Preparing Your Home for a Kitchen Renovation

Any renovation in your home needs some careful planning and thought before launching in. It needs to begin with working out what your budget is, as this will be the biggest deciding factor on the scope and limits of your renovation.

Are you just planning to upgrade the existing kitchen cabinets and appliances? Or are you after a more extensive remodel and extension? Once you’ve got the budget set, then you need a great design and to get your workforce lined up.

Some companies offer a complete design and installation package, although it’s a good idea to shop around for the best deal and a competitive quote as well as contractors you can trust. But once you’ve got these major pieces of the puzzle in place it’s time for the practical preparations to begin.

This blog will look at some of the steps to take to prepare your home for the kitchen makeover you’ve been dreaming of.

Clear out

The first step is to completely clear out the old kitchen.

You may not have seen the back of your cupboards for years and as you empty the cupboards of non-perishable foods may find yourself wondering why you’ve still got tins that have expired their best before dates years ago.

The clutter continues with the drawer stuffed with everything from old batteries and balls of string to packets of medications and bottles of glue, as well as the cupboards overfilled with stacks of plastic storage boxes without lids.

It’s time to be ruthless and throw out or recycle anything you don’t want in your new kitchen or haven’t used for years and those items and appliances that you do want to keep need to be moved to somewhere safe where they won’t get damaged by dust or debris. This will make it quicker and easier for the contractors to get to work.

It may be a great excuse to purchase and update some of your appliances and equipment to create the finished look of your kitchen when it is finalised.

Set up a temporary kitchen

Bearing in mind that you’re going to be unable to use your kitchen for anything from a few weeks to potentially several months, depending on the size and scope of your renovation project, you will need to make some temporary arrangements for being able to prepare meals and eat away from the building site that your kitchen area is going to become for the short term.

Plan meals around smaller appliances like the microwave and invite yourself out to friends’ and family’s houses, where you can, to save on too many takeaway meals or restaurant bills. Stock up on non-perishable snacks and foods that don’t need to be kept in a fridge.

Disposable plates and cutlery are a great way to manage without a sink or dishwasher to wash up in, and biodegradable options are easy to source and won’t make you feel bad about the environment. If you’re fortunate enough to be having your project done during warmer weather, you can use it as an excuse to light up the grill or barbeque and make your temporary kitchen in the garden.

Protect your floors and walls

If you’re not having a complete renovation where flooring is replaced, and walls are being ripped out, or built, then you’ll need to protect them to remove the need for redecoration and prevent any damage to plasterwork.

You can buy temporary dust sheets to cover large areas and keep damage to a minimum and, hopefully, mean you won’t need to do any remedial repairs. If you’re able to completely block off the kitchen area of the house with a taped plastic barrier, then you can also minimise the amount of dust and debris that would enter the rest of the house.

However, if you’re having a total renovation and replacing floor coverings, and potentially installing under-floor heating and building or knocking down walls, then no protection is needed.

Disconnect appliances

You’ll want to move your fridge and freezer to your temporary kitchen as you’re still going to need to keep the milk cold, but it will help the contractors if you drain and unplug the washing machine and dishwasher as well as the smaller surface appliances.

Moving them to a safe place to store means that they can be brought back into the new kitchen and re-plumbed when the building work is completed and you’re ready to repossess your revamped kitchen area.

If you don’t have a separate utility area for taking care of laundry and the kitchen is your normal space to wash and dry clothes, then you’ll need to find a local laundrette, a laundry service or just a willing friend, neighbour or family member who is able to let you use their washing machine.

Consider getting out of town

Sometimes the simplest solution is to pack up for a holiday, as you’ll have the benefit of avoiding the disruption and have a complete house or kitchen that you can use while you’re away.

You’ll need to be sure that you can trust your contractors to do the job without you around to check in, but a business trip or holiday might be the best way to avoid some of the disruptions and if you can stay with friends or relatives, you might solve some of the cooking issues by scoring some free meals.

If your kitchen renovation is part of a much larger-scale house renovation, you might want to consider a short-term rental contract or an Air B ‘n’ B-type of place to stay to make the whole procedure more pain-free.

Communication with your contractors

Making sure that your contractors are trustworthy is vital to your peace of mind. Check the company’s reviews from other customers and that you have everything in writing to make certain that there won’t be any unexpected or hidden extra costs.

If you can find a contractor that you can trust, you’ll find the whole project is much easier all around. Communication with your contractors needs to be clear and you need to keep in touch to make sure that everything is proceeding according to your wishes.

Your contractor may have additional suggestions or instructions that will help the renovation process go smoothly, and they may have some preparations that they recommend that you make, so good communication is vital throughout the whole project.

If more than one contractor is involved, you will need to make sure that they are connecting and working together effectively.

How can Bellagio help with your kitchen renovation?

With decades of experience, Bellagio is used to working with building and kitchen contractors to install the kitchen worktops you want for your beautiful kitchen design.

Whether your renovation is crying out for the luxurious natural stone of granite or marble or a durable, yet stunning man-made sintered stone or quartz worktop, we can supply it. Using the latest waterjet and CNC technology to cut your worktops to the bespoke size and shape of your new kitchen’s design, we work with your kitchen fitters to deliver on time and within your budget.

We have a stunning showroom in the heart of the country in Warwick, so you can visit and order a sample to see exactly how your new worktops will complement your cabinetry, splashbacks and flooring.

Get in touch or give us a call on 01926 352032 to discuss with a member of our expert team how we can help to fit your perfect choice of stone worktops into your new kitchen renovation.