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Inspired Remodels

Kitchen Remodel

Kitchen and Bath Contractors Tips to Preparing for a Remodel

By / Bathroom Remodel, Kitchen Remodel / Comments Off on Kitchen and Bath Contractors Tips to Preparing for a Remodel

Remodeling your kitchen or bath is exciting. But it’s also disruptive and frustrating. Experienced kitchen and bath contractors, Inspired Remodels, wants every remodel to be as stress-free as possible. When you follow these tips, your kitchen or bath remodel will be much easier.

kitchen remodel company creates floor plan based on triangle

Living During a Kitchen Remodel

Plan on living without a kitchen for at least a month. If this is a major remodel, it may be longer. You can’t eat out three meals a day for over a month, so use this plan:

Set up a temporary kitchen

Turn a spare bedroom, living area, or even the garage into a temporary kitchen. Move the fridge in there along with a coffee pot, small microwave, and a toaster oven. If you don’t have room for your full size refrigerator, invest in one of the small dorm-sized fridge/freezer combo. You don’t need much freezer space, but you will want a few ice cubes here and there and may want to store a small container of ice cream. After all, it is stressful to have your kitchen under construction. You may want to self-medicate with a cocktail or some ice cream. If you normally eat in the kitchen, set up a temporary eating area as well.

Buy disposables

Go ahead and buy disposable napkins, plates, forks, spoons, and knives. There are even biodegradable options available these days.  Even if you don’t like to eat with disposables, you will like washing dishes in your bathroom sink even less.

Plan for disruption

It’s going to get messy. An experienced  kitchen and bath contractor knows how to contain the dust and debris. Talk to them about this plan before demolition begins. Think how the disruption will affect your pets. You may want to start feeding them in an alternative location before work begins.

kitchen and bathroom contractors plans for remodel

Surviving a Bathroom Remodel

A bathroom remodel isn’t as disruptive, as you generally have more than one bathroom in the house. You only have one kitchen.

Even so, stock up on santizing gel and dry shampoo. When you’re sharing a sink and shower, you’ll find that the sanitizing gel and/or baby wipes are perfect for a quick clean up. Dry shampoo reduces the number of time you may need to stand in line to use the shower. As an alternative, you can always wash your hair in the kitchen sink.

Hang a mirror in an area with good lighting. This will come in handy when the working bathroom is occupied and you need to put on makeup or fix your hair.

If the cat’s litter box was in the bathroom undergoing remodel, you’ll want to make sure you move that a few days before the renovation so kitty gets used to the new spot. Having workers in the house is usually stressful for pets. Moving the litter box is also stressful. Moving the box in advance reduces the chances of accidents.

kitchen and bath contractors recommend you get out of house during a portion of renovation

Kitchen and Bath Contractors Recommend

No matter what type of project you do, it won’t hurt to get away for a few days. Living with a kitchen or bathroom remodel may set your teeth on edge if you are compulsively neat and orderly. Even the untidiest among us may get tired of the disruption.  Plan a small vacation to get you out of the house and away from the chaos for a few days.

Speaking of days, plan for disruptions. Every project, no matter how carefully planned, usually has its bumps in the road. If you are prepared for things to go wrong and for the budget to go over 10% to 20% it will be less stressful when it happens.

When you are ready for a remodel or update, call the kitchen and bath contractors that see your home as more than a job site. Inspired Remodels understands it is an honor to be invited into your home. You’ll get one point of contact for the entire project and communication will always be open and honest. Call (949) 716-1938 or Contact Us online today.

 

 

Hiring a Kitchen Remodel Company Shouldn’t Be Scary

By / Kitchen Remodel / Comments Off on Hiring a Kitchen Remodel Company Shouldn’t Be Scary

Thinking of a kitchen remodel or renovation but the thought of hiring a kitchen remodel company is frightening?  Everyone has heard horror stories about remodel companies from hell.  You don’t want a new kitchen but you don’t want to make the mistake of hiring the wrong kitchen remodel company.  Follow these tips for hiring the right kitchen remodel company and safe your fears for zombie movies.

Use a Kitchen Remodel Company with Design and Construction Crews

There are architects, designers, and contractors.  Make sure you hire a kitchen remodel company with the right people. You need a designer to transform your dream into a floor plan with finishes that stay in your budget. A company that offers design services is the best arrangement possible.

Experienced kitchen remodelers can tell you whether your desired layout requires extensive changes to plumbing, electrical, or structural components.  Changing these items is costly.  An experienced and talented designer translates your wants and needs into a design that honors your budget. 

Remember to look at designs and pictures together.  Ensure that you and your designer mean the same thing when you say  “contemporary” or “traditional”.  The design team member must understand your needs and wants for lighting, storage, fixtures, and appliances.  If you have poor communication in this stage, the project will probably be a failure with both of you frustrated and unhappy. Remember, if you can’t discuss the kitchen remodel cost and time frame comfortably, you need to pick another kitchen remodel company.

Take a look at their recent work. See if their style meshes with yours or if they successfully adapt their style to their client. Run from a firm that repeats the same design time and again and just changes the finishes.  They lack  imagination.

discuss budget with kitchen model company before picking a designDiscuss Time and Cost Frankly

Any kitchen remodel company will give an estimate before work starts. Ask about what the estimate covers.   Do you know if the finishes are contractor grade?  Are appliances and fixtures included?  How do they handle problems? Who is responsible for going over budget?

Speaking of budget, go ahead and have that discussion up-front.  You may want a farmhouse sink and a prep station with an additional sink, but lack the budget for both.  Discuss the budget in the beginning. It helps you prioritize  wants and needs. Nothing is worse than being presented with a layout, finishes, and appliances you can’t afford. A waste of your time and the designer’s time too.

Understanding the time frame for the actual work is crucial as well. You need to know more than how long it will take.  You need to know when the job starts.  If the project requires permits and inspections, this adds to the time to complete. 

Recognizing a Reputable Kitchen Remodel Contractor

Don’t fall for a company that presents a design and fails on execution.  These days it’s easy to vet any contractor by checking their reputation on-line.

Google the company name.  Look for reviews from Yelp, Angie’s List and Houzz.

Don’t forget to check the status of the company’s license.  California has a website for checking the status of a contractor’s license.  If you check the license for Inspired Remodels at CA.gov, you will find the company has an active license, is bonded, and carries worker’s compensation insurance.  Since a kitchen remodel company must do their work in your house, it’s crucial that they carry worker’s compensation insurance for your own protection.

It doesn’t hurt to check with the local Better Business Bureau. In the best case scenario, you won’t discover any complaints.  But if you there are complaints, see how the company handles them.  Exceptional customer service is defined by problems are resolved. You want to do business with a kitchen remodel company that handles problems or complaints if they get them.

Inspired Kitchen Remodels

Inspired Remodels is the Orange County kitchen remodel company that provides design and remodel services.  Hire a kitchen remodel contractor that’s with you from the initial design until the last trace of construction dust is removed from the kitchen.  You get the kitchen remodel of  your dreams within your budget. 

Call (949) 716-1938 or Contact Us online to schedule your consultation today.

custom kitchen remodeling job added blue lights for accent color to an otherwise neutral kitchen

Kitchen Remodel Company Brings Function to Beauty

By / Kitchen Remodel / Comments Off on Kitchen Remodel Company Brings Function to Beauty

When you remodel any room in the house, you want it to look awesome. But when you remodel a room as important as the kitchen, it needs to look good and work well.  After all, a kitchen is as much a workroom as a hobby garage. You need room to store the tools of the trade, do your work, and share your masterpieces. Any kitchen remodel company worth their salt (pun intended) can install attractive cabinets and counters. But it takes a special kitchen remodel company to create a space that’s a treat for the eye and the cook. Inspired Remodels does it on a regular basis. Here’s how.

kitchen remodel company creates floor plan based on triangle

The Kitchen Triangle

No, the kitchen triangle isn’t a sordid affair between the lime, salt, and chili powder. The kitchen work triangle refers to the arrangement of the major work stations in the kitchen. That’s the sink, the refrigerator, and the stove/oven. Each makes up one point of the triangle. No leg of the triangle should be more than 9 feet long. The sum of all three sides should be somewhere between 13 and 26 feet to be ideal. There are just too many steps if it’s larger.

This is some serious stuff. It’s based on time-motion studies on the most effective way for a one-cook kitchen to achieve true efficiency. While today’s kitchens often have more than one cook, the kitchen triangle or it’s cousin, the kitchen zone still creates a game plan for efficiency. The kitchen zone concept creates zones for food preparation, cleaning, baking, and cooking. These zones usually end up in a variation of the kitchen triangle.

Kitchen Remodel Company Deploys Kitchen Triangle

Putting the Triangle into Action

Take a look at the lovely kitchen above. Pay particular attention to the stove in relation to the refrigerator. Next, see how the fridge is across from the sink?  Can you see the triangle in this kitchen?

Now can you see it? It might have been tempting to use the space next to the cooktop for the refrigerator and use the refrigerator wall to create a large work space. But the savvy kitchen remodel company understands that fridge door needs to be opened and closed several times during meal prep.

Had it been located next to the stove it would have saved steps, but it would have been awkward.

A functional kitchen flows. You move smoothly and without friction from one area to the next.

Can you see yourself working in this kitchen?

And speaking of working, notice the work area station to the right of the stove. When you take a hot pan out of the oven, there’s a place for it.

There’s ample room for the traditional 3 step breading station. And it looks great!

 

Inspired Remodels is the Kitchen Remodel Company to Call

When you are ready to put kitchen remodel dreams into action, call the kitchen remodel company that will ensure you get a kitchen that works hard and looks good doing it. Call Inspired Remodels.

Inspired Remodels is a full-service design and build remodel company. From the initial design stage to polishing the chrome on the new kitchen faucet, they’ll be with you every step of the way. Call (949) 716-1938 or Contact Us online today.