newsletter 4,creating temporary kitchenwhile doing kitchen renovations to build your dream kitchen,do it yourself plans for home improvement

Saturday, 27 May 2006

No.4 June - Creating a temporary kitchen

Creating a temporary kitchen while undertaking your dream kitchen renovation

Make preparations or a temporary kitchen well before you start to demolish the existing kitchen. Choose a space that will minimise the inconvenience you will have to endure with the family and do not impose more austerity than is necessary while awaiting the new kitchen renovation. The dream kitchen is at least a week away!

Location of the temporary kitchen
Locate the temporary kitchen near a laundry, wet bar or other sink. Avoid setting up your kitchen near a bathroom unless there is another bathroom for normal use as this will create an intolerable situation during the peak morning periods! Provide a generous counter top near the sink. The top can be made from a piece of plywood or melamine faced high moisture resistant board cut to size from a timber/hardware store or from a cut to size operation like the Builders Bargain Centre . Part of the old benchtop can be used if it is still hygienic after the demolition. Consider too, the proximity of the temporary kitchen to a comfortable eating area and accessible power points. Arrange space for the old refrigerator and some storage shelves and cabinets. Have a plan of the new kitchen before you demolish the old one. Use our DYOS (design your own smartpack to draw the plan of the new kitchen or laundry layout.

Appliances
Set up your cooking appliances: hot plates,microwave and toaster ovens or griller near a well ventilated area away from curtains and other flammable objects. If the weather is good or you have some cover the hot meals can be prepared on the barbeque or camp stove. This will also eliminate the odors from the cooking in the rest of the house as you might not have enough ventilation in the temporary kitchen. When using appliances in a temporary kitchen one should be aware of not overloading the electrical circuit by using many appliances all at once off one multi board plug. To be on the safe side use only one or two appliances at the same time. Be sure that the appliances are grounded. These usually have a 3 pronged plug. If you plan to buy a new microwave for your dream kitchen renovation then consider buying it early to use in the temporary kitchen.
If the temporary kitchen is not a good possibility in your situation then a campervan borrowed from a friend is a good alternative and can bring a new dimension to the daily meal grind. And then there is always takeaway food!!

Storage
When you clear out your old kitchen, pack up everything you are not planning to use in the temporary kitchen and label the cartons clearly and store them in a convenient place. Renovations always take a bit longer than you think and it can be useful to find some item you have been craving. Plan to save a cabinet or two to use as storage in the temporary arrangement before demolishing everything. One cabinet for crockery and one for food. If you have a pantry cabinet this can be placed in a passage and used for both purposes. Try to be minimalistic as the situation is only temporary.

Dismantling the existing kitchen to make way for the new dream kitchen renovation
You will be the most successful in dismantling the existing kitchen if you approach the job with care and in a systematic way rather then trying to dismantle all at once.Even if you are moving walls or making structural changes, plan the job carefully, have the proper tools and develop safe work practices. These factors combined will ensure a successful project. Dismantling is a job that depends on logic rather than strength and because it requires more time than skill it is an excellent project to do yourself , even if you plan to hire some one to install the dream kitchen.

Dismantling is generally done in the following order: appliances and fixtures disconnected and removed. You might require an electrician to disconnect the stove. The water can be shut off before you remove the sink and dishwasher.
Countertops. These are generally loosen by removing screws from inside the cabinets. The tiles on the wall might be holding the benchtop down . Try removing the bottom line of grout to extract the top. If the tiles are hard to the top of the benchtop. It is difficult in this case to save the tiles if they were going to be reused. You will most probably destroy the bottom row of tiles while levering out the top.
cabinets. Try to save one or two for temporary storage and the remainder are most easily removed by undoing the fixings between adjoining cabinets. Alternatively vent some frustration with the hammer and you will be energised by the experience. Be careful and wear safety goggles and protective gloves.
Ceilings ,walls and flooring. depending on the level of kitchen renovation undertaken consider leaving this to a professional. Remove the flooring so that you have a level surface to work on for the new kitchen.

If the kitchen project entails adding a new space, the shell for the addition can usually be framed up and closed in before you open the wall and disrupt the existing kitchen. Ensure the door or opening in the new addition is large enough to accommodate the removal of the old cabinets, debris and the delivery of the most bulky new items.
As an alternative one can advertise the kitchen in the trading post or similar newspaper at a bargain price or for free with the old appliances if the buyer dismantles and removes the kitchen from the room. This is quite a successful and cheap way to get rid of the old kitchen if it is in reasonable condition.

Think ahead and anticipate the problems before they surprise you. With a little forward planning, some minor inconvenience and a lot of good humour you will manage your kitchen renovation and install your dream kitchen in a relatively short time.