As any contractor can tell you, a kitchen remodel can be one of the most complicated renovations a homeowner can undertake. Knowing what’s involved doesn’t come naturally, so we here at MDV Remodeling decided that a checklist might help you to make some decisions in advance. This checklist can also help you to plan your kitchen remodeling so you avoid major mistakes.

1. Plan Your Finances

Set a budget. We’ve mentioned this in nearly every blog post on our site because it is so vital to understanding what can, and can’t, be done with your remodel. Setting a budget has little to do with the kitchen of your dreams, and everything to do with what you can afford. Knowing in advance what you can realistically spend will help to determine what upgrades are needs versus wants (see below).

Remember, for best resale value, set the budget at somewhere between 10% and 20% of your home’s market value. A less-expensive kitchen remodel may hurt your home’s resale value, while anything over 20% may be hard to recoup when you do sell. A good rule of thumb is to calculate the cost based on what it would cost to hire a contractor to do all the work, even if you’re doing some of the work yourself.

If your plans include financing through an outside lender, line that up before starting the work to ensure nothing goes awry with periodic payments that may be due.

2. Decide What Work You Can Do Yourself

You can save money by doing some smaller jobs yourself, but others are best left to the professionals. Below is a breakdown of some of the types of work involved in a remodel that can be done by you and our recommendations for work that is better left to your contractor.

Demolition: Demolition is low-skill job, and there’s no sense paying somebody top dollar just to wreck things. Just remember to turn off the power and the water first.

Plumbing: Leave the actual pipe-laying to professionals, but you can save money by installing the faucets, dishwasher, and sink yourself.

Wiring: Electricity is nothing to mess around with – especially for novices – so it’s best to leave running wire to a licensed electrician. But again, you can save money by doing some of the easier work, such as installing light fixtures, outlets, switches and hooking up the dishwasher, yourself. Again, remember to turn off the power before touching any wires.

Installing cabinets: Don’t even think about installing cabinets yourself! Installing cabinets basically involves attaching heavy boxes to uneven walls and sloping floors, while keeping everything flat, level and gap-free. Again, this is best left to your contractor.

Flooring: Here’s another good place to save some money. Flooring can go in either before or after the cabinets. If you’re doing it yourself, do the flooring last, so you won’t delay any of the other work. Let everyone involved in your project – especially the cabinet installer – know your plan for the flooring.

Painting: Careful wall prep, good taping, and a sturdy dropcloth will pay off if you’re willing to take your time. If not, it won’t be pretty!

Design: Hiring a kitchen designer will typically add about 4% to the cost of the job. Although this is an added expense, hiring a kitchen designer does have its advantages. Kitchen designers are well-versed in practicalities in the setup of a kitchen, such as how far the refrigerator should be from the stove, and how far the stove should be from the sink. A designer also knows standard cabinet sizes and how to place them to make the best use of space.

3. Determine Your Needs Versus Your Wants

Understanding the difference between what you really need and what you want, but can live without, will make or break your budget. Go through the list below, and determine whether each item is a “want” or a “need.” Cross it off the list if you find that you don’t need it or want it. Only you can decide, but don’t forget to bear in mind your cooking habits when considering.

  • Update appearance
  • Update to increase resale value
  • More space
  • More storage
  • More eating space
  • Island–sink or stove in island
  • Pantry
  • Recycling area
  • Add laundry/mud room
  • Garbage disposer
  • Wiring for television, computer and/or phone
  • New stove/cooktop–wall oven or range
  • New refrigerator–ice maker
  • New refrigerated wine cellar/beer tap
  • New microwave

4. Choose Your Style

Scan kitchen, cooking, and remodeling magazines. Tear out pages of kitchens or features that appeal to you and save them in a notebook or folder. Things to consider include:

  • Bold or muted color vs. white
  • Modern/Vintage/Country styling
  • Granite or tile
  • Brick, wood, or other alternative material
  • Stainless steel

5. Design a Floor Plan

You can draw a floor plan on graph paper, but it’s easier to use free or low-cost online tools that let you drag and drop standard cabinet sizes into place. Many give you a 3-D rendering once you’ve completed a general layout. Remember to lay out the sink, stove, and refrigerator first to ensure that space to accommodate these vital components is available. You can then fill in the remaining areas with cabinets and islands as needed.

Drawing a floor plan is a valuable step, even if you’re working with a designer. While the designer may suggest something that works better or costs less, both you and the designer will need to begin with a clear picture of your goals.

6. Choose Your Materials

By designing first and picking materials after, you choose function over form, and a kitchen has to be functional. If you have to cut costs somewhere down the line, you’ll know in advance what is functional and what is style-oriented. Once you have your design and layout in place, it’s time to choose your cabinets, countertops, appliances, flooring, and lighting. Again, be sure to utilize your designer and contractor as resources in choosing the most appropriate materials for your budget.

7. Start Building

Your contractor will manage the project and keep everything on schedule. Remember, you really don’t have a kitchen while this work is being done. Make sure to get a written schedule as part of the contract and this should include penalties for missed deadlines on the part of the contractor.

Hopefully, this checklist will help prepare you for what’s involved in a typical kitchen remodel. Click here to check out our TruYouDesign™ example (which happens to be a kitchen remodel!) and learn how you can have your new kitchen stress-free, on time, and on budget with MDV Remodeling! If you are ready to get started with building the kitchen of your dreams, click here to schedule a free estimate.