Renovating a home is overwhelming for most people and a lot of people put off doing a kitchen remodel because of all the work it takes. There are too many choices today in the market place. Unless you are lucky to find a good contractor who can design, provide all the products and install in your area, it can be a daunting task. Of course there are the few who love the challenge but the opportune words there are a few.
In 1999 my wife and I bought our home. The homes are very expensive in New York City so we bought a home that needed a lot of work. In 2004 after living in our home for about 5 years both my wife and I had just about enough with our cold, poorly designed old kitchen. By this time our third child was born. It is well known that most people’s priorities change rapidly when your kids are small and you are struggling to raise them. We had put it off long enough
We decided to research some kitchen remodel ideas and plan on getting our kitchen done finally. We got 3 estimates and one of the contractors charged us $500 dollars for his time to design our kitchen and that layout just did not work for us at all. After a dispute with my wife for giving them the money we both decided to design the kitchen ourselves. What I am about to tell you now was a turning point in my life and lead me to where I am today designing many kitchens. There are plenty of companies giving free design estimates so don’t be fooled
The contractor we choose to do our kitchen took over 3 months to complete it and it was one of the most stressful times of my life. So many things I saw that were just not acceptable like not putting in enough insulation, building the interior walls too far from our brick interior and because of this we had to reorder kitchen cabinets. Always make sure to have a time line written in the contract specifying how long the project will take.
The ceilings were un-level. There was garbage thrown out our new custom window scratching it. Our dining room floors were damaged and much more. We were robbed during this project and today I am on a mission to educate consumers on the reasons why it is so important to make sure to get a good reliable contractor who does background checks on their workers as well as checking to see if they have enough insurance.
Now my passion is helping people who have smaller kitchens. It is the central meeting place of the home and it is important it functions well. Designing kitchens and using good kitchen remodel ideas is very satisfying. There are companies that bring the selections to your home and help with cabinet styles, counter tops, back splashes and floors as well as quickly show consumers how their kitchen will look after the construction process is complete.
Don’t give up on your dream. If you do your due diligence and call companies like Service Magic who will give you only reputable contractors you should be fine. Check out Angles List, Consumers affairs and BBB. Of course getting referrals is always a good idea but make sure that the people working in your home are the same crew your friend had. This can make a huge difference.