The Top Mistakes People Make When Remodeling a Kitchen or Bathroom
By Parham Shariat ·
Most remodeling problems do not start on the job site. They start weeks earlier, when a decision gets made too fast or does not get made at all. We have worked in a lot of homes, and the same mistakes keep showing up. Here are the ones that cost homeowners the most.
Starting demolition before the plan is final
If the design is not finished, every question that comes up during construction costs you time and money. Finish the layout, choose the cabinets and appliances, and approve the plan in writing before anything comes out.
Not hiring a designer
A good designer finds problems on paper, where fixing them is free. Without one, those problems get found on site, where they are not.
Ordering cabinets late
Cabinets take weeks to arrive. If you wait until the house is torn apart to pick a color, you live in the mess while the order is placed.
Removing a wall without an engineer
A wall that looks like a simple divider may be carrying the roof. Guessing here is the most expensive mistake on this list.
Having no written schedule
If your contractor cannot tell you what happens in week three, you do not have a plan. You have a hope.
Submitting plans to the city before the trades have seen them
A rejected submittal can cost weeks and thousands of dollars. The framer, plumber and electrician should read the plan before the city does.
Treating the job site like part of the house
Pets wandering in, kids walking through, people barefoot, and quick favors asked of the crew. All of it slows the work and raises the risk of someone getting hurt.
Designing for the photo instead of for your life
A kitchen that looks great and is hard to clean, hard to cook in or too small for your family is not a good kitchen. You will live with it for years.
Skipping the buffer
Once walls and floors open up, surprises show up. Set aside 10 to 15 percent of the budget for them so a surprise does not become a crisis.
Where US Floor Design Center fits
We built our process around these mistakes. You work with a designer, the plan is reviewed by the people who will build it, selections and cabinet orders are settled before demolition, and you get a written schedule. Your salesperson introduces you to your project manager, and the project manager reports progress back to you.
Visit the showroom at 30092 Santa Margarita Parkway, Suite G, in Rancho Santa Margarita, or call 949-589-9226.