Do it yourself projects have been all the rage in these last few years. Many people are discovering that if they can do a project themselves, not only will it save homeowners money in the long run for not having to pay the labor for a professional to build for them, it is also bringing many couples and families together.
Working on these sometimes huge projects helps many families to get along and to put their family’s ability to have teamwork to the test. Whatever project that you may want to tackle next, doing it yourself instead of hiring a professional can be extremely rewarding in many different ways.
Many people who choose to go down the do it yourself pathway, usually try to gut their kitchens first. It seems that people often get dissatisfied with their kitchens before any other room in their house. The kitchen is usually the place that the entire family spends the most time in, so it’s easily understandable as to why kitchen remodels are so popular.
When people do start remodeling their kitchens, usually the first thing to be demolished is the cabinets. There are a lot of women who cannot stand their cabinets and often get upset because their cabinets are either too small or unorganized.
Cabinets are the most important thing inside of a kitchen, besides the appliances. Cabinets are a really huge portion of a kitchen remodel and it is important to get them installed exactly the way that you would like them, so that the measurements will be correct.
But before we can start measuring cabinets and choosing which style of cabinetry is right for your kitchen, first, we need to make sure that we have enough space in the kitchen itself for all of the special things that we plan on writing on the blueprint. How do you do that?
First off, you need to gather the materials that you will need to get kitchen measurements. You will need:
• A tape measure
• A piece of notebook paper, or preferably, grid paper
• A pencil to mark down measurements
Starting with an adjoining corner if there is one, working clockwise around the kitchen and measure the overall length of the entire kitchen. Using grid paper is the best option for this because the grid paper has boxes or grids that help you draw straight lines better and for you to use as a scale of the kitchen to help make your plan more three dimensional rather than two dimensional.
It is also important that you use a pencil when writing down your measurements, that way, if you accidentally make a mistake, you can easily change it and keep on working on your plan. Make sure that when you are drawing your plan that you skip over any of the bigger appliances, such as your refrigerator and your oven, and any windows because we need the overall length.
Secondly, working clockwise again, take your tape measure and measure the walls height from the floor to the ceiling. Any trim needs to be included in this as well. This will help when you decide if you would like your cabinets to go all the way to the top of the ceiling or if you would rather like them to stop before they get all the way to the top to accommodate for any type of new molding that you would like to add in addition to the cabinets.
When you are writing down these measurements, now would be the time when you would note any special or particular things about the kitchen itself, for example, noting that the kitchen has raised ceilings. If your home is an older home, it would be a really good idea to possibly measure the ceilings in the next room over to see if the height is off by a couple of inches.
This would help you know if your foundation had been shifting, which could possibly cause a problem during your cabinetry build.
After the kitchen is completely measured, now we will identify any windows and other door ways that are in the design. We will also mark down where all the windows are and where all the large appliances will be placed in the room.
You will also need to mark down where there are outlets and vents to ensure that you are not losing those necessities due to the new cabinets. You will also need to include any other things or furniture that will likely be in the room with the new cabinets after they are completed.
There is a really great way to double check your measurements when measuring your kitchen. For example, let’s say that you know for a fact from your house’s original blue prints that the kitchen is a rectangle shape. What you could do is measure the walls as previously stated, and then just add the walls together.
Simply add up the walls and get the overall measurements. To check, add the parallel walls together and get the answer. Next add the other shorter walls together and get the answer. Add the answer to the parallel walls to the answer of the shorter walls. The answer should be equal to the answer to the overall measurements.
Once everything has been measured and accounted for, you can now start drawing up the plans for your new cabinets. When designing where your cabinets will go, there are a few tips to remember. The work triangle is the area in which a kitchen’s three busiest spots – the sink, the oven and the refrigerator – are located.
These three things should be as close to each other as possible to maximize work efficiency in the kitchen. Also, it would probably be a smart idea to put the dishwasher near the sink if possible and not put a cabinet between the two. Cabinets need to be placed in just the right spot for the kitchen to “flow” the best way possible.
There are three different types of cabinets that are popular in many homes. Base cabinets are the lower set of cabinets. They are really useful in tight spaces and are also really helpful if they are included on a small island in the middle of the kitchen.
These types of cabinets are really great for storage of pots and pans, and other kitchen items that you would want to access quickly and easily, but still would be safe if, for example, any children were to get into the cabinet and look around.
Since base cabinets are a really great option if you do not have a lot of space in your kitchen, it is really important to measure correctly so that you can optimize the most of your small space. This would most likely mean measuring your kitchen space even more to ensure that you are getting the most out of the small space that you have.
Wall cabinets are the upper cabinets that go above the base cabinets. Wall cabinets will have different heights depending on the height of the ceiling of the kitchen. Some people prefer to let the wall cabinets go all the way to the top of the ceiling, however, some people will stop the design of the cabinets touching the ceiling in favor of placing crown molding at the top of the ceiling for a better look and for more resale value of their homes.
When you are building wall and base cabinets, it is important to remember to leave at least eighteen to twenty inches of room between the two sets of cabinets. These will be your counter top area, which is another extremely important part of the kitchen itself.
Pantry cabinets are taller cabinets than the wall or the base cabinets. They are a great choice for a family that needs plenty of storage in the kitchen. If you have the room for pantry cabinets in your kitchen, it would definitely be a great idea to work them into the design.
Pantry cabinets are really useful because they do not necessarily have to be used to house groceries or other food items. These type of cabinets are really great all-purpose type cabinets. Usually these can be built with adjustable shelves too, which further enhances the storage options.
After you have chosen the right type of new cabinets to install in your kitchen, let the renovation begin! Installing cabinets is no easy task, but for someone who loves do it yourself projects, it will be a fun and enjoyable experience! Your new kitchen will be finished in no time, and your cabinets will be the awesome centerpiece or focal point that you were hoping for.
Leave a Reply