Total kitchen renovation

For those who totally gutted and redid your kitchens: did you use a kitchen designer, a general contractor, or act as your own GC?

I guess I'm asking...did you hire a design person who then helped you oversee the contractors? Or did you use a GC that brought in their own subs? Or were you "in charge" and found each separate person, i.e., plumber, floor person, tile, etc.

Were you happy with how it turned out? Do you wish you had more help, if you acted as your own GC?

Thanks!

Total kitchen renovation

We did all our own work. But I think it depends on your situation. Do you work? How knowledgable are you with the type of work they are doing? Would you be able to spot a mistake?

If you work and are not home all day I would absolutely hire soemone to oversee it. ALso if you know nothing about the construction then I would also hire someone even if you would be home.

Total kitchen renovation

we went with Ikea kitchen and planned the whole design ourselves and gave them the measurements. we have the contractor putting it together as we speak! Ikea.com has a planner which helps a lot and saves money from someone doing the work for you if your on a budget! So far I am happy with the results.. its not finished yet:)

Total kitchen renovation

We didn't do a whole gut, but even for what we did, I wish we hired a contractor. There were all sorts of things I didn't know, like when the electrician should do his work (and that his work didn't include repairing the holes he made) or that the cooktop, kitchen sink and faucet had to be on site before the countertop guy comes to measure or how we were going to mount the sink or a whole variety of other things that made it more difficult.

Then there was the issue of not knowing if something was right or wrong. For example, there is a seam in our countertop that the countertop guy swore had to be there. I still don't necessarily buy it and if we had a general contractor, we would have someone who could tell us.

I was home all day and not working at the time, and even still I would have hired a contractor in hindsight.

Re: Total kitchen renovation

We gutted to the studs and changed the layout. We worked with designers at both consumers and home depot. I had my own GC do all the work. I was beyond happy ith the turnout but what a stressfull process.

Before and afters below


Before



After

Total kitchen renovation

That's an amazing transformation! Love your light fixture! :)

Re: Total kitchen renovation

Re: Total kitchen renovation

Happy to help answer questions. Our blog is very helpful for those planning and learning about the process. Here is the link: Planning a New Kitchen

Re: Total kitchen renovation

We designed it ourselves along with the designer at HD. It was a very stressful process.

after:


This is obviously without granite and backsplash. We changed the layout. It was more than $30,000 when all said and done. A huge cost was the cabinets.

Total kitchen renovation

We are in the process now. Our entire kitchen is gutted and we have a contractor who is doing it all. They have someone on staff who will design it for us and then we ok it. Our kitchen is about $25K

Re: Total kitchen renovation

Did mine over the summer, I worked with my contractor to design it. Everything was gutted from floor to walls.

Re: Total kitchen renovation

Re: Total kitchen renovation

We recently re did our kitchen. We acted as our own contractor.
My husband and his friend gutted the kitchen, we hired his friend to lay the tile floor, we used dynamic kitchen for the cabinets and they did the install and then we hired an electrician to do the lighting and a plumber to connect sink/dishwasher.

I had met with a kitchen designer so I knew they layout that I wanted.

Re: Total kitchen renovation

Consult with a professional designer first. You're making a substantial investment so you want the best advice and quality you can get within your budget. No one does this better than a pro with years of experience. Most designers (including us) offer a free in-store consultation. Take advantage of this opportunity. You may be happily surprised by what you learn. Here is a helpful article so you will know what to bring with you during a free consult.



5 Tips to Get the Most Mileage from Your Free Design Consultation

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Re: Total kitchen renovation

Thanks for sharing, everyone. I'm a little overwhelmed at the scope of the work that needs to be done. I think kitchen designer/GC is definitely the way to go for me, especially since I'll be working and have kids.