Natwerk Designs

How do I know if I need to hire a general contractor and/or designer for a kitchen/living room remodel?

I am a young professional just out of college and I bought a decent, but older condo. I really need to remodel my living room and definitely my kitchen. I have the design ideas of the remodel, but nothing totally set. Here's my dilemma: 1. Should I hire an interior designer and if so, how much do they usually cost? Is it worth it? 2. The biggest question: Should I hire a general contractor OR hire individual skilled contractors separate (electrical, painters, flooring, kitchen installers, etc)? 3. If I go with the general contractor, is this more expensive? If so, how much more would I be likely to be spending? 4. How do I go about choosing the best contractors (especially for the kitchen)? It is okay to go to a Lowe's or Home Depot? I'm obviously very new to this home remodel thing, but here's what I would like to get done: -Remove old carpet in living room. -Remove old tile in entrance foyer and kitchen. -Install laminent wood throughout kitchen and living room. -Re-do baseboards. -Remove popcorn acoustic on ceiling. -Replace old florescent light in kitchen with recessed lighting. -Re-paint entire place a neutral color. Also need to repair minor wall markings. Also re-paint ceiling. -Wire a dedicated outlet to the breaker box for an over the range microwave. -Tear out old kitchen. Install new cabinets, granite countertops, sink, faucets. -Replace appliances with new stainless steel. Thanks in advance! I need as much advice as I can get !!

Public Comments

1. Whew! That's a big list. I think you need to figure out your priorities and budget. Then call contractors for estimates. Try going on to Service Magic.com or a similar site. They get you in contact with reputable, licensed and insured people to do the jobs you need. Then get at least three estimates. Good contractors are honest and helpful, and understanding if you are budget conscious. You will learn a lot! Once you have gone through this process, you may have a better idea of what you are capable of doing yourself, and what is better to hire out. In my humble experience, electrical and plumbing must be hired out. Unless you know what you are doing leave it to the professional. Flooring from Lowe's or HD is a good idea, and will probably be your cheapest choice- with great results. They can remove the tile and carpet, but will charge you labor- You could probably do it. But remember your time, the right tools you will have to buy, clean up etc!! Painting isn't fun but with a little advice from the hardware store paint guy and a few evenings you can easily repaint yourself and save a lot of money, professional painters are not cheep. Get a professional to redo your kitchen. Its the heart of the home and can make or break your place. It would be a shame to screw it up- ikea has great kitchen cabinets etc- lots of design mags showing ikea kitchens, Plus they will help you design and install. As will lowes and home depot... and of course outside contractors. As far as a designer goes, if you can afford one- go for it. Most places will let you know what there fee is up front. Just find a place call and ask- if its in your budget go for it. If not go to Borders and buy some design mags, flip though and pull out what you like, then stick those in a binder and refer to it when you are decideing on things like cabinets and floor color. Good Luck- and have fun, plus take a lot of before pictures!
2. Yes you should hire an Interior Designer ASID if you want your remodel to look special. You can also figure it all out yourself and save money but obviously it will not look as nice. As for the kitchen, hire a Kitchen Designer CKD. But..DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT go to Home Depot or Lowes. They do not employ kitchen designers but mearly move a floor person to cabinet sales and give them a 3 day training course on how to use CAD. You will be cheated out of endless design possibilities because they don't know about them to tell you about them. Those big box stores also charge full list price. You would not pay full list price/MSRP/sticker price for your new car so why pay it for cabinets. This goes for most items in their stores. Instead go to your local kitchen showroom and pick one who who offers 35 to 50% off list price. Most small showrooms do. If not then keep looking A General Contractor will hire all the trades people who charge the GC and the GC tacks more money on top of that. Lots of middle men you would be paying there. Instead an Interior Designer will be your GC for either an hourly fee or a fixed fee based on a % of the job. And they are far far far more skilled then any GC.
3. I think you should do your interior designing by yourself and save money. You can get creative by getting inspiration from sites such as: http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/index.html http://www.interiordezine.com If you want to save money, you can buy your cabinets online and have them shipped to your house. Ready to assemble cabinets will cost less to be installed. Many contractors work in partnership with major home improvement stores so they're reputable. If your house is old or the layout is special you may want to invest in specialists so that everything gets done right. Good luck on your remodeling and kitchen design!