4 Kitchen DIY Project Myths

Kitchen remodeling should be a straightforward process, right? Wrong! Many homeowners have made the mistake of getting into a kitchen remodeling DIY project only to stop mid-way once they realize they’ve bitten off a lot more than they can chew.

Professionals have been called into what they sometimes call “horror houses,” where the homeowners started a renovation without a real plan and ended up with something very different from what they had imagined.

In some instances, the idea was bad from the get-go. Plus, kitchens are probably the most ill-designed rooms in a house.

Ambitious DIYers don’t have the technical expertise or prerequisite plumbing skills to pull off a kitchen design that will last for ages. Before you get into a kitchen-remodeling project all by yourself, here are some of the myths floating on the web that should not suck you into attempting the project.

# 1: Remodeling Is Easy

If home remodeling were that easy, there wouldn’t be an entire industry dedicated to it. Home remodeling projects are difficult, and remodeling kitchens is especially tough.

# 2: It Improves Your Home’s Value

In case you mess up the job, there’s a real possibility you have just reduced your home’s value significantly.

For instance, when you transform a garage into a bedroom and leave the outside unchanged, you may also find the homeowner has forgotten to add insulation to flooring or additional heating for the room.

Such problems are also likely to occur in the kitchen; for example, a misplaced lighting fixture can make reselling your home a nightmare.

# 3: Hiring Professions Is Too Expensive

In most cases, a new kitchen is an expensive endeavor but most homeowners are always cutting corners to save on money.

This cost-cutting mentality eventually leads homeowners to doing the projects themselves, resulting in a poorly executed results. Skimping on drafting and architects can become expensive in the end.

It is common to find that a DIYer had miscalculated some measurements and only realize halfway through a job they should have called in a professional. One of the costliest mistakes you can ever make when renovating your kitchen is drawing up plans mid-project and backtracking on the mistakes.

Hire the services of an architect or remodeler who specializes in kitchen projects. You will most likely be pleasantly surprised to find out that most of their work consists of handling small renovation projects. The expertise you gain is indispensable in ensuring your project is done the right way from the very beginning.

# 4: Professionals Are Unnecessary

At first, a DIY job may seem easy, making hiring professionals “unnecessary.” However, the demolition part of the job might seem like the easy part, but there are aspects which are much more complicated than they may seem at first. For example, setting your tiles is a labor-intensive process that requires a special skill set to ensure tiles do not shift and set properly.

Another area you are likely to run into problems is your plumbing, especially when you have little to no experience.

Knowing the where, the how, the proper design and the proper implementation of shut-off valves can save you thousands of dollars in repairs later once your pipes freeze.

Even basic construction jobs can go horribly wrong if you do not know how the pipes are sealed.

Fortunately, if you are reading this article too late and you have a mess of a kitchen on your hands, you can always get in touch with the professionals.