My Home Tips and Trick

By Lee Wallender, About.com

Why Do You Want to Remodel Your Kitchen?
Kitchen renovation is a hot topic. This tutorial assumes a top-to-bottom remodel. But if you're interested in something less, you'll find a ton of great information about all aspects of kitchen renovation. Ask yourself:

1. What Are My Needs and Desires?
Is your kitchen a disaster zone where you can't even manage to boil an egg? Or do you just want to freshen the place up with new applicances, countertops, floors, and cabinets?

2. Is It Worth Putting Myself Through This?
Do you want work crews in your house for extended periods? Do you want to spend money and put yourself through this turmoil? While one of the more expensive home renovation projects, kitchen remodels retain their value well should you decide to sell your house.

3. Deep-Down Renovation or Surface-Level?
Be honest. Is this a $85,000 full-scale kitchen remodel or a less ambitious surface-level kitchen renovation? No shame in either choice.

4. How Can I Reduce the Cost of Remodeling?
Think about this now before you get too involved in the project. From doing it yourself to limiting your need for contractors, there are tons of ways to save money.

This is the fun part. When you design your kitchen, you get to exercise your creative muscle while your house is still clean and in one piece.

For ease of movement, plan your kitchen workflow around the classic kitchen triangle.

While you have an almost infinite range of possibilities, you may want to utilize one of the five basic kitchen design plans, such as:

* The One-Wall Design
* The Corridor Design
* The L-Shape Design
* The Double-L Design
* The U-Shape Design

How to Design Your Kitchen

* Kitchen Design Software
Inexpensive computer design software helps you with the difficult task of space-planning.
* Book-Based Design Packages
Available at bookstores, these kits have cardboard punch-outs representing cabinets and appliances. Placing punch-outs on a kitchen grid helps you realistically view your available space.
* Kitchen Designers
Kitchen designers at home improvement companies or at kitchen design stores typically design your kitchen free of charge. However, they will steer you to their own vendors and to their own work crews. Independent designers will have the most freedom and may give you the best product because they have less restrictions. However, they will charge you either by the hour or on a percentage basis.

You're got great ideas. But how to turn these ideas into reality?

* Hiring a Contractor.
Find a licensed contractor who deals extensively with residential kitchen remodeling. Commissions based on the price of the project range from 15%-25%.
* Doing It Yourself.
Renovating the kitchen by yourself, you spend no money on labor charges but you may slow down your project as you learn skills necessary to remodeling.
* Acting as Your Own Contractor.
A tempting option. You hire carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and other sub-contractors yourself and save the contractor's high commission. But this puts a lot of work on your shoulders.

You should apply for permits now. Permits must be obtained from different agencies. Your city or county may administer the electrical, plumbing, and building permits. Your water company may also need to permit any work relating to water supply and drainage. If a contractor is handling the renovation, he will obtain your permits. If you are doing it yourself, start by calling your local city or county permitting agency.

Demolition
Something has to go. Something as small as those nasty laminated counters or as major as that load-bearing wall blocking the view of the living room. Kitchen materials may contain hazardous materials such as lead-based paint and asbestos, both of which require special handling. After that, you need to haul away the waste material and dispose of it. Waste stations may not accept hazardous materials, so you should first check up with them about acceptable waste.
Building and Repairing
Depending on your new kitchen's configuration, you may be taking on major construction tasks. Are you adding or replacing windows? Or removing windows to increase cabinet space? How about taking down walls to open up the kitchen to the rest of the house? Even minor kitchen remodeling may need joists strengthened to support heavier appliances or built-ins such as a kitchen island.