1: Design

If designing your own kitchen renovation, start by doing your style homework in regards to cabinetry, appliances, layouts and finishes.Measure the space accurately (noting the position of existing doors, windows, fixtures, plumbing and power) before deciding on the new layout.Draw up plans, then consult recommended contractors and shop for fittings and appliances.

If hiring an interior designer or kitchen renovator, schedule an initial inspection and consultation. At this meeting, they’ll assess and measure the space and discuss design options with respect to layout, lighting, flooring, appliances, cabinetry, fittings and finishes; then come up with a detailed, itemised plan.

Use your floorplan to brief and guide contractors, decide the schedule and come up with time and cost estimates.

2: Kitchen renovation procedure

Complete your kitchen renovation in the following order:

• Remove and store food, utensils, crockery and appliances.
• Secure plastic sheeting across doorways to block dust and create ‘walkways’ to stop dirt being tracked through other areas.
• Dismantle and remove the existing kitchen, including appliances, cabinetry, benchtops, splashbacks, light fittings, sinks, taps, finishes and floor coverings.
• If making structural changes (resizing doors or windows, knocking down interior walls, adding skylights or serveries, concreting floors etc), these jobs come next.
• Configure electrical and plumbing services.
• Install cabinetry
• Install benchtops and splashbacks
• Fit all appliances
• Add floor coverings
• Seal surfaces and paint
• Clean and re-stock

3:Structural alterations

If structural work is required in your kitchen renovation, call in a builder early to coordinate the job and ensure it’s done correctly.

Structural alterations such as adding a window, door or skylight, removing a load-bearing wall to open up the space or adding a breakfast bar are best done by licensed, insured professionals. Prior consultation ensures proposed alterations are feasible and legal, avoiding potentially costly errors.

Note that this part of a kitchen renovation is noisy, messy and hazardous, so screen the area with plastic, keep everyone but workers out of the area, and warn neighbours about noise (ditto for plumbing work, onsite carpentry and flooring).

Allow one to three weeks for the construction phase, depending on the scope of the job (if time permits, allow a few extra days before scheduling other contractors to accommodate unforeseen construction problems).

4:Plumbing

Provide your plumber with a detailed floorplan well ahead of time. If you know the configuration of existing pipes and outlets, mark these on the plan.

Discuss plumbing options such as resiting fixtures and adding eco-friendly fittings and systems (grey water recycling, solar hot water services and water-saving taps) before finalising your plans.

Following structural work, schedule your plumber to install or reposition pipes, drains, plumbing fixtures and water heating units. Allow one to four days, depending on the complexity of the job.

Reschedule your plumber late in a kitchen renovation to install appliances and fittings such as dishwashers, sinks, tapware, in-sink garbage disposals and water filters.

5: Electricals

Schedule an electrician early in a kitchen renovation, following structural work but before flooring, cabinetry and tiling.

Ensure all new electricals are feasible, given the existing circuitry, cavity dimensions and rafter configuration.

Note that in apartments with concrete ceilings, embedded ceiling spots and exhaust fans may be costly or unfeasible, while cross-hatched rafters or inadequate roof and wall cavity space may affect their positioning.

6: Benchtops and splashbacks

If your kitchen renovation requires stone, marble stainless steel, hardwood or imported benchtops and splashbacks, order them well in advance.

Benchtop installation can be done by your builder, renovator or a specialist.

Splashbacks in glass, stone, treated wood or stainless-steel are generally installed directly following the benchtops.

If tiling (or retiling) a splashback, allow time to strip existing tiles, prepare surfaces, lay new tiles, drying time and grouting.

If planning to resurface tiles, do a sample section before proceeding.

7: Flooring

As kitchens are heavily trafficked and subject to spillages, floors should be hardwearing and properly sealed. New-generation linoleum, stone, tile, rendered concrete, treated hardwood, cork and bamboo are all suitable kitchen flooring.

The time and labour involved in laying new flooring depends on the materials you choose, and the subsurface preparation required. Some materials require excavation or substantial preparation, while others need careful installation or repeated sealing.

Wood, cork, bamboo, slate, tile and lino floors are generally laid late in a kitchen renovation, before or after installing cabinetry (depending on whether the new floor surface extends beneath it).

If laying concrete flooring schedule this early in the renovation and ensure access for barrows and compactors. Allow extra time for stenciling and sealing.

If laying stone or tiles, allow time to dry, grout, then seal and re-dry before installing appliances and cabinetry.

With wooden floors, allow time to apply three coats of varnish and let it harden before installing fittings.

Choose low-slip flooring to minimise kitchen accidents and comply with current building regulations (check that your proposed materials meet Standards Australia guidelines).

8: Carpentry/cabinetry

A carpenter may be needed early in a kitchen renovation to resite doors, walls or windows; install a pantry, or lay wooden flooring.

Reschedule the carpenter after plumbing, electricals and flooring is in place to install cabinetry, shelving, benches, buffets, wood benchtops and splashbacks.

Order custom-built cabinetry well in advance.

9: Sinks, hot water services, tapware

Reschedule the plumber late in a kitchen renovation to fit sinks, tapware, in-sink garbage disposal and water filtration systems. The plumber can also install, connect and test dishwashers, grey water recycling and hot water systems on this visit.

10: Painting

Painting and sealing is generally a short, simple job – in a kitchen renovation it’s performed next to last:

• Clean, prepare and dry all surfaces before painting or varnishing.
• Allow time for successive coats of finishes to dry.
• Air the room before restocking the kitchen.

11: Environmental considerations

Before drawing up plans, check current government environmental guidelines for home renovations. To ensure your kitchen renovation makes the room more eco-friendly, consider:

• Water-saving taps
• Energy-efficient (star-rated) appliances
• A solar hot water service
• Energy-efficient lighting
• Grey water recycling
• An underfloor rainwater tank
• A waste recycling unit
• Eco-friendly finishes/flooring

Hope you enjoyed our very first post, in our next post we’ll share some tips on building a better bathroom.

Effective Building and Construction is the leader in building and renovations around Sydney, get in touch or learn more about us.

Initial considerations

Determine the new room dimensions and positions of existing doors, windows, and skylights. These will affect your new floorplan, and the positioning, shape and size of fixtures and fittings. If adding, resiting or resizing doors/windows/skylights, allow for extra time, cost and tradespeople.

Decide if the bathroom will be part of a larger room or area (such as a master bedroom or poolside ‘wet area’) or a self-contained space?

Will you be restructuring the space? Altering the floor or ceiling; removing or adding internal walls; installing a sunken bath/spa/sauna or embedding fixtures into walls, floor or ceiling cavities will generally mean more people, time and costs.

If your bathroom is to incorporate laundry facilities it may require additional power and plumbing outlets.

Assess the materials used in the existing bathroom (eg. concrete, wood, tiles or plasterboard). All require different solutions.

Determine how much cavity space there is to work with in the walls, ceiling, and under-floor area. This may affect the type, configuration and positioning of pipes, wires and fittings.

Will you need to change existing plumbing or wiring to accommodate the new design?

Assess whether existing fixtures, fittings or finishes (eg. floor or wall tiles, toilet suite, screens, mirrors) can be incorporated into the new design. Resurfacing or refitting existing fixtures and fittings can help cut costs.

Determine how the ‘time out’ required for renovations will affect your day-to-day life and organise how to best plan around the ongoing work. For example, hire a portaloo or bathe at your local gym or neighbour’s house. This is particularly important if your home has only one bathroom.

Expert advice

Here are some of the professionals that can help with your renovation, depending on your requirements and budget:

• Architect, builder or interior designer
• Integrated bathroom renovation service, project manager, builder
• Plumber, spa/sauna expert, waterproofing contractor
• Electrician
• Carpenter
• Cabinetmaker
• Tiler/renderer/flooring specialist
• Painter

Check that all the bathroom renovation professionals you engage are industry qualified, licensed and insured. Be clear on what you’re expecting each tradesperson to do before finalising contracts, handing over cash or beginning work. For more information about employing a professional read Choosing your builder.

Common Pitfalls

Plan ahead and consult professional bathroom designers/tradespeople where appropriate to avoid the following common bathroom renovation problems and pitfalls.

Organising tradespeople in incorrect order. This can result in skipped stages, revisits, extra work and costs.

Planning redesigns without considering crucial basics such as cavity space, concrete walls/floors/ceilings, existing plumbing and circuitry etc.

Buying fittings or fixtures without consulting the relevant trade professionals, resulting in unsuitable choices.

Can I do it myself?

All but the most basic bathroom renovations tend to be complex and tricky, with many components that require skilled professionals. They must be done in the correct order.

Easier jobs you may want to attempt yourself include choosing the color scheme and style, sourcing fixtures and fittings, removing and installing simple existing fittings such as hooks, towel rails and painting.

We hope you enjoyed our post, we will continue to provide more step-by-step guides in the coming weeks.

Effective Building and Construction is the leader in building and renovations around Sydney, get in touch or learn more about us.

Initial considerations

The most important information to gather from your chosen builder prior to contracts are signed and construction has started is qualifications, experience and past projects they have completed. It is highly important to gather as much information as possible from your chosen builder to ensure you are making the right decision, as this could be a decision to either make or break you!

Below are a few very important things to find out before engaging into a binding contract:

1. Is the builder licensed, qualified, experienced & fully insured?
2. Has the builder completed a similar project or development as such and provided you with references which you have followed up on to ensure previous customers were satisfied with the end result?
3. Have you engaged with a solicitor to have a read of the contract you are about to commit yourself too?
4. And finally, are you a 100% confident in the builder or do you have any doubts?

Expert advice

If you have completed the steps listed above and you are confident in the builder you are choosing then go for it! We believe developing and investing your money is a life changing experience as you learn many new things along the way and if the investment goes as planned then you will also financially benefit from this investment.

The opportunities are endless with developing and investing your money, and if you go with the right builder with the right attitude and approach then you have entered into a long term relationship with your builder where the opportunities and financial wealth are endless.

We hope you enjoyed our post, we will continue to provide more step-by-step guides in the coming weeks.

Effective Building and Construction is the leader in developing & investing around the Sydney Metropolitan Region, get in touch or learn more about us.