Time to renovate your kitchen

Time to renovate your kitchen?

The kitchen has long been something of a central place in the home and it's no wonder; this is where the family often meets for coffee, dinner and cooking. No wonder then that it is precisely in your kitchen that you want it extra fresh and nice. Because of this, the kitchen is one of the places in the home that we renovate the most. Of course, the renovation can be both sparing and comprehensive and everything in between, it obviously depends on what you want - as well as whether it is something you have to do if, for example, water damage has occurred. If you just want to get a slightly newer feel in the kitchen, new wallpaper or a new color on the walls can do the trick. It is also popular to repaint the cabinet doors in a different color and thus get the feeling of an updated and renovated kitchen. But, how should you think when you want to renovate the entire kitchen?

What you can do when you renovate the kitchen yourself

Simpler renovation works already mentioned, wallpaper and paint, can easily be done on your own. Similarly, painting the cabinet doors in a different color, as well as painting both ceiling and floor moldings. There is also no problem in re-laying the floor. Some old kitchens still have old and ugly plastic carpets and it is therefore tempting for many to replace these with newer wooden floors. All these measures do an incredible amount for the feel of the kitchen and it doesn't actually require that much work - at the same time they are fairly cheap investments.

If you are a bit handy, when you renovate the kitchen, you can also fix the carpentry yourself. In other words, it is entirely possible to remove old, worn cabinets and nail up new ones on your own. Here, however, a lot of planning is required, where the most important thing is to have the right dimensions of the kitchen and the space available. It really doesn't hurt to measure a few times too much, so that you know for sure that you have the correct measurements. Measure both the walls and the old cupboards, but it is mainly the measurements of the walls that are important to get right – cupboards and the dimensions of these change over time and there are a multitude of different variants available today. You can certainly get some tips where you shop for your new kitchen.

What you need help with when renovating the kitchen

Unless you are a licensed electrician or plumber by trade, you really need to get help with electrical and plumbing work when renovating your kitchen. This is very important, as otherwise you can have big problems with both electrical faults and water leaks if it is not done correctly. In addition, there may be problems with getting any compensation from the insurance.

There is a lot that is connected to both water and electricity in a kitchen. Stove & oven, fridge & freezer, lighting, dishwasher and much more may require some adaptation in order for it to function as intended. Especially in cases where you want to move contacts and switches, or if extension or rerouting of electrical cables is needed. Piping for kitchen faucets is very tricky if you don't know exactly what to do, and here it is easy for leaks to occur if the work is not carried out in the absolute right way.

The same applies to the installation of a dishwasher, which should preferably have a shut-off tap connected to the mixer. If the mixer does not have a tap, it is of course fine with a tap on the connection pipe to the dishwasher. However, additional connections that are hidden can unfortunately be the source of leakage and this may not be noticed until it has gone a little too far; if, for example, the pipe is standing and dripping.

How do you plan for your new kitchen?

When you are going to renovate the kitchen, you must have some kind of plan for how this is to be done, and of course what is to be done. The very best thing is to sit down in peace and quiet and sketch out the solution(s) you can think of. Surely you have both one or more ideas about how your new kitchen could conceivably look. Whether you're using an advanced computer program to map out the kitchen to be renovated or you're using paper and pencil the traditional way, a drawing or sketch of some kind is a necessity. By sketching carefully, you can already here pick up possible thinking errors and mistakes that would be costly when the work starts. The planning work is also half the fun, just like planning for a great trip or something else that you look forward to!

When you draw up the kitchen, start by drawing in the measurements so that you get a good basic layout. Here, in addition to length and width, you must also include the ceiling height. Then note where windows and doors are located, as well as the dimensions of these, including the distance between the floor and the windows. It is also good to include where the elements are, if any, and where the pipes and wires are. Then you can advantageously draw in dining tables, cupboards, chairs and other important furniture.

If you are planning a new fridge and freezer, remember to draw in the distance between these and the wall behind. Also think about the space that should be available for cooker hoods and the like. Something to think about is also which way the cupboard doors open, so that nothing collides. Likewise, you should make sure in your floor plan that it is possible to open the dishwasher without problems.

Renovate the kitchen - a summary

What you need to think about in brief when renovating your kitchen is the following:

• You can carry out wallpapering, painting, flooring and simple carpentry yourself.
• You need help with everything to do with electricity and plumbing. Important!
• Plan your kitchen carefully and make a drawing, or preferably several drawings, so that you get a good overview and can stop any mistakes and thinking errors in time.