Prepping for kitchen remodel: tips and warnings please

[kalanamak]

I'm going to move my fridge into the dining area, my microwave into my bathroom which has a separate area for the sink, and quite a bit of counter space. Besides paper plates, frozen dinners, canned soup, etc. what ideas do you have. Could I make veggie stews in a crock pot or a slow cooker?

 

Hints please. This is not going to be fun. (P.s. we don't eat meat.)

[justamouse]

Zoikes, you mentioned a kitchen remodel? I am breaking out in hives.

 

Don't worry, he says, it'll just be 6 weeks he says. We can BBQ he says.

 

10 weeks later with me FREAKING OUT and drinking every night because of stress and the tromp of people through the house it was finally over. The day when NOT ONE person came to my house with a tool? HEAVEN.

 

Plan for the worst, think of 20 more worse than that, and then plan for those. If it all goes smooth get out the champagne.

 

What hijacked our plans was when we broke through our walls and realized how WRONG everything was and how we had to fix it.

[Woodland_Mom]

From someone who went through a kitchen remodel: you're right! It will not be fun!

 

Here are a few tips that come to mind:

 

• Keep meals simple - crock-pot, frozen, make ahead things, etc.
  
• Paper/plastic ware
  
• Keep your toaster out and your cutting board/knives
  
• If you drink coffee - set up a coffee station
  
• Make a "make shift" kitchenette where everything is together
  
• Stock your fridge with bottled water, juice, etc. - whatever you like to drink.
  
• Cover your kitchen doorway with a drop cloth to keep the dust and debris out of the rest of the house.
  
• Cover your table with a plastic table cloth. You'll be happy to have it when you've been working and need to sit down to a quick bite to eat.
  
• If you tend to look through mail in the kitchen, find a place for those misc. things so they don't get lost during the improvements!
  

Good luck with the remodel. It's a lot to go through, but it's also terrific when you have a "new" improved kitchen!

[Harriet Vane]

I'm a little short of time, so I'll make it brief:

 

Do NOT, under any circumstances, purchase cabinets manufactured by Bertch. We had an absolutely nightmarish experience with them. Over the course of a YEAR, and SEVEN shipments, we had damaged cabinets or cabinet doors in every. single. shipment. These problems ranged:

 

--Clear coat finish flaking/peeling (like sunburnt skin)

--Stain droplets and blotches, some large enough that they could be felt as a raised bump

--Numerous doors with badly joined pieces (very rickety, obviously broken)

--Numerous doors missing internal pieces. Between this and the badly joined pieces, this meant that the center panel of many doors slipped, exposing a large crack of naked, unfinished wood

--One cracked cabinet

 

And the real doozy: In our final shipment, a year later, there was a door with a large HOLE that the company attempted to fill in with putty. However, the putty was done so poorly it looked and felt like a big bump. It was so bad, and so blatantly dishonest.

[Mommyof4ks]

We just bought all of the stuff we needed and had the cabinets delivered before we removed anything. It took 2 days to take everything out and put the new stuff in. There was the trim and paint of course that took longer, but the appliances were only inaccessible for 1 day. In 1 week we were back in business with everything in its place. Just plan well, and it will be fine.

[Photo Ninja]

You can use the crockpot, and it will probably be your best friend. Do you have a location for a microwave? That will also be helpful. You can buy an electric frying pan which gives you the ability to cook many things on your counter, such as stir-fry and even steamed veggies. An electric griddle is another option. It may not get hot enough for stir fry, but you can make pancakes and grilled sandwiches on it. A toaster oven can also help a lot because you can cook far more in it than just toast. You need to get creative with alternatives to the oven and cooktop, but the microwave and electric griddle or frying pan really help.

 

Do you have a neighbor who would allow you to cook a few things in her oven? You can bake this way. Just cook 2 -3 meals worth at a time and freeze the extra to use later. Borrowing an oven once a week for an hour or two will allow you some variety in meals, if your neighbor is open to it.