DIY kitchen design

Copywriter: Steve Connard

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Should you DIY?

DIY renovations can be a satisfying and cost saving process, but should you do it all yourself? Most DIY kitchen renovators manage the job, do the demolition, select the colour scheme, source new fixtures and fittings, demolish and remove cabinetry and sinks. Some might do lighting, especially if it's 12 volt. However, unless they are really skilled they contact the specialist trades of plumbing, electrical work, cabinet making, flooring.

Does your kitchen need a full re-design or just a makeover?

How much to spend on your DIY kitchen renovation, and where to spend it depends on how the kitchen is used, and how long you plan to own the house. Is it just a functional kitchen for food preparation or is also an entertaining area? If family and friends gather in the kitchen then it needs to have a different feel, with most likely with a breakfast bar, home entertainment and internet connection and more general storage or shelving.

If you plan sell the house in a year or two then it may not be worth a major kitchen renovation. However the suitability and appeal of the kitchen is one of the most important considerations for new home buyers.

Careful re-design can make a kitchen more spacious, provide more storage and be user friendly however changing the configuration costs money because it usually means new plumbing, electrics and possibly alteration to wall construction, windows and doors. You may have to strip it back to the floors and walls and rebuild it from new. But if the layout is fine, and you feel comfortable with DIY, you can renovate a kitchen relatively cheaply. A dramatic difference can be made by simply changing the colour scheme, replacing old cupboard and bench tops for new, replacing appliances exactly where they were and improving lighting.

Either way, your kitchen will be out of commission for 1-4 weeks and you need to find some other food preparation area.

Designing Tools

To see whether your DIY kitchen should be reconfigured to make it more practical, you can buy one of the many simple computer programs for creating house plans and play with different layouts. Alternatively, make paper shapes of kitchen components to scale and move them around a scale drawing of the room space. (Click on the following link to down-load our kitchen cutouts.) Once done, draw up elevations with wall dimensions and positions of existing doors and windows etc.

Renovation Legals

Weather you DIY or not, you don't need council approval to renovate a kitchen unless you significantly alter the plumbing diagram or altering the windows. Any building work worth more than $12,000 requires home warranty insurance.

How much your DIY Kitchen will cost (calculate cost here)

Another luxury kitchen

Contempory kitchen

A kitchen renovator would charge about $10-15,000 to replace a small kitchen to a basic level of service and a medium level finish. (If you would like a more accurate costing see our Kitchen Cost Calculator.)

This would include removal of existing cabinetry, appliances, flooring and wall cladding (tiles, splashboards etc), simple relocation/ replacement of walls and finishings (plastering or rendering), removal and refitting services (plumbing and electrics), installing cabinetry including bench tops, tiling or fitting splashbacks and installing new flooring, lighting and painting. If wall or window replacement is required these costs can easily go up by another $5000.

By DIY renovating your kitchen, designing the layout, demolishing cabinetry, and removing old appliances, engaging trades, supervising renovating, and painting yourself, you could shave 20-40% of these costs.

Extras

There are always extras in renovations. Expect to add 10-15% to your budget for unexpected problems and moments where you go over the top.

Appliances

If appliances (eg fridges) are working fine, it may be much cheaper to integrate them (build then into a cupboard with a concealing door) than buy another. If you set yourself say a middle level appliance quality, stick to it and don't get seduced by exotic or expensive imported appliances that could add thousands to your budget.

Builders usually include a provision sum to cover only the basic appliances. It is always more cost affective if you supply your own appliances.

You can make huge savings (30-40%) by buying appliances (and tiles) from alternative sources like auctions, sales, the newspaper or eBay.

Cupboards

More than half the costs are cupboards and bench tops. (Labour is usually about 20% of the costs and appliances and lighting 30%.) So by reducing the number of smaller cabinets and drawers and maximizing the larger, you will save both on materials and labour. Flat pack, off the shelf, kitchen cabinet units are also a consideration for it is the fastest and cheapest way to create cabinetry. Flat packs are modular units that lay flat and are ready for installation. They can be installed by a competent DIY home renovator (or a tradesman.) They are however only suitable for simple kitchen layouts are limited by basic designs.

Fabrication and working with trades

The usual sequence of work is to disconnect all existing services and then:

Remove cabinetry, appliances and fittings
Relocate windows and walls (if necessary)
Install basic plumbing and electrics
Install floor (depending upon whether the floor runs under cabinetry or not)
Install cabinetry, benchtops, and splashbacks
Install appliances and lighting
Install final plumbing and electrics
Seal and paint

Make sure you organize trades people in the correct order otherwise there may be costly revisits, extra work and additional costs.

Be clear on what you're expecting each tradesperson to do (and for how much) before finalising contracts and them starting work. Ascertain their rate of pay for labour and whether they come with an apprentice or offsider.) Cabinetry will be fabricated off site. (Installation is usually 2-3 days.)

Provide all trades and cabinet makers with plans that have details of the position of existing and new services (plumbing, gas and electrics), details of appliances, sinks and taps.

Check fittings with relevant trades before buying them otherwise they may have to make changes to their preparations. It's also wise to check contractor's work or ask for references. They should be industry qualified, licensed and insured. You can ascertain their license at www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au

Clean look kitchen

Another contemporary kitchen

DIY renovation of a kitchen can save you quite a few thousand dollars but it needs some skill, motivation and time. DIY can be extremely satisfying, especially when you spend so much time in a kitchen - you get to appreciate and be proud of your own work and creative decisions. However the renovation, be it DIY or not, will usually not go completely smoothly. There is likely to be some unexpected difficulty that will frustrate the daylights out of you. You will eventually deal with it and move on, to the next step. That's the nature of building.