How you can Construct a Kitchen (and Why)

Effectively, appears prefer it has occurred once more. 

Because the final time we spoke, I bought sucked into constructing my seventeenth(?) kitchen, and I’ve lastly emerged from its messy but addictive grasp as I stand right here on the new breakfast bar, typing this report back to you.

Why am I so hooked on this unusual pastime? And extra importantly, why am I so excited to inform you about it, when most MMM readers in all probability don’t have home constructing on the high of their record of life priorities? 

It’s in all probability as a result of the idea of dwelling is such a core a part of life for me: a spot that permits us to care for our households and ourselves, host pals and construct our lives outwards from there. And to me a very powerful a part of a house is the place the place you put together and stash your meals provide, which additionally occurs to grow to be the spot the place our youngsters unfold out their homework, we now have our deep talks, and the pure gathering level for almost each social gathering.

There’s after all a cash aspect to all of this too: housing is the costliest factor in most of our lives (together with my very own), and this value has exploded upwards in recent times attributable to a loopy imbalance of provide and demand.

Folks need  properties with stunning, extremely practical facilities like kitchens and loos, which suggests these homes get bid as much as greater costs by these keen to wildly overpay, which leaves the extra investment-minded amongst us swearing on the irrational market situations, or shopping for ugly fixer-uppers as a compromise.

This results in a second scarcity: a scarcity of tradespeople like myself, as a result of there are numerous flimsy little sinks, leaky plastic-handled taps and faux woodgrain oak cupboards on the market, however not lots of people with the expertise to rescue that 1982-style kitchen and produce it into our superb trendy current.

Which implies that for those who may even discover somebody keen to construct you a brand new kitchen, you’ll typically see quotes from $25,000 to north of $75,000 for the celebrated however not-all-that-difficult job.

As you’ll see beneath, this interprets to an extremely costly labor fee of between $100 and $300 per hour, which is cash you get to say for your self in case you are keen to do a few of the work. And the rewards might be even greater than that, as a result of if you improve a kitchen in an costly housing market, you usually create much more than $25-75k of extra worth. This may circulation again to you within the type of extra cash if you ultimately re-sell, or greater rental revenue each single month in case you are fixing up a rental property. 

And another actual property secret: a kitchen is successfully only a actually huge fancy model a WC, so for those who be taught the abilities you are able to do both one. Think about the God-like energy of with the ability to level your finger and name into existence kitchens and loos the place none existed earlier than! 

So on this article, I’m going to whisk you thru a high-speed tour of the principle steps of rebuilding a kitchen, specializing in the issues that make the largest distinction in perform, value, and issue – in different phrases, the issues I want I knew 23 years in the past once I began engaged on my first kitchen. 

We don’t have area right here to cowl each element of each step, however as with all vital endeavor, it’s finest to start out with the massive image anyway. And from there, I hope to go away you with a way more empowered place to begin to do one in all three issues:

• To know what to search for (and easy methods to tune your Bullshit Meter) when hiring another person to construct you a kitchen.
• To strategically break off components of the work you need to do your self, to avoid wasting money and time even for those who rent out the remaining.
• And even to do the entire thing your self, in search of assist from extra skilled pals or YouTube movies as wanted to get the total particulars.

So let’s get into it! The 11-ish foremost steps to designing and constructing essentially the most joyful room in your own home.

Step Zero: Do You Want a Allow?

In most areas, it is a “Sure” in case you are messing with plumbing and electrical energy contained in the partitions, in any other case it’s “perhaps”. However guidelines fluctuate broadly around the globe – I’ve labored in some locations the place the inspectors will come knocking in the event that they see a lot as a scrap of drywall poking out of your trash can, and others the place folks construct a complete barn with out elevating the eyebrow of the authorities. However whether or not you get a allow or not, a very powerful half is to do the job proper – this implies tidy, skilled work that meets the native constructing code and would move an inspection even when no person will see it. It should will let you sleep properly and keep away from troubles down the street.

1: Work out the Value

This one is clearly all around the map relying in your tastes, however we will begin with the next overly simplified desk:

The greenback figures are only for the supplies together with home equipment, and the labor hours are what I’d funds for myself or one other skilled – you possibly can regulate as wanted primarily based by yourself talent degree. I’ll additionally hyperlink a barely extra detailed model of this spreadsheet here.

Tremendous Duper Purchasing Professional Suggestions:

In relation to cost-efficient renovations, materials sourcing is every thing. Listed here are a number of of my very own favourite methods:

• Craigslist, Fb Market and Recycled Constructing Materials shops are superb. It takes extra time and talent to search out and use supplies from these sources, however in alternate you get your stuff for about 75% much less. Prior to now I’ve purchased a $2000 fridge for $500, doorways and cupboards and lighting fixtures for subsequent to nothing, and stocked up on reclaimed wooden and metal items value tens of hundreds of {dollars} for free, in alternate for a number of hours of my time.

  However typically you might have totally different targets, like sooner velocity or or the higher-end finishes which might be solely doable with model new supplies. On this case, you progress down the record.

• Amazon is now higher than House Depot for a lot of issues. Lighting fixtures, sinks and taps, even noticed blades and massive rolls of PEX pipe. All with a approach wider choice, quick delivery and at decrease costs than the older retailers. I’ll nonetheless get my lumber and drywall and paint domestically after all, however for every thing else I test on-line first. The bonus is that this additionally cuts down my mid-project journeys to the shop by about 80%.
• IKEA kitchen cupboards often provide decrease value, simpler/sooner design, and – surprisingly – higher general high quality than what you get with particular order cupboards from the house renovation shops. Extra on this within the cupboards part beneath.

2: Format (and flattening partitions!)

The essential precept I wish to comply with in kitchen design, at the very least for the smaller and older homes that these of us within the fixer-upper crowd tends to buy, is MORE:

• Extra ground area and counter tops
• Extra open-ness to the remainder of the home
• Extra storage, particularly drawers

Most homes from previous eras have the kitchen walled off right into a tiny sales space. And the excellent news is that you may often simply chop down the pointless partitions between that sales space and the lounge, change one in all them with a pleasant spacious island, and rework your own home for the higher. 

Bonus! How to determine if a wall is load bearing:

My protected reply right here is, “Ask a structural engineer or at the very least a home builder”, however since I’ve executed numerous each actions, here’s a shortcut:

• Work out what’s over high of the wall in query (is it an higher ground or simply the roof?)
• If it’s the roof, peek up into the attic. If the home is a more recent design it might have trusses. In smaller homes (as much as about 30 toes large), this often means all the load of the roof is resting on the surface partitions, which means most or all the inside partitions are simply beauty.
• In case your kitchen is on the primary ground with one other degree above, the wall could also be load bearing, particularly whether it is perpendicular to the ground joists above it. On this case you possibly can nonetheless open up the wall and change it with a beam and posts. However that’s a job for skilled builders – usher in some assist for those who don’t know the way to do that already.

Fundamental Format Ideas

As a fast instance, let’s use a case examine of one in all my very own rebuilds to level out each issues I believe did work, and different locations I made some errors and would do issues in another way subsequent time. (This was in my very own home, so that you’ll need to forgive my style for considerably wild colours!)

Whoo! Okay there’s numerous data in there, however it’s value studying via as a result of it captures lots of the issues I wish to cowl in a brand new kitchen. The largest precept to comply with is simply to offer every thing sufficient area – particularly the cooks themselves. This typically requires intelligent space-saving methods, however it’s additionally why I find yourself shifting or eradicating partitions so typically. Small areas in your personal home suck!

Design Shortcut: The IKEA Kitchen Planner

To determine how every thing will match (and look), you want at the very least some scale diagrams, however even higher is a 3-D mannequin that you may go searching. There are many choices right here starting from old style graph paper to classy however typically clunky design applications like Sketchup. However one fascinating trick is simply utilizing the free device on the IKEA web site, which might be helpful whether or not you propose on shopping for their cupboards or not. https://kitchen.planner.ikea.com/us/en/

For instance, check out the “earlier than” image of my outdated kitchen above. Earlier than constructing the brand new kitchen, I spent about quarter-hour on the IKEA kitchen planner web site and I already had a fairly shut visualization of how my completed kitchen would feel and look.

3: Constructing new partitions

Most often, you’ll be eradicating extra partitions than you construct, however typically you’ll want so as to add some as properly. The most typical conditions for me are:

• Transferring an current wall again to create extra kitchen area
• Making a “sales space” of partitions to surround a fridge or construct a meals storage pantry
• Constructing the half wall (typical top is 34.5”)  that ultimately turns into an island.

Normal rules:

• It’s approach simpler to construct a brand new wall than to fiddle with too many adjustments to an outdated one. So I often begin with a whole demolition of any outdated partitions, then proceed with a clear slate. 
• In the event you’ve by no means realized easy methods to body a wall flat on the bottom first, it’s a enjoyable and life-changing talent! Here’s a 52-second summary on YouTube.

4: Plumbing (and venting)

In many kitchen remodels, you end up leaving the plumbing fixtures (sink, dishwasher and fridge water line) in roughly the same place, and if so this part of the job is minimal.

• Cut back any obsolete copper plumbing and transition to PEX in a convenient location, which will make all your new work cleaner and easier. In a full house remodel, I usually do this right after the main house shutoff valve so the whole system can be built right from scratch.
• Sink drain lines are usually done with 1.5” black ABS (plastic) pipe which is quite easy to work with. If you’re doing a big project, grab a few ten-footers of the stuff up front as well as an assortment of fittings and the glue.
• Drain pipes ought to slope about ¼” per foot, and if you’ll want to add a brand new air vent, think about a Studor vent, which saves you the ache of attempting to attach your drain to a pipe that runs all over your roof. (I additionally like to reduce roof penetrations as a result of it makes your eventual re-roofing job faster and extra dependable and leaves extra room for photo voltaic panels)

We’ll cowl the sink, dishwasher and fridge plumbing individually beneath.

Associated MMM Article from approach again in 2012 (however just lately up to date): 

How to Become a Kickass Plumber – with PEX

5: Electrical

Like plumbing, electrical energy is a complete commerce in itself which isn’t comfy for everybody. And you’ll certainly kill your self for those who contact dwell wires within the mistaken approach. So if doubtful, rent an electrician. 

However since I occur to take pleasure in this commerce myself, I made a degree of studying the nationwide electrical code (currently called the 2020 NEC) sufficient to wire a number of full homes from scratch and move a number of ultimate inspections: every thing from digging the ditch and working new buried service traces in conduit to the meter field, to subpanels and photo voltaic inverters all the way down to the final gentle change. 

However I’m nonetheless not knowledgeable electrician, and codes fluctuate by area – so make sure you double test any concepts you get from me and don’t assume something you learn is completely appropriate.

With all these disclaimers apart, listed below are the commonest conditions that come up when renovating a kitchen:

Undesirable electrical traces in a wall you’re eradicating:  I label these rigorously, flip off the ability, then pull every thing out till I attain the closest junction that’s in a wall I’m retaining (or typically this will probably be within the ceiling or attic). As soon as the brand new partitions  are in place, you possibly can run recent wires to the brand new containers and fixtures.

Including new shops to serve new countertop areas:

The essential requirement is a minimal of two 20 amp circuits, protected by GFCI shops, with shops at the very least each 4 toes alongside your work area. Plus, ideally the fridge, dishwasher, disposal and microwave are on their very own separate circuits which is required in model new builds. So, your mission might be capable to tie into the present circuits or you might want to tug some new ones.

Including fully new circuits to your property:

Though this may occasionally sound like a black artwork to non-electricians, it’s really fairly easy when you discover ways to do it. The toughest half is often working the wire all the way in which again to your circuit panel, except your kitchen is immediately over an unfinished basement or crawlspace. So for those who discover an agreeable electrician keen to offer you a reduction in alternate for you doing the soiled work of correctly routing the wire whereas they solely do the ultimate hookup within the panel, this generally is a good hybrid method.

If you wish to see the main points of what’s concerned in including a complete new circuit and breaker to your panel, there are many walkthroughs on YouTube together with this one I made myself on easy methods to install your own electric car charger.

Different stuff to recollect at this stage:

• An outlet in your eventual over-the-range microwave (or only a wire in case you are utilizing a vent hood), centered about 78” above the ground so it’s within the cupboard immediately above
• A 4” metal vent pipe that goes from behind that microwave to someplace exterior your own home (see your set up handbook for actual particulars)
• An outlet beneath the kitchen sink for the disposal, managed by a wall change at a protected distance close by
• Energy in your dishwasher (I often add a regular wire to my dishwasher so I can plug it in to this identical outlet below the sink)
• Perhaps even wiring for an outlet inside one in all your cupboards, simply behind the highest drawer, for charging telephones and different devices properly out of sight

6: Drywall and particulars

You’re lastly able to cowl every thing up! This half is comparatively straightforward, however for those who’ve by no means executed drywall earlier than, a number of issues I discover useful to get began:

• Purchase loads of provides (4×8 sheets, mesh tape, containers of compound (mud), plus a trough and knife set) upfront
• When putting in sheets, use both a roto zip device or a cordless “buzzer” multi tool to do the cutouts in your outlet containers. Significantly better than handbook hand saws or attempting to do it with knives.
• As you open every field of mud, dispense it totally right into a clear 5-gallon bucket with a lid. Replenish your trough periodically from this bucket. By no means work immediately from the field, or the bucket.
• I discover {that a} gentle layer of spray adhesive earlier than including the mesh tape helps it stick a lot better
• Apply 2-3 coats of more and more easy mud earlier than you trouble with sanding (skilled drywallers usually solely must sand as soon as on the finish)

That is the purpose – after drywall and at the very least a coat of primer or base white paint – the place you’d set up your flooring in case you are altering that out as a part of the transform. As of late I’m an enormous fan of engineered wooden or LVP flooring which is simple, robust and enticing. However for final sturdiness in a busy dogs-n-kids-n-giant events family, ground tiles are nonetheless the gold normal.

7: Cupboards

Though this step is essentially the most thrilling half, it’s additionally one of many best. You’re simply attempting to place in a line of large containers as sturdy, straight and sq. as doable. For standard cupboards, which means that a degree and studfinder and shims are your finest pals. 

With IKEA cupboards, it’s even simpler to get it proper, as a result of all the cupboards (each higher and decrease) simply cling on their proprietary steel rail system. So for those who get the rails proper, the cupboards comply with naturally. One other enormous bonus: it’s straightforward to slip the cupboards backwards and forwards and make changes earlier than locking them into their ultimate positions.

8: Counter tops

In case your funds will enable the upper value, a stone countertop (quartz or granite or related) is often value the price. That value is presently about $60-120 per sq. foot which might add up to a couple grand for a big kitchen, however in alternate you get one thing that appears nice, lasts perpetually and cleans up extra simply than the opposite choices. 

After all, that top value (and my dislike of coping with appointments and out of doors contractors) has meant that I’ve experimented with the opposite alternate options of strong wooden and numerous kinds of tiles on some initiatives. They nonetheless look good and performance fairly properly, however I’ve at all times regretted the selection in the long term and wished I had executed the quartz. Probably due to the human psychology issue: a small each day annoyance of worrying about scratching your wooden countertop is with you perpetually. Whereas a one-time expense for the stone counter tops shortly recedes into historical past and also you neglect about it. And like the remainder of a kitchen improve, it tends to come back again to you within the type of elevated resale or rental worth anyway.

9: Sink and Faucet

Fortunately, this half is the other of the counter tops: surprisingly low cost and full of lovely choices relying in your style. 

Method again in 2001, I bear in mind paying $600 for a sink and $300 for a faucet, simply to get one thing substantial and trendy that didn’t appear like it was from a Nineteen Eighties Atlanta Georgia suburb (an aesthetic that runs sturdy in House Depot merchandise due to the corporate’s origins in that point and place).

 However now, due to Amazon we dwell in a complete totally different world. You may have your alternative of huge, modern sinks in the 200s, and even stunning faucets are under $100. The costs are typically so low that I’m nervous concerning the high quality, however to this point every thing has been a pleasing shock on the upside. TBD sink drain pic above.

Bonus: How you can construct a pleasant new sink drain:

Your outdated kitchen in all probability has an unsightly nest of pipes below the kitchen sink, and also you’ll at the very least want to remodel this half as a result of the brand new sink will probably be larger and in a barely totally different place. So we’d as properly cowl this proper right here:

Beginning with the flowery new sink (which comes proper after counter tops), you

• Set up the disposal unit which doubles because the drain as properly
• Unfastened-fit a lure adapter to the disposal output after which determine what route to angle your lure to create the only/tidiest run to the wall pipe
• Add elbows and straight bits as wanted to get the water to that ultimate vacation spot
• As soon as you’re certain every thing matches, mark the joints with tape or a marker, then rigorously disassemble, glue, and reassemble/tighten every thing. Prepared for water inside an hour!

10: Home equipment

That is one more space the place we’ve seen deflation through the years relatively than inflation: the standard and options of home equipment appears to maintain going up, whereas costs come down. And the used market is even higher: home equipment have a really low resale worth, which suggests for those who store rigorously you may get new-ish items for about 75% lower than brand-new ones. 

Nevertheless, a word of warning: Don’t purchase used stuff except you belief the vendor and/or get an opportunity to check it. I’ve been fooled twice shopping for used seemingly high-end dishwashers that appeared nice … however on reflection the individual was promoting them as a result of they didn’t work correctly. 

Me: “Wow, it is a very nice $1500 dishwasher – why are you promoting it?”

Vendor: “Oh… I used to be upgrading my kitchen and this one simply doesn’t match the brand new home equipment.”

Me: (naively overlooking another pink flags concerning the vendor’s residing state of affairs): “Okay right here’s my $200 in money.”

On a 3rd event, a buddy and I nearly made the identical mistake when shopping for an unique under-counter European fridge, however fortunately observed that the vendor had it sitting in his storage unplugged after we got here to select it up. Once I requested to see it working, he pretended to have a scarcity of extension cords so I pulled one out of my van. Certain sufficient, after we plugged it in, the damned factor wasn’t even working. Shady!

Different ideas: fridges, microwaves and particularly ovens/ranges are a safer guess to purchase used as a result of they have an inclination to only work for many years. 

Additionally, for those who dwell in a local weather with sub-freezing winters, don’t purchase a fridge, dishwasher or washer that somebody has moved into their shed or storage in the course of the chilly season. As a result of the water within the tubes and valves will in all probability have frozen and burst with out their information, providing you with a messy and sophisticated restore job the primary time you fireplace it up.

Due to all this, I’ve had many success tales with used home equipment previously, however I nonetheless have a tendency to purchase all new home equipment as of late now that point has grow to be extra scarce than cash for me. In the event you’re youthful and nonetheless attempting to optimize for {dollars}, it is best to nonetheless test Craigslist and Fb Market usually.

11: End work!

Finally, we’re within the dwelling stretch. You may add as many customized thrives to your kitchen as you want, however simply to share a number of of my favorites:

• An artsy tile backsplash is a good way to make any kitchen far more fascinating. I wish to tile all the space from the countertop as much as the higher cupboards. In some circumstances on empty partitions, I’ve gone all the way in which as much as the ceiling to create a fair larger feeling of area.
• Take into account hiding an influence wire inside a high drawer someplace, which you’ll then hook as much as a pleasant multi port USB charger, so you possibly can maintain all the telephones, tablets, bike lights out of your valuable work space.
• Stainless steel outlet plates and modern-style gray outlets and switches add a extra polished and high-quality look to any space, particularly kitchens.
• Undercabinet lights are well worth the effort, as they supply nice illumination whereas cooking and make for stunning atmosphere even internet hosting events or dinners.

Wow, that was a Lot!

This can be the longest MMM article in historical past, and but we nonetheless solely skimmed via it. However I hope this abstract provides you at the very least a peek on the numerous enjoyable, helpful and worthwhile abilities that you may be taught to make your life as a home-owner (or as an occasional contractor) extra joyful and satisfying.

In case you have extra questions on specifics, drop them into the feedback part beneath and everybody can assist share some solutions. And naturally, this text will certainly be filled with errors and omissions once I first publish it – please be at liberty to level these out and I’ll make updates as properly.

Pleased cooking!