Kitchen Renovations: Three Questions Before You Begin

By Leslie A.M.
RefacingCabinet.com Columnist

Whether you are replacing a kitchen counter, resurfacing kitchen cabinets, or having stock kitchen cabinets installed, there are bound to be some unexpected costs and challenges along the way. Anytime your contractor or handyman needs to talk to you about making a decision, it is your job to ask these three questions.

1. He may ask you if you prefer staining kitchen cabinets or installing cherry cabinets.

You need to ask, "How much will it cost?"

Before you agree to anything, have an idea of the costs. Asking this question also helps the contractor think through the entire project. There is a large cost differential between staining kitchen cabinets to give the look of cherry and actually installing cherry cabinets.

2. He may say, "It's a routine kitchen cabinet repair job."

Ask, "How long will it take?"

The word 'routine' is relative and might be the difference of a day to add touch up paint to white kitchen cabinets or a week of resurfacing kitchen cabinets--both could be routine in his line of work.

3. He might just say, "You can get by with custom cabinet doors."

You might want to know, "What are the alternatives?"

He might be assuming how much you want to spend and not telling you the cost of using sustainable materials to achieve a completely green kitchen, or how inexpensive it could be for staining oak kitchen cabinets. You might be open to remodeling kitchen cabinets to create all new workstations, but he may not know it if you don't ask about it.

Whatever the job is, if you ask these three questions, you might find a bundle of opportunities and save yourself from being unhappy when the job is complete.

 

 

About The Author

Leslie A.M. Smith lives in a 1929 house in Long Beach, California. When she isn't fixing things and redecorating, she is a freelance writer and public relations consultant.