Unexpected Kitchen Remodel

[fronkfam]

Help! We had a leak under our dishwasher. When the restoration company started pulling up flooring we realized that the counters and cabinets have buckled from the water. So, instead of just replacing flooring, it looks like we'll be tackling the entire kitchen. We are still in the process of drying things out, and our cabinets, counters and sink are still in place. I am looking for any tips on how to survive this with 4 kids (one of them has autism). Also wondering if anyone has tips on how make the budget work. I honestly have no idea where to start looking for flooring, cabinets, etc. You guys are always so helpful! Thanks!!

 

[disneyfreakk]

no helpful tips, just wanted to wish you good luck!

 

[pryncess527]

I got my cabinets from Ikea and I love them. They are a great quality for the price. I did not do the install myself, I have heard that can be tricky.

Good luck!

 

[TLuvsD]

My friend got most of her kitchen from Ikea--cabinets, some countertops and flooring.
She has large drawers with divider type insets that hold her dishes. I think that's smart--no lifting dishes up into a cabinet (which is a problem for my dad at this point).

We bought our bathroom cabinets at Lowe's, I really like them and they were the best price we could find.

You might check your area for a Habitat for Humanity Restore--they take entire kitchens out of homes and resell them. Around here, they tend to be very high end, in excellent condition, for a great price.

 

[disneyfreakk]

My friend got most of her kitchen from Ikea--cabinets, some countertops and flooring.
She has large drawers with divider type insets that hold her dishes. I think that's smart--no lifting dishes up into a cabinet (which is a problem for my dad at this point).

We bought our bathroom cabinets at Lowe's, I really like them and they were the best price we could find.

You might check your area for a Habitat for Humanity Restore--they take entire kitchens out of homes and resell them. Around here, they tend to be very high end, in excellent condition, for a great price.

So what does she put up in her cabinets??

 

[pryncess527]

I have the deep drawers for my base cabinets as well, but I keep my pots and pans in them. It's so much easier to find things

 

[tinatark]

We bought Kraftmaid cabinets from Lowe's and are very happy with them. Semi-custom - you order in 3 inch increments.

If you have a builder's salvage store near you (and a contractor to install) - many of them sell some really nice cabinets - we didn't order from them because we wanted turnkey.

Things I love about my cabinets - soft close doors and drawers, custom dividers for cutlery, silverware, etc. Pot Drawers. Drawers behind doors (lowers).

I need 2 more drawer dividers! Going to Lowe's to see if they can order them from Kraftmaid.

Other things to think about -
Consider how you want your cabinets made - full overlay or partial - full, you don't see the framing, partial you do. Also consider the ends of your cabinets - do you want them to have the door fronts on them? Cabinetry surrounding your refrigerator? Color/stain overlay? If you have an island, do you want it to be identical (style, color) as your main cabinets? Hardware! Once I finally made my decision on my cabinets, colors, etc. - I had to choose the pulls! I like the ones I chose, but think that decision should have been more prominent in the process! Lastly, countertops - are you using granite/quartz/formica? A consideration, if you are using granite (we wish we had thought of this during our remodel) - use another surface if you have an island! Our food gets cold almost immediately when we place plates on the granite on the island!

 

[momofEAP]

Like some other pp I would say IKEA! We remodeled our whole kitchen and used Ikea for most of it. The cabinets are really nice and the warranty is better than what you get with most of the other companies. Check out Ikeafans.com there are a lot of really nice people that can help with staying on budget and planning ideas. They also have a sale going on right now which is always nice to get in on.

Here are some tips that I can think of off the top of my head...
**Drawers- Never have to get down on your knees searching for something again!
**Soft close doors & drawers- No slamming fingers
**25 (I think) yr warranty- Depends on the style but I think that is the norm.
**Drawer dividers- So many ways to configure these.

If I had used one of the big box stores I wouldn't have been able to afford all that I got. We also put in flooring from Ikea that I love but I wouldn't recommend. I will say in Ikea's defense that they do say not to put it in rooms that have water. Our fridge had a small leak and now the floor has a couple of seams that have swelled. We spent roughly $3000-4000 at Ikea but that got us all the cabinets, flooring, counter-tops, sink, disposal, microwave, cook-top & oven! Our biggest worry going with them was the fact that the closest one is over 6 hrs away!

 

[Darcy03231]

We're redoing our kitchen (except for the floors which we did a few years ago) and so far I've found that Home Depot had the best prices in our area. Thomasville cabinets and granite countertops. Thomasville is running a sale so all the door pulls/handles are free (pick from a certain selection, but they have lots of styles/finishes).

 

[jperrot1]

Well, it's not going to be fun dealing with construction. Order out your meals! If you are replacing all the cabinets (guessing you are), why don"t you consider a whole new design. You can measure and then have Lowes (or another kitchen and bath store) put together a plan for you. I recommend full extension droors as a useful upgrade.

 

[csharpwv]

DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT under any circumstance go to HOME DEPOT!

We had a nearly 1.5 year project through them - it was supposed to be three weeks. I'm not lying!

They couldn't order anything right, nothing came in on time, they had manager turnover like McDonald's turns over burgers.

The Kitchen designer found out we were coming in one evening to get things straightened out, and SHE LEFT!

At one time, they had 35 incorrect orders on 3 projects.

Stay away from Home Depot, we haven't been back there FOR ANYTHING since!

I highly encourage you to get a price from a LOCAL kitchen and bath designer after going to Lowes.

We just had our bath remodeled last year by a local company and it was an absolute pleasure the entire time - we didn't even mind showering in a makeshift shower I built in the basement!

The contractor would bring his jacket in the house.... JUST FOR OUR CAT TO LAY ON... so she would hang out and keep him company! The first day I tried to run her off his coat, and he said... Now you leave her alone, I put that coat there just for her! HAHAHA

That was the difference - night and day!

 

[JoiseyMom]

Get prices from several sources. Also, what is your insurance company covereing? That would be the major decision on where I would be looking.

 

[lucyem]

I am assuming since this was a dishwasher leak it means only the bottom cabinets were ruined? If it were me I would look into matching my cabinets if possible and salvage what I already have that can be salvaged. Did all the bottom ones get ruined? Do you know where they came from? Or are they too old to deal with? What about buying new that don't match exactly and have them a different color? If it fits your style and house of course. Just ideas going through my head on ways to limit how many new cabinets you would have to buy.

I also agree - talk to insurance about the leak.

The next thing I would do is start talking to everyone. Get names of good contractors and talk to them. Talk to kitchen people. Talk to friends. Go to floor places and kitchen places and talk to them and get names of contractors. Etc. Do lots of research. Get as much advice as you can before making any decisions. Kitchens are not cheap and you want the work done fast and done right the first time.

You can set up a mini kitchen in a dining room or other room. Hot plate, microwave, fridge etc. You will find lots of tips online on how to do this.

 

[LJSquishy]

I'm sorry you discovered more problems when the dishwasher was removed. When it rains, it pours, huh?

I don't know what kind of budget you have to work with since this was kind of sprung on you, but my husband and I replaced our kitchen cabinets/counters/sink with a tiny budget and did it all ourselves. We bought inexpensive cabinets similar to the ones at Home Depot & Lowe's, only we got an extra discount where we purchased them for assembling them ourselves. They are plywood boxes & shelves but have solid Maple fronts. We've had them about 3-4 years and they've held up great! No complaints at all. Since we had such a small budget we chose in-stock laminate countertops. Again, no complaints about the counter either. Laminate is actually really durable. We splurged and purchased a Blanco Silgranit sink because they are super deep...like 9 or 10 inches deep and we LOVE it! For the entire kitchen, we spent just over $3,500 which included cabinets, countertops, sink, faucet, and ceramic tile backsplash. I was able to buy different sizes of cabinets than what we had previously (but kept the same footprint) and was able to include one of those tall pantry cabinets in the design. It is so much more useable now and enjoyable to be in the kitchen.

I just wanted to give you an option if you have a really tight budget like we did. If we lived near an Ikea, we would have totally gone with Ikea cabinets hands down -- they really are great quality for the price and look fantastic!

 

[fronkfam]

The insurance adjuster will be here Tuesday. Then we'll have a better idea of what they're covering and our budget. The kitchen hasn't been redone since the 80s, so I definitely think we will be replacing upper and lower cabinets. Thank you so much for all of the suggestions! Keep them coming if you can!

 

[chris31997]

If you/spouse are at all handy, renovation is something you can totally do. I would skip electric(get a pro), but it is doable. Even if you don't want to do it all and get a contractor, see if there is wiggle room in the price if you can do some of the work.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

Other PPs have given you good advice on places to look and budget. I know this is unexpected, but I would still try to take your time and think of any changes/additions you'd like to make as now will be the time to do it.

As for surviving this...you need to designate a room (dining room is best if you have one) as a makeshift kitchen. I pushed my dining table over and set up two six foot tables. I then arranged items in order of paper goods, breakfast, lunch and dinner items. Our fridge was moved into one corner and we had a microwave, toaster and coffee pot on the other table along with a small workspace. We used our BBQ for the majority of our meals. I set up the dish rack in the bathtub (I left it there as it is a guest bath, but you can take it in and out each morning) and did dishes in there. The other option is using the laundry room sink, but for us it was a pain to get to the laundry room during construction.

Good luck!

 

[Judique]

The insurance adjuster will be here Tuesday. Then we'll have a better idea of what they're covering and our budget. The kitchen hasn't been redone since the 80s, so I definitely think we will be replacing upper and lower cabinets. Thank you so much for all of the suggestions! Keep them coming if you can!

That's the first step - figuring out your budget. I once had a leak in a bathroom wall. The insurance money was enough to redo the whole bathroom. (We did most ourselves with a bit of professional plumber work.)

Good luck with your whole project!

 

[Darcy03231]

DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT under any circumstance go to HOME DEPOT!

We had a nearly 1.5 year project through them - it was supposed to be three weeks. I'm not lying!

They couldn't order anything right, nothing came in on time, they had manager turnover like McDonald's turns over burgers.

The Kitchen designer found out we were coming in one evening to get things straightened out, and SHE LEFT!

At one time, they had 35 incorrect orders on 3 projects.

Stay away from Home Depot, we haven't been back there FOR ANYTHING since!

I highly encourage you to get a price from a LOCAL kitchen and bath designer after going to Lowes.

We just had our bath remodeled last year by a local company and it was an absolute pleasure the entire time - we didn't even mind showering in a makeshift shower I built in the basement!

The contractor would bring his jacket in the house.... JUST FOR OUR CAT TO LAY ON... so she would hang out and keep him company! The first day I tried to run her off his coat, and he said... Now you leave her alone, I put that coat there just for her! HAHAHA

That was the difference - night and day!

I think it depends on your Home Depot. Our neighbors use our local Home Depot a lot and have had great luck with their projects. We've used them twice and had a great experience both times.

When our office had new carpet installed from Home Depot there was a minor issue. Management came out quickly and the problem was resolved right away.

When I was getting quotes for my kitchen I went to the two local places, as well as Home Depot and Lowes. This was about 4 months ago. I'm still waiting to hear back from one place. Every now and then I get a e-mail saying they haven't forgot about me, they've just been really busy and the other place is about double the price for the same cabinets I can get at Home Depot. I haven't been impressed with either local place.

 

[HsvTeacher]

I think it depends on your Home Depot. Our neighbors use our local Home Depot a lot and have had great luck with their projects. We've used them twice and had a great experience both times.

When our office had new carpet installed from Home Depot there was a minor issue. Management came out quickly and the problem was resolved right away.

When I was getting quotes for my kitchen I went to the two local places, as well as Home Depot and Lowes. This was about 4 months ago. I'm still waiting to hear back from one place. Every now and then I get a e-mail saying they haven't forgot about me, they've just been really busy and the other place is about double the price for the same cabinets I can get at Home Depot. I haven't been impressed with either local place.

I have to agree with you. We are in the process of remodeling our kitchen and have used Home Depot and Lowes. So far, we've been happy with both stores. There is one Home Depot in town that has horrible customer service, though, and we try to avoid that one if we can.

When we ordered our cabinets from Home Depot, there was a quality control issue with some of them, and they had to be replaced. They expedited the order and gave us back a nice amount of money for our time.

We also had an issue with the countertops we picked out being in the wrong location on the sample board. They gave us the less expensive price and another credit on top of that. We ended up with nicer countertops and saved several hundred dollars on them.