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Remodeling a Kitchen the right way (Chicago Home Inspector view)

By
Home Inspector with Elliott Home Inspection

Is this your dream kitchen?

 Illustration of a modern kitchen

 

 

Updating a kitchen is important if you are selling your home to increase the value as now in days most people want lots of work space ,layout and nice appliances.

 

Find a contractor who will help you by giving you ideas,options ,and prices

 

Potential buyers look for newer appliances that are often preferably stainless steel to go with granite counters and wood cabinets.

 

With so many foreclosures and short sales it is a buyers market however not everyone wishes to step into a fixer upper .

If you are buying a fixer upper style all is not lost as you may have paid much less and remodeling a kitchen on your own is worth it.The Home Inspector you hire will let you know what has to be improved and you will also want to know you are not adding any problems so let me help you out on that end.

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Due to the expense you may not be able to pay for a full Kitchen remodel right away so you can either do it a little at a time or get a loan.Different ways to do it may include asking your contractor if they assist with financing or possibly including upgrades to the home (including the Kitchen) as part of your mortgage.

 

Even if the space is not large there should at least be usable workspace and this in most cases can be acheived.

 

One way to acheive this is by opening a wall into the next room which may be a dining room or living room space.

Layout also needs to be concidered and may be very important if there is no way to increase traffic area.

 

If possible you should add a window in the room if one does not already exist.

 

My end of it has nothing to do with design but everything to do with inspecting the proper hookup and function of all systems and componants so I will focus doing it all the proper way .

 

Over the coming weeks I am going to take you step by step in my inspection process and reveal what I actually look at and the issues I find.

Will also discuss other facets such as design,brands,paints,tiles, etc and anything else I think of along the way.

Will be researching in between to see what what I can find for those of you interested in Kitchens.

Pictures will be included along with illustrations showing what went wrong and how it should have been done.


We will look at cabinets,appliances,sinks,fixtures,outlets and lights,floor tile,drains,walls,vents,windows,etc and anything requested if you stop by.

 

Feel free to suggest ideas for what you would like to see focused on.

Thanks

Condo Bob

 

 

Joshua Frederick
Home Inspector for ASPEC Residential Services, LLC - Defiance, OH
Home Inspector in Defiance & all of Northwest Ohio

One issue I noticed right away in your picture was lack of leg room at the island seating.  Gonna be kind of hard to eat that bowl of cereal hunched way over.   Maybe your supposed to remove the shelves and fine china before sitting down :)

Jan 26, 2012 08:38 PM
Bob Elliott
Elliott Home Inspection - Chicago, IL
Chicago Property Inspection

I agree 100%.....lol

They call that staging.:)

Feb 23, 2012 05:16 AM