Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

the kitchen doesn't seem too bad...we are not planning on moving the sink...so no new plumbing...

tiling floor
putting in cabinets
sink and disposal
microwave over range/fan/vent
painting and what nots
lighting
knocking down a pantry


the bathroom I am a little more nervous about...

we want to knock down a wall...take out the tub and install a shower stall (my gfather was a mason and he and my father did this in my parents house as I watched - is that enough? LOL)
new toilet?
new sink...cabinets...mirror...lighting


are there any specific things we should DEFINITELY get a pro in to do?

TIA

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

WOW...you are a better woman than me!! I would never attempt to re-do our bathroom! Plumbing scare me!!

If your floor is pretty even then you can tile yourself...if not...I would get a pro to do it...otherwise you will be walking on an uneven floorand may ruin the tile in the process

Installing a shower inst hard...but it takes lots of muscle to pull out the old and bring in the new. Have you been working out??


Whatever you decide...good luck! cant wait to see pics!!

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

Not me but GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

Welcome to my world!!
WE GUTTED OUR WHOLE HOUSE OURSELVES and are putting it back together OURSELVES!
We started in Sept. and are JUST starting to finish up. Ugh.

OK-
we have done a majority of the things that you are asking about. Yes... we are crazy.

tiling floor-- WE GOT THIS DONE FOR US FH SAID IT'S TOO HARD FOR HIM

putting in cabinets- A CINCH, JUST SCREW THEM IN. I DID SOME MYSELF

sink and disposal- NOT HARD, JUST HAVE TO SECURE IT DOWN

microwave over range/fan/vent- A CINCH

painting and what nots- PAITING ISN'T BAD, BUT TAPING AND SPACKELING IS! WE ARE GETTING SOMEONE IN TO T&S.

lighting- IF YOU ARE NOT DOING MAJOR ELECTRICAL WORK, YOU CAN JUST CHANGE THE FIXTURES AND SWITCHES WHICH ISN'T HARD. THEY'LL TELL YOU HOW TO DO IT AT HOME DEPOT.

knocking down a pantry- VERY EASY. JUST NEED A CROW BAR

the bathroom I am a little more nervous about... INSTALLING THAT STUFF IS PRETTY EASY. I THINK THE TOILET IS THE WORST PART. BUT IT'S NOT HARD. YOU JUST HAVE TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS HOOKED UP CORRECTLY.

we want to knock down a wall...take out the tub and install a shower stall. INSTALLING THE SHOWER WE GOT SOMEONE TO DO, 'CAUSE IF WE MESSED UP, WE'D GET LOTS OF MOLD!

I hope this helped. I think FH and I have done everything there is to do! So I can def. offer my opinions here! LOL
Good luck!!!!

Are you guys planning on living there while doing all of this?

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

Cheryl - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE CONFIDENCE BOOST!!!

we have a 7 week gap where we will still have our apartment...I like that especially for the bathroom...


the shower I was actually thinking of designing ourselves...and laying down tiles for it...not a pre-fab stall...I've been reading a lot about it...and how to prevent mold...I wish my dad could just come and do it

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

Cheryl-wow sounds like you and FH have done ALOT on your own! its GREAT to try and get things done yourself. You learn ALOT and you are working on your own home, so you will definately give it your BEST shot!
Its been fun watching my hubby do more and more things on his own, that I never DREAMED he'd be able to do, and with each project he's gotten more handy...

Erica-Im sure you guys can handle ALOT of what you set out to do... Especially since you set your mind to it, Im SURE you can do an AWESOME job on your own...
As for the plumbing and electrical stuff, or anything thats a bigger job, just ask a million questions at Home Depot or Lowes, or if you need to maybe have someone do parts of the jobs... My cousin removed his bathroom tiles and had someone put in new ones, so he just paid for that part of it...

Good luck!

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

Check with your town to see if you need any building permits. If your neighbors are anything like mine, once they see the dumpster (and you will need one) they could easily report you.

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

Cheryl-thats awesome!!

I don't know the law in Cali regarding permits..but as a general rule municipalities can't stop you from doing work yourself...they can violate the contractor on your job with no permit.
Plumbing is something that looks easier than it is-unles you are directly replacing every fixture. If you plan to move the shower drain or body(knobs) you need to make sure you've done your homework on the way pipes need to go in order for things to function long term-I can tell you more about pipes sizes & bends when you're ready.
You should never take on electrical unless you feel comfortable & knowledgeable enough-its not worth getting zapped or burning down your home.
The demo is simple, you can handle that.
Custom tile work like a shower unit is an art, but you can read up about mold & leakage issues & probably handle it. If you will not have a custom shower pan then you'll need to make one with a lead base as a water barrier, same thing with tile benches.
Sounds like your kitchen project is very doable though.
Overall I think you guys can do it!

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

Take it one step at a time and see how it goes. Im sure you can do it. The only things I peronally would not try are the electric and an involved plumbing.

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

Erica, as long as you and/or your hubby are as handy as Keith, you should be fine. Keith has done most of the things on your list. I am no help. I hide because power tools scare me. He just saved us some money by doing all of the tile in our new bathroom downstairs. I am currently trying to talk my way out of painting the basement. Its soooo big.

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

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Posted by RichsBride


I don't know the law in Cali regarding permits..but as a general rule municipalities can't stop you from doing work yourself...they can violate the contractor on your job with no permit.

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RcihsBride that is not what I meant...of course no one can prevent you from doing the work yourself, but your local municipality might object to certain things you are using. For example, we just redid our bathroom (completely) we could not use a fiberglass shower pan liner, the Town only approved lead...then you need to get plumbing schematic approved, etc. etc. Trust me it's better to deal with this headache before you start your project than after the fact.

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

I'm thinking more and more that I should get a plumber to at least do the shower...my MIL and I are going to Mexico to buy tiles...so at least I can save there...


I never thought of the garbage!!! I will definitely have to figure out where to put it...since we are in a townhouse!!!


thanks for the advice ladies!!!

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

Erica, I definitely think you can do it on your own!

DH and I just re-did our kitchen on our own. We installed a new sink, faucet, countertop...cut out a cabinet to put in a dishwasher...sanded/spackled/painted the walls, and put down new flooring. It wasn't bad at all...but be prepared for MANY trips to homedepot/lowes!!

IMO, you may want to consider having someone install the tile floor, I've heard it's hard to do.

Our next project is the bathroom....now THAT I am scared of, but again, we are planning to do it on our own to save $$.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

We are actually debating about this right now. I really want to see if we can redo the kitchen and bath ourselves, but FH is not sold on the idea. It is really the only way we can afford to do it right now. I wish you luck and hopefully we will be doing the same.

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

heidi...

here's a great forum

I have gotten so much info on how to do ANYTHING...


We were going to do IKEA cabinets...until we found another manufacturer that has similar prices - Combo cabinets...and you can get finished or unfinished...we are getting unfinished so we can match our stains...and they are preassembled...

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

I think that is usually. My mother did that to her kitchen and it was the best thing that could ever happen to her.

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

All is do-able

We only had the frame of our house built and we did everything else. Sometime hiring friends but not professioals.

Even did the radiant heating!!

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

Everything you mentioned is def. doable. I think the kitchen cabinets are the easiet. Not sure about the plumbing. FH and my FFIL just redid one of our bathrooms but we put the sink, tub and toilet back where they were originally, they just installed new ones and did the tiles.

Not to be a party pooper but have you thought about all the tools you'll need? We were lucky that my FFIL had most of them or had friends that had them. I'm just mentioning it because I'm not sure of the buying or renting price. That may be one of the jobs where it's easier to hire someone since they will have the tools..

Good luck and can't wait to see the before/after pics.

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

good luck! i can't wait to see it!

i would love to redo our bathroom. my only concern is that we have tiled walls from the floor up about five feet, and then regular sheetrock walls. how do you deal with the tiled walls?? they would definitely need to be replaced.

Re: Planning on redoing kitchen and bath by ourselves...are we nuts?

well - we start a week from today!! we took an exploratory visit to HD...since we are scraping our popcorn ceilings down...and thats the first thing we will do...


spel...i think you have to 'break' the tiles of the wall...I'm not sure how easy or hard they come up..


but I just bought the tile book at HD...and If I read anything I will post it here