H. Thomsen Writes:
We didn’t exactly intend to remodel our whole kitchen, but we had a problem. You see we had a drop-in stove which my wife was tired of and it had a broken knob which was irreplaceable because the stove was discontinued and we couldn't find parts for it. Also we had a cabinet fitted oven/broiler that was too small and it so happened that the oven was next to the stove top. All we really wanted to do was remove the stove and cabinet under it which meant that the countertop it was sitting on needed to be cut and removed as well.
So, we called a reputable cabinet contractor to send someone over to see what could be done and a salesman came over and took measurements and while he was there he told us that in order to fit a standing stove we would need to remove the oven/broiler and the countertop needed to be cut and there just wasn't room. We then asked him if we removed the oven could he replace the oven with a cabinet door?
A Small Home Improvement Turns Big
The salesman said he didn't know if he could match the existing cabinet door, so then we asked about removing the entire cabinet with the oven and replacing it with an upper a lower cabinet and replace the entire countertop. He thought maybe that would work and took more measurements and while he was doing that, we asked just for the hell of it what a new kitchen would cost. He said between $20,000 and $30,000 and then he left. The next day he called back and said his boss didn't want to do a job that small and yet so aggravating, but that because of the economy they had to lay off some workers and he knew of one who could use some work. We then agreed to have him come over and see what he could do.
When the new man came over, he took a look at the job and said he might be able to do the work we wanted and even make a replacement door, but it would be obvious that the work would look like a patch job at best. My wife and I talked about it and decided that we should just replace our aging kitchen anyways, but we couldn’t afford to spend THAT much. We then asked him if he could do the entire kitchen and he said yes, but that he would need to hire a helper or two for a few of the tasks, but he wouldn’t call on them till that time came and we agreed. He then took us shopping for cabinets along with his wife whom was not only the prettiest thing I’ve seen in a long time, but she was an actual decorator who had wonderful taste.
Save on Kitchen Cabinets
We shopped at one of the larger retail home improvement stores where they had a computer program that showed us exactly what the kitchen would look like finished and drew up blueprints at the same time. This was very convenient. However, we went to a different discount lumber liquidator to buy the same cabinets at a lower price. (I can't say which stores we used, but if you shop around you can save a lot of money.)
Be Safe, and Be Legal
Now remember, the man we used wasn’t a licensed contractor, he just worked for one. But they recommended him, so we felt secure with using him. We checked with the village about permits and they said if we didn't mess with any bearing walls and just replaced the cabinets, we wouldn't need a permit. I recommend you check with your town hall about permit laws in your area before starting any such projects.
Find Tax Advantages
So, back to the story at hand and to round things off. That left us with what to do with the old kitchen. Our man suggest we donate the kitchen and all the appliances to Habitat for Humanity. By doing that we not only recycled, but we got a $5,000.00 tax credit, not to mention the federal and factory rebates for new appliances. In 2009 this was pretty substantial do to the economic relief the government offered at the time. (Thanks to Obama. I’m glad I voted for him.) Plus Habitat for Humanity came in and in one day had removed everything themselves. That saved us on labor for deconstruction.
Expect Delays
One thing you will have to consider when remodeling a kitchen with mostly one man is you will be without a kitchen for at least two months. (Your worker may say he can do it in one month, but count on two.) You have to order a lot which takes time, and there are always little set-backs. For example, our floor ended up needing replacing because we used to have a peninsula, but decided against replacing that for more room. When you get your new cabinets, one or two may have a flaw or be broken in shipping, which means another two weeks to replace it. This did happen to us.
However, because of the money we saved we decided on real hardwood floors instead of the floating wood floors, which are so popular these days. Because we got our floors at the lumber liquidator, we got them for half the price. In doing this we had to also replaced the living room and dining room floors as well, because it just wouldn’t have looked right to have only the kitchen in exotic wood floor and not the entire floor.
Another thing we did because we saved so much using an out of work carpenter was every day he worked and we had to eat takeout due to not having a kitchen was we fed our man and his occasional helpers. Sure workers usually bring their own lunches, but that was just our little way of tipping, I guess. They seemed to pay more attention to little details that wouldn't have been a big deal to us, but they went above and beyond what we expected.
Remember people may work for you, but they aren’t slaves. A little kindness goes a long way, all in all, instead of paying $20,000 to $30,000.
~H. Thomsen
