Home Remodeling Project Pre-planning Tips – OMG! Kitchen & Bath

Starting a home remodeling project can be daunting. The thought of being without your kitchen or bathroom for 4-6 weeks can create an enormous amount of anxiety and stress. Remodeling projects can be hectic, crazy, and frustrating. However, with a bit of pre-planning, you can have fun while creating your dream space.

Here is a list by OMG! Kitchen & Bath to help you prepare.

  1. Empty the Rooms.

Protect or relocate anything of value. The remodeling process can often unintendedly cause damage to valuables. If you are unable to empty a room providing clear paths and covering furniture will help. Cleaning and decluttering countertops and cabinets will also keep items from getting dirty, damaged, or otherwise misplaced.

  1. Think About Kids and Pets.

Consider fall a perfect time to start remodel projects. Children are often in school during the day, and this allows for a reduction of foot traffic within the home.

Renovation projects come with unfamiliar people and noises. Noises can cause an enormous amount of anxiety and agitation for your animal family members. Consider daycare options, pet sitters, or simply crates to keep them safe and out of harm’s way.

  1. Expect the Unexpected.

Sometimes, no matter how much planning you do, there are surprises. Having reserve funds set aside and being in contestant communication with your contractor will help.

Setback will happen, and if you and your contractor are on the same page, these things can be handled promptly.

  1. Have Fun with It.

Keep your eye on the prize. Embrace the process, even during the moment. Regardless if dust is flying all over your house, and your furniture is all over the place. Remember the result, will be the remodel of your dreams. Don’t forget to take pictures before, during, and after – so you can later show your friends and family.

General Tips for Kitchen & Bath Remodels

If you are doing a kitchen remodel, we recommend temporary kitchens. Set up a space in another part of your home that can have the basic functionality of a kitchen. Microwaves, Instant Pot, crockpots, electric grills, and even Refrigerators can temporarily be set up just about anywhere.

For example, when OMG! works in a kitchen, we make sure our team moves the refrigerator, microwave, and any other appliances. So you can continue to live “normally” while we build your kitchen beautiful.

Bathroom Remodel

The bathroom is the room that people renovate most often. Bathroom remodeling can turn the most personal and private room in your house into a roaring mess filled with dust, noise, and traffic. Again, if you only have one bathroom in your home, ask your contractor if they will set up a makeshift bathroom. If you have more than one bathroom to use, be sure to transfer all necessary items over into the other bathroom before the construction begins. Think about bathing schedules and usage times. If possible, ask a neighbor, stay with a family member, or even consider getting an outdoor shower used for camping.

Finally, remember – before demolition begins, meet with your designer consultant and contractor. This way, you will ensure that you understand the scope-of-work and how it will affect your life during the process.

At OMG! Kitchen & Bath, we pride ourselves on communication and make sure to let our clients know when obstacles arise. We offer the best solution to the problem and make sure the project continues and achieves the expected results.

At OMG! Kitchen & Bath we give start and completion dates in writing before any work begins, giving the customer time to plan accordingly.

Choosing a Bathroom Vanity Top

 

If you’re looking for a bathroom countertop—usually called a vanity top—look for something that will stand up to water, soap, toothpaste, cosmetics, and alcohol- and acetone-based liquids. Replacing a vanity top is a feasible do-it-yourself project since you don’t have to replace the whole vanity cabinet if you don’t want to. Most bathroom vanity tops are surfaced with one of the following five materials.

  • Granite and marble
  • Laminate
  • Solid surface material
  • Tile
  • Wood

Granite and Marble

Though marble and granite are unrivaled for their beauty, at $125 to $250 per running, or linear, foot (as measured from one end of the counter to the other), these classic materials warrant careful thought. Also, while marble stains easily, granite shrugs off most stains, except grease, especially if the granite is unsealed. If a solid sheet of stone for your coun­tertop is beyond your budget, granite or marble tiles may be substituted at a lower cost.

Cultured marble is less expensive and is made from real chips of natural marble embedded in plastic. It’s available in sheet form and in standard counter dimensions of 19 and 22 inches deep. Cultured marble comes with or without a wash basin molded into it, for $50 to $80 per running foot, installed. Although easy to clean, cultured marble must be well cared for. Once scratched, it cannot be resurfaced. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for what type of finish to apply to cultured marble to best protect it.

Laminate

At an installed price of $24 to $50 per running foot, laminate offers good value and per­formance. As a result, it’s the most widely used countertop material in bathrooms, just as it is in kitchens. Various manufacturers market laminates under different brand names, but they’re all based on the same principle—a stack of thin plastic layers bonded together under heat and pressure. Laminate countertops clean easily and are resis­tant to water and stain. However, laminates can burn, wear thin, and dull over time. Hard blows can chip or dent the plastic, and there’s no remedy short of replacement.

Available in many colors and patterns, lami­nate finishes range in texture from high-gloss smoothness to a mottled, leather-like look. Dealers usually have a few standard patterns in stock; you can view color chips in the store to order others

Do-it-yourselfers can buy prefabricated lami­nate vanity tops or have them made to order with a hole for the sink cut where needed. Installing the finished countertop is a fairly easy matter. You can apply pieces of laminate material to an installed particleboard countertop, but a professional will do the job best.

Solid Surface

Solid surface countertops offer many of the advantages of stone with few of the drawbacks. Cast from an acrylic resin that sometimes include crushed stone—particularly quartz—solid-surface material demands little maintenance and is extremely durable. Intense heat and heavy falling objects (which shouldn’t pose much of a threat in bath­rooms) can cause damage, but scratches, abra­sions, and even minor burns (if you leave a curling iron on the vanity top, for example) can be repaired with fine-grade sandpaper. The methods and tools needed for working with this material are similar to those required for woodworking. However, some manufacturers require that a trained pro­fessional install their materials.

Solid surface material is available in white, beige, pastels, and imitation stone, usually in ready-formed  vanity tops with integrated sinks. Prices range from about $100 to $250 per running foot installed.

Tile

As it does for floors and walls, ceramic tile makes an attractive, durable finish for countertops. It’s available in many colors, designs, and textures. Grout lines that trap dirt and encourage mildew are a major drawback, although new grouts and sealers help alleviate these problems to some degree. Costs range from $10 to $40 per running foot installed.

Getting professional results with tile is a chal­lenge for do-it-yourselfers. A slightly irregular look can be appropriate for rustic, unglazed quarry tile, but most other tile varieties demand greater precision. Using pregrouted tile sheets, or sheets of mosaic tile on a mesh backing, makes it easier to space tiles evenly.

Wood

As a countertop surface, wood is attractive, versa­tile, and easy to install. It is, however, especially vulnerable to water damage, and its porosity makes it difficult to keep clean. All hardwood and softwood species must be well sealed with polyurethane or marine varnish. Special care should be taken to seal around the edges of plumbing fixtures so standing water can’t seep in and cause wood rot.

Source: National Kitchen Bath Association