DIY Home Improvement Guide

Why you Shouldn’t Buy a Cheap Electric Coffee Maker

These days, both the internet and stores are inundated by countless coffee makers.  Some of these machines are of great quality, and others are pretty much useless pieces of plastic junk that are only capable of churning out foul tasting coffee.  You might think that it is pretty hard to find an electric coffee maker that produces great tasting coffee, but there are a few simple things that can help you make a good choice.
The first thing you should know is that it isn’t usually a good idea to buy the cheapest electric coffee makers you can find.  There are factories in China that specialize in pumping out millions of these things everyday, and their goal is to minimize costs.  What this translates into is the cheapest plastic materials possible, resulting in a cup of coffee that tastes like the machine it was made in.  If you just want a cheap cup of coffee, do yourself a favor and buy one of those little hard plastic filter cones that you just put on top of your cup.  All you have to do is pour a hot water onto the waiting coffee grounds and you will make a cup that tastes better than if you used a really cheap coffee maker.
If you want to use a coffee maker, you should consider spending just a little bit more and getting one that is made of a higher quality.  If you do some simple math, you will see that even if you spend $50 on a decent coffee maker, it still works out to be less than buying coffee at the store.  Even the cheapest coffee at a store will still cost you about $1 a cup, which turns out to be $365 a year.  Thinking about it this way makes it seem like even expensive coffee makers are a great deal!

Designing A Kitchen Part 2: Planning Utilities

This post is part deux of our series on kitchen design.  It might be a good idea to read part one first, Kitchen Planning, before diving into this post.

Using the existing layout of your kitchen will cut down on the need for planning utilities, but not eliminate it.  New appliances may have their hook ups in different spots than your old ones, or they may have an entirely different fitting altogether.  Either way, using the original layout is much easier than designing a new one.

If you are creating a new kitchen from scratch, I recommend tackling it on your own only if you’re an experienced DIY’er.  Getting these things right the first time is extraordinarily important.  You don’t want to figure out that you have a gas leak inside the wall after it’s been closed, or have a faulty wire in the ground after it’s been tiled over!  So if you know what you’re doing, more power to you; if not, it’s a good idea to hire some help.

Things To Consider When Planning Utilities

Whether you’re doing it yourself, or are hiring someone to help, it’s important to know how everything works and what your options are.  Having a pro help out is awesome, but it will be even better and go more smoothly if you know what they’re talking about!

Propane And Natural Gas

When buying gas appliances figure out where the hookups are and where the lines run.  This is going to have a huge impact on where you place your appliances if you don’t want to change the entire gas scheme of your kitchen.  Quite often older appliances will use a different connection than the new fancy one you just bought, so you may need adapters or fittings to make it work properly.

Never, ever forget that gas explodes!  Always keep the gas off when working on things like this.  It’s always a good idea to have a pro do the connecting of appliances, or at least have them check your work, to make sure that nothing is going to blow up.  Also, if you aren’t comfortable working with gas, hire a pro.

Electricity

There is a whole lot of electricity running through your kitchen.  Everything from the toaster to the lights has to be considered during the planning phase.  In most remodeling jobs you’ll just use the existing wiring layout and add a few outlets as you need them, but overhauls require a lot of work to get everything right.

Don’t forget that large appliance need special outlet to be plugged in.  Dishwashers, refrigerators, and electric stoves/ovens require 220 volt outlets.  Most ovens require a special outlet that allows it to draw major power to heat up then reduce it to keep the oven warm.  Either way, that has to be worked into your plan.

While it doesn’t blow up, electricity is still very dangerous.  I recommend having a pro come check your work at the very least, if not doing the job for you to make sure that it’s safe.

Plumbing

Once you understand how plumbing works it’s fairly simple, but you probably won’t have that kind of familiarity until you complete a big job like a kitchen.  Both your sink and dishwasher have to be plumbed in.  The sink will need both hot and cold water, as well as a waste pipe.  Most dishwashers get all of their plumbing from the sink, but that isn’t always the case.  Some plumbing jobs, especially extending the waste pipe, will require you to notify your local building inspector.

Order Of Operations

You can put all of this together however you want, but I really don’t recommend it!  Getting the work done in your kitchen is a lot like getting dressed in the morning.  You put on your underwear and socks before you get to your pants and shoes, doing that in a different order will still get you dressed but…

So, the order that this all goes down in is as follows:

  1. Electric
  2. Plumbing and gas
  3. Walls, ceilings, and floors
  4. Cabinets
  5. Counters and backsplash
  6. Sink and dishwasher
  7. Stove, oven, and microwave
  8. Exhaust hood

There you have it!  On paper it doesn’t really seem that hard!  Be smart and cautious in all of your decisions when remodeling your kitchen.  The extra planning will take more time, but it will help ensure that you get the job done properly and stay within your budget.

Designing A Kitchen Part 1: The Layout

Designing a kitchen takes planning and foresight.  Due to how expensive it is to remodel or plan a kitchen from scratch, mistakes that are made can be very costly.  This means that extensive planning is necessary for a successful kitchen design.  An easy place to start is by working with your existing kitchen layout.  Using the existing layout will reduce the need for redoing electric, plumbing, and gas, but there will still be some that has to be done.  In most cases, you can get away with just updating the appliances, cabinets, and counter tops.  If that doesn’t meet your final vision for your kitchen, or you need to create more room for storage and appliances read on to learn about how to plan your kitchen layout.

Planning Your Kitchen Layout

DIY kitchen remodeling is pretty complex.  There needs to be strict budgeting since as much money will be spent on installation as it will on cabinets and appliances!  Doing these things yourself will certainly free up some money, but you have to consider the time you’ll spend sans kitchen, and the cost of meals while eating out every night.

Choosing Appliances

The first steps is to decide what appliance you need.  Obviously, kitchens need a dishwasher, sink, oven, stove, and microwave, but other options are available like a second oven or trash compactor.  It isn’t necessary to keep all of these in the kitchen, but they should at least be very close by.

Ideally, you want there to be a triangular layout between the stove, refrigerator, and sink since this is the common travel path when preparing food.  The triangular setup allows short movements between the three of them and counter space in between.  The alternative to that is the island setup that allows you to move circularly around the island to knock out all of the preparation.  Something to consider about an island setup is that it will require electrical to run in the ground and up through the island.  That’s fine if you are installing new flooring, but if the tile is going to stay you’ll have to tear some up to run the wires.

A common sense rule is that you don’t want your fridge next to your stove.  The heat from the stove/oven will transfer onto the fridge and make it work harder to stay cool.  Also, you’ll end up with a huge grease smear up the side of the fridge after every time you saute something!

Planning Storage

It’s very easy to get into the mindset that more equals better when it comes to storage, but smart planning can save you a ton of space.  Decide what’s going to be stored in the kitchen before deciding how much space you need.  You can extend the amount of existing storage by using accessories like a lazy susan or a built in trash can, or increasing the height of the cabinet rather than its footprint.

Planning Countertops

Countertops are an area of your home that will have the a very dramatic impact on the overall feel.  It makes sense to budget tight on other things and do extra work yourself just to have the perfect countertop.  Granite and marble are popular, but there are also butcher block countertops that can also function as a cutting board (with proper care).

Keep in mind that your counter tops will also function as eating surfaces and a place for the family to hang.  It must be easy to clean and sanitize, as well as have the visual impact that you want.  My recommendation is to allocate as much of your budget as you can to your counters since it’s one area that you’re going to have a hard time building and installing yourself!

Before The Final Plan

Before you finalize anything, spend some time in other kitchens to see how they feel.  Every kitchen has its own quirks and deficiencies, so spend time cooking in a friend’s kitchen to see how you like it, even if theirs is different that what you’re planning.  Sometimes, seeing something different that what you’re used to will spark new ideas for your own kitchen.  Also, some layouts are a pain to cook in for those that are left handed so you may want to take that into consideration as well.

Don’t make your final sketch on the back of a napkin!  Either hire someone to draw it out for you, or use a simple and free CAD program like Google Sketchups to create a digital version of what your kitchen will look like.  It will take a little bit of time to get the sketch done, but that time is well spent if it reduces your need to “wing it” through your kitchen remodeling!