make_your_move | Home remodeling

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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.

Current Mood: curious

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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.