Mike Holmes - Make It Right: Kitchens and Bathrooms

Make It

KITCHENS AND

BATHROOMS

MIKE HOLMES

To the next generation of skilled trades workers

you will continue to make it right.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Introduction

Chapter 1Getting Started

Chapter 2The World Behind the Walls

Chapter 3Hiring Right and Working with Your Contractor

Chapter 4Greening Your Renovation

Chapter 5Cooking Up a Kitchen That Works

Chapter 6Creating the Just-Right Bathroom

Chapter 7Built to Last

Glossary

Acknowledgements

Copyright

About the Publisher

INTRODUCTION

A homeowner recently told me about his new kitchen cabinets. They stink. Theyre off-gassing like crazy. He cant live in his condo because everyone notices the smellexcept, of course, the company that supplied the cabinetsand now he has to replace them. In hindsight, he wishes hed chosen low-VOC cabinets that dont off-gas as much, but he didnt know at the time that they were an option.

Its too bad, because not many renovation projects can give you as much satisfaction as a new kitchen or bathroom. But Im willing to bet no other renovation project will bring up more choices than a kitchen or bathroom. What do you do first? How do you find the best people to work for you? What about tile, countertops, cabinetry, flooring, appliances? The list goes on and on.

The fact is lots of choices can be good choices. There isnt one right answer that works for everyone, because people have different budgets, different needs, different ideas, different things theyre looking for. What matters is figuring out whats important to you and why. Are you looking for the best quality? The lowest cost? The kind of products that will last a lifetime? And what about the environmental impact?

Maybe you feel overwhelmed by how much there is to know. Believe me, Im still learning all the time too. There are new products and materials on the market every day, and new techniques and tools being introduced, and it can be a lot of work to stay on top of it all.

In the pages that follow, Ill explain why the real part of any renovation happens behind the walls, and tell you what you need to know about that world behind the walls, including the structure, the plumbing, and the electrical. You might not have thought much about these things yet, but believe me, theyre important and they have to be done right if you want to spend your money right. You have to look at your kitchen or bathroom as if its just a small part of a whole system that works together. To do a kitchen or bathroom right, you have to understand the system, you have to understand your whole house and how it works. I spend a lot of time in this book leading you through all the different components that make up your house because they will have a direct effect on how successful your kitchen or bathroom renovation is going to be. So many bad renos happen because the homeowners and the contractors dont want to spend the time or the effort making things right behind the walls firstthey just want to jump right into choosing counters and faucets and fancy finishes. Thats putting the cart before the horse.

Im going to take you through the stages of the renovation process, letting you in on some of what Ive learned in nearly years in this business. Thats what good contractors do: They grab the homeowner and say, Hey, heres what you need to know. Heres what you need to do to make it right. Ill also tell you how to hire the right contractor, and to do a truly green renovation.

CHAPTER

Getting Started

Many homeowners start a renovation by looking at pictures of totally finished roomsshowrooms, really. Thats what I call eye candy. This can be a good way to get ideas, but to be honest, thats not what renovations are all about. A good renovation is about whats under the surface and behind the walls. Thats my world.

Ive often found that homeowners dont notice theres something wrong with their renovation unless the finishes look bad. Its true that bad finishes are a sign that something is wrong, but it usually goes a lot deeper than the surface. Bad finisheslike sloppy trim, cracking grout, or cabinet doors that dont shut properlyare signs of bad workmanship, not enough effort, or just plain ignorance on the part of the contractor or subcontractors. You can bet on one thing: if the finish is bad, the start was probably wrong too.

Thats why its important to take the time to understand your house better. To see that its not just the finishthe lipstick and mascarathat matters, its everything thats underneath and behind the finish as well. A house has to be built from the outside in, not from the inside out. You might find it hard to believe, but a successful kitchen or bathroom renovation has more to do with carpentry, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), electrical, and plumbing than tile or paint colours.

So, before we move on to questions like what kind of countertop you should put in the kitchen, we need to look at the bigger picture. You need to understand what this renovation project is going to involve.

Lets start with the questions that most homeowners start withhow much its going to cost, and how to get more usable space in your kitchen or bathroom without having to add on. In the next chapter, Ill go behind the wallsyour houses existing structure, plumbing and drainage, electrical, HVAC, insulation, and windows. You need to get the facts on all of these things if youre going to do the job right.

Money, Money, Money: How Much Can You Spend?

Your budget is totally up to you. Its based on your income and how much youve saved or how much a bank will lend youand how much youre comfortable borrowing. How long do you plan to stay in your house? If you plan to grow old in it and youre still young, you might want to spend more than if you plan to move in a few years. You should also factor in the value of housing in your neighbourhood, and figure out whether your investment will over-improve the housethat is, make it worth more than any other house in your area. That can be a bad idea, especially if your plan is to get most of your investment back (or even make a profit) by selling within just a few years.