<p>We would like to do something about our kitchen.</p>
<p>The house was built in the late 1960’s and the kitchen is about 10 x 10, next to the dinning room. We are thinking about breaking the wall and make it one bigger kitchen, installing new cabinet, counter top, and appliances. </p>
<p>Where do we start?</p>
<p>Are you interested in doing this yourself, or do you want to hire a contractor to do it?</p>
<p>will hire someone to do this.</p>
<p>We did something similar with our kitchen years back.
One thing we did I have not regretted was to hire a by the hour architect to draw up some basic plans. You can then use the plans to pull your own building permits. Plus if you want to take down a wall, you need to make sure the wall isn’t load bearing. Our architect also had some other great ideas that probably wouldn’t have occured to us. </p>
<p>Then try to hire a contractor who will let you buy your own stuff…in other words, you choose the appliances, counter tops, etc. and don’t pay the contractor any mark up on them.
Disclosure: I own a contracting business but not one that does this kind of work.</p>
<p>Here in NY you have to have plans stamped by an architect or engineer. So I would start with your local building department and finding out what you need to do. I would recommend hiring an architect. They are trained to look at your space and have good ideas about how best to use it. Also depending on where you live there may be quite a few nit-picky rules about the layout, for example location of electric outlets. </p>
<p>Buying your own materials can be a lot of trouble, and many contractors (and architects and interior designers) may be able to pass on discounts that will make the cost of materials less than what you can obtain on your own. You’ll have to do your homework. Different regions (and different contractors) have different methods for charging clients. Around here there tends to be a mix of what the client buys (cabinets, tiles) and what the contractor buys (gyp board, plywood, beams and studs, roofing materials, insulation). The contractor I work with most figures out his price and adds 20% for his profit. Another guy just gives a price for “everything on the drawings.”</p>
<p>One of my fondest moments was when I did drawings for an addition for a contractor. He had a pretty good idea about what he wanted (and it was pretty reasonable), but I still did drawings of several possible layouts, one of which he liked better than what he’d originally had in mind. He said to me, “Now I understand why you might want to hire an architect.”</p>
<p>If your budget permits, consult with a certified kitchen designer. See the [National</a> Kitchen & Bath Association](<a href=“http://www.nkba.org/default.aspx]National”>http://www.nkba.org/default.aspx).</p>
<p>Where you start depends on how involved you want to be in the process. The spectrum ranges from a complete do-it-yourself to hiring a certified kitchen designer who will oversee the entire process. A kitchen designer will help measure and select cabinets, and some also work with general contractors who do the entire job. The cost will range accordingly depending on how much you can/want do yourself vs how much you will hire out. Demolition can cost over $1000, for example, but it’s a relatively easy do-it-yourself job.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for ideas of what others have done, you’ll see a lot of pictures here of people who have taken out a wall between a kitchen and a dining room. Some of the results are spectacular:</p>
<p>[Finished</a> Kitchens Blog](<a href=“http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/]Finished”>http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/)</p>
<p>If you want to get feedback on your ideas, a good start would be to use Google sketch-up, Visio, Powerpoint, or some other graphics software to do a first drawing of your ideas, take some “before” photos, and post them on the Garden Web kitchen forum. It’s the equivalent of CC for people who are planning kitchen renovations. There are hundreds of posters who are willing to spend time tweaking layouts, recommending materials, and sharing information.</p>
<p>[Kitchen</a> Forum - GardenWeb](<a href=“Kitchen Forum | Houzz”>Kitchen Forum | Houzz)</p>
<p>We hired a kitchen designer to do the drawing. We didn’t move any walls or gas lines, so we didn’t need a permit. We had the contractor order everything for us because I wanted to hold him responsible if he should damage any appliances, and it was also his responsibility to make sure everything showed up on time. We made sure he did not demolish the kitchen until new cabinets and appliances arrived.</p>
<p>I’m a firm believer in joining Angie’s List for tradesmen, contractors, etc.</p>
<p>We did something similar. We hired a contractor who had done some minor work for us years before. The contractor had all the contacts, so we did not need to shop. He hired a very reasonably priced architect for what we needed. He had the knowledge to give us a nice design. The contractor had a budget work within, and told us what we could expect if for XXX dollars for each stop (ie: countertops, cabinets, new appliances, flooring) in addition to his costs to do the work. We also required some minor plumbing and electrical work which was incorporated into the contractor’s costs. He hired the electrician and plumber. The kitchen place designed the layout with us regarding where the sink should be, and where the cabinets would go, and what kind of cabinets we would choose (you would be surprised about what pieces you could select from). We paid slightly more to have the person in charge of the project accept all deliveries. This meant that he had to sit and wait for each delivery and deal with all of the things that were not shipped correctly. We did not deal with any of those headaches, and there were a few issues with a few pieces. The contractor sent us to the appliance store, a cabinet place, a different countertop place where he does business. We were satisfied with all of these establishments, but we did have some problems with cabinet place (it did get straightened out, but it did take some coaxing). Also, as parts of the project were completed the person in charge of the project waited and dealt with inspections. They were all professional, and it was as stress free as it could be when people are in your home everyday and drilling and hammering away.</p>
<p>BTW, we had you beat. Our kitchen was the original from the 50’s!</p>
<p>DadII, we have a house built in the 60s as well. The previous owners renovated the kitchen, but used fairly cheap materials. After 15 years, it is showing its age. Would love to replace the countertops (the formica is peeling and I have reglued, but it won’t stay that way forever) – but the cabinet frames are not in great shape, so I don’t want to spend all that $$ on good counters. </p>
<p>DH and I have talked about knocking out a wall and opening up the living room/dining room/kitchen into a more open layout. Alas, around here that is a big expensive job, and not happening til the guys are out of college, etc.</p>
<p>We have had electrical outlets replaced that have died and the electircian has had to bring them up to code – GCSF near the sinks, etc. Gas line also had to had a shutoff in the kitchen when we got a new stove earlier this year after the old one died. Be sure to ask what code requirements will cost and if they are included in the estimates you get.</p>
<p>Listen to mathmom – she’s an architect!</p>
<p>Thank you all. It looks like we need to have a design, possibaly a permit (if wall removal is involved), and a contractor. </p>
<p>We are afraid that we may not be able to get an architect to take our project because it may be too small. We also have a concern about putting money into such an old house. We do not want to have the most expensive house in the n’hood.</p>
<p>We did the mega remodel about 5 years ago. In our case, we knew who we wanted to have as the contractor since he had done some great work for my in-laws. So we asked him what architects he liked working with - interviewed 3 of them and picked the “winner”. </p>
<p>I would NOT try to do this without having an architect draw up the plans. Kitchens are expensive rooms and you don’t want to make mistakes that you have to live with since fixing them would cost too much. Architects will also make sure that in removing the wall you are not creating any structural issues.</p>
<p>I am a big fan of doing the job on a time and materials basis. I know that others prefer fixed bid - so let me explain my logic. Time and materials means exactly that - you pay the contractor at a pre arranged rate for his time - and you pay for the materials based upon his cost + an agreed upon markup (like 10%) to cover the cost of him placing the order etc. The reason I prefer this model is that you know exactly what you are paying for and you can control the costs of materials much more easily. You want the gold plated faucet - no change order required - you just say that one… </p>
<p>Fixed bid means that the contractor figures out what the job is going to cost and then adds in a profit margin plus an oops factor. If all goes well, he makes his profit as well as the oops factor. There will be a budget for appliances etc - and if you want something else, that will be a change order. There will also be a clause that allows the contractor to charge for any discovered items (asbestos in the floor tile - that will be a change order.) Change orders add up- and get added onto the bill at the end. </p>
<p>My logic on fixed bid is that contractors do this for a living… they know how to do a fixed bid so that they don’t end up losing money. I, on the other hand, will do this perhaps 3 or 4 times in my life. Negotiations with someone who knows that much more than me is never a good idea in my book.</p>
<p>We just did a small project to the front our house and I was able to easily locate an architect to create some designs. However, I think any of the designers at your major home improvement stores (Expo, Home Depot, Lowe’s, etc) can help you with a design.</p>
<p>If you hire a contractor, it is usually their responsibility to take care of needed permits, inspections, etc. And it’s not only just moving walls; if you’re doing any rearranging/updating of electrical and/or plumbing, you will need permits (at least in our area you do).</p>
<p>Since I’m the one who originally mentioned an architect (which I am not) I will say that at least in our area there are different types of architects. There are a couple of very high priced guys who do huge home remodels. The one we used is an older man who is closer to retirement age. He does large projects but he is also happy to do these smaller projects. In addition to drawing up the plans he stopped by a couple of times to check up on the contractor and make sure everything was being done according to plan. He charged around $125 per hour (this was about ten years ago) and I think his total bill was about 25 hours.</p>
<p>There are architects who will do small projects. You just need to call around, ask your friends, sometimes even someone at the building department can give you names (though they generally aren’t supposed to.) Architects have a million different ways to charge you, but for a clearcut job like this, they should be able to give you a good idea of what they will charge.</p>
<p>Kitchen remodels generally recoup most of the money spent on them. They also reduce the time a house is on the market. No one really wants to buy a house where they know they hate the kitchen. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on a kitchen, especially if you can manage not to move plumbing and gas lines. There are cabinets and countertops in every price range.</p>