Defying ‘Murphy’s Law’ in Virginia Kitchen Makeovers, Part 1
“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”–so is the claim of ‘Murphy’s Law’. Not to spread distrust and paranoia into an already stressful endeavor, but with the many, many different details and timely professional performances involved in a kitchen makeover it seems an absolute miracle that any one Virginia kitchen remodel can be accomplished without a hitch somewhere along the line. However, don’t be dismayed, there are a number of things that you can do to prevent such delays and some common-sense interventions to keep things running smoothly when conflicts arise.
Kitchen Design Layout: The First Signs of Problems
If your project is only going to have one, single conflict or delay this is the stage that you’ll be fortunate to have it in. The reason being is that, at this point, your Virginia kitchen project is a mass of drawings, conceptual ideas, and wishful photographs of prospective layouts. A typical problem noted at this stage is that the gross space of the kitchen won’t comfortably accommodate all the features and amenities that you’re looking for in the new kitchen. A Virginia kitchen designer or architect will be quick to illustrate how minor adjustments in cabinet sizes, layouts or appliance configurations can alleviate the cramped concerns that may arise. Again, it’s all on the drafting table at this point so moving little virtual blocks of tangibles is easy to do.
Stage Two: Permits and Professionals
By now you pretty much have the ‘map’ of your new Virginia kitchen in place, so the concept and plan is as solid as the draft on which it rests; and this is a good start. You should likely review the accounting end of things to be certain that the plan corresponds to the established kitchen budget and that the budget is realistic and easily accessible. If there’s any financial glitch (ie. The bank is being slow on a home-improvement loan) don’t think about engaging contractors until this is resolved. This practice actually prevents more significant headaches down the road!
Interviewing potential contractors can be a ‘lively’ experience, to say the least. Some folks may be at the mercy of the Yellow Pages or local newspaper ads in order to locate appropriate workers; and this can be successful but not always. A better place to start on your search would be contractors contacted via referrals from friends, neighbors or reputable retailers of home improvement merchandise. Not only do you want a host of trades-people, who are licensed, insured and talented, but you need to make sure that you can speak with them candidly–that a rapport can be had. Most of the problems in the execution of a kitchen makeover have to do with contractor scheduling conflicts. These conflicts can cause unnecessary delays, hardship, alienation and, in some cases, a lot of money. It’s important for the contractor to know what is exactly expected and when it’s expected. If you plan on hiring a general contractor to oversee the entire kitchen remodel project, then it is up to this general to make sure that everything runs like clockwork.
Don’t forget that, during this stage, your building permit needs to be secured. In doing so, you must be prepared to disclose the license and insurance information of any hired contractor who is doing work on your home. It’s not uncommon for the local Building Official to make a site visit during the course of construction and if there’s any license or scope-of-project discrepancy in relation to your permit, the job could be halted. This, obviously, is a quite preventable circumstance.
Still Manageable!
During this second stage, potential problems are still quite manageable. You have not yet started demolition of the existing kitchen or installing new cabinets, flooring or countertops. If problems arise during this stage, they may cause delays in the start of your Virginia kitchen makeover, but a delay prior to the start of work is always better than a delay in the middle of the work.
