New kitchen renovation question

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

I will be making new posts about this journey, so people don't get too bogged down in the original.

I finally have an appointment with the contractor tomorrow (Friday), and I'm looking for some input from those of you that have explored kitchen or bath renovation, as to just how high tech the presentation was.

It sounds like this guy has 'drawn up' a layout. I guess in this day and age, I figured there would be something done virtually, where I can actually see on the computer, the various aspects (floor, cabinets, countertops, sinks, hardware etc.) all brought together and 'realistic' based on my kitchen's lay out. I guess I got that idea from playing around on the Wilsonart website where you can put any cabinets, counters and wall colors together and see what they look like. It's great fun, and give you such a much more realistic idea of how things look, than those little useless samples, you are trying to picture on a much larger scale.

Now, this is a mid sized town, of only 50,000 people, not a big city where you would get a lot of choices of contractors, and get more advanced types of presentations. The nearest big city to us, is too far away for the contractors to service us (I've tried a number of times for different things we needed done).

So I was just wondering how many had really high tech and interactive means to see their options from their contractors, and how many have just had to look at things 'on paper' the old fashioned way, with the aid of small sample pieces of things like flooring, countertops etc.

kittyloo · ‎03-11-2010

@Mominohio i live in a smaller town than you do, by half. around here, when doing a budget reno, you can either go to the display section of the local hardware store, (ace, farr's) to see the choices, or possibly to the contractors, place of business where they shoe a variety of cabinets, and finishes. Lowes, and home depot, have a decent selection to look at as well. no high tech guys around here either.

millieshops · ‎03-09-2010

I'm still in the prep stage - looking at materials many places and trying to decide what I want, if I can afford what I want, etc.

No place I've dealt with so far has shown me high tech drawings like the ones used, say, on the Property Brothers. That would really make choosing so much easier, but I suspect it's a pipe dream with my budget.

hayseed00 · ‎11-24-2011

@Mominohio we had a company that specializes in kitchens do ours. The designer came to our home and then we went to the store and she showed us a design she had in mind that she did on her computer, we also gave her our input on what we wanted. They had cupboards galore and counter material of all types to pick from. In my opinion the most important aspects are to tell the contractor your ideas, and the cost along with his references. The company we had contracts all their work out and I was glad my husband knows quite a lot about how a build should be because there was quite a few times he had to call the contractors out for doing something on the cheep, or just plain wrong. I love my kitchen and the beautiful cupbords amd counter space, but it was sure stressful at the time of the remodel.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@hayseed00 wrote:
@Mominohio we had a company that specializes in kitchens do ours. The designer came to our home and then we went to the store and she showed us a design she had in mind that she did on her computer, we also gave her our input on what we wanted. They had cupboards galore and counter material of all types to pick from. In my opinion the most important aspects are to tell the contractor your ideas, and the cost along with his references. The company we had contracts all their work out and I was glad my husband knows quite a lot about how a build should be because there was quite a few times he had to call the contractors out for doing something on the cheep, or just plain wrong. I love my kitchen and the beautiful cupbords amd counter space, but it was sure stressful at the time of the remodel.

@hayseed00

One of my goals, was to find a place that does not contract out any of the work. And this particular company claims they do not. In fact, I asked about painting the walls, and they don't do that. I'm not happy about it, but at least I know up front they aren't contracting out to whomever they can get, and making it seem like it is their work.

I want as much of a full service contractor as I can get for this job. I want to be able to go back to one entity if there are issues, and not have this one blaming that one, and getting a big run around.

My husband knows a little bit about most everything, so I'm hoping he will notice and be able to monitor what goes on to some degree too. I can't imagine just letting them go at it, with no scrutiny! LOL

hayseed00 · ‎11-24-2011

@MominohioJust think how much enjoyment you will get out of your new kitchen !!!!

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

Nothing high tech with mine.

Cabinetmaker came out, took pictures of the old kitchen with his cell phone. Took out his sketch pad, measured everything, and then sketched the changes on paper. When he left, I could see how different my kitchen was going to be with deep pot drawers on each side of the stove, and fewer base cabinets with doors. He also drew my custom cabinet for the microwave, with the upper and lower storage space just as I wanted.

When he was done that evening, I knew my new kitchen was going to be exactly what I wanted. He had a sample of the stain finish I wanted, I decided on the cabinet design, and he left the Formica samples, giving me 5 days to decide which one I wanted. The extra large countertop had to be ordered first thing in order to be done within the quick turnaround for the job.

Pipsqueak · ‎03-25-2010

We did a kitchen tear out at our old house, basically kept the same layout but wanted more cabinet and storage space. We were lucky in that we were able to find in our old town a very good kitchen/bath design firm. We knew what we wanted for cabinets (lighter for cabinets on walls, darker wood for the island). They were very good at asking questions on how you work around in your kitchen, making you think how and where you wanted to organize stuff. Showed the owner of the company all my kitchen stuff (small appliances, dishes, glasses, etc. etc.) then she measured out our existing space and said we can put drawers here, cabinets there. She was great! She knew by looking at all my kitchen items how much cabinetry we would need to have room for all my stuff! Then she had one of her assistants actually draw, mind you draw out by hand on graph paper, the design layout! Her assistant was very meticulous, even down to the hardware on the cabinets like what looks better knobs on cabinets and handles on drawers. The owner also went with us to a couple of different granite suppliers that she uses so to pick out countertops, which we already knew what we wanted in that department, as well.

Anyway, don't know how extensive your kitchen renovation will be but be prepared to be without one. That was the only drawback, trying to be creative in the cooking and cleaning department (i.e. lots of outdoor grilling and bathroom sink usage). Miss my old kitchen but it definitely is worth it if done right because it really was something that sold our home.

BEFORE: (with builder grade cabinets)

AFTER: (with custom cabinetry)

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