Remodel Your Kitchen
Remodel your Kitchen - on a budget
I have an old house with a very old kitchen.
The laminate was coming off, doors were falling off.
It was dirty even after big spring clean..
Plus it was small and i wanted to open it up a little more and have more storage..
So i took it upon myself to do the impossible and do up the kitchen.
Everyone told me i couldn't.. but i did!
Before and After photos below.
What i needed :
New :Stove, Oven, Extractor Fan, (Dishwasher a Bonus for me) - Rick heart Seconds
New: Kitchen Cupboards - Ikea flat packs.
Builder: for Bricking up window (local newspaper)
Plumber & Gas fitter (local newspaper)
Electrician for kitchen (local Newspaper)
Tiles floor and splash back - Seconds
I have an old house with a very old kitchen.
The laminate was coming off, doors were falling off.
It was dirty even after big spring clean..
Plus it was small and i wanted to open it up a little more and have more storage..
So i took it upon myself to do the impossible and do up the kitchen.
Everyone told me i couldn't.. but i did!
Before and After photos below.
What i needed :
New :Stove, Oven, Extractor Fan, (Dishwasher a Bonus for me) - Rick heart Seconds
New: Kitchen Cupboards - Ikea flat packs.
Builder: for Bricking up window (local newspaper)
Plumber & Gas fitter (local newspaper)
Electrician for kitchen (local Newspaper)
Tiles floor and splash back - Seconds
Finding What Will Work With What I Have.
The first step to everything i do that is major is sitting down and working out what i have first.
And getting it down on paper, all the points that stand out, Good and Bad..
In this case... It was where the Power points, Taps, Gas connections, Window.. are etc
Drawing a small model on a piece of paper really helps.
I also used my excel spreadsheet that i printed out with grid lines showing.
This helped me get an idea of space and what i could fit in it.
One sheet I cut out cabinets, Stove, Oven & Sink using the gridlines as a measure and size.
The other sheet i marked the kitchen using the gridlines as a measure, then moving the smaller cut out components (like oven, sink, stove etc) around till i got it the way i liked.
Also some online programs help too..
Ikea have an online kitchen design which i used to get several different aspects of how, where and why.
Once i got my outline i made the step forward, i ordered the flatpacks and started ripping out the old cabinets.
And getting it down on paper, all the points that stand out, Good and Bad..
In this case... It was where the Power points, Taps, Gas connections, Window.. are etc
Drawing a small model on a piece of paper really helps.
I also used my excel spreadsheet that i printed out with grid lines showing.
This helped me get an idea of space and what i could fit in it.
One sheet I cut out cabinets, Stove, Oven & Sink using the gridlines as a measure and size.
The other sheet i marked the kitchen using the gridlines as a measure, then moving the smaller cut out components (like oven, sink, stove etc) around till i got it the way i liked.
Also some online programs help too..
Ikea have an online kitchen design which i used to get several different aspects of how, where and why.
Once i got my outline i made the step forward, i ordered the flatpacks and started ripping out the old cabinets.
The Window.
One Problem - The window was taking up so much space, it wasn't effective or efficient.
The outside (closed in patio) area was a hot box.
And someone (before i brought the house) had taken out the glass leaving this open frame which was just like leaving the door open on a oven.
I thought it would be best filled in.
So we called in a plumber for quotes, this was handy to find out where the plumbing was going, and getting three quotes gave us more of an idea of price and what we were looking at.
We also called in a builder to give us an idea on filling in the window space..
We spoke to a couple of builders getting ideas on how we could hang cupboards off this newly done brick work, and making sure it was going to be solid and sturdy.
We found the right guys in both plumber and electrician using our local newspaper.
I also marked on the walls where i wanted everything so i could get the plumbing right .
Pictured below we kept the stove in till the last moment using it to cook off, then it was all electric appliances after that, electric steamer for vegies and electric frying pan were our best friends.
The outside (closed in patio) area was a hot box.
And someone (before i brought the house) had taken out the glass leaving this open frame which was just like leaving the door open on a oven.
I thought it would be best filled in.
So we called in a plumber for quotes, this was handy to find out where the plumbing was going, and getting three quotes gave us more of an idea of price and what we were looking at.
We also called in a builder to give us an idea on filling in the window space..
We spoke to a couple of builders getting ideas on how we could hang cupboards off this newly done brick work, and making sure it was going to be solid and sturdy.
We found the right guys in both plumber and electrician using our local newspaper.
I also marked on the walls where i wanted everything so i could get the plumbing right .
Pictured below we kept the stove in till the last moment using it to cook off, then it was all electric appliances after that, electric steamer for vegies and electric frying pan were our best friends.
Plaster OMG
By this stage we had chiseled off the old kitchen tiles, (wall and floor) carefully as to not leave big chunks in the plaster or concrete behind.
We had concreted up the brickwork and pipe work.
Now it was the plaster the walls, we were unsure of how to do this or even the thickness it should be.
That's were i sat in front of the computer searching for video footage on plastering walls.
So i could get an idea of the consistency it should be and then i basically jumped in head first and off we went.
We only plastered over the areas that we chiseled into and the concrete work.
once it was dry we sanded .. and Sanded.. and sanded.. Were we had a good consistency and were even in our application it was great just a light sand.
But there were places we got a little tired and sloppy.. and hence this needed more attention with the sand paper.. I have learnt my lesson with this..
So after we got both sides of the room smooth to the touch we painted.
The kitchen dining and lounge rooms all have a slight tinge of pinkish purple to them..
I didnt want white walls. So we got our paint matched and off we went painting.
We had concreted up the brickwork and pipe work.
Now it was the plaster the walls, we were unsure of how to do this or even the thickness it should be.
That's were i sat in front of the computer searching for video footage on plastering walls.
So i could get an idea of the consistency it should be and then i basically jumped in head first and off we went.
We only plastered over the areas that we chiseled into and the concrete work.
once it was dry we sanded .. and Sanded.. and sanded.. Were we had a good consistency and were even in our application it was great just a light sand.
But there were places we got a little tired and sloppy.. and hence this needed more attention with the sand paper.. I have learnt my lesson with this..
So after we got both sides of the room smooth to the touch we painted.
The kitchen dining and lounge rooms all have a slight tinge of pinkish purple to them..
I didnt want white walls. So we got our paint matched and off we went painting.
Ikea Cabients
We went with Ikea because of the wall oven unit, there was a cheaper alternative but i liked the ikea look of the doors and styles they offered compaired to others. i could have saved more money but i dont know if it would have made me as happy as i am now.
The boxes were delievered in between the pulling apart the kitchen and the brick work.
They were pretty basic to put together, everything was a box.
So every package we opened was to be built into a box or rectangle shape some had backs on them some didn't.
We sat in our back shed building boxes for a couple of hours here and there..
in between the brick work and the plaster work.
Plus it was the only storage space left.
So once the paint was dry we started getting them up on the walls and attached to each other.
Once we got them all up, it was just the shelves and doors to be screwed in.
Keep all nuts and bolts and instructions on every prepack even if you think you dont need them.
I found we went back to them a couple of times just double checking ourselves.
The boxes were delievered in between the pulling apart the kitchen and the brick work.
They were pretty basic to put together, everything was a box.
So every package we opened was to be built into a box or rectangle shape some had backs on them some didn't.
We sat in our back shed building boxes for a couple of hours here and there..
in between the brick work and the plaster work.
Plus it was the only storage space left.
So once the paint was dry we started getting them up on the walls and attached to each other.
Once we got them all up, it was just the shelves and doors to be screwed in.
Keep all nuts and bolts and instructions on every prepack even if you think you dont need them.
I found we went back to them a couple of times just double checking ourselves.
Getting the Appliances In.
Getting the appliances in wasn't as hard as i thought.
We sat the over in place, cut out the holes needed for the stove top and sink with a jigsaw.
(Just a cheap one from bunnings.)
We placed everything in and called the plumber to come back and do his thing it was a 30min job and all was done.
The electrician took a bit longer due to down lights i wanted in the cabinets and under the cabinets.
but i had already locked him into a contract for the whole job so no extra charges were added.
Next were the floor tiles and wall tiles and then kick board and we were done.
We sat the over in place, cut out the holes needed for the stove top and sink with a jigsaw.
(Just a cheap one from bunnings.)
We placed everything in and called the plumber to come back and do his thing it was a 30min job and all was done.
The electrician took a bit longer due to down lights i wanted in the cabinets and under the cabinets.
but i had already locked him into a contract for the whole job so no extra charges were added.
Next were the floor tiles and wall tiles and then kick board and we were done.
Tiling Done
We tackled the floor tiling, again searching the internet for ideas on how to do it.
Being a very small area we felt we could do it.
It did take a lot out of us doing the floor tiles ourselves, bad backs and bad knees don't equal easy job.
I dont think i would tackle the tiling again.. well not on the floor.
Hence the splash back wall tiles we got a tiler in, we were tired by this stage, it had taken us a while to get everything done, and we just wanted it finished..
I remember the dust and dirt everywhere i wanted my house back to being clean...
I couldn't be happier with my kitchen now. I didn't think it would look as good as it does.
And i catch myself looking at it now and then and just thinking wow it looks good.
What it cost me : Aust Dollars.
Dishwasher, stove, oven, fan, discount store: $1130
Kitchen Cupboards flat packs $3150
Bricking up wall $285
plumber & gas fitter $500
Electricity for kitchen $680
Tiles -discount place. $100
Total $5845
Being a very small area we felt we could do it.
It did take a lot out of us doing the floor tiles ourselves, bad backs and bad knees don't equal easy job.
I dont think i would tackle the tiling again.. well not on the floor.
Hence the splash back wall tiles we got a tiler in, we were tired by this stage, it had taken us a while to get everything done, and we just wanted it finished..
I remember the dust and dirt everywhere i wanted my house back to being clean...
I couldn't be happier with my kitchen now. I didn't think it would look as good as it does.
And i catch myself looking at it now and then and just thinking wow it looks good.
What it cost me : Aust Dollars.
Dishwasher, stove, oven, fan, discount store: $1130
Kitchen Cupboards flat packs $3150
Bricking up wall $285
plumber & gas fitter $500
Electricity for kitchen $680
Tiles -discount place. $100
Total $5845