DIY Kitchen Renovations
TWITTER:
“Alex Blackwood | @LxBlackwood
Gonna go to the kitchen section at @Bunnings
this weekend and loudly ask my mum why the taps aren’t on and did she pay the water bill she’s gonna be so arked up its gonna be so funny”
In terms of DIY and other general around-the-house stuff, I’m as useful as a bag full of those weird #ooshie things. But today’s the day. I’ve been to #Bunnings, and I’m taking out some old taps in the kitchen and putting new ones in.
When you read the inspirational thoughts from others on Twitter, where they build up the courage to tackle the impossible (DIY Home Maintenance), and it does seem to be a build-up, you know that you can do it too.
There is a moment when my creative urge is greater than my technical ability to replace a tap washer or fix a toilet. At that time, I look at my wife, toolbox in hand, and she knows to offer me a coffee or a beer to discuss what I am thinking of doing. She knows that this is the last point in time to talk me through this before we have to call a tradie and repair my repair.
Plumbers and electricians look forward to calls from home renovators and DIYers when their best-laid plans go wrong. But it probably still works out to be economical to try. Maybe.
I have never been good at DIY. Our last renovation was our most extensive, bathrooms, ensuite and kitchen.
We looked at commercial Kitchen builders, Masters, Bunnings, and Good Guys. We spent countless hours looking at taps, basins, bench tops and cupboards.
Bunnings had a great range of brands with a few items from each style. Kitchen Mixer Taps, Mondella Brand Taps, Shaw & Mason Brand Taps, Estilo Brand Taps, Caroma Brand Taps, Dorf Brand, Methven Brand, Hansgrohe Brand Taps.
We used that information to look up the other taps available from those suppliers. The Caroma taps that we had our hearts set on were not available at bunnings, but our plumber could get the exact style through their supplier from Caroma.
The time saved and the quality of work you get when you use a professional is worth the money. I couldn’t imagine my wife smiling if she walked into a bathroom that I tiled. She certainly wouldn’t trust the plumbing or electrical.
Your renovation needs a project manager. A project manager is something that you can be good at and save you a lot of time and money. I have a link to a simple project management template for a bathroom. There are too many skills required to do it all yourself, but managing your team and getting the work to flow in a sequence is also a skill, a skill that is worth your time to learn.
