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Kitchen remodel preparation is one part that can get lost with all of the other plans you have to make when kitchen remodeling. Seeing photos of a kitchen before and after the remodel makes it seem like an easy process, but there is a lot that goes into preparing for a kitchen remodel.
To help you with preparing your house for your kitchen remodel, our experts have created this article with tips that many people miss. Reading this article will ensure that when you remodel your kitchen, everything will go extremely smoothly.
How Much Demolition Will You Do?
The first thing you want to know about the preparation for your kitchen remodels ideas is how much demolition there will be. If things are staying in your kitchen during the kitchen remodel, you will need to protect them from all of the work going on.
Some people choose to leave the cabinets or countertops in their kitchen because these items last a very long time. The only thing that makes some people throw these items out is if the style doesn’t match the new kitchen remodel.
If you are going to be tearing out everything and gutting the kitchen, you don’t have to worry about protecting anything. This makes your preparation work a little easier, but you still want to plan as much as you can.
Consider Donating Usable Items
If you are throwing away parts of your kitchen that still have some life in them, you can donate them to a used building supply organization. Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful organization that accepts usable items throughout the USA.
Many used building supply stores will even come to pick up your items so you don’t have to worry about transporting them. This saves you some time and effort that you can spend on other parts of your kitchen remodel.
Giving your kitchen items away for reuse helps keep those things out of landfills and is ultimately wonderful for the planet. The people who can use your items will be happy as well, so it is an actual win-win situation.
Make Sure To Find The Best Contractor
If you don’t want to do a DIY kitchen remodel, you must find a great contractor who is easy to work with. It is advised that you get bids from at least three contractors, and that is probably the best number because you won’t end up overwhelmed with your choices.
You need to be able to express yourself to your contractor and feel like they understand your goals for the kitchen remodel project. This person will be working with you for several months or even a year, so it’s critical that you can trust them and enjoy working with them.
You don’t always want to automatically choose the lowest bid from a contractor. You need to investigate what the contract says and especially figure out who is responsible for cost overruns because that can be a huge expense when the unexpected happens.
Understand The Permitting And Inspection Process
When you remodel your kitchen, you need to get permission from your local building department. There could be waits to have permits approved, so you need to give yourself some time to have all of the proper paperwork to get started.
Your contractor should do all of the work for the permits, but it is good to ask questions about it and try to understand what is going on. This is a major investment, and being on top of the permits makes you more powerful to get what you need from the process.
You may need to sign a lot of documents and you might need to find some to show to the building and permitting department. This is a normal step that must be completed before you start the work and will have to be inspected along the process.
Enjoy The Entire Process, Including The Preparation
A kitchen remodel is an exciting project, but it comes with its challenges. One part of kitchen remodeling that many people have trouble with is preparation, so it’s good to remind yourself that everything will turn out great.
In these times of busy contractors and supply chain problems, the preparation stage is often much longer than you might expect. It could be that you will wait a year or more just to start with your kitchen remodel ideas, and you need to be patient during this time.
The more you can stay mindful of the process and understand that your results will be outstanding if you do the preparation, the better time you will have. You don’t want to look back on your kitchen remodel and remember feeling stressed out the whole time.
Pack Up Your Existing Kitchen
If you are living in your house and have your kitchen full of stuff, you need to pack everything up and have a place to store everything. If you have space in the rest of your home for kitchen items, that is a convenient option.
If you need to keep your kitchen items off-site, you will have to rent a storage unit to keep them in. Be sure that you include that in your budget to ensure that you have enough money to keep your project going and have enough food to eat.
It is good to label all of your boxes so that you can find everything when it is time to move back into your kitchen. Also, consider anything you might need during the remodel and try to keep them accessible or in a place where you can find them.
Decide If You Can Keep Living In Your Home
Your contractor can help you decide if you can continue to live in your home while your kitchen remodeling ideas are coming to life. Many contractors will want you out of the house, so you need to rent another place or stay with someone.
If you can stay in your home, you need to make sure that you don’t interfere with the work that’s in progress. Communicate with your contractor and they will let you know how you should behave during the kitchen remodel.
You may need to set up a temporary kitchen so that you can prepare some meals. You also need to budget for a lot of meals out of the house because it won’t be comfortable to cook.
