Criteria !

Welcome to the Criteria section. In this section, you should have a better understanding of what it takes for new kitchen or bathroom installation, custom or regular outfitted.

Ok, you decided you want to remodel. Remodeling a kitchen or bathroom will require planning. You already have an idea, that is appealing to you. You first want to decide in the room your planning to remodel.. is it large enough to begin with. You may want to consider enlarging the rooms or maybe, in some cases, you may want to decrease a particular room in size. Enlarging a kitchen or bathroom will require wall removal, more than likely, involving decreasing the size in another room. Any of this is possible, as long as your budget allows. The next thing you should consider, is having a plan, design, style on paper, and as much as the detail you can think of right down to lighting, an wall switches. Now you have a basic blue print of your project, and can obtain an accurate quote. I can help with your plan. This is called criteria. Once a plan is set, you can now go ahead and schedule your project. Once a plan is started, any changes made during the construction process, can lead to cost and time over runs. After the planning development, you should be starting your purchases. Any appliances, tubs, shower units, cabinetry, vanities, lighting.. etc, right down to the towel bars should be all be purchased at the very early planning stages. Most merchandise that will need to be ordered, could take up to 2 -4 wks for delivery. This is very important. A lot of times, merchandise that has been delivered is damaged and needs to be returned.

I have seen many projects delayed because of damaged products. When the merchandise is delivered, it must be inspected right away. Now there’s plenty of time for a replacement, should it be necessary. And having been in this business as long as I have, I am sorry to say, but it is necessary quite often.

Lets get started !

PHASE 1

The first thing we are going to need to do, is get a permit for the project. Remodeling requires a permit through the town or city you live in.

The town or city building inspector will ask for a plan. It needs to be approved.

Once the approval is in place, we can go ahead and start with the demolition. Demolition is a process where all the existing cabinetry, tubs, showers, appliances, flooring, and if it’s in the plan, walls, etc… will be removed. Generally, unless there are other arrangements in place, there will be a refuse container on site for the duration of the project. At this point, phase 1, DEMOLITION is completed. On the average, demolition can take 1 day, or it can take up to 3 days. Some demolition requires a plumber or electrician to move wires or pipes right away.

PHASE 2

Construction begins. Any of the new walls that is going to be built, will be built at this time. Any special framing required for tubs, shower units, framing for cabinet mounting, and even the towel bar framing will be done at this time. Now we are ready for the plumber and electrician to install there new mechanicals. Any room that is being remodeled will always need to be brought up to date for current codes for electrical & plumbing. After there (rough in mechanicals) are in place, we will do any insulation that is necessary. Now we are ready for an inspection from the building inspector. He or she will inspect the new work only. After there inspection is complete, we can now continue with proper sub flooring, and sheet rocking. Now we need another inspection from the building inspector for the dry wall installation. After the inspection, we are now completed with phase 2, THE ROUGH IN. On the average, this can be completed in 5 to 7 working days.

PHASE 3

At this time, we are now ready to start our drywall taping. After or during this taping process, we may go ahead and start installing your finish floors. I prefer to at least prime all the bare sheetrock areas, before installing any cabinetry. A lot of projects are different. If we are installing an unfinished hardwood floor, we will always sand & finish the floors after most of the construction is done. I prefer to complete all the painting, and finish the 3rd coat of poly-urethane for the last step. Base board trim is installed over the tops of the finished floors. Tiles should be completed before the base board. Now we have the plumber and electrician come back to complete there work. They will install all your new lighting, sinks, faucets, commodes etc… Custom counter tops can cause a bit of delay. If you have chosen Granite or Marble, Granite and Marble tops will require a template. This is when the Granite contractor comes in AFTER the cabinets are installed, and makes an exact template on the counter tops. After the template is made, we could be waiting as long as 2 wks for the counter top to arrive. After the counter top is installed, we can now go ahead with the sink and faucet installation. Custom ordered shower doors and mirrors are also ordered after they are built. Depending on the Glass company, I seen have seen a 2-3 day delivery, and some were as long as 2 weeks. Now, that we are, at the end of your project, we need to have one last inspection from the building inspector. This is your final inspection. They will give you a copy of certificate of occupancy. Or, more commonly called, a CO.

On the average, most kitchen & bath remodeling, requires 4-6 wks. Some projects will take longer. When having a room remodeled, keep in mind, that sometimes they can be a lot of unforeseen problems. These (unforeseen) problems are always solvable. They just require a little more time to solve, and will always add to the finish date. Plumbers & electricians have no way of knowing the hidden problems behind walls and underneath floors. Always be prepared with your budget for another 20% for these unforeseen problems. It is always better to be prepared than not. We will always try to complete a project on time. I always try to add more time than I need to complete a project, so that we have ample time for the unforeseen problems. This is where a good contractor separates himself from all others. Kitchen & bathrooms are the two most expensive rooms in the home. They must be done properly. The only way to guarantee a perfect job, is make sure the person doing it, is doing it correctly. Phase 3 requires the most amount of time. Finish trades are just that. Finish trades. The finished tradesman, have to make sure everything fits, and looks perfectly.

After all, you did hire a professional!

 

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