We have a galley tight kitchen-only room for 1 person to work/
by
Juc25062548
How do we expand without spending a fortune? A 'top' company gave an
estimate of $50,000! We want more room without going broke-HELP! He said
everything had to be gutted-is this always true? Can cabinets be refinished; also said the expense is moving the sink. We recycle, I would like to have maybe a work table with pull out bins-I don't want to give up recycling, but
I have grocery bags sitting at end of counter holding papers, bottles,
plastics-HELP! HELP! HELP!
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Could we please have a few photos? There are lots of clever folk ready to make suggestions.
One thing I would do before making any decisions is to ask a plumber for an estimate on moving your plumbing. Part of that cost involves accessibility to your pipes, as in basement or slab foundation.
A second expensive consideration is electrical. How many outlets have to be moved and gfi’s added, and if your electric box is adequate.
Our house is 100+ , and gutting was deemed necessary because of tricky signs of fudged wiring in the basement, sloped floors and “cut-outs” someone had done in support beams. We decided if they’d messed around in the basement, who knew what was behind the walls. And thank heavens we did. But that choice was made after some serious “detective work”, not because it’s easier with a clean slate.
Sadly, you can only stuff so much in any space.
Without a drawing or photo of your kitchen and adjoining spaces, it is hard to make suggestions.
Yes you can use your current cabinets. Match the new ones as close as you can to the ones you now have. You can paint cabinets different colors, for example, some are painting the top ones lighter than the bottom ones, or an island a completely different color as well as style! Tie them together with the same pulls.
Moving a sink involves additional plumbing...and if on a slab requires renting some additional tools and is very labor intensive to open up concrete.
Do you have a dining room where you can open up or take down a wall...again, very expensive.
If you plan to be in your home for several more years and the neighborhood is holding up, or actually improving, it would be worth it to stay there and spend the money.
if you don't have the funds, you may want to just freshen up your kitchen for a few thousand dollars and be thankful the roof is in good shape.
As for recycling...that is a good thing to do and it would help make room in your kitchen to build a secure area outside and put critter proof storage cans inside. It could be a fenced in area that is attractive. Put plexiglass sheets up at the top couple of feet so critters cannot get a grip to climb over.