Essential Measuring for Your Next Kitchen Remodel Project

A kitchen remodeling project(http://www.naplesdreammaker.com/kitchens.html) is a challenging but exciting project to undertake. It also saves an awful lot of money if you have the skills and determination to see it through. The average cost of remodeling a kitchen is roughly half on the kitchen itself and half on having it fitted. Essentially, doing it yourself halves the price.

There is a tried and true saying in the building trade. Measure twice and cut once. That means check and then check your measurements in order to get it right first time. Materials cost money, so mistakes can be costly. Careful measurement will mean the difference between a remodeled kitchen and a great remodeled kitchen, so get it right first time.

Measure ceiling heights – Kitchen cabinets come in a range of sizes. Your floor to ceiling height will determine which size cabinet will work in the room.

Measure up your windows and doors – Measure the distance from each side of the window to the adjacent walls. Also from the lower sill to the floor and from the ceiling to the upper line of the window. Do the same for the doors and any other protrusions in the room.

Check for plumb (vertical level) – Not all walls are straight, especially in older homes. Making sure your kitchen walls are plumb is a basic, but important step. It’s essential that the wall is square to ensure a satisfactory alignment of the kitchen cabinets. Level walls before installing the cabinets otherwise it won’t look straight.

Checking your corners for square – A shelf or purpose-made wood square placed against each corner of the room will determine if your corners are square or not. The closer to square, the better the end result. Kitchen cabinets and work surfaces can be trimmed for minor deviations, but larger ones will need rectifying before the installation.

Check floor levels – As with walls, not all floors are level either. Use a long spirit level to determine the level of your floor. If adjustment is needed, use a floor-leveling compound prior to installation. It’s a relatively simple but time-consuming job, but one that needs to be done.

Services - Determine the dimension of any services that are sited in your kitchen. That means mains water pipes, soil pipes or electricity and gas supplies. Measure their relative distance from both elevations and detail these in your plan before starting work. Pipes in the wrong place, or missed out of a design, have ruined many a kitchen remodeling project, so get it right first time.

As you can see, there is a lot of work to be done before you even pick up a hammer. The better job of measuring you do, the better the entire kitchen remodel will be. The “proper preparation” adage is never truer than when planning large home renovations like this.

While there is plenty to do, the potential cost-saving is significant. If money is tight, it’s well worth learning the skills necessary to fit your own kitchen. It isn’t only about the money, but also with the satisfaction in a job well done.