Kitchen Remodel...

[Greg Cuetara]

I am thinking about redoing my kitchen but not sure where to start.

I have a typical modern 80's style kitchen. The cabinets are darker plywood and the drawer and door fronts are white melamine.

There are a few options. I could just remake the doors and drawer fronts but I would have to make them or stain them darker to match the existing cases. I could make the doors and drawer fronts in a lighter wood then use pressure sensitive adhesive veneer and apply that to cases to match the doors and drawer fronts.

A few more options. I could paint the existing cases and go with painted doors and drawer fronts.

Or the last option is that I could rebuild the kitchen from scratch.

I have lived in the house for 5 years now and my wife wants to sell but our kitchen is really dated so I was thinking an upgrade would help to sell the house. We were thinking next spring or summer to sell so that would give me the winter to work on the cabinets.

I am not a big fan of painted cabinets but that seems like it could be the best option because I could paint the existing cases and make new doors and drawer fronts. Of course I am looking for a higher end look in a medium end house. When I think of a high end kitchen I think of cherry or maple stained with a good clear coat.

We are also thinking about upgrading the appliances and countertop. I was thinking of granite tiles for the countertop....I know not super high end but still gives a nice look at a fraction of the cost.

Although the kitchen is functional so maybe it is better to leave it alone, sell the house and move on.

Any help with advice from those who have done any of the above would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Greg

[Colin Wollerman]

You will get better advice than mine on design and construction but on the selling note I would;

Look through your design options and get a Hi / Low dollar amounts (paint grade vs custom Cherry)

Get with a good real estate agent and let them know your plan. They will have a good idea as to weather you can recover cost or profit from an investment in your home like a kitchen remodel, in your area.

Bit of a crap shoot these days but a good agent is a sounding board that can keep you from getting carried away building a "dream kitchen" to increase the value of a home.

Obviously if you might stay in your home...go with the cherry.
C

[Von Bickley]

Greg,

If I was thinking about selling, I would not be thinking about a total rebuild.

If the cabinet lay-out is suitable, I would think about refacing the existing cabinet with 1/4" oak plywood and then build some nice oak doors and drawer fronts. Just something to think about.

[Greg Cuetara]

Colin,
Not sure that I really trust real estate agents but I do hear what you are saying. Maybe I'll move to hawaii.

Von,
I do not really want to do a total rebuild I am just concerned about the dark cabinets and putting a light doors and drawer fronts on. Also I am not sure about refacing the existing cabinets, how much work it is how to do it etc. Which is why I was thinking I could paint over the existing cabinets.

I like your last line. Always been proud to be an American.

[Ed Peters]

you can make a brand new, custom kitchen cabinet set for about $1,200.00 plus your choice of countertops. Give yourself a treat.

Ed

[Jim Becker]

If I was thinking about selling, I would not be thinking about a total rebuild.

I agree totally with that, Von. I'd either re-face or paint to update the look, especially in the real estate markets that exists today. Even a year from now, it's unlikely that the return from a major remodel is going to give close to the payback it might have even a year ago. A good local real estate professional can confirm that or otherwise advise on the project.

[Randy Tullis]

I am in the process of making new cabinets for our kitchen. What I did was make all the cabinets and then I ripped out the old one so that way the kitchen was only tore apart for about a week. Good luck

Randy

[Greg Cuetara]

thanks for all the advice. I have been in contact with a local realtor and I am trying to schedule a time for him to come out and help me 'beautify' the house or at least figure out where to put some money that I don't have so that i can try and sell the house without completly losing my shirt.
Greg

[Derek Stevens]

As a bulder, I would suggest paint the cabs, and refresh the countertop. granite is pricey, between 35 a s.f. though average around 75 p.s.f. corian is more, and a fake product at that. Concrete countertops are n easy homeowner do, and look great when done for very little cost. Just my two cents worth.

[frank shic]

greg, randy is absolutely right: make sure you have the cabinets already BUILT before you start demolition! i learned this the hard way while scrambling for 2 weeks trying to build the cabinets, demolish the kitchen, tile the floors, install the appliances and finish the countertop. i ended up finishing halfway with the granite tile counter top and door and drawer fronts requiring 3-4 more months to complete.

you'll definitely save money using granite tile for the countertop but make sure you take the edge pieces and the sink cutout (assuming you go with an undermounted sink which i think is the bomb!!!) to a fabricator. i made the mistake of trying to do this myself as well and it took FOREVER polishing the edges and the curves in the sink cutout were murder as well.

in the end, i got a $20,000 kitchen for less than $10,000 not including all the power tools i "invested" in. good luck!

[Neal Clayton]

don't see why you need a realtor to tell you what's the hottest seller at lowes/home depot (that's what they'll tell you to mimic), which could very well change over the next 4-5 years.

in fact i would bet on it changing. with shipping costs rising granite could fall out of fashion, not because people don't want it, but because shippers and retailers don't want it and the typical home buyer doesn't really know what they want. they know what everyone else has and want the same thing, and everyone else arrived at their decision by a realtor, contractor, and by proxy of those two supplier and retailer, telling them what they want. so the first to come up with a cheaper alternative and get people to gut their kitchens and bathrooms and replace it all to keep up with the neighbors will be the hero that killed granite.

in light of the above considerations, why not forget about what everyone else has, and the realtor who gets paid to tell people what everyone else has, and build something unique or otherwise better.

[Greg Cuetara]

Well, I finally met with a realtor this week. Eventhough my kitchen is dated and probably needs some work his advice was to just leave it alone and spend the time and money painting the whole house. What he said was make it clean clean clean and also make sure that it smells fresh and clean.

He did say a few things which made sense. Like if someone comes into a house with many excuses about why to drop the price it probably means that it isn't the house for them.

So I guess my plan is to paint the house and try and get over my stubborness with paying a realtor.

Thanks for all the advice.
Greg