Basic kitchen
Luxury kitchen
Things to note when considering DIY
Embarking on DIY renovations can be a satisfying and cost saving process, but how much should you do yourself? Most DIY kitchen renovators manage the task, do most of the demolition, select and work on the color schemes, source new fixtures and fittings, demolish and remove all cabinetry and wash basins. If you have some experience, you might be able to do the lighting, especially if it's 12 volt. However, unless you are really skilled you will need to contact the specialist trades of plumbing, electrical work, cabinet making, flooring.
Whats needed - a full re-design or a makeover?
To decide on how much to spend on your DIY kitchen renovation, and what areas to spend it on will depend on how the kitchen is used and also how long more you plan to own the house. Before making any decisions, we recommend you think about the following
- Is it just a functional kitchen for food preparation or is it also an entertaining area?
- Do family and friends gather in the kitchen? If so, then it needs to have a different feel with maybe a breakfast bar or home entertainment area. Maybe even an internet connection and more general storage or shelving.
- Are you thinking of selling the house soon? If you plan to sell the house in a year or two then it may not be worth a major kitchen renovation. However the suitability and appeal of the kitchen is one of the most important considerations for new home buyers.
Careful re-design can make a kitchen more spacious, provide more storage and be user friendly however changing the configuration costs money because it usually means new plumbing, electrics and possibly alteration to wall construction, windows and doors. You may have to strip it back to the floors and walls and rebuild it from new. But if the layout is fine, and you feel comfortable with DIY, you can renovate a kitchen relatively cheaply. A dramatic difference can be made by simply changing the color scheme, replacing old cupboard and bench tops for new, replacing appliances exactly where they were and improving lighting.
Either way, your kitchen will be out of commission for 1-4 weeks and you need to find some other food preparation area.
Kitchen Designing Tools
There are many simple computer programs used for creating house plans and play with different layouts. You can use these to see whether your DIY kitchen should be reconfigured to make it more practical. Alternatively, cut out paper shapes of all kitchen components to scale and move them around a scale drawing of the room space. (Click on the following link to down-load our kitchen cutouts.) Once done, draw up elevations with wall dimensions and positions of existing doors and windows etc.
How much your DIY Kitchen will cost.
A professional kitchen renovator may charge from $10-15,000 to replace a small kitchen to a basic level of service and a medium level finish.
This would include removal of existing cabinetry, appliances, flooring and wall cladding (tiles, splashboards etc), simple relocation/ replacement of walls and finishings (plastering or rendering), removal and refitting services (plumbing and electrics), installing cabinetry including bench tops, tiling or fitting splashbacks and installing new flooring, lighting and painting. If wall or window replacement is required these costs can easily go up by another $5000.
By DIY renovating your kitchen, designing the layout, demolishing cabinetry, and removing old appliances, engaging trades, supervising renovating, and painting yourself, you could shave 20-40% of these costs. Think about all the extra appliances and furnishings you could buy with these savings!
Cupboards
More than half the costs are cupboards and bench tops. (Labour is usually about 20% of the costs and appliances and lighting 30%.) So by reducing the number of smaller cabinets and drawers and maximizing the larger, you will save both on materials and labour. Flat pack, off the shelf, kitchen cabinet units are also a consideration for it is the fastest and cheapest way to create cabinetry. Flat packs are modular units that lay flat and are ready for installation. They can be installed by a competent DIY home renovator (or a tradesman.) They are however only suitable for simple kitchen layouts are limited by basic designs.
Remember the Extras
There are always unexpected extras in renovations. You should expect to add 10-15% to your budget for unexpected problems.
New or Used Appliances
If appliances (eg fridges) are working fine, it may be much cheaper to integrate them (build then into a cupboard with a concealing door) than buy another. If you set yourself say a middle level appliance quality, stick to it and don't get seduced by exotic or expensive imported appliances that could add thousands to your budget.
Builders usually include a provision sum to cover only the basic appliances. It is always more cost affective if you supply your own appliances.
You can make huge savings (30-40%) by buying appliances (and tiles) from alternative sources like auctions, sales, the newspaper or eBay.
Fabrication and working with trades
The usual sequence of work is to disconnect all existing services and then:
- Remove cabinetry, appliances and fittings
- Relocate windows and walls (if necessary)
- Install basic plumbing and electrics
- Install floor (depending upon whether the floor runs under cabinetry or not)
- Install cabinetry, benchtops, and splashbacks
- Install appliances and lighting
- Install final plumbing and electrics
- Seal and paint
Make sure you organize trades people in the correct order otherwise there may be costly revisits, extra work and additional costs.
Be clear on what you're expecting each tradesperson to do (and for how much) before finalising contracts and them starting work. Ascertain their rate of pay for labour and whether they come with an apprentice or offsider.) Cabinetry will be fabricated off site. (Installation is usually 2-3 days.)
Provide all trades and cabinet makers with plans that have details of the position of existing and new services (plumbing, gas and electrics), details of appliances, sinks and taps.
Check fittings with relevant trades before buying them otherwise they may have to make changes to their preparations. It's also wise to check contractor's work or ask for references. They should be industry qualified, licensed and insured.
DIY renovation of a kitchen can save you quite a a lot of money but it needs patience, some skill, lots of motivation and time. DIY can be extremely satisfying, especially when you spend so much time in a kitchen. You also get to appreciate and be proud of your own work and creative decisions. However the renovation, be it DIY or not, will usually not go completely smoothly. There is likely to be some unexpected difficulty that will will cause great frustration and stress. If you've done some DIY renovations before, then you already know this. Eventually you will deal with the problem and move on, to the next step and the next problem. That's the nature of building and renovations!
Before you proceed with any DIY work you may find it beneficial to read the following related articles:
- How to design your own home
- How to read plans
- Residential structures - the basics
- DIY Interior Design
- DIY Renovations
- Picking colors for your home
