if you redid your kitchen - please help!

DH and I are ready to gut and redo our kitchen - so I am looking for some advice on the best way to approach the project...

We need an architect (part of the project involves taking down a wall so we need to know if it will be structurally sound)

But do we get an architect first - or find someone to design the kitchen first...

basically we aren't just changing the cabinets/appliances - we are changing the WHOLE layout of the downstairs.

Can you tell me how YOU approached the project...who did the installation, layout, etc....

Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.
TIA!

Re: if you redid your kitchen - please help!

If you go to Consumers they have salespeople who specialize in Kitchens. They will be able to help you make the most of the space.

I would save your money on the architect and just go there.

When I had my bathroom done they were awesome helping me with the renovation.

Re: if you redid your kitchen - please help!

It is best to have a kitchen designer if you are making major changes, espcially structural.

Many people go to the big chains but keep in mind that there are also a lot of independent designers that specialize in kitchens.

My FIL has been in the business for decades and he designed the kitchen in our old house and now the new one in our new house.

Message edited 8/13/2006 8:07:14 PM.

Re: if you redid your kitchen - please help!

We also removed 2 walls in our kitchen and changed our whole downstairs when we bought our house. First we had my uncle (who owns a contracting compnay) come over and check that the walls were not load bearing walls. Then we did the demolotion ourselves. Next we tiled the floor. After that, I had an idea of what I wanted. We saw a kitchen designer at Home Depot and did the desing (based on our ideas) and gave us an estimate. We ordered the cabinets from them and installed them ourselves with the help of another contractor uncle. Before we installed them, we added more outlets and wire for the lights.
Then we bought the appliances, then granite, then backsplash.

Re: if you redid your kitchen - please help!

You dont need an architect IMO, any good contractor will be able to help you with it. We removed 2 walls and in the end were able to vault our ceiling b/c they werent load bearing walls afterall after everything was down to the studs. (we redid the whole floor) I went to Consumers Kitchens & Bath. They sent someone out to measure for me for free and helped design a new kitchen. I went over everything with the contractor to see what I could play with as far as their measurements. I later ended up going to HoMe Depot and doing a design with them and ultimately bought from them, 2nd time around I was more knowledgeable than my visit to Consumers so I knew where I had some play. My contractor did the installation. Plumber for the plumbing, gas stove hookup (we had electric), radiant heat flooring. Electrician for all the new wiring and lighting.

Re: if you redid your kitchen - please help!

Well, honestly, with the last two kitchens we never hired an architect or designer. The first kitchen my husband took all the measurements and designed the new kitchen, but it wasn't a radical change because most of the appliances stayed in the same place, we just took down a wall. We hired a contractor, told him what we wanted to do and he helped us build it. The second time around, just recently, hubby used the kitchen design tools from Ikea - they offer some kind of software. He designed the new kitchen with the software, bought the cabinets from Ikea, I put them together and we put it all up within a couple of weeks. It was slighly more complicated because we took down a wall and moved all the appliances and expanded the kitchen, so this time we hired an electrician, but that's about it...

We thought of using Home Depot or Lowes because they have a free consultation - someone will come to the house, take all the measurements and then sit down with you to create a new kitchen design, but when it came down to the design session, they s*cked. Totally uncreative, tried to stick us in the same design that we had before, etc... and the price of the cabinets, which were almost the exact same as the ones from Ikea but four times the price, weren't worth it so we ended up doing it ourselves.

I'm going to post pics of the new kitchen soon so you can get an idea... you can look through some of my old posts for pics of the last kitchen renovation we did. FM me if you have any questions.

Message edited 8/14/2006 8:25:38 AM.

Re: if you redid your kitchen - please help!

I'm pretty sure if you go up to your attic (or to your basement) and look to see which way the studs are running, you can tell if a wall is load bearing. If it runs perpendicular to the floor/ceiling studs - it is most likely a load bearing wall. If it runs parallel, it is most likely not, unless there is more than 20 feet between the two remaining walls on either side of the one you want to take out.


That's how our contractor explained it to us. But don't go by me, but contractors will give free estimates and you can have them look to see if its load bearing when they give you the estimate

Re: if you redid your kitchen - please help!

I am pretty sure it is a load bearing wall - that is why the contractors are telling us that we need an architect.

Re: if you redid your kitchen - please help!

We took out a load bearing wall through the contractor, but we never hired an architect. I'd venture to say you could probably get this done with a contractor only, depending on how extensive the project is... Presumably, to go in accordance with "code" the township probably requires you use an architect, but I'd say probably 80% of the homeowners out there don't because the cost involved in getting the permits and hiring an architect is prohibitive...