Do’s & donts of kitchen renovations

amother

↑ Clover

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 2:15 pm

amother Jade wrote:

Depends on the type of wall. I was quoted 2000 shekel for a wall in my apartment, but it's a thinner wall not made of cement.
Best call a contractor and get a quote instead of assuming

I am not assuming anything.

In the USA, if you renovate a kitchen to remove a wall and add an island it generally means a down to the studs gut remodel. Cabinets, counters, plumbing, electricity, flooring, appliances as well as all of the stuff one doesn’t think about adding up like knobs, pills, faucets, garbage disposals.

My only recommendation is that OP decide what her budget is and then plan accordingly. 🤷‍♀️

In the USA, $50,000 would be considered to be the cost of an average gut remodel of a kitchen.

If OP has a budget of $15,000 she would then figure out what her priorities are and work within that budget but it would typically not be more of a cosmetic redo following the footprint of the original kitchen so as to minimize expenses.

↑ Amarante

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 2:17 pm

amother DarkCyan wrote:

Disagree, this is another kitchen design item that really depends on you and your needs. We intentionally went with base cabinets (a drawer and then a 2 shelf cabinet) and are very happy with them. We find they have much more storage and can fit taller items than drawers can. With drawers, you are constrained to its dimensions. With cabinets, you can place (or not place) the shelf wherever you'd like.

You can design your drawers to the exact depth you want when you configure the interior.

This is no different than a lower cab8net with shelves especially if you use rollouts instead of fixed shelving.

Zemira

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 4:14 pm

We did ours last year and BH happy to say 1 year later I would not change even one thing.

-First figure out your budget, then hire a highly qualified kitchen designer local to you who knows the local cabinet/counter vendors. A good designer will know things you likely will not have thought about (like types of cabinet that can only go in one place due to your layout, etc.). Some changes seem "big" but are not really that expensive; some "small" changes can be $$$$. Making a detailed and well thought-out plan before starting will save you tons of agony and IMO is worth every penny.

-Before you speak to your designer, make a list of every tiny thing that drives you nuts about the way you use your current kitchen. Things you can't reach, cabinets that are hard to use, not enough space for XYZ, not enough fleishig counter, etc. whatever it is. You can do this in the 3-6 months before the renovation. Every one of these problems, you should plan a solution for in your new design.

-Separate hot and cold water handles on any sinks! Per our rav this is the #1 priority, it is just too easy for you or your children/guests to be over d'oraysa on bishul if you have a single-handle temperature control.

-IMO, stuff to spend on: Kitchen designer and plans, sturdy cabinet and fixture quality (to withstand kid abuse), separate sinks (not with just a divider), at least 1 dishwasher.
Stuff to save $ on: Lighting (got used high-end brand fixtures), tile (you can find pretty stuff on sale), floors (we kept our hardwoods), paint (DIY), sinks (Amazon has surprisingly affordable nice ones), appliances (we kept them the same - you can always upgrade later if they're a standard size), backsplash (you can even skip altogether and just add one later).

-Ideally, any lower cabinets (apart from under-sink ones) should either have rollout shelves, or just be drawers.

-Random weird things to think carefully about: electric outlet placement, walking/cooking traffic routes, clearance around open oven/fridge/dishwasher doors, cabinet door paths (do they hit stuff when you open them?), where you are going to store each kind of item/appliance that you use frequently, range ventilation

amother

Snapdragon ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 5:10 pm

We just did this in our small split level home. We knocked down a non-load bearing wall btwn the eat in kitchen and dining room and put in a sink and cabinetry. We did granite countertops and splurged on quality pot drawers and new handles and pulls. We kept the original side of the kitchen and coordinated the new side with it. It looks so nice and I now have two sinks! total cost was 12k I am happy to break it down for you if you need. We used a licensed contractor who is newer to the scene so he charged less

amother

↑ Snapdragon

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 5:13 pm

amother Snapdragon wrote:

I also love that we put the hot water shut off in front of the cabinet so we can just turn it off entirely for YT and could pick whatever faucet I like

↑ bzmommy

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 10:38 pm

amother Lightcoral wrote:

My counters are dark and I don’t like that. You don’t know where you have to clean. Was like that when we moved in.

I love my island and I use it a lot

Love my dishwashers BH

Love my pull out pantry. My lower cabinet for fleishig has roll out shelves which is totally fine.

I do not like island seating so we had a mini table built with benches.

What is a pullout pantry ?
The mini table u have in kitchen area ?
Is that separate from dining room table ?