Kitchen Remodel

We just did a major remodel with all the kids grown up, and it was difficult even then. The destruction part is pretty dirty and probably toxic, so if you can get the kids outside and have the windows open that's a big plus. We had 3 Air Purifiers going all the time. For me the biggest part was all the time it took to make the decisions on what you actually want. We ended up spending a lot of time looking for appliances, granite, tile etc. If you can figure out all that before they start, that would be a big plus. If you have an older house, you never know what they will unearth when they tear things apart, so factor in extra time and money just in case. Our contractor was excellent, but by the end we just wanted it over with.

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As one person suggested, wait till the weather is such that you can go outside occasionally. I'd get my quotes now, though. My favorite contractor is Ron. His website is www.rs-electric.com
He's very good, leaves things cleaned up at the end of the day. No stepping on junk on the floor, etc. I recommend him highly.

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K., We just remodeled our kitchen and completed it in December. I think it depends on how tolerant you are of mess, having to use the bathroom sink and having to be without an oven for a certain period of time. I don't deal well with these types of things but I made it through. I say get it done now as opposed to later - you'll be so happy with the finished product it will be worth it!

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We did this last summer. Our boys were just turning 4 and 2. We did it over summer so we could grill. We left town for the demo (old house, lots of bad dust) which only took about 4 days. The boys handled the noise well for naps with the help of white noise makers in the bedroom. We moved the fridge, microwave, toaster and toaster oven into the dinning room and used more disposables than I am comfortable admitting. (dishes in the bathtub were just too much for me! If you have a decent, more modern, laundry room it may work better for you.) I was not as careful about sealing off the room as I should have been, so I would advise monitoring that closely. Our contractor was a pain in the butt, so it took longer than it should have. We did a complete gut, all new everything, including sub-floor and support beams. It should have taken about 5 weeks, I won't tell you how long it really took, because we did not choose our contractor well. Anyway it turned out great, and makes me love my house again! Good luck, there is nothing like a new, fly kitchen!

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My husband is a carpenter and he has done a lot of remodeling and additions for families with small children. I think it really depends on how long your contractor thinks it will take. My suggestion is to wait til it is warm out side. First is allows your children to be outside when things are going on in the house and second it any painting or staining needs to be done it it always nice to be able to open the windows if for nothing more than circulation.

Just a thought.
S.

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K.,

Not only have I done a kitchen remodel with little ones, but I was doing in-home day care at the time. I'm not going to lie, it's a mess. I had to wash baby bottles & do dishes in the laundry sink. My biggest mistake was doing it in the winter. Didn't plan on doing it in the winter, but once we decided we were doing it, it took some time to get it up and running. We had different contractors bid on the project and then waiting for the permits took time. In the mean time, while we were waiting for the permits, our contractor had to start a new job so we were pushed back. Long story short, start now. Do your homework picking a contractor, loans, etc. If you start now you will be ready to go by spring. This way you can use your grill and be outside durning the mess. All the mess is long forgotten, & the day the kitchen was done, it all became worth it. My biggest suggestion is to make sure that you have a spot to set up a make shift kitchen. YOu will still need your microwave and a fridge. The dust is really worse than anyone could really tell you. Get rid of everthing on the same floor as the kitchen ex. no nick nacks, or wall decor, in any room on the same floor. No matter how much they try to seal off the kitchen, dust will be everywhere. It really is worth it and if you are prepared it's not that bad. Two years after the kitchen, I did a second story addition and we lived in the house during that as well. Good luck!

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Hi K.!

We redid our kitchen 3 years ago when our kids were about the same ages as yours. of course, it's inconvenient, but I'm glad we did it and can enjoy for longer. Although, my son still occasionally says he misses our old one!

Some of the decision depends on the set-up of your house. We have a split level, with the kitchen up stairs. We either stayed downstairs to play or went out sometimes. My younger one napped up in her bedroom, but was a champion sleeper and napped right through the noise. The contractors were very good about containing the mess/dust.

So, I guess I would say go for it! But it does depend on your kids and house set-up. It is a pain for awhile, but you will be so glad when you have a new kitchen! Good luck!

J.

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We redid our kitchen a couple of years ago. My kids were 5, 3, and 1 year old twins. I don't think there's ever a "good" time to do it. We "lived" in the basement during the day and had a mini kitchen set up down there -- fridge, toaster oven, microwave. It wasn't easy, but I'm glad we did it. Luckily, the weather was good, so we spent a lot of time outside! Good luck!

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We did ours when my daughter was 3 and I had just came home with our newborn during construction. You make due. The fridge went in the dining room. The microwave was in the living room with the dishes we needed. We washed dishes in the bathroom sink. It was sort of an adventure. Since the kitchen has plastic up the 3 year old never ventured in unless it was with me and we peeked in every night after the workers left. Whatever you do - do not use the Great Indoors (Sears). They were horrible!!!!! I still have areas not finished but I kicked them out because of their poor workmanship. I paid a plumber to fix what they couldn't do. Good luck.

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We had ours done when my boys were almost 3 and 4 1/2. It was a pain but we survived. We have a finished basement so that helped during the day. I would recommend doing it when the weather is nicer so that you have the option to be out more.

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i think it all depends on how they are like if they are wild or mainly calm

We did it while i was pregnant and had a 18month old. It sucked big time but thats probably because the guys we hired sucked. It was dragged out for 3 months instead of a few weeks like it shouldve been and then we ended up doing most of it ourselves. It really sucked. If you hire good workers, then it should be quick. If not, it can be a nightmare. Be careful who you hire.