Kitchen renovation Calgary

Your kitchen renovation Calgary can take many forms, from a simple facelift to a complete gut and redo. In many cases people want to go with completely new cabinets, as their existing ones have become out dated, or simply don't function well any more. Their is a lot more to consider though when planning your new kitchen, so lets take a look at the major components.

Kitchen renovation Calgary: Items 1 - 3

1. Demolition

Demolition is not one of things that first leaps to mind when thinking about a kitchen renovation. However what you need to consider here is what impact does your kitchen renovation have on the extent of the demolition needed? Always remember often you can't successfully do a small patch in a textured ceiling for example and it is best to do a whole section. Open plan designs tend to exacerbate the problem even more as now there is no natural transition, no where to start and stop without doing the whole area. Another common challenge is putting a new kitchen island in and wanting a sink in it. Now you have to try and find a way to get a drain back to the plumbing stack in the basement, without tearing open ceilings, walls or floors in the basement. These are just 2 of many scenarios, so think decisions through carefully or get advice when doing your kitchen renovation Calgary.

2. Roughins

A kitchen reno nearly always involves plumbing, electrical and often HVAC. All of these items are hidden inside floors, walls and ceilings and need careful planning. Opening up previously closed off floor plans, will often mean removing or moving the very walls which contain many of these items and finding an alternate route is not always easy. Investigating and planning what will happen to roughins before getting to the end stages of design is definitely prudent, (if you don't want to get an unwanted surprise later on!). Even without opening up walls and ceilings, there is often a lot than can be deduced and figured out by looking at the rest of your house. In some cases doing some selective demolition in areas you know you will be removing later anyways, may also make sense to get added clarity and reduce risk.

3. Drywall

In my experience in walking through and planning 200+ renovations, the overall extent of drywall scope is often significantly under estimated in kitchens! Unless you want to remove drywall to repair damage or update ceiling finishes, the scope of drywall is largely driven by what needs to go behind it (which is mainly about roughins). Often though the extent of roughin is not thought through in detail when the design in developed (and only figured out as an after thought). Also although in theory you could do small drywall patches everywhere, in reality the cost is often at least as much as tearing it all down and doing it right the first time. Remember you don't want a big mix of new and old drywall, as the chance of this looking good and also not cracking extensively later on are low.

Kitchen renovation Calgary: Items 4 - 6

4. Mill work

We have discussed mill work on other pages of this website, but in case you haven't read them or even if you have, let's go over the key areas again. Make sure you have a good designer who understands your needs and can help interpret these into a great design, without going overboard. Remember that the appliances that go into your kitchen need to be figured before you mill work can be finalized, so always make sure you start early enough on this. Have enough drawers to make your kitchen functional, but remember every drawer add cost over a standard door and shelf. Drawer box construction can vary in price considerably and using something like Baltic Birch dovetail drawers will likely add a thousand or two to your kitchen. Accessories inside your cabinets such as magic corners, spice racks, knife racks, recycling pullouts and other storage devices are very nice, but really add up fast! A high end magic corner can cost in the region of $1500, so ask yourself I am going to use this enough to justify the cost or am I OK with putting things on shelves for little used items I rarely need to use? Also remember open shelving costs more than shelving behind a door, as now all the exposed area has to be stained / painted to match the cabinet exterior. At the end of the day is about getting the balance right for you and these are just some of the considerations for a kitchen renovation in Calgary, but there are many more we could talk about if you bring us in for consulting on your project.

5. Counters

Counter tops in most kitchen renovations are either granite or quartz these days, but you could use marble, wood or laminate too. Granite and quartz are by far the most popular, with granite offering that more natural look, but quartz is more consistent and easier to maintain. Marble need more sealing and can be prone to staining and wood is higher maintenance and easier to mark (especially when cutting). Laminate is much cheaper but like wood will be damaged if you put a very hot pan down on it, so it less versatile. Another thing to consider with the advent of large island now is the need for a seam. Remember if your island is larger than a single slab, you will need to join 2 together. Whilst they are very good at minimizing the appearances of seams now, seam location is still important and should ideally make it as small as possible. Another consideration for large islands is the support for counter where you have large overhangs for sit up areas. This will need to supported by brackets, but be careful about what types of brackets you choose and make sure the cabinet and counter company talk with each other to know what is going to be needed (I have seen cases where it has been missed because each company thought the other one was looking after it and then an eleventh hour solution can be hard to make).

6. Lighting

Having a well lit kitchen is important, but can also add a lot of visual drama to a kitchen as well, by the use of feature lighting. Decorative pendants (typically over an island) and under cabinet lighting will really help with creating a great look, whilst also adding light for tasks or mood. You may also wish consider have puck lighting inside decorative cabinet opening with glass doors as well. Pot lights are used most commonly for the main lighting to the kitchen and there position and density should be looked at . Whatever lighting you use it is a good idea to think whether you will want dimmer switches, which can give you more options in different situations.

If you are doing a kitchen renovation in Calgary, let us help you get it right. Why not take advantage of our consulting services and save you learning things the hard way!

So are you ready for us to help you with your renovation project?

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