How to start Kitchen Remodel

7 Steps For Starting Your Kitchen Renovation- Demolition Time!

Before any remodeling project can begin, there is always going to be some demolition required. Depending on how far you are taking your kitchen renovation project, that could mean simply removing the countertops or stripping the room down to the bare studs. For many homeowners, the demolition can easily get out of hand when hammers and prybars are flying around. While it may be a good way to get our your aggresssion, it could result in more problems than you had before. Taking your time and actually disassembling the room versus demolishing it, is the smart way to go

Before any remodeling project can begin, there is always going to be some demolition required.   Depending on how far you are taking your kitchen renovation project, that could mean simply removing the countertops or stripping the room down to the bare studs.   For many homeowners, the demolition can easily get out of hand when hammers and prybars are flying around.   While it may be a good way to get our your aggresssion, it could result in more problems than you had before.   Taking your time and actually disassembling the room versus demolishing it, is the smart way to go.   Here are 7 steps to remodeling your kitchen.

1.  Think Safety.  If you are going to around any electrical outlets or plumbing, it is important to make sure that  both are turned off.  As we all know, accidentally hitting an electrical wire can prove painful, if not lethal.  While hitting a water line may not be lethal, it can sure cause a lot of headaches and a big mess.

2.  Protect The Items You Are Keeping.  For example, if your floors are in good shape, and you plan to keep them, it is important to cover them.  The last think you want to do, is damage something during demo or construction and increase your overall remodeling budget.

3.  Remove all Fixtures.  If you are planning to keep any of the lighting fixtures, knobs, faucets, etc.. it is important to remove them and put them in a safe place.  That way, when you are wildly swinging that hammer, you damage any of the fixtures you were planning on keeping.

4.  Save the Trim.  In most cases, you can usually save and re-use the mouldings and trim that you will find in the room.  By removing them now, you will prevent any accidental chips or dings when removing the countertops and cabinets.  Once you have the trim removed, start working on the countertops.   Depending on the type of countertop material, it may be as simple as using a utility knife to cut the caulk or paint between the countertop and the backsplash and cabinets.  For laminate or other artificial materials, you may also have to remove any screws that are holding the countertop to the cabinets.

5.  Removing the Countertops.  It is usually a good idea to have some extra hands to remove the countertops, but if you are trying to do it yourself, and it is a material like laminate, you can usually chop it into manageable pieces that you can haul out on your own.
 
6.  Base Cabinets.  Start by removing the drawers and any movable parts on your kitchen cabinets.  Once you have that off, it is time to climb into the cabinets and remove any of the screws that are anchoring the cabinets to the walls.  After the base cabinets are free from the walls, it is now time to separate them from each other.   Most base cabinets will be secure with screws as well, so by removing those screws you will be able to separate and remove all of the base cabinets.

7.  Taking Down the Wall Cabinets. When it comes to removing the wall cabinets it is a good idea to have an extra set of hands or a brace to support the cabinets.   Unlike the base cabinets, this time start by removing any of the screws that connect the cabinets to each other.  Once those are removed, you can start pulling out the screws that are holding each cabinet to the wall.  By starting the wall cabinets with the screws that are connecting them to each other, you can safely remove each cabinet individually.

Once the kitchen cabinets are removed, it is either time to strip the dryall or plaster off, or start patching so that you install your new cabinets.   By taking your time and not going with the sledge hammer approach to demolition, you can minimize the unneccessary damage and ensure that your project comes in under budget.

Source: RTAcabinetstore.com by Gary Nealon

www.LKNcabinets.com offers FREE kitchen cabinet quotes for the greater Charlotte, NC area

Lower prices on cabinets than Retail stores!

Retail Store Secrets- Find Out What They Don’t Want You To Know!

The biggest misconception of the building supply super store is that their prices are the best around. When you compare their prices to other local stores you will find that their prices might be better on the high volume items, but they are making their money on the accessories or larger ticket items. These stores will lead you in with a few low sale prices in their weekly flyers; they are banking on the fact that once you are there for the deals, you will end up picking up other products as well.

I found this out when I started shopping for kitchen cabinets. I was shopping for stock cabinets, and I was amazed at how of an inventory Home Depot and Lowes kept. When I asked a sales associate, he confided with me and said that Home Depot purposely will carry only a few choices of kitchen cabinets and the rest have to be special ordered. Of course these special order cabinets cost more money and make more money for the store. I then traveled to Lowes and found an even worse selection.

This was before I knew anything about RTA Cabinets or being able import them directly.   Once I discovered the world of RTA, it changed my buying habits and saved me a ton of money on the rental properties that I was working on.

The next secret I found was to avoid buying your kitchen counter tops at the big chain supply stores. I found that local kitchen stores carry the same thing but for far less in price. Look in your yellow pages and see what is out there. You’re bound to find some local stores that will actually care about saving you money and are willing to work on tighter margins to get your business.

The final item is the flooring for you kitchen. Again think local stores and avoid the super store. You will be tempted by prices at the big box retailers, but if your going with ceramic tile, prices are relatively the same and the small stores will more likely give you a discount because your giving them business. Lumber Liquidators are popping up everywhere for hardwood flooring, but you can actually get an even better deal if you know exactly how many square feet you will need and you shop the discount building supply stores for closeout deals.

Keep all of this in mind and you will successfully save a ton of money on your new kitchen.

Source: RTAcabinetstore.com by Gary Nealon

www.LKNcabinets.com offers FREE kitchen cabinet quotes for the greater Charlotte, NC area

FREE Kitchen Remodel Quotes for Charlotte, NC!

Discount Kitchen Cabinets- A Lower Price Doesn’t Mean That You Have to Sacrifice Quality

As the price of wood continues to increase, so does the cost of products such as kitchen cabinets. “Cheap” cabinets no longer applies to the description of discount cabinets or rta cabinets. Find out how you can still get a great looking kitchen at a discount price and your neighbors will never be able to tell the difference!

 As the price of wood continues to increase, so does the cost of products such as kitchen cabinets. “Cheap” cabinets no longer applies to the description of discount cabinets or rta cabinets. Find out how you can still get a great looking kitchen at a discount price and your neighbors will never be able to tell the difference!

With the demand for cheaper building materials and the rapid housing boom a couple of years back, many kitchen cabinet manufacturers started looking overseas for a way to make a cheaper kitchen cabinet. In order to conform to the KCMA standards (Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association), they required the kitchen cabinet manufacturing plants overseas to increase the quality of the materials they used and increase the durability of the kitchen cabinets.

Discount kitchen cabinets or Discount kitchen cabinets or RTA Kitchen Cabinets up until this time had been made of fiberboard or particleboard, with staples or dowels holding the cabinets together. Many of the cheap kitchen cabinets at that time had a veneer surface that would warp or buckle when it came in contact with too much water. Because of these inferior features, they didn’t compare to the cabinets that were being manufactured in the U.S.

With the improvements to meet the standards of the KCMA, discount kitchen cabinets are now being built with solid plywood sides, solid wood face frames and doors. and cam locks to hold the cabinet together. Cheap Cabinets is no longer the right description for rta kitchen cabinets. With the improvements in design and function, Cheap Cabinets is no longer the right description for rta kitchen cabinets. With the improvements in design and function, discount cabinets started being imported by more and more companies to provide an alternative to the name brand manufacturers in the US that were asking, in some cases, 2-3 times as much for their kitchen cabinets as discount kitchen cabinet importers were. Even the big box stores started carrying their own lines of rta kitchen cabinets or discount cabinets, in both knockdown and pre-assembled form.

There are some drawbacks to buying discount kitchen cabinets… most manufacturers only carry 5-6 different styles or finishes, which limits your choices. In order to get discount cabinets at their cheapest price, you have to buy them rta or ready-to-assemble, which requires additional time and labor to assemble them.

The good news is that with the cam lock assembly, most discount cabinet lines only require a screwdriver to assemble them. So before buying your new kitchen cabinets at retail price, may sure you stop to take a look at discount kitchen cabinets or rta cabinets. Thanks for improvements, it is now possible to get cheap kitchen cabinets at a discount price.

Source: RTAcabinetstore.com by Gary Nealon

www.LKNcabinets.com offers FREE kitchen cabinet quotes for the greater Charlotte, NC area