I know many, many members have done the whole kitchen reno thing, so I'd like to learn from your experiences.

We live in a regional area, so limited access to companies. We have got our first quote for $13k which is for all new cabinets/doors/handles/benchtop etc. We already have the oven, cooktop and sink.

We need a dishwasher and rangehood. And have to budget for plumber/gas connection, possibly tiles/tiler if the cost of a stainless splashback is too much, and flooring. I'm married to an electrician, so don't have to worry about that!

What things should I be aware of? Would demolishing the kitchen ourselves be viable and save money?

Where should I hunt for bargain appliances online?

What are budget alternatives to tiles for splashbacks?

We have a really nice Laminex splashback which looks lovely. Also, have you considered pressed tin that has been treated and and painted? I've seen that before and it looks gorgeous. It's not expensive compared to tiles and is easy to install at home.

Tell me about/link me to Laminate splashbacks!!!

We are not in a rural area, so we do have access to lots of companies, but we demolished our kitchen ourselves, and we also just paid for all the cabinets to be made, but installed them all ourselves.

Took a bit longer, but saved us lots of money

Considered the self-install, but don't want a workzone in the house longer than we have to with four young kids!

And it would just be Himself trying to do it after work, which would not make for a happy Himself.....

They might look nice but are not easy to clean, especially if they are near a stove. We have a window as a splashback in our kitchen.

We save money by haggling with appliance stores (and buying several items to get a discount), buying seconds (of good quality) or ex display stock. We bought tapware from overseas (saved lots) and bathroom stuff from an outlet shop (that does kitchen stuff as well) that saved $$$$$. We bought from Ebay and online auction sites such as Grays Online (ie we bought our stove that way). Our tiles were bought from attending physical (on site) auctions. EG, tiles that cost $100 per square metre cost $40. We bought paint from a discount store (Taubmanns) and made massive savings. Our cabinet maker was fantastic and had reasonable prices.

This is our kitchen:

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g436/s...h_231211003.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g436/s...h_201211066.jpg

We did a lot of demo (well DH did lol) work ourselves but it did not save money as we had a builder involved in our (large) reno. DH cleared more than he should and the builder stuffed us around a bit with the site cut etc that cost us lots of money and it would have probably been cheaper to get them to do it in the first place. Just a kitchen might be ok and cost effective for the owners to do themselves.

Just a quickie (because as you know I am obligated to respond to ALL your threads!)

My friend made her own glass splashback - bought a sheet of glass and made some stencils out of thick stick on plastic (like contact) and took it to the sandblaster to blast the backside.

Remove stencils and she had a designer glass splashback for the grand total of about $80 from memory.... it looked magnificent.

I shall returneth after tai chi!

stalker of mine - on your return, please illuminate me on how she affixed this wondrous creation in place.

Yes!! And did she colour it? I will seriously consider pinching the idea if there is colouration involved LOL

::dies laughing:: Pressed tin is an effing nightmare to fit, it took us ages and lots of measuring and some tears and it goes all bendy. If you have a completely square kitchen and a flat surface, it will be easier but no wai is it ever easy.

The only place I have seen people say it is difficult to clean is on EB and it started with LucyE saying her friend's one was stained and hard to clean. Ours is powdercoated and it is no harder to clean than laminate. Cloth with hot water and wipe. It did stain when I put it up to admire and had not realised it needed lacquer or powdercoating. Now it's sealed, it's grand.

It looks great, is easy to clean and is a good price.

That may have been the issue. I don't think she sealed hers.

You're in strife with unsealed. Mine is now like wiping an enamel stovetop.

I second Katpaws on being careful with doing the demo work yourself. It only cost us $200 to have the builder remove the cabinets and tiles in our kitchen. Lucky we did get them as when the tiles come off the wall all the plaster back to the bricks came off as well and they had to replaster the wall at their cost. If we had done the demo it would have cost us more than $200 for replastering the wall.

If feel your pain about renovating in a regional area. Our first kitchen reno was in a small town and it cost a fortune compared to the second we did in a capital city, completion does keep prices down. I recommend buying what you can online or doing a big shopping trip to the nearest major town. One thing that keeps the cost down is not moving the sink and stove etc these can cost you a fortune for a plumber.

There were advantages in doing a regional reno though. The cabinet maker stuffed up our granite benchtops (wrong profile). We ended up accepting the benchtops (at a reduced price) as it would have taken another 6 weeks to get them shipped and cut. It got around all the tradies in town that we didn't force the cabinet maker to get new benchtops at his cost so we got great deals and lots of help. At the tile shop which got cheap flooring tiles and we got the best tiler in town at a cheap price as well (we also went to the top of job list).

Good Luck

I shall call her this evening and get the low down..



Colour - yes there was colour - behind the glass they painted the wall so where the stencils had been it was a clear view through and where it had been sandblasted a matt one.

Really fabtastic!

We won't be moving any of the major things, but we will be connecting gas, so we have decided to put the gas hot water in at the same time to reduce call out costs on two jobs. It was another item on the To Do list, and figured we would save a little by doing it as a job lot.

The plumber/gas fitter said he could put the pipes in ahead of time and just cap it off, then come back onece the kitchen was ready to go, come back and connect.

I am getting quotes from the four kitchen places in town, and someone has recommended a cabinet maker, so I will get a quote from him once I have all the dimensions etc of what we want.

in terms of the cabinetry, you'll have a choice of 2-pac paint (also known as polyurethane [aint, a bit like the hard paint jobs you get on cars), vinyl wrap (essentially plastic which is shrink wrapped over the door) and laminate.

2pac is the most expensive option but it's also very popular because you can pretty much get any colour you want. Normally glossy but you can get it in satin & matt finishes as well now (I think). It can chip, but much of that depends on how rough you are with it. It is a uniform colour option so if you want your cabinetry with some texture, this is not the option to go for.

Vinyl wrap is the middle cost. To be honest, I haven't heard a good thing about this one and would recommend you stay away from it.

Laminate is the cheapest option. It used to have a bad reputation 20-30 years ago but laminate processes have improved a lot and now the quality and range is superb. Laminate is very hard-wearing.

Essentially it comes down to budget and what style you are looking for. We had a white gloss laminate kitchen done about 5 years ago (with 1mm white square edging). Loved the look and loved the price tag even more.

ETA : forgot to add that you can go for timber cabinetry as well. Expensive. But can look really good.