Now that the excitement of designing your new kitchen and making all of the necessary selections is behind you, it is necessary to face the reality of the temporary disruption in your home when the old kitchen is torn out. However, many of the discomforts and inconveniences can be minimized if you do a good job of planning and preparation for the tear-out.
You have several options regarding food preparation while your kitchen is out of commission. You can set up a microwave on a table in another room. You may be able to keep your refrigerator operating in another room or in your garage. When remodeling my own kitchen, we used as many disposables as possible (paper plate, plastic utensils and cups) and used our hallway half bath for washing any dishes. If the weather permits, you can use your barbeque grill outside. Grocery stores now offer many prepared dishes, and of course, this is a great excuse to frequent your favorite restaurant. Think about this ahead of time and make a plan that will best suit the needs of your family.
Obviously, you will need to remove EVERYTHING from your old cabinetry and countertops. The question is, “where do you put all that stuff?” Think carefully about what you will be packing away and to what you may need to maintain some access. Labeling the outside of the boxes you use may help you locate something you may need later. You not only need to designate a “storage” room for your old stuff, but you will need a room to store the new cabinets and appliances while the installation crew installs them. Your installation crew will need to have the kitchen absolutely bare before beginning to install cabinets. You may also need to have plumbing and electrical work done while the room is bare. So, your first big challenge is rearranging or emptying two rooms (other than the kitchen) in order to store the old and new stuff.
Another consideration is vibration caused by the installation process. It would be best to not only remove anything hanging on your kitchen walls but also anything on walls in adjoining rooms that share the same wall with your kitchen. Drilling or pounding on a wall during installation could cause a picture to fall from that same wall in the next room.
If you have pets, you should consider where you can keep them during the installation. The noise and strange people coming and going can be very upsetting to some pets. Keeping the pets out of the kitchen area will not only help the installers, it will keep your pets safe and keep them from tracking any construction dust around your house.
The most important thing to remember is to plan ahead. Also remember that no matter how much you plan ahead, things will probably come up requiring you to be flexible. Keeping these things in mind will help you survive the disruption with the least possible stress. For some great kitchen design ideas, check out the Photo Gallery on our website where you’ll see lots of Cabinet Discounters kitchen projects. Download the free Kitchen Planning Guide to help you get started on your project. If you have any questions or concerns, call one of Cabinet Discounters’ experienced designers and they will be happy to discuss your project and plans. You can find locations, hours and phone numbers on our website CabinetDiscounters.com.