Kitchen Remodels – It’s What’s on the Menu For Your Next Home Improvement Project

Most homeowners planning on a kitchen remodel or renovation are easily able to find themselves wanting a 20 karat upgrade on a 2 karat budget.  Given the fact that the national average cost of a complete kitchen remodel is approximately $40,000, it is easy for those looking to upgrade to realize how quickly the expenses add up to $40,000.  Many kitchen remodels though, don’t even approach that figure.  The majority of families in today’s economic climate may not have thousands upon thousands of dollars available to spend on a kitchen remodel.  However it is quite common to obtain a small home equity loan for such home improvement projects.

Creating a new kitchen layout is not as simple as one would expect.  There are basic industry standard heights, distances, and depths that need to be observed when positioning cabinets, lighting, ventilation, electrical outlets, doorways, and much more.  Every county within each state has their own particular building codes to adhere to depending on the geographic location of the county.  Because of this it is important to retain the services of an experienced professional builder conversant with the local and state building codes.

Unless the homeowner is exceptionally skilled and knowledgeable about kitchen renovations and building codes, a do-it-yourself approach will involve inordinate amounts of time, frustration, patience, and quite likely several cuts, gashes, and bruises.  Just in itself, researching styles and kitchen materials from countertops and cabinet hardware to range hoods and electrical appliances can be an exhausting endeavour.  Then the truly hard work begins.

Demolition, cleaning, and prepping, if done by the homeowner can take weeks.  Demolition and removal of fixtures needs to be done carefully and safely in order to minimize any damage to the floors and walls.  Should a professional builder and remodeling company be utilized, what may require weeks of work for the homeowner can be shortened to just one or two days.

The easy decision to choose a reputable home builder and remodeler over the homeowner performing the kitchen upgrade themselves is the length of time the kitchen remodel will take.  A realistic time estimate for a do-it-yourself kitchen remodel can easily take over 4 to 8 months depending upon the extent of the remodel.  A kitchen remodel carried out by professionals may take as little as 3 to 5 weeks.  The time savings with using a professional company are readily apparent and the homeowner need never get injured themselves.

www.LKNcabinets.com

50th Annual Southern Spring Home and Garden Show

LKN Cabinets would like to thank all the hundreds of people that stopped at our booth at the 50th Annual Southern Spring Home and Garden Show. We registered over 30 people for FREE crown moulding or FREE tear out option for their new kitchen install.

Thanks again and we’ll see you at then next home show.

Brian Powers

LKN Cabinets

www.LKNcabinets.com

Kitchen Remodel Ideas and Important Tips

Remodeling your kitchen is probably the most important piece of home decoration you can do. There is no shortage of pictures of elegant and tempting kitchen remodel ideas all over the Internet, TV adverts and the ubiquitous home magazines. Funny thing about those sales pictures though is that they all look like small kitchens. It is a limitation of photography that the camera can only capture two walls and a section of the ceiling and floor of any kitchen remodel set.

A top tip for your kitchen remodel ideas is to make use of all-round picture simulation software so that you see your kitchen plan realized as though you stand in the center and turn full circle. You will see features and spot anomalies that you didn’t imagine existed when looking at a two dimensional glossy film-set picture.

One thing you won’t see in any of those glossy magazines or on any of those gorgeous website room simulations is the total cost of your kitchen remodel ideas. Another top tip is to overcome this omission by using spreadsheet software to build your own parts list, cost sheet and be your own estimator.

First you measure and draw up plans of your kitchen area. Then you decide on your remodel approach. This can range from the minimum change of repainting your existing cabinet doors all the way up to a total replacement project with RTA, ready to assemble, kitchen cabinets. Assuming of course that you are on a budget that won’t stretch to employing a contractor to install your custom made kitchen remodel ideas. These services deliver exquisite results with minimum inconvenience to your self but they are also very expensive.

The fundamental principal when it comes down to the ‘nitty gritty’ of how to implement your kitchen remodel ideas is to hold your budget in front of you at all times and stick to it. Discipline yourself to reject any and all budget busting ideas and shop around for affordable alternatives.

Two further top tips for holding down the cost of your kitchen remodel ideas are: Buy the accessories and hardware separately to the cabinets. This way you not only get a unique look but you can also take advantage of discounts in the competitive hardware market. Save up to pay cash for your new kitchen. Too many people forget the cost of credit when it comes to their home improvement budget and you can often get discounts for paying cash.

www.LKNcabinets.com offers all Kitchen and Bath remodeling services for the Charlotte, NC area