I'll start. The biggest oversight in our kitchen re-do...

The KD came up with the idea of going 11" deep on the upper cabinets to give us a little more open space. SInce that was a goal - make it brighter, more open - we jumped on it and said "GREAT!"

Nobody - the KD, the measurement guys, or us - bothered to actually measure what was IN the existing cabinets. Our dinner plates and oversized soup bowl are 11 3/4 in diameter. We only found it out when we were almost done and started putting things away.

Ooops.

Luckily, we are all creative and together came up with a solution - cut out the back plane of the cabinet just for the one shelf where those items would go - it bought us 3/4" and with some contact paper applied to the wall, all was fixed.

If you are going to have a dishwasher in the corner, make certain their is enough filler space on the opposing side to fit a dishwasher with a handle that juts out.

We were going to re-use our dishwasher, but neither me, my husband, my dad who helped us, or the cabinet maker thought about the fact that my dishwasher had a handle that stuck out.

My cabs and counters were finished, I was getting ready to install the dishwasher when I measured again and realized that the dishwasher handle protruded so far that the opposing drawers wouldn't open.

I went that night and bought a new dishwasher with the "standard" or "old fashioned" (whatever you call it) recessed handle.

If you want to be able to use a dishwasher with top controls, a handle in the front or you think you MIGHT possibly want that kind in the future and your dishwasher is in a corner, make sure their is clearance for the handle.

Bump because we are planning and I'd love to hear more!

We have wood floor in the kitchen which of course was staying. The new lower cabinets do not have kick plates so a few inches of floor was exposed. The newly exposed wood had not darkened as the rest of the floor. It was also dirty. I cleaned it and decided to forget it. It is now, 3 years later almost the same color as the rest of the floor and hardly noticeable.

We were our own general contractors in terms of hiring/coordinating subcontractors, and we did a lot of the work ourselves. Going on four years of doing this now, and I'd say the biggest lessons I've learned are:

1) Find out before you hire the subcontractor what they should be doing. Everything that has to be done a certain way so the next guy can do his job properly -- the whole checklist. I consult the internet, the manufacturer's specs on all the products, the next subcontractor, and the city to compile this list. And then be there all day checking on the subcontractor to make sure it's all done.

It is tempting to be like, "Yay! We're hiring this one out! I'm sure he knows how to do his job that he does every. single. day, so I don't have to do days of research about this step of the remodel. I think I'll take a nap!" But no. You have to do all that research regardless if you personally are doing the work or not. They will do something wrong if you don't, and then your next subcontractor will show up and have problems doing his job because of something the last guy did. This also helps you weed out people who are less exacting when you are getting quotes from them.

2) Have the entire plan for your space finished before you start any work. Every measurement decided, every piece chosen, if not purchased, and all the spec sheets ready to provide the subcontractors. Otherwise the plumber will show up and say, "How far apart do you want your sinks to be?" And you'll not have found the vanity yet, and you won't have any idea. So you'll have him put the pipes for the sinks in what seems like logical locations, and seven months later you will be installing the vanity, and a vital part of it is RIGHT where the hole for the drain line needs to go.

This doesn't mean your plans won't change as you go and see the space evolving, but you'll avoid at least SOME headaches.

3) If you start a project, finish it completely in one go. You won't remember anything you were doing with that -- not what the materials are called, not where you put them, not which part you stopped at, not where you found that handy youtube video -- even if you took really really good notes. You'll have to re-do a lot of research work by stopping it in picking it up later than if you just finished it in one go.

4) Don't do things out of order just to make some progress because you're sick of delays. There is an order to every project, and doing step 7 instead of step 6 because the tool you need for step 6 won't arrive for another week is going to bite you on the ass EVERY. TIME. You'll get that tool for step 6 a week later and go to do step 6 and realize that it is 10 times as hard/nearly impossible because the work you did on step 7 is in the way. For real. It may not seem like it, but doing things right the first time really does take less time.

5) Get a permit and use the city inspectors as the phenomenally knowledgeable resource they are. It's like having a free remodel adviser who knows everything, and the bonus is that if they told you it was ok, it'll definitely pass inspection. It's like asking your teacher what will be on the exam instead of asking a friend of yours. MUCH more reliable, expansive information.

I can't tell you how many times a subcontractor told me something I wanted was against code, only to have the city tell me it was fine. And all the lights in our kitchen that we ended up with were a suggestion from our inspector. They look great, were cheap, and saved us a tone of work/money.

6) Mock-up everything. In person and on paper. Makes you aware of problems in your design you'd never have imagined.

Although I love my Absolute Cream granite, I regret not taking yet more time off from work to attend the templating.

I knew the one slab would be horizontally cut in half for two separate areas and there were many variables in the top and bottom areas of the slab. I didn't realize the importance until after it was installed and the fabricator used the prettiest section on the counter area that is in a corner and it would have been so much more visible if used for the sink area.

I was sick about it for a few weeks but nothing I could do and everyone else thinks it is fine but to me I would have had it reversed had I attended.

Lesson learned, attend the templating and the What If's will be reduced.

We learned that when interviewing design builds, give them your budget, your wish list and ask them what they can do within that budget and no more.

Make sure to get an overhead view of the cabinets + a front view. We had a front view only and a misunderstanding with the cooktop vent was nearly overlooked.

If going with a recessed cooktop vent, make sure the framing for the panel that hides it is in place so your vent actually has something to attach to. That was fun to add after the fact. On the subject of cooktop vent inserts, if it's going to be hidden by a panel do make sure there's a way to lift it or somehow access the ducting or else installing the thing has just become an even bigger challenge.

It doesn't matter how quickly you were able to turn around kitchens in the past. The timeline will be completely different for this one.

With our city at least the permit office is staffed by Captain Clueless and his boring cousin. The answer you get depends on time of day and phase of the moon. Not helpful at all, their normal answer is "not sure."

Never believe the guy who is doing a good job on another part of your project when he tells you he can lay tile too.

That is the only thing I don't like about our kitchen reno: the bad amateur tile job. I could have done it better myself, and I've never laid tile. A handyman on another job years earlier had turned out to be a beautiful tile-setter, so I suppose I was hoping for the best. All the people I hired for the rest of the kitchen did a great job for us, but I really dropped the ball on this (did not check references as I did for everyone else). Our walls are plaster, so I've never looked into having it redone; I assume that removing the tile would damage the walls too much. Yet another assumption, eh? Could be wrong on that too. :)

Luckily our tile is plain and wasn't expensive. And it's not immediately obvious that it's a bad job unless you know anything about laying tile or start looking at it closely. At least I hope not...

Just because your KD says something ... does not make it accurate. I learned things on GW that the KD did not know and I am truly grateful to GW!
So, don't assume that the "professionals" know all things. It is your reno.. you are paying for it. No need to waste money on something that is not necessary. If I had followed our KD's advice without double-checking - it would have cost us several thousand dollars in unnecessarily replacing cabinets rather than using what we have.

Babysit babysit babysit.

As PPs have said, you can't just assume everyone knows everything or that they can read your mind. I almost ended up with completely the WRONG cabinets in our kitchen because I assumed the KD knew what I was talking about (I want slabs! with pretty grains! Well, I didn't realize I had to specifically request veneered MDF and almost ended up with a bunch of solid wood glued together). I also assumed they preconditioned the wood before staining and almost ended up with ugly blotchy stain (I will not be working with this builder again). Have lots of pictures, drawings, ideas handy - this will make it much easier to communicate what you're looking for ahead of time instead of assuming the message is getting across.

Even if you think you're being picky, or naive, or annoying make sure you're blunt about what you're looking for and TRIPLE check to make sure you're really getting what you want. We've got the wrong color flooring in our house now and there's nothing I can do about it - I just assumed the sample from the mill was exactly what I was getting even though the little voice in the back of my head was telling me something wasn't right. I didn't want to be a pest so I let it rest. Big mistake.

Get written estimates from all your contractors including timelines for completion. As GCs, we've fallen into a bad habit over the years of trusting our usual contractors to stick with their original (verbal) numbers and timelines. Everybody is so busy right now that it seems like many of our resources are falling behind and projects keep getting kicked down the road. Once we get the final invoices, we now have the uncomfortable task of "he said she said" conversation and holding someones feet to the flames because suddenly they're asking for twice as much as they originally bid and the project is now running a month behind schedule and over budget. This was poor project management on my part as my husband and I are both working full-time jobs on top of GCing several projects. Its easy to get complacent and blame others for not being on time but at the end of the day it's on my shoulders alone. I have to remind myself that these guys are running their own businesses and my projects aren't necessarily their top priority.

Visit the job site while work is happening EVERY DAY and provide explicit, written work orders including drawings, diagrams, phone numbers, whatever. I can't tell you how many times someone "misheard" or "assumed" something that wasn't instructed and we ended up having to go back and fix it later. Be a pest - the contractors might not like it but it'll be worth it in the end.

Put this together quickly, a lot is from my personal "gotcha" list. I avoided some more esoteric details that would require drawings or lengthy explanation- long enough to begin with. It is broken into two parts so you can ignore the second half if you like.

If hiring a pro much of what I list should be done for you, but it never hurts to know nor does it hurt to go ahead and do it yourself. IF you do wish to do it yourself please be up front and advise whoever you deal with what you found. On any given project any of us can miss, skip or forget any of this.
Hope some of it helps, take what you need, leave the rest.

*Check level and plumb for walls and floor and ceiling before ordereing.
*If ceiling is out of level and going to it design molding to accommodate.
*Keep in mind the longest run of molding available and try to incorporate design to accommodate, usually looks better than a field splice.
*IF walls are out or have a pronounced bump get extended sides on cabinets on the end of run. Frameless cabinets install in a straight line, they do not bend- framed can be tweaked a little without issue (unless they are really good and should be avoided on painted caibnets unless you want to see the joints).
*The better an inset is made the more critical the installation. For insets get an installer that has done them. *Check the reveals prior to installation and if anything is off have it taken care of then. If the reveals are not off before install and they are after-guess what, an install issue.
*A toe kick on the side of an end base can be a big help if floors are out by a lot. If no toe on end get baseboard or shoe molding.
*Order fridge panels oversize so they can be scribed to fit- a shim sticking out at the bottom of a fridge panel looks like ….
*Be careful with cabinet feet and out of level floors.
*BE certain that installers understand that extended ears are meant to be cut down.
*Use filler overlays with full overlay cabinets.
*IF using framed cabinets and you don't order flush sides order a scribe to fill the gap for the molding at the top.
*Have molding overhang on the side of the cabinet the same as it is in front in relation to the door. Make sure the installer understand this.
*Be careful with undercabinet molding when it gets near casings.
*With full overlay always order a piece of a flat material (can have and edge like baseboard) so that the crown stack starts at or near the face of the door.
*Avoid trying to have flat top moldings line up perfectly with doors- intentionally offset them forward 1/8-1/4”. Or you will go nuts trying to adjust doors for the rest of your life.
*Pay attention to changes in floor material and the realtionship to cabinets.
*Going between two walls (wall to wall) be sure to check the dimension in several places- bottom, middle and top at the back and the front of the walls.
*Check corners for square- use 3,4,5 triangle and remember there is a build up of mud in the corner. *Determine what that is and offset to make allowance for it.
*Add blocking for wall cabinets- top and bottom
*Always fully remove sheet rock from and exterior wall if house is more than 15 yrs and replace insulation
*For interior walls remove a swathe of rock 4 ft high, bottom below cabinets, top above bottom of wall cabs. *Easier electric work, easier and better taping.
*Always at least prime new rock even if tiling.
*Avoid cabinets less than 15” wide especially talls (lousy cost to storage ratio)
*Beware the tyranny of elevation views. Look at the perspectives before making everything bi-symmetric.
*Pay attention to seating nearby- can you see the bottom any wall cabinets from it? Then finish the bottoms.
*Read the NKBA guidelines and use them as minimum.
*Find ways to avoid cabinets over 36” wide as they have a center stile or partition in most cases. With better brands of framed cabinets (not pocket hole) you can omit the stile but be careful. Prudent use of 3” blinds can be a good design element that solves the issue for a 39”.
*Always order a touch up kit, an extra piece of scribe and either solid stock or a large filler with finished edges. An extra stick of molding is a good idea-avoids delays and reorder always costs more. For painted finishes order some paint not just the touch up kit best if aerosol is available.
*Insets- pay to have cabinets combined- looks better and cheap way to add storage.
*Get door limiters ahead of time if you think you need them.
*Have your hardware there when the cabinets arrive.
*Be careful with cup pulls on framed drawer heads.
*Very few accessories are cheaper to get aftermarket and then pay to have installed-(metal tray dividers and Hafele Lemans are the exceptions) Always get cutlery dividers aftermarket unless doing large drawers custom in a hi end brand- those are oddly a good deal.
*Keep in mind available panel sizes and design accordingly.
*Large format tile- check the specs for floor support- backer boards do NOT count toward thickness- avoid cracks down the road.
*Plan all electric- lights, switches and outlets before ordering. Keep in mind that ceiling joists rarely cooperate- try to determine where they are when laying out recessed lights.

Dealing with Pros and Product.

*Construction is like sausage and politics- not great to watch. Never forget that most folks are actually trying to do the best they can, they want to go home and feel good about their work. It may or may not be as good as you expected. Stay calm and simply persist.
*NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING- and double check that the message sent is the message received.
*Write it all down, in the beginning. Avoid having to keep going back to an installer with NEW requests, should only be for things that were already discussed.
*Along those lines-ask the KD what exactly you can expect, this should be your first discussion not the last. IT is far more important than cabinet brand, dovetails, softclose, blahblah...Find out about timing, responses, email, drawings, revisions, lead time, meetings, budgeting, payment, follow up, handling of problems, itemized pricing, whatever it is you would like to see- AT THE FIRST MEETING. You may or may not get all you want but at least you won't be surprised.
*Remember there are people in line in front of you; you just can't see them.
*What you look for when shopping determines what you get. You can only have ONE top priority. I suggest to shop for people first, product second, always state your budget as best you can and once settled stick to it.
*Budget shopping- bring the same floor plan to each one for price-scribbles are fine. You will get more accurate results and better service. Naturally you will tweak it later.
*Design shopping- shop for a designer not a plan. A designer can get you to a good plan.
*Product shopping- pick a price point and shop for a designer. At a given price point the product will be extemely similar. A huge number of cabinet brands are owned by three conglomerates.
*Always view slabs, always view counters after template.
*Ask to see both a new and an old sample of a wood stain when possible.

Remembered one more- check the price on the next brand up- the more complicated the design, the more upgrades you have the more likely it can be a pleasant surprise.

This post was edited by jakuvall on Mon, Sep 29, 14 at 12:48

Never, ever, NEVER let yourself be bullied.
Never accept or feel bad that, "no one else would have complained about that.."
Take "You're too picky" as a compliment.

Never rush. Ever. Learned that one with my ex-POC-DH.
I'm spending lots of money and certainly time (in years, not hours) changing and correcting things I let myself be pushed/rushed into.

Double check everything anyone says. Anyone.
Arabic proverb: "Trust in God but tie your camel."
Before the walls are closed in.
Before tile or flooring is laid.
Before cabinets are hung.
Before paint. (I know of someone whose painter didn't feel it was necessary to prime new drywall.)
Check your paint samples.
Check everything.

Stick to your 1/3rd, 1/3rd, 1/3rd. Don't be pushed into payment in advance.

Love what you pick or dump it.
Do not settle. Save for what you really want.
Good enough for now is not Good Enough Forever -- nor is it Done Once, Done Right.

Whoa...Jakuvall 5 -- The first part of your list would have been so helpful to me 4 months ago. We just finished dealing with a designer and installers that knew absolutely none of these tips. This was our fourth kitchen remodel and I guess were completely spoiled by skilled craftsmen up until now.

My tip is to watch, measure, question and watch some more. I caught many mistakes during this remodel. Fortunately all caught in time and could be corrected. Cabinet over range not centered over range opening. Peninsula not installed square. Filler strip in corner cut by installers resulting in drawer handles hitting. Crown molding not going all the way to the ceiling.

But the one installing error I caught during installation takes the cake... They were installing a 24" deep cabinet over the refrigerator that has 26" deep side panels for a built in look and they were about to attach it directly to the back wall. I stopped them and said they needed to bump the cabinet out 2" to be flush with the side panels. They were dumbfounded and said "no one told us that". (I had discussed this with the designer...) I asked the installers, how would you hang the crown molding if not installed flush with the side panels? No response and no...gee, thanks for catching that...

Make a list of everything you need to store in your kitchen. EVERYTHING - including oven mitts, dishtowels, tupperware, etc, including whatever random junk drawer/tool storage you usually like to have in the room. Take everything out of your current cabinets and measure them, then group them into how they'll be stored in your new space.

If possible, plan for one empty cabinet in addition to all the spoken-for cabinets, and spend some time really focusing on how YOU move through your kitchen. Are you happier opening drawers or cabinets? Do you like some things at waist-level? What counter height is most comfortable for you when you're working? Since standard-height cabinets try to shoot for whatever the median height of a likely user happens to be, a lot of counters end up too low or too high, and it makes prep work a pain in the rump. If you fall outside of the median height, try to plan for at least one surface at a height that's perfect for you.

I failed to dump out my cabinets and measure stuff before our remodel in '05, and man, have I ever spent the past nine years paying for that mistake. Can't wait to get into the kitchen in our new build, which will be planned with far more care!

Don't pack the corkscrew.

It is not wrong to ask or question. It can be very wrong to procrastinate asking or questioning. (And expensive)

Smile. Even when it hurts.

"Love what you pick or dump it.
Do not settle. Save for what you really want.
Good enough for now is not Good Enough Forever -- nor is it Done Once, Done Right."
This is a good mantra for all of life, not just kitchen remodels...;)

Just ran into another taking displays apart in the showroom.
Glue the your molding corners together as much as possible prior to install. BUT
don't glue anything else- put things together so they can be taken apart.

Don't count on anyone looking carefully at drawings- add instructions. Don't count on anyone reading the instructions. Tell them-do all three.

Figure out where you want your electric outlets (especially your backsplash) while your wall are still open. Also, how many per outlet, two gang, three gang, six gang.

Caulk, not grout, between the tile and your countertop.

So far favorites that reasonate with our recent experience.

"My tip is to watch, measure, question and watch some more."

"Babysit babysit babysit."

"Yay! We're hiring this one out! I'm sure he knows how to do his job that he does every. single. day, so I don't have to do days of research about this step of the remodel. I think I'll take a nap!" But no. You have to do all that research regardless if you personally are doing the work or not" (I so wish this was not true but it is!)

PERSONAL FAVORITE:

"Don't pack the corkscrew."

Get your tile on site before you start. Backsplashes can linger, as you know, but tiles for floors and counters need to be in. All flooring should also be on site before you start.

In my experience, all tile makers and sellers, whether they be factories or artisans, will give you the most fair skies answers about availability, but cannot in reality meat those delivery dates. They want to please you, but it's a craft, and takes as long as it takes.

Edit: Also, if color is important to you, have your sample cut, and send a portion of it in with your order. Just because they made the sample, doesn't mean that when they remake it it'll be the same color. A lot of glaze colors depend on fancy chemistry and heat reactions, so the same glaze formula may come up in different ways in different batches.

This post was edited by plllog on Wed, Oct 1, 14 at 15:54

Big lesson for me -- be aware that if your wall (that will be at the end of a cabinet run) is going to be opened up then get new drywall patched in and skimcoated, the measure from wall to wall will change, maybe enough that the cabinet run that you, and your cabinetmaker, carefully measured for 3 times will not fit. That is where Jakuvall's advice about having extended sides or ears on the end cabinets pays off. We had them on the drawer end, but the amount we could trim there was not enough, and the end with the corner cab could not be trimmed at all. So we had to cut a recess in the wall and fit the cabinet in there, and that then put the stove and cabinet on the other side of the stove out of alignment with the corner cab, which made the door on the corner cab harder to open, and the overhang on the counter uneven....

So watch what they do with your walls!

Don't rush the planning stage. A well-designed kitchen is worth the wait!

Expect and plan for delays.

Don't be afraid to ask your neighbors if you can use their oven once in a while - a person can only go so long without fresh brownies.

You can make pizza on the grill.

I second HomeSweetHome1's advice - measure everything, and figure out where tings will go in the new kitchen. I specified how tall I needed certain drawers (for vertical cake pan storage, and baking canisters). I marked out the size of drawers with tape, and set everything I wanted in those drawers inside the tape (I got the inside dimensions from my cabinet maker). Then I weighed everything going into the drawer, to make sure I wasn't exceeding the weight limit of the drawer glides. On drawers with heavier contents, my installer put extra screws in the glides.

Get extra shelves for upper cabinets, to increase storage without stacking.