38 thoughts on “Kitchen remodeling mistakes | Consumer Reports

  1. Welp… there goes that. My fiancé’s family are our landlords & they put our stove/oven in the middle of our kitchen with no ventilation & or hood…. the so called kitchen island is immediately next to our couch. They swear that range hoods do not work & are eye sores.

  2. David You are so right, I hate doing it but the house we just purchased had a bad layout in the kitchen. Outdoor 1960s home so we need to upgrade but how much would just cabinets and counter top cost ?

  3. I wish I would have known more before getting started about how to waterproof the floor below the sink and the wall behind it. In addition, I had no knowledge regarding moisture condensation in the space behind the sink wall or how do deal with it.

    The design lesson that worked for me was to leave the space above the sink countertop with no cabinets. Instead I used deep, tall cabinets on a separate wall for storage. This left me with lots of surface work area and a compact easy to reach storing space.

  4. The are measurements for common and measurements for what is code on the internet. There is planner designs and placement on the internet. It’s not that hard to plan it out before any money is spent.

  5. Kitchen cabinets are cheap, if you build them yourself. Save $$$$ by building the cabinets yourself. It is not hard. 3/4 birch plywood, a straight edge, circular saw, a router with a 23/32 straight cut bit, and lots of clamps. A 4×8 foot sheet of birch plywood at HD around $50.

  6. The best way to do is how Saddlerock Investments LLC Rory Shannon Does it! LOL
    They use a Jose Mesa, right out of Mexico with no skills or education of any kind as he confirmed so, but cheap! " I learn on the job!" As he stated. In reference to my house that I bought from this investor, the kitchen granite counter is placed so high that it cuts through the kitchen window, so no open and close privileges, not only but they had to remove the window screen, since it no longer fits the window! What the irony of it is that the kitchen was absolutely perfect prior to Jose Mesa getting to it!

  7. Mistake – quality of light – mismatched color temperatures and light sources with poor color rendering index (CRI.) Read up on these specifications, this is especially important with LED and fluorescent light sources.

  8. Gross – a drawer for garbage is disgusting. Those drawers end up stinking to high heaven. You can tuck the can under the counter, maybe under the sink but I would never waste an entire cabinet on GARBAGE. Recycle, compost and don't buy garbage generating stuff and you won't need that stinky "improvement"

  9. Kitchen renos are the biggest ripoff in the construction business. Spending 30k on new cabinets/countertop and sink is crazy. Its the highest profit margin reno for contractors. They are GOUGING you. Hell a new kitchen should not cost as much as a new car!

  10. Every time someone changes their mind, it's apparently a $1500 flat fee.

    Want to go from roper fridge to thermadoor? $1500.

    Change the microwave from black to stainless? $1500.

    Move the garbage disposal to the other side of the sink $1500

    Bump the wall out on the house another ten feet? $1500.

    very nice.

  11. Tip #1 – put off the kitchen remodel until you can actually afford it. Taking out a loan is not "you can afford it". You can afford it means you can write a check for it when it's done without taking money from someone else.

    Tip #2 – if someone tells you that it's reasonable to throw away a kitchen every 20 years, tell them that you'd like them to install something good enough that you won't have to throw it away in 20 years. I've heard far too many people suggest that a $60K kitchen remodel (or money equivalent in the future) every 20 years is reasonable in a $275K house. It's sheer stupidity. Who are you impressing? Certainly not your heirs.

  12. I tried to put an island in my kitchen but it was too big. And the water surrounding the island flooded everything. So I brought it back to the lake.

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