So the girlfriend and I have decided to give up on our house hunt for now and just have her move into my place. One of the reasons we did not want to do this before was because my kitchen layout is terrible, and the main living area is not particularly well-suited for entertaining at the moment.

 

Instead of buying something, we're going to just address the needs of my house and plan to stay there for a few years at least.

 

Last night I had a kitchen designer come by to take a look at the house and take measurements to give me a design for how to address the shortcomings above...bad layout and difficult to entertain.

 

We discussed some options, some materials, concepts, etc. She told me I would need to buy a new fridge, microwave, and dishwasher. She wants to put in quartz countertops, and some cabinets with a bamboo veneer over them, and then I want a big wide undermount sink. I want a huge island that can be used for prep and for seating on the other side, so I am a bit concerned about the price of using quartz for that.

 

Anyone go through any of this nonsense recently? Ideas? Thoughts? Words of caution?

 

 

I'll have to doublecheck the square footage of the countertops, but we did something very similar about a year ago. Quartz countertops all around, large undermount sink, and a new island with an overhang for seating. IIRC countertops were ~$4200 including the sink and install.

 

 

We put a backsplash in there later, too.

 

If you can get by with refinishing your existing cabinets, that'll save you a ton of money and time/effort. Our fridge was relatively new, so we left that. We replaced the microwave and dishwasher. Our stove is old but functional and our budget was getting ridiculous so we've left that from now. Yeah, it looks terrible, but it'll go eventually. edit: that terrible fan is also on the shortlist to go now that I've broken the dome again.

 

edit2: the hardware is from ikea. The same stuff from the kitchen store or HD/Lowes was at least twice as expensive.

Edited February 21, 201313 yr by StrangeSox

Very nice, SS!

 

I have a ton of Ikea cabinetry that I think I would like to leave in the existing space because it will go from being a kitchen/laundry area to just a laundry/utility/mud room. I would like to just leave that all in place and use it for non-perishables. Then I am hoping to move the kitchen out into the main living space so that it becomes more open and functional, and good for entertaining. Therefore, I will need more cabinets. However, I don't need a million high-hanging cabinets, since we can use some of the existing ones in the other room for non-perishables. So I'd like to use a lot of base cabinets for underneath the countertops, with a few high hanging ones, but then create some open shelving on the wall above a glass tile backsplash. I have seen this in a lot of photos and I think it looks nice, is functional, and will save me thousands on cabinets.

 

I have an amazing range that came with the house...it's a 6 burner gas stove with a hood, but the fridge is a really old subzero unit that is built into the other room basically. So I'll probably go with a new side-by-side unit from Bosch, along with a new dishwasher and microwave.

 

SS, mind telling me what all that ran you? If not, no worries. Also, did you do much, if any of the labor yourselves?

Edited February 21, 201313 yr by iamshack

We just did a smaller redo on our kitchen. Kept the cabinets, got new laminate counters, sink and appliances. I have relatives in the trades who know people, so I had a guy who was a semi-retired union carpenter come in and remove the old stuff, install new counters, sink, faucet and all the plumbing underneath for $400. Then wife and I painted and got 2 new lights as well. Home Depot wanted $1100 for the same install.

 

Also did a full restore in my previous house, new cabinets, flooring, the works. What a pain in the butt, especially since my house was older. Good luck with your project.

SS, did you do that yourself or hire someone? I am always looking for good contractors. I just put in an offer for an investment property down the street and it needs a bunch of work.

Hired someone to keep the project length to a minimum. The contractor was hired through the kitchen store, but this was who we used: http://www.honeaconstruction.com/2.html

We completely gutted and re-did our kitchen about 3 years ago. We checked prices at the major stores like Lowes, Home Depot and Menard's and then we checked with a couple of local places. We found a local place that we liked and they offered financing with 0% interest for 18 months. So we jumped on that.

 

We were originally just going to get new cabinets and counter-tops and re-paint the walls but there was wallpaper on the wall and it was almost impossible to scrap off. So we decided to just tear it all down and have them put up new drywall. After that we started getting project creep. With the walls already down we decided to get the electrical re-wired (brought up to code) and added a few new outlets. We also added more lighting in the ceiling. All stuff that was needed anyway.

 

We did some of the work ourselves like buying and staining the trim, painting the walls, and buying all the new outlets, sink, microwave, ceiling fan and garbage disposal ourselves and just letting them install it all. We even bought and stained some wood so they could build us a new pantry door.

 

All in all I think we spent somewhere around $6000. We didn't get any top of the line stuff though. Basic cabinets/counter-top. Basic stainless steel sink.

 

Lowes and Home Depot wanted that much just for the cabinets and counters. So we got a really good deal.

Edited February 22, 201313 yr by Iwritecode

My bathroom demo and rebuild started out with a leak in the drain pipe underneath the tub that was a little difficult to get to.

 

The cheapest way I've found to update the kitchen (lot of experience with investment properties as well as my own home) is to save money on the cabinets, buy them from Ikea and change out the face + hardware. This will save you a Ton of money. Also, if you can get away with granite, I have a guy that is approximately half of what you would normally pay. If you're interested, send me an email and I'll give you his number.

 

@RR, I've been finding wholesale properties for investors for years. If you need help with labor for contractors or any questions in general, feel free to send me an email.

 

mike@newmarketrealty.com

We just did a smaller redo on our kitchen. Kept the cabinets, got new laminate counters, sink and appliances. I have relatives in the trades who know people, so I had a guy who was a semi-retired union carpenter come in and remove the old stuff, install new counters, sink, faucet and all the plumbing underneath for $400. Then wife and I painted and got 2 new lights as well. Home Depot wanted $1100 for the same install.

 

Also did a full restore in my previous house, new cabinets, flooring, the works. What a pain in the butt, especially since my house was older. Good luck with your project.

 

Turn in your GOP fan card.

Turn in your GOP fan card.

I didn't pay union wages. Cash, baby.

I didn't pay union wages. Cash, baby.

 

Exploiting the worker class, pick up your gold gop membership card.

 

We just bought a place and will be fixing up our kitchen a bit. Timing of this was helpful. Close escrow in 40 days

We just bought a place and will be fixing up our kitchen a bit. Timing of this was helpful. Close escrow in 40 days

Congrats!!

Exploiting the worker class, pick up your gold gop membership card.

 

Actually he quoted me $300 plus parts, I paid him $400 plus parts for a job well done. What card does that get me?

Actually he quoted me $300 plus parts, I paid him $400 plus parts for a job well done. What card does that get me?

 

Hmm, a good guy?

Aside from feeling like a creeper, that's a nice lookin kitchen, SS.