Specific Requirements: Kitchen Remodel

We all like to save money and we love nice new kitchens.  These don't necessarily go together.  Sorting  priorities is a good way to keep the cost down.  A recent high end rental project, for a house that was stuck in the current bad economy and low Florida housing market, tested my abilities for "specific requirements" while utilizing existing spaces for new appliances and a luxury kitchen feel.

First, a list of things in the existing kitchen that were in good enough shape to keep:  tile floor; granite counter tops; tile black splash; wall/ceiling paint; and ceiling pot lighting.  Keeping the back splash tile and granite tops meant keeping the base cabinets and if possible wall cabinets.

The things that had to go:  original oven and microwave stack; dish washer; small older mediocre electric cook top; and original 48 inch range hood that vented to the attic.

Things that had to be brought up to code:  water line for fridge/freezer ice maker; vented or proper recirculating hood to match cook top; raising of hood to meet current code heights; and circuits/amperage for new appliance needs.

The cabinets were original to the early 1980's house and the dark wood had been painted white once.  The cabinet doors and drawer fronts had been replaced with cheap vinyl that was beginning to yellow and peel.  The interiors of the cabinets, both base and wall, were showing their age and were not appealing to high end renters or buyers.

The proposal: remove all major appliances including a five year old counter depth side by side fridge/freezer plus cabinet doors and hinges  and drawer fronts along with drawers and old slides. New cabinet floors would be placed in the sink and cook top base cabinets.  New shelves and shelving hardware for upper cabinets and new drawers and slides for the base cabinets.  All cabinet boxes would be cleaned and sanded and spray painted in place inside and out.  New door and drawer fronts would be ordered and spray painted to match at the kitchen contractor's shop.  Concealed hinges would be used for the new doors.  Existing round black knobs would be kept for doors and new black bin pulls added to drawers. A new base cabinet with granite top to match existing would replace an old bookcase and new cabinet doors would cover existing open corner base shelving.  Trim molding would be added to the wall cabinet tops.

New appliances were to include: a larger energy efficient cook top that did not require a hole through the roof for venting;  a larger energy efficient fridge/freezer with ice maker; a top of the line energy efficient dish washer; an energy efficient recirculating range hood, and an upper end microwave and oven.

The "specific requirements" were:  27 inch wide for ovens; 36 inch wide for fridge/freezer and height not over existing wall cabinet tops; 34 inch max height by 24 wide for dish washer; and adjusting and adding wall cabinets and smaller hood to fit 48 inch space from old hood.  Any changes in appliance door sizes, swings, and drawer pull outs had to be checked with existing spacing within the kitchen.

Weigh the cost of changes, including labor, versus end results for look and function.  An energy efficient 36 inch Thermador induction cook top was sourced that did not require a vent to the outside. Wall cabinets above the old hood were removed with the hood and a 42 inch very quiet stainless steel Braon recirculating hood was purchased.

Thermador made a 27 inch, high end oven with microwave and warming drawer all in one piece that was cheaper than 27 inch stacks without the warming drawer from other vendors.  This meant loosing the cabinet drawer below the existing oven space  -worth it.  Luck enabled us to access plumbing through the back of the oven cabinet to put water into the attic and back down to a cabinet beside the fridge/freezer space for the ice maker  -no open drywall to patch! The upper cabinets were removed from the existing fridge/freezer space to allow for a taller Bosch built-in one.

Always check with major appliance stores and manufacturer web sites for sales and deals.  With our purchase of the cook top and ovens we got a dishwasher for free.


The Completed Project.  We added pull out spice racks to each side of the new hood to cover the rough wood where the old hood was attached.
We added larger wall cabinets above the new hood to the ceiling and wrapped the ceiling cornice giving some height to the look of the kitchen.  This covered all the rough dry wall from the tear out. The 36 inch door and drawer of the new fridge/freezer were large so we used custom cabinet fronts to blend it in and keep it from looking too monstrous.

Wall cabinet top molding provided a more finished and quality look.  The doors on the corner base cabinets did the same.  And, the new base cabinet by the patio/porch doors provided extra storage while tying that end of the kitchen in with the rest, making the kitchen seem larger.

This remodel completed in less than a month allowing a fast rental. Michael and his crew at MMKB Countertops were focused and on time with this project.

To save money focus on what must be done. Then, balance money spent for what you will get and always include labor costs in decisions. Be careful not to remove existing value and don't assume everything must be replaced.