Home remodeling

[make_your_move]

Has anyone here on my list done their own home remodeling. A kitchen, in particular. Was it worth the price you saved going to a contractor? Tell me all the gory details.

Comments

[museclio]

R and I and his friends did a lot of the kitchen stuff. Feel free to ping...

[liatha.livejournal.com]

depends on what sorta remodling you're talking about.

Major stuff like replacing all the cabinets/counter tops and reLOCATING major appliances?

HELL NO.

Minor stuff like redoing the floor and just replacing appliances? Surely.

On the cabinets & countertops, as long as you're not reconfiguring things, too drastically, it actually wouldn't be hard to do... I understand the basic theory of what has to be done, I've just never personally DONE it. But moving the fridge to the other side of the room, putting in an island with a cooktop or sink on it, and other such things are WAY out of my purvue... as is knocking out walls.

All that said... I COULD put you in touch with handyman hottie. I dunno if he's still doing contracting himself, but I do know he has contacts for contractors you can trust.

[russell-moore.livejournal.com]

Yes. But it was as a helper for fellow military folks who had houses.

Had a good experience, had a bad experience.

First, the Good.

Back when Hechingers still existed, you could go in and pick out a "remodeling kit". Tell them how many sinks, how many cabinets, and give them the dimensions (which means you better make sure your measurements are correct), pick out your materials, pay for it, and 2 weeks later, it was delivered, which was cool as you had 2 weeks to rip out all the old stuff and then paint and clean for preparation of the new. The stuff came shrink wrapped into bundles, along with instructions. Everything cut to fit according to the dimensions you gave them. So, you simply opened Bundle "A", opened the instructions, and got to work. Then continued onto Bundle "B" and so on. Hardest part was the countertops (heavy and hard to maneuver). But, 3 days later, new kitchen completed.

I am told Home Depot offers a similar type of remodeling purchase, but don't know that for a fact. I do know Hechingers did their stuff correctly. And doing it this way saved the homeowner almost $1,000

Now the bad. Everything from scratch. Mis-measurements costing additional time, materials and money. Took 5 times longer than anticipated. Broke 2 fingers and needed 12 stitches. Sucked. Not only that, the guy went about $2,000 over budget. That combined with his wife not having her kitchen to use for over 3 months made his life hell. All I had was physical pain to overcome.

So I would recommend checking at Home Depot or Lowe's first to see if either offers the "remodelling kits", as that route makes life very easy as long as you aren't a complete dumbass with math.

[ms-lemon.livejournal.com]

I am a believer in that even if you don't use a contractor use someone who's got skills in the work your looking to do.

Right now I'm working with/hiring LordBlackthorne (Stephen) from the club to do some remodling work. His rate is decent and he gets to be the carry all the stress and coordinate the activites of any experts that might be needed rather than Rob or I having to do so (because you know sometimes you just HAVE to use a legit plumber or electrician type). Besides he's really pretty to look at and I'll get to see him all sweaty and shirtless at somepoint I bet.

Let me know if you want his contact info to pick his brain about whether the work you want to do is something he could work with you on or be helpful to you with it in anyway.

This again is the advice of someone who did try to do the handle it all myself and buy things as I went then realize after awhile it seemed I was just tossing more and more money at it and not saving anything by not using someone who actually DID it for a living. I'm not handy and don't claim to be :)

*hug*

[belthazar-b.livejournal.com]

Yes, as a matter of fact I have. You've even seen it. I've also done multiple other contruction and kitchen expiriences. However, when we redid my kitchen I was working with my dad who has passed most of his knowledge and experience on to me in contruction on to me. I know we saved *quite a bit* of money by doing it ourselves.

As to wheather I would recommend your kitchen being a do-it-yourself project would depend on what all you and Q wanted to do with it, as that makes a BIG difference.

I only know what I see on TV and read about

[ladylyonesse.livejournal.com]

But you will need to check and make certain what portions of a re-do are required by your locality to be done by licensed pros -- usually electric, anything involving gas hookups, and plumbing above and beyond basic hookups. (so if you're moving plumbing, etc., you can rough it in but the pro has to do the actual moving of pipes around, etc.)

Toni, sunflwgal on LJ, did her own kitchen remodel last year. Might be worth asking her.

[ivorydamsel.livejournal.com]

Isn't msruth having her kitchen remodeled right now?

how much change

[lsmiked.livejournal.com]

How big of a change to you want? Sometime little things can make a big difference. I've done cabinets,sinks,plumbing, drywall, painting, framing, etc.

As you know, our mutual friends in Fairfax remodeled their kitchen to the point of new appliances, sink, cabinet, floor, dishwasher, and replacemet of the drywall on the rear wall. That was an involved and somewhat extended process. But their results were better quality than they would have gotten with most (if not all) contractors.

As long as your realistic and plan for it to take much more time than you estimate, it is doable. If you merely want a new floor, sink and countertop, that's easy and doable relatively quickly.

[grail76.livejournal.com]

fatesfolly did 2 2 years ago and has been a part of the ongoing re-doing of her whole upstairs. She came to it without a lot of background but having seen her place in Kinston, she did a good job. Send her a note. She'd love to chat you up over a sabre saw.

[wizardglick.livejournal.com]

You should be able to take your measurements to the SuperMegaHomeStore and at least look at the displays and play with the design software and get a rough estimate.

I did this once. You pick your cabinets and surfaces, and they build them and you pick up the parts and put them together. Hanging the cabinets does involve some skills and presents some issues (tiny errors build into big problems at the other end of the wall). But lots of home improvements shows tell you just how to do it. Just buy a few videos. Good excuse for a new nail gun.

You'll want an electrician and a plumber to do the hookups. Lots of places require it.

Probably wouldn't need to get a contractor, unless you are doing something completely custom and fancy. Might want to talk to an architect or an interior designer before you decide on some major changes.

HtH!

Been there... done that...

[webqatch.livejournal.com]

My opinion is that if you have the time and effort to devote to a project like this, it's well worth the savings. If you can't/won't devote the (considerable) time and energy -- or if you're afraid of the fact that you're likely to end up "without" a kitchen for a week+ more than you intended because Murphy came to visit... then go with a contractor and hope that the contractor doesn't have the same Murphy visit. For more info on what Murphy can do, see this post

My job, while not as well planned out as it could/should have been, really wasn't that bad. Then again, I had several weeks to work on it between the time I bought the house and the time I moved in. Most people don't have that luxury. My kitchen replacement involved the following (and more!):

• move stove to dining room
• remove all old cabinets, other appliances, old tile floor, wallpaper
• mud, sand, mud, sand, mud, sand, paint, paint
• replace all power outlets & switches (old ones had been painted over and/or other grossness
• re-run the sink drain from being "over and then down" to "down and then over"
• replace the (explative deleted) old subfloor with a pergo subfloor
• replace the tile floor with a rolled vinyl floor
• replace all of the appliances except the (gas) stove - including installing the icemaker line
• build & install new cabinets
• cut & install new coutertop
• cut "fifth hole" in new (deeeeeep) sink and install

You're welcome to come up anytime to see what it is that I did... and whether you do or not, I'll be happy to share prices, problems, and such with you, Q, or anyone else.

Re: Been there... done that...

[webqatch.livejournal.com]

If you want to see other details on the kitchen/etc replacement, check this link instead -- it's my "repairs" tag for the house

How good are you at this sort of thing?

[sierra-victor.livejournal.com]

How much time and energy do you have?

For me, it's easy. I have more cash than time, and I'm a klutz to boot. Contractor here I come--presuming I can find one. In Asheville, there is so much demand for skilled (or unskilled) labor that just getting someone in for an estimate can take weeks.

I suspect that if you're thinking of a major re-modeling, you'll be better off hiring it out. You and Quasi are already Busy people.

S_V