Without a doubt, your bathroom’s and kitchen’s overall comfort play a tremendous role in the overall comfort level of your home. Chances are that you as well as many other homeowners want your home to be truly cozy and comfortable. This is especially true when it comes to your kitchen and bathroom. I am sure that you, just like myself, want your kitchen and bathroom to be especially comfortable since these are the rooms where we literally pamper ourselves with comfort. Not surprisingly, many people invest heavily in remodeling and renovation of their old, boring and dull kitchen and bathroom.
Budget Conscious Home Remodeling
With home budget constraints, and worries about the slow economy and scarcity of good jobs looming over our heads, there are many homeowners who seriously consider remodeling their kitchen and bathroom in a do it yourself fashion, in order to save some money, and perhaps even learn some new skills in the process.
Getting Started the right way
Whenever you take on any major home remodeling project by yourself, at the very minimum, you have to make sure that your newly remodeled kitchen and bathroom will integrate seamlessly with the rest of your home and garden. This way, you will not have to remodel the rest of your home to balance the look of your newly remodeled kitchen and bathroom. And believe me, there are people who have done it, and it is not cheap! You can find many unique kitchen and bathroom remodeling designs and ideas books at your local home improvement store. This is your starting point to get your creative juices flowing in the right direction.
Putting together Aspects of Design for Kitchen, Bathroom, and Home Remodel Integration
So, how do you weigh the pros and cons of hiring a Home Remodeling Contractor vs. doing it by yourself? Consider the overall size and scope of difficulty of your home improvement project. If the project is fairly small in its nature, and you happen to be a pretty handy person who also happens to have some free time, and by free time, I mean lots of it! Then, you may be better off by doing a small home remodeling project such as installing, or replacing your wall, or floor tiles by yourself, or with some help from a friend.
If you already know how to lay tiles, or have a knowledgeable friend who is willing to help you with your smaller remodeling project, then you surely can take on a fairly small remodeling project with the help of your friend.
You will still have to do a careful planning for your project and get all the right tools and materials for the job. You may also have to invest into a tile cutting machine, which may cost as much as $200.00 if you buy it new.
On the other hand, you will be learning a new and potentially useful skill, plus you could be saving nearly five dollars per square foot on labor cost by installing your own tiles. Just remember that you have to know all the intricacies of doing it right the first time. That’s why it may not be a bad idea to follow watch a detailed video showing how to plan for the job, what tools and materials to get, and how to do the installation the right way.
Home Remodeling Case Study
Should I hire a Home Remodeling Contractor?
If your handyman skills are fair at best, and your time would be better spent doing something that you are actually good at. Or if the task at hand requires getting a permit to move the wall, and you have never done before, then I recommend that you do the same thing as the smart homeowner, and a friend of mine form Los Angels county, California, did.
The lady wanted to remove a wall to get a beautiful view outside from her living room (this required a permit from her city hall), remodel her closet space, and she also wanted to cut in and install some new skylights for natural lighting in her bathroom. She decided to go with MDM Custom Remodeling Inc, a Los Angeles based home remodeling company specializing in kitchen and bathroom remodeling, home additions, and new construction in greater Los Angeles, California.
I have had a pleasure of personally working with Mike on other projects and I have seen how beautiful and meticulous his work is. His company is very reasonably priced compared to other remodeling companies in the area, but the best part is their warm and caring service, which includes custom 3D design for a homeowner to see how a completed project will look.
Once the project is agreed on, everything gets handled in a professional manner, and your project gets finished on time. To me personally, and to many people who own their homes, quality and integrity is what matters the most. All I need to say that MDM Custom Remodeling delivers quality work, which is truly priceless.
So what is the point I am trying to make here? Take your time to find a high quality and caring re-modeler who takes pride in their work, and will take a good care of you and your home. Ask to see their work, and go ahead and talk to people for whom the company has provided the remodeling service. See if the job looks professionally done, and ask if the homeowners in question are happy with the service and product they have received. Always look and ask questions just like a friend of mine did, and remember a picture speaks a thousand words. Take a look at some of the pictures of their work and see for yourself!
Kitchen Remodeling In Los Angeles Home
Now, take a look at the beauty and simplicity of the bath remodel Job by Mike’s crew in the Los Angeles area.
Small Bathroom Remodeling Los Angeles
Should I remodel My Kitchen Now?
Take a look at your kitchen and make an honest assessment of things that require some TLC. You may find that some wall tiles are missing and that the paint looks dull. Your cabinets may have dirt and scratches on them, and your old kitchen countertop may also need replacing.
Check the condition of your kitchen appliances to see if any them require replacements in order to include these into the total estimated project cost. For instance, you may find that your old refrigerator is leaking and needs replacement, or that the stove is too old for your kitchen. Your dishwasher may no longer work well, and you may consider replacing it with more energy efficient appliances.
Add up the projected costs of upgrading your appliances, the cost of replacing missing wall tiles if you can find replacements. If wall tile replacements are not available, then you may have to plan for a total replacement of your wall tiles. In this case you will have to add up all the costs of demolitions and removal, prep work, and materials and installation of new wall tiles in your kitchen or bathroom.
The same principle holds true for the floors, if they are in poor shape, you may need to plan on replacing your floor tiles. Once again you will need to estimate the cost of demolition and removal, preparation, materials, and a new installation.
How to Select Kitchen and Bathroom Flooring Tiles?
It is a good idea to pick an appropriate color and style for wall and floor tiles, so that tiles you select would integrate well with the rest of you home’s interior. If you are looking for quality and style, you can obtain it by installing ceramic or porcelain floor and wall tiles, while for the rest of your home you may consider hardwood flooring, or laminates.
If you are looking for quality and classic style for home’s floors, then you cannot go wrong with installing hardwood floors in your home’s living spaces. If your budget allows it, I would recommend installing hardwood flooring in your living room, hallways, and in your home’s bedrooms. If you already have hardwood floors, but they are starting to show some serious signs of age and lose the usual luster, then you can dramatically improve the visuals of your rooms by refinishing hardwood floors to give your living rooms a fresh new look, and insure long lasting protection to your aging floors.
If you would like to spare no expense in upgrading the look of walls and floors in your kitchen and bathroom, then you can invest into marble floor and wall tiles, which will cost twice as much as you would normally pay for classy looking porcelain tiles that will look fantastic in most kitchens and bathroom provided they were professionally installed.
For your cabinets you may easily save thousands by re coating your existing cabinets rather then getting brand new ones. You can purchase a cabinet restoration kit for under $100.00 in your local home improvement store. The kit comes with a DVD that shows you how to give your cabinets a facelift in 4 easy steps.
In your bathroom you may consider replacing shower heads, vanity top, toilet, faucets, bathroom vents and heaters, and bathroom linen cabinets in order to give your bathroom an upgraded look on a dime. You may also want to repaint walls, or replace the old wallpaper if it looks dull and starts to peel off the wall due to age. Once again, you do not necessarily have to replace your old bathroom cabinets, instead you can simply refinish them with the help of a do it yourself cabinet restoration kit.
Write down everything before you set out on buying stuff. Try to estimate the total project cost of materials and supplies, plus labor if applicable. Plan for contingencies, and feel free to add 20% to your total estimated project cost to account for unexpected expenses. Be realistic and put an attainable time-frame along with the work schedule for your bathroom or, a kitchen remodeling project.
And finally, remember that small changes done right here and there every other weekend can make your bathroom or kitchen look like it has received a full remodel, whereas in fact, it was a lot of small steps that added up overtime to make a big difference in terms of looks, quality, and comfort. Not too mention, a boost in your confidence and a great sense of accomplishment!