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MrsFlatbread
Skinny jeans are in my future
Member since 6/06 10258 total posts
Name:
Baby Momma
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People who completely gutted their kitchens...
did you have your hardware put on by the contractor or did you do it yourself? also, did you cover all of the furniture in the adjacent rooms during the kitchen demo? How long did it take? and any problems that occured that you did not anticipate? What do you wish you knew ahead of time that you found out after the remodel was done? And anything else you want to add!!
TIA...our demo is starting in less than three weeks and I just want to have all of my questions answered.
Message edited 8/11/2009 10:28:05 AM.
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Posted 8/11/09 10:03 AM  |
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Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate
Long Island's Largest Bridal Resource | Long Island Weddings |
Nifheim
allo
Member since 1/09 5476 total posts
Name:
Jennifer
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Re: People who complete;y gutted their kitchens...
my parents gutted their kitchen and we had thick plastic flaps we hung up on the doorways (entry) from the kitchen to the rest of the house. IT WILL BE A MESS!!!
That is my only advice.
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| Posted 8/11/09 10:11 AM |
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JldDolphin
Member since 1/07 6929 total posts
Name:
Jen
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Re: People who complete;y gutted their kitchens...
We had our kitchen completely gutted, but it was empty when we first bought the house so we didn't have to worry about the mess it caused. But yes it is messy.
My advise (but I have to say in the end we were not happy with our contractor, so that is where some of my comments come from).....make sure you always look at their work when they are done for the day. If you see something you don't like, speak up the next day and make them fix it. No matter how small it doesn't matter. Try to be in the house when they are working if you can sometimes. I would pop by and sometimes they weren't even there like they said they would be. It's slow at times if they are waiting for materials to come in. We did not have our contractor put our knobs on, which was a big mistake because our knobs are still not on.  DH is nervous to put them on now. Look at it this, if the contractor messes up the wood, he will have to replace the door, but if you & DH do it and mess it up you will have to pay for a new door. It was a little over a month. We did not move any plumbing or electric. When the countertops are installed make sure everything is level and even look at the countertops from underneath....where the countertops meet the cabinets. Make sure there is no space because that means that the cabinets were not level and now you might ruin your countertops over time or they might crack depending on the material. GL! A kitchen remodel isn't easy. But in the end it is ALL worth it. 
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| Posted 8/11/09 10:31 AM |
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
Posted by Nifheim
my parents gutted their kitchen and we had thick plastic flaps we hung up on the doorways (entry) from the kitchen to the rest of the house. IT WILL BE A MESS!!!
That is my only advice.
Yup. It was a mess even with those plastic sheets the fine dust still made its way through the whole house!
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| Posted 8/11/09 10:53 AM |
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BriBri2u
L'amore vince sempre
Member since 5/05 9320 total posts
Name:
Mrs. B
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
We gutted our kitchen.
We put up thick plastic hangings between the hallways to prevent dust & paper on the floor.
It didn't help - so just be prepared to have everything coated in dust.
DH would vaccuum a few times a day with a shop vac to prevent treking it all over the place. I guess it helped a bit but it was still dusty.
We've come to terms that something will DEF go wrong or will prevent you from moving forward until it gets fixed.
During our remodel, the previous owners dropped the 10 ft ceilings in the kitchen to 8.
We wanted them back to 10ft. DH breaks the ceiling & discovers that they left ALL electrical wires from the lighting in there. No big deal; EXCEPT the electrical was ALL live with no caps on them. 
They just shoved all the wires into the ceiling & put sheetrock over it. Talk about fire hazard.
My brother is an electrician, so he was able to take care of it, but we had to wait for him to be available that weekend. So we lost 3 days on having to put sheetrock on the ceiling.
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| Posted 8/11/09 10:58 AM |
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evenedan
Need a little sunshine
Member since 9/05 3843 total posts
Name:
D
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
We gutted our kitchen ourselves and what a crapstorm of dust and debris! It got everywhere! The house was empty, so we didn't put anything up, but if you are already living in the space, I'd go nuts with plastic sheeting and tape!
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| Posted 8/11/09 11:12 AM |
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lullabella
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 2246 total posts
Name:
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
We just finished the upstairs and they are going to start the downstairs gut in the next week or so... They put some huge plastic thing with a zipper up to block off the upstairs.... seems pretty air tight but who knows! Thankfully we arent living there yet so it shouldnt be as bad.
Message edited 8/11/2009 12:14:26 PM.
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| Posted 8/11/09 12:13 PM |
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LBBCHGRL
LIF Infant
Member since 1/08 199 total posts
Name:
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
We completely gutted our kitchen along with our living room and dining room, so we actually moved out for the time. But we went back each day to see the progress. Our contractor did put up a plastic "door" but dust still got throughout the rest of the house. Our contractor put the knobs on the cabinets. We did the planning with the contractor but we bought the appliances and the fixtures separately for him. So make sure that if you are doing this that your contractor has everything prior to starting.
Don't be scared to speak up if you think something doesn't look right or if you want something done differently. Good luck!
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| Posted 8/11/09 12:31 PM |
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Tah-wee-ZAH
Kisses
Member since 5/05 15952 total posts
Name:
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
Posted by MrsFlatbread
did you have your hardware put on by the contractor or did you do it yourself? also, did you cover all of the furniture in the adjacent rooms during the kitchen demo? How long did it take? and any problems that occured that you did not anticipate? What do you wish you knew ahead of time that you found out after the remodel was done? And anything else you want to add!!
TIA...our demo is starting in less than three weeks and I just want to have all of my questions answered.
I had the contractor place the hardware.
We were not living in the house yet, about 1/2 of it was gutted and a lot of subcontractors were in and out.
My FIL is a kitchen designer so no problems.
Most contractors will gut your kitchen when they place the order for your cabinets... DO NOT agree to this. The industry is very slow right now so even custom cabinets (all wood, made in America... $$$) are taking less than 12 weeks which is the typical time period. Make sure they gut when the cabinets are shipped, get a statement from the manufacturer. The reason why they do the above is because they want half of your money right away. My FIL suggests 1/3 upon agreement of design/placing order, 1/3 gut/cabinets arrive (he does as close together as possible... if you are not moving plumbing, heating, windows, etc. he does it on consecutive days so as to minimize the time you are w/o a functioning kitchen), 1/3 upon completion of the job.
Also make sure it states in your contract that they are to work "consecutive business days" until the job is completed. I've heard of cases where the contractor starts a job right before his scheduled two week vacation 
You will have dust everywhere even if you cover everything. I would try to pack up any non essential items and place them in the garage to minimize what you will have to clean. My FIL's installer is meticulous about cleaning before he leaves everyday but most aren't. Be very careful, definitely shop vac after them every day, especially if you have kids... you don't want them getting a stray nail or staple.
Had I to do all over again?... 9 burner Wolf range and two Viking ovens I'm serious, I was thinking this the other day. I've become a real cook in the last two years.
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| Posted 8/11/09 12:32 PM |
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Erica
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 11767 total posts
Name:
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
we did most ourselves (no electricity or plumbing)...but I would have the contractor put the hardware on for you. We put them on and it's not difficult, but it's a bit stressful finding the right spots and making sure they are level/even, etc (I made a template to do it, but I was still nervous drilling in). I bet that the contractor doesn't charge much to put it on - it's second nature to them. although this is for handles...if you are using knobs...that will be easy.
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| Posted 8/11/09 1:09 PM |
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Jenn627
Laaaaaaaambert!
Member since 5/08 9818 total posts
Name:
Jenn
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
Posted by MrsFlatbread
did you have your hardware put on by the contractor or did you do it yourself? also, did you cover all of the furniture in the adjacent rooms during the kitchen demo? How long did it take? and any problems that occured that you did not anticipate? What do you wish you knew ahead of time that you found out after the remodel was done? And anything else you want to add!!
TIA...our demo is starting in less than three weeks and I just want to have all of my questions answered.
We gutted our kitchen - but along with the rest of the house so we didn't worry about dust. I agree - if you can hang sheets - hang the sheets. Keep up with the cleaning daily of the other rooms and it won't be so bad.
We put the hardware on ourselves... well DH did. We also ordered our cabinets from Kraftmaid and they are SUPER about sending replacement fronts for FREE. DH drilled a hole wrong (a couple actually) and they re-sent the drawer front no problem (four actually). They really have fantastic customer service.
I have no advice for you as far as install goes - I agree with Jen - if even the SLIGHTEST thing bothers you - say a seam is a little more 'wide' then you'd like - have them fix it. You're probably spending a lot of money - you want it done right.
I wish I had known that having custom cabinetry done is on par with stock cabinets. Some things drive me CRAZY about them - mostly dead space... Oh and a bread drawer is the best option ever. Love it.
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| Posted 8/11/09 1:14 PM |
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MetsGirl07
LIF O2 Vendor
Member since 12/07 16202 total posts
Name:
Deanna
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
we just had our kitchen gutted out and remodeled this year!
our contractor (home depot) put our hardware in .
we had the plastic lining in our doorway and it did help ! they did a good job of keeping all the dust and debri out of the other rooms!
but definitely after each day of work , make sure you look everything over ! see if everything is up to standard!
i can say that we had not one single problem.. we were very happy in our remodel !
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| Posted 8/11/09 1:29 PM |
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officiallyamrs
LIF Toddler
Member since 7/05 421 total posts
Name:
Melissa
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
we did! the contractor put on the hardware. we covered everything and sealed off rooms bc it gets very dusty! the only issue we had was that the cabinets backordered, so it took two extra months to get it completed, so that sucked.
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| Posted 8/11/09 3:03 PM |
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MrsFlatbread
Skinny jeans are in my future
Member since 6/06 10258 total posts
Name:
Baby Momma
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
Posted by officiallyamrs
we did! the contractor put on the hardware. we covered everything and sealed off rooms bc it gets very dusty! the only issue we had was that the cabinets backordered, so it took two extra months to get it completed, so that sucked.
our cabinets and appliances are already in. I have the tile already for the floor. I just need light fixtures, backsplash, faucet and sink and I am all done. Our contractor wouldn't put us on his schedule until we ordered the cabinets. He wants everything on site before he starts.
Message edited 8/11/2009 3:17:52 PM.
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| Posted 8/11/09 3:15 PM |
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sunnyflies
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 1757 total posts
Name:
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Re: People who completely gutted their kitchens...
I had to have the tile put in before the cabinets when I did my last kitchen. Right now, I am living with a gutted kitchen and waiting for hardwood floors. I have a temporary kitchen set up in a hallway, so I can cook.
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| Posted 10/1/09 1:14 PM |
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