Refurb of existing kitchen

Hi all,

Our kitchen needs some work - the laminate on the doors is coming off and the appliances are slowly dying - our first thought was a new kitchen, but the cost is prohibitive. Many of the elements of the kitchen work - the layout is perfect and the carcass' are in good nick. We were considering new doors, new worktops, new splashbacks and of course, new appliances. (the added bonus of maintaining the existing carcass is that we won't inevitably damage the walls!)

Has anyone undertaken a refurb of their existing kitchen? will it save money? is there anything that we should bear in mind?

Also, we are in Adelaide, anyone recommend a company that we should approach?

Cheers!

you will spend more money making that happen than you will buying a kit kitchen from ikea/bunnings and a decent laminate postform benchtop from somene like:
http://www.lamfab.com.au/lamfab/benchto ... benchtops/
or
http://www.advancedconcepts.com.au/contact/

That I guarantee you is your best value for money and cheapest option.
Saving the carcas does nothing for the budget but make it a more expensive exercise.

Most people don't realise the majority of a kitchens cost is in the doors, bench tops, splash backs and appliances. The carcass are actually the cheapest part of a kitchen!!

The only way you will save money replacing bench top and doors is if you can do all the work yourself. If you pay for a company to do the referb you may as well get a new kitchen!!

I did a part reno and part extension a few years back and saved heaps, but only by doing it myself.

Companies like Polytec will sell your doors and panels cut to your exact sizes.

By way of cost, a door 730x600 you would be looking at about $80 for their top of the line Createc gloss laminates and $50-60 for their more standard matt ranges. You of course then need to put on the hinges and the door handles etc. One trick with that though is you can use the old doors as a template, especially for the hinge holes.

The tricky bit is where filler panels have been used.

There are also 'online' companies like cabinetsondemand.com.au that will make doors and panels for you. Again you must supply the exact dimensions to them, but they will also do hinge holes etc, but again you must be exact locations. I actually used them for my reno, as the extension part of my kitchen needed exact sized cabinets, but have used Polytec to replace doors only at my Aunties place.

Hi Nicoolnocks,
Can I ask what you are looking to spend on a makeover? As CEK has said, once you take away the tops, doors and appliances all you are left with is white boxes. The expense does come from the items you want to replace. I get a little concerned with these tv shows that show a makeover looking easy. Not saying that there aren't plenty of companies out there that do it well, but for the average handyman, it's just not as simple as ordering some doors and a top. Hinge and hinge block position is a difficult one for a novice to get right. The chances are that the old hinge blocks are going to have to be replaced and repositioned, and unless you have a drill press and the right boring tool, hinges are going to need to be bored by someone who knows what they are doing. This is just one of many problems that can arise when doing a makeover. Kicker and end panel colours usually need to change, tiles get broken when removing tops. etc