you more than is necessary for a kitchen renovation.