Homeowners decide to remodel their kitchens for many different reasons. Some want more storage, others want better layouts, and some want a space where they can entertain all their friends and family.
Remodeling a kitchen for the first time can be a daunting task and many homeowners do not know how to remodel a kitchen or where to start.
When deciding on a kitchen remodel in Orlando it is important to hire the right people. Magnet Remodeling has been doing Orlando kitchen and bath remodels for more than 15 years and given clients their dream kitchens from the very beginning.
Ready for your next (or first) kitchen remodel Orlando? We’re here to guide you through it with this ultimate guide for navigating the tricky and complex process, from start to finish.
Determine Your Kitchen Must Haves
When deciding to remodel your kitchen, the best place to start is looking at your kitchen and determining what is no longer working in your space.
Keep your lifestyle in mind while you are in the beginning stages of planning your kitchen remodel.
Do you need more space for all of your kitchen gadgets? Do you entertain family and friends regularly and need more gathering areas? Is your goal to make your kitchen more eco-friendly?
These, and many more, are questions you should be asking yourself when you are planning for your first kitchen remodel. Be prepared to make some difficult decisions and compromise on certain aspects of your remodel.
Decide on a Layout
The layout of your kitchen is so important! Establishing a basis for your kitchen remodel by thinking in terms of layout will help you stay organized throughout the process.
Look at your current kitchen. Think about whether or not the layout works for you and your lifestyle.
If something is working perfectly, you’ll know that you don’t need to change it. Anything that hinders you can be rearranged.
Rearranging appliances can cost more, but getting a layout that works for you will make the extra money worthwhile.
The most popular layouts to choose from are:
- One wall kitchens
- Galley
- L-shaped
- U-shaped
- Peninsula
- Island
When deciding on a layout consider the kitchen work triangle rule. The work triangle rule states that three main work areas—the sink, refrigerator, and the stove—should create a triangle so the kitchen is easy to navigate.
Create Your Kitchen Remodel Budget
Building a budget for a kitchen remodel can seem like a nightmare.
So let’s talk about setting a realistic budget early on in your Orlando Kitchen remodeling project. Thinking about this upfront can help you create more realistic expectations for your new kitchen and stay within your budget.
Create Your Kitchen Remodel Budget
Building a budget for a kitchen remodel can seem like a nightmare.
So let’s talk about setting a realistic budget early on in your Orlando Kitchen remodeling project. Thinking about this upfront can help you create more realistic expectations for your new kitchen and stay within your budget.
What Is A Reasonable Price To Remodel A Kitchen?
The price of your Orlando kitchen remodel is going to vary greatly depending on things like:
- How much of the kitchen you’re remodeling
- The quality and price of the materials or appliances you want
The average kitchen remodel cost is anywhere from $12,000 to $35,000, depending on how budget friendly or how lavish you want your remodel.
Planning the budget can be difficult, but there are many best practices and tips for how to budget kitchen remodels that make it more manageable.
Two of our favorite tips to share are:
- Know what you want and what your priorities are from the beginning. Your vision might change a little bit as you go, and that’s okay. But always start with a gameplan.
- Leave room for unexpected costs. Sometimes things happen; you never know what’s going to come up. Plan ahead for miscellaneous or unexpected costs.
The last thing you want to do is get halfway through a model and realize you’re way out of your price range. Understand what’s going to be your biggest budget eater and plan ahead to stay within a reasonable price for a remodel.
What is the most expensive part of a kitchen remodel?
If you’re wondering what parts of a kitchen remodel cost the most, there’s a few items that usually rise to the top.
Cabinetry Is Usually The Most Expensive
The most expensive part of most remodels is usually the kitchen cabinets.
While some homeowners try to reuse their cabinets in their new kitchen and update them with some simple DIY projects, other remodels require putting in all new cabinets.
The average cost of kitchen cabinets can take up to 30% of a renovation budget. This varies based on the quality of the cabinets, their style, and whether or not they’re custom built.
How much does a new kitchen cost in Florida?
Like remodeling anywhere else, the kitchen remodel cost in Orlando largely depends on what features you are planning to add to your kitchen and the size of the project.
Kitchen remodels in Florida can range from $11,000-$43,000. However, to get an accurate estimate homeowners should schedule a consultation.
You can schedule a free estimate with us to talk through the scope of your project and get a better idea of the cost and timeline. We’d be more than happy to help!
Pick the Perfect Materials
Designing your kitchen can be difficult for some homeowners, especially if you don’t have an idea of how you want the final outcome to look.
Tour some local home improvement stores or visit nearby design showrooms to get some ideas and help with your decision. Online research is great, but sometimes looking at things in person makes a huge difference.
Showrooms can give you more clarity on what you want and don’t want, and it’s common for homeowners undergoing a kitchen renovation to spend some time doing this before making any major commitments.
Feel different tile textures, visualize color samples next to furniture, and really get a feel for materials before you add them to your final renovation materials list. This helps a lot!
Compromises may need to be made when it comes to staying within budget and finding materials everyone likes. Keep this in mind when you’re looking and take note of what you’re finding as you go.
Hire the Right People
Once you have decided on (or at least started thinking about) a layout and your favorite materials, it’s time to decide who will oversee every step of the remodeling process
All the dreaming and design research in the world won’t really matter if you don’t hire the right people to get it done!
The right people on the job can make a big difference when it comes to your final remodel and the price you pay for it. You don’t just need someone who can remodel.
You need a professional and reputable home remodeling company that can help you build your dream. In general, you need a company that:
- Has experience remodeling in the areas you require
- Listens to your vision and gives their expert advice
- Fits within your budget.
If you hire a general contractor, they will oversee the process and hire other subcontractors to do most of the specialized work. Or, you’ll have to find your own subcontractors to do specific parts of the project.
A general contractor is not required for many kitchen remodeling needs, and understanding this upfront can save you a lot of time and money.
You can read our post about when you need to hire a general contractor for more information, but general contractors in Orlando are only required for full additions and things like roofing work.
Searching for an Orlando contractor? Here’s some quick tips:
- Ask around for local recommendations
- View previous work and galleries showcasing recent projects
- Read online reviews and testimonials
A home remodeling company that offers a free consultation for kitchen remodeling in Orlando (like us!) is great because it allows you to have the initial conversations about the kitchen remodel to see if the two of you are a good fit.
Demo the Kitchen
After all of your preparations, it is finally time to start work on your remodel!
Demolition is going to be the most messy and noisy part of any home remodeling project. You have to be prepared for the challenges that naturally come from this part of the renovation.
There’s always the possibility that mistakes can happen, you might not always know what materials or substances will be underneath what you tear out, and it’s likely to disrupt your usual day today life.
To be prepared for the somewhat inevitable chaos of your kitchen remodel’s demolition stage,
- Cover or move furniture or valuables that you don’t want damaged
- Find alternate places for necessities (such as appliances) so you can access them during the remodel
- Try to get a good estimate of the timeline
- Pre-order a dumpster rental
There’s a number of things to do to prep for a kitchen remodel Orlando demolition, but hiring the right team for the demo can ease a bit of stress.
Check out our affordable dumpster rental services at Magnet to take care of any debris and keep your demo more organized.
Upgrade Plumbing and Electrical
Replacing plumbing or electional is one of the biggest fears for homeowners when they decide to remodel.
It’s definitely a little more complicated than other parts of a remodel, especially when the project is in an older home.
Costly and often time consuming, sometimes major plumbing and electrical updates hold up a project from making progress or finishing on time.
Since it’s nearly impossible to know for sure what needs to be replaced behind the walls, homeowners should be prepared to deal with changes in the plan. When the kitchen remodel is changing the layout dramatically, these features are going to need to be redesigned.
Decide on Lighting
Don’t forget about lighting!
The electrical portion of lighting for your kitchen remodel is only part of the process. Towards the end, you’ll need to install lighting fixtures that are both functional and match your stylistic preferences.
No one wants to work with sharp knives and boiling water in a poorly lit kitchen. You want your kitchen to be well-lit, so make sure this is taken into consideration as well during any rerouting of electrical work.
Light fixtures help pull the space together and complete the goal design of the kitchen. Often a focal point of the kitchen, picking the right fixtures can enhance both your design and overall functionality of your kitchen.
Finish Walls and Ceilings
Once the plumbing and electrical has been updated or rerouted, your kitchen will be ready to start coming back together and you’ll see your kitchen take form.
During this step, your kitchen starts looking less like a construction zone and more like a livable space! Insulation is installed, drywall can finally go up.
After the seams are taped and finished, it is finally time to prime and paint the walls.
Priming and painting the walls can be done by the homeowner if you are looking to save a bit of money. However, hiring a professional painter can get the job done quicker, cleaner, and is relatively inexpensive.
For your kitchen remodel Orlando project, we’d be happy to help with painting as well.
Install Cabinets and Countertops
Cabinets and countertops going in is one of the most exciting parts of the remodel because in this step you will really start to see your kitchen take shape!
Plus, picking these two out is a tough and important decision for the kitchen remodel. So finally seeing them placed in your kitchen is a definite sign that your dream kitchen is close.
What should you expect at this stage in terms of timeline?
Cabinet installation normally takes about half a day for an average sized kitchen, and kitchen countertops also take about a half of a day.
Since countertops need to be installed perfectly level and flat, bottom cabinets need to be installed perfectly level as well. If they’re not properly anchored and precise, it could cause problems for the final kitchen.
Lay The Flooring
Flooring is often saved as one of the last steps of a kitchen remodeling project. Other design elements and finishing touches on the look may happen after the floor is installed, but major reconstructions should be done already.
That’s just because installing cabinets, updating walls, and similar tasks could be damaging to the floor. If you’ve already installed brand new flooring and it gets damaged, it’ll have to be redone.
That will add more time and money!
If you decided to keep your existing layout and didn’t need to move appliances, you may not need to take your flooring up at all.
But if the flooring did need to be replaced or if you decided to replace it anyway, the time it takes for the flooring installation will depend on the size of your kitchen and the material you choose.
Hang Your New Backsplash
Whether you opt for the sleek and timeless white subway tile backsplash or something with more color and personality, this part of the kitchen gives it a final personalized touch.
How much time should you allocate for tiling?
A professional, experienced tiler can on average finish a backsplash in 2 days. It may take longer, depending on the design you are going for and the size of your kitchen.
Install New or Existing Appliances
To finish off your kitchen remodel, you need to reconnect your plumbing and lighting to your appliances of choice.
If you are keeping your existing appliances in the same locations, this part should be relatively easy.
However, if you’re upgrading some or all of your appliances, some moving around may be required.
Whether you are upgrading to smart appliances with high tech features, or eco-friendly appliances that are better for the environment, installing your appliances is the final exciting step in a kitchen remodel.
Coordinating your appliances to look the same can complete your kitchen. Whether you want all stainless steel appliances or any other material having coordinated appliances can help create a cohesive look.
Kitchen Remodeling In Orlando
A kitchen remodel is a big undertaking!
But the final product—a kitchen that looks and functions perfectly for you—will make your life so much easier. Refer back to this kitchen guide as you begin the kitchen remodeling process and as you go.
Magnet Remodeling is ready to help you create your dream kitchen! We’ve been doing kitchen remodeling in Orlando for the past 15 years, so get in touch with us to schedule your free estimate and get started.
