How many times have you remodeled

amother

Puce

Sun, May 16 2021, 9:03 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I mean like scratched here and there, drawer not closing flush, cabinets doors shaky. And the look of it - it looks like a 90s kitchen - not a modern kitchen.

We call a repairman if a cabinet door is shaky or a drawer isn't closing. It's a quick change of the tracks and a small price tag and then you go to sleep happy and feeling like it's all new again. After the work that goes in to putting in a kitchen, you'll see you won't want to do it again so quickly. Also it will have been something you have chosen and love and you'll want to keep it in good condition.

How about you paint the walls, brighten the lighting, call in a repairman for any issues with the cabinets, and see if that makes you happier? It sounds like the kids are hard on the kitchen and you're worried to put something new in now.

My niece put in new counters and backslash in the home she bought and it made all the difference. She's very happy now and did not change the whole kitchen. It has a whole new look and feel now.

amother

Emerald

Sun, May 16 2021, 9:13 am

I would do the work and enjoy it sooner than later.
That being said, I build my house and have been living in it for 18 years. I have not redone anything (except replace appliance which died). I feel like my house still new and can’t fathom the idea of redoing it. If I were to sell it, I think someone would be getting a dream house and other then paint and maybe re-caulk some of the showers, there is little to do. But maybe it’s just because I love my house and I am living in a time-warp. My clothes are classic rather than fast-fashion too.

Amarante

Sun, May 16 2021, 9:18 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I mean like scratched here and there, drawer not closing flush, cabinets doors shaky. And the look of it - it looks like a 90s kitchen - not a modern kitchen.

A 90's kitchen is at least 20 years old if not more but a kitchen with high quality cabinets might not look trendy but it should still be in good condition unless it was completely abused.

FWIW, a good quality kitchen is NOT cheap - even if one uses IKEA. Unless you are doing all of the work yourself, it will be $20,000 if not more - and the ones that look gorgeous in the magazines are double that or more. Every component of a kitchen is expensive as is the skilled labor to do it right. The only people who are changing their kitchens every five or even ten years are extremely wealthy people but even some of them don't because gutting a kitchen is so disruptive.

Depending on whether your cabinets are stained wood or painted you have them refurbished. FWIW, stained is easier to maintain than painted over the long term if you treat it appropriately. You can even update interiors by installing various things on the after market like rollouts if your bottom cabinets aren't deep drawers. Cabinets can even be modified if your needs change a bit.

FWIW, painting kitchen cabinets is NOT inexpensive if it is done properly. It is not like painting walls as the doors have to be removed and primed. They also need to be done offsite by skilled painters or else you will have paint that chips and cracks because the paint isn't adhering properly. It will also look like an amateur painted it instead of the way painted cabinets done at the factory look.

The cost of painting can be as much as just replacing the doors - replacing doors is an option to update a kitchen but you should only have it done if the layout of the cabinets is worth saving because it is not inexpensive and you will still be left with older cabinets in perhaps a not ideal configuration. As the saying goes - don't put lipstick on a pig - you should pardon the expression. Very Happy

There are certain items in home maintenance that people do and it is not considered to be remodeling. If you have wall to wall carpet, it needs to be changed. That is why wood or other hard surface is considered to be more of an investment - you pay more up front but it lasts for many years with proper care. People paint walls fairly often - it is an easy way to change things but again quality paint will last longer than cheap paint because it can be washed where it looks dirty.

Last edited by Amarante on Sun, May 16 2021, 9:33 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Plum

Sun, May 16 2021, 9:37 am

When I moved into my house, the kitchen was a 90's kitchen too. We redid the countertops (put in granite) and added an updated but simple backsplash (we needed to after pulling out the old counters)and switched out the knobs for sleek handles. It made a huge difference. A new light fixture also helped a ton.

Eventually, we will be extending the kitchen and the rest of house so we didn't redo the whole thing since it was functional. When we do redo our entire kitchen I want to it to be perfect and high quality.

Rubber Ducky

Sun, May 16 2021, 9:42 am

First determine whether the cabinets are good quality.

Take a good look at the box. Is it plywood or particle board? How thick? You may need to remove a piece of toe kick to see this.

Are there vertical dividers (stiles) in the center of double door cabinets? That's a sign of cheap construction.

Are the drawers full extension? Do they open and close smoothly? I don't mean soft-closing, that was not an option back then.

If you're happy with the layout and the box is well-made, then you may want to reface (replace door and drawer fronts) or refinish the cabinets. That should be less expensive than re-doing the whole kichen with good quality cabinets.

I do kitchen design professionally, and to this point have never had a client wanting to re-do their kitchen in 5 or 10 years. As Amarante said above, it's too disruptive. I have designed a few clients' kitchens twice — but that was because they moved and then I designed their new kitchen as well as the old.

And yes, replace the carpets.

zaq

Sun, May 16 2021, 6:23 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Thanks - was just wondering because I heard someone say she paints every 5 years. I thought that was a lot but then other people said the same thing. Was wondering if changing kitchen is the same type of thing.

Painting and remodeling are very different operations. Painting is relatively inexpensive but doesn’t change anything fundamentally. All it does is make e/t look fresh and clean, and if you change the color it changes the look. But if your cabinets are creaky, sink leaky and stove freaky, painting won’t do anything for those issues.

Also, just replacing appliances is not remodeling. Remodeling means changing layout, adding/removing cabinets, replacing flooring, appliances, lighting, maybe even windows, the whole schmear. Only very well off and frivolous folks would do that every ten years. It’s actual construction and can leave you with no kitchen for weeks to months. Even replacing major appliances that often is pretty profligate. Major appliances have an expected useful life of 10-20years, and many go longer. Also, remodeling can run you in the tens of thousands.