What order to do my kitchen/lounge/laundry reno work in?

[Ari]

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning the following renovations and will project manage myself, though will employ professionals (if I can get them!).  I don't mind a bit of disruption and half-done-reno between tradies.  The reno is for a new kitchen, laundry and flooring of the ground floor of a 1990's townhouse which comprises a loungeroom, kitchen/dining and laundry. 

Can anyone suggest what order should these steps be done in?

1. Knock down partition wall between kitchen and laundry.

2. Repair wall and ceiling between kitchen and laundry.

3. Remove flooring in lounge/kitchen/dining (tiles and floating floorboards)

4. Remove kitchen (sink not moving)

5. Install bottled gas for new gas cooktop (previously electric).

6. Plumbing for laundry (sink not moving, washing machine taps need to move)

7. Install new kitchen/laundry.

8. Install new flooring (same floating floorboards throughout)

Very grateful for your advice!  @Adam_W  @ProjectPete @MitchellMc 

Ari

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Ari,

I can't see a lot of glaring issues with the list you've provided, but a lot will come down to your personal choice. The only thing I can really come up with is, were you not planning on laying flooring under the kitchen cabinetry? Since you've left the flooring to the end, you will be without it for quite some time. There's additional work involved with trimming the flooring to fit around the cabinetry. It's far more efficient to lay the flooring over the entire room and then place the cabinetry on top of it.

I'd likely pull up the flooring and lay the new right after it if it were me. That way, you're not walking around on whatever is under your current floor for weeks until the new kitchen goes in. Obviously, you'll need to lay some protection down in the workspace to avoid damage to the new flooring.

I'm keen to hear our other experienced member's thoughts. Let me mention experienced renovator @redbournreno to see if she has a preferred project plan.

Mitchell

[Ari]

@MitchellMc 

Thank you!  I wasn't sure on the order of the last two, happy to switch them over for sure.

[redbournreno]

Hi Ari, It's great fun to sink your teeth into a big project like this, but planning will take 80% of your energy if you want the remaining 20% to go smoothly.

Flooring is definitely the biggest consideration firstly. The order of things depends on the type of flooring you intend to use too. There are MANY different yet equally valid opinions on flooring before or after kitchens.

The length of time the project takes and your ability to "make do" is also a consideration.

A handyman or demolition guys can easily do the wall, kitchen, laundry and floor removal in a day. If you don't mind the mess then get all the floor up at the same time so you can lay it all before the kitchen. WARNING waste costs have risen hugely. Your skip costs may end up higher than your labour cost!

If you want to limit mess then just lift the area of floor needed for the new kitchen footprint and wall repair - provided you will install floors AFTER the kitchen. I recommend installing floating floors after the kitchen, but you will need Scotia trim for hybrid or laminate, which lots of people don't like. The weight of the cabinetry on floating floors isn't recommended by manufacturers but most installers like an easy job and laying the whole floor is easier. Tile or glue down vinyl planks can go all the way under or cut right up against kitchen without Scotia. In that case before or after kitchen doesn't matter.

So......that's demo and flooring issues. Move plumbing and gas connections, ensuring everything is to the building code and pay attention to lighting positions, switches and PowerPoints. Next repair all your walls, plaster, grind down floor and prep if needed.

Double check your measurements! And hopefully you allowed plenty of time for your cabinetry and flooring to be delivered. An 8 week turnaround is common at the moment, so make sure you ask how long they are currently waiting on production. Benchtops too. Tiles are taking about 3 weeks to arrive and good tilers are booked out for about a month. So get your trades locked in early too.

Then time to install kitchen and laundry. Then floor after if that's what you chose. Then paint and lighting installation and splashback.

I hope that helps. Lots more too!

Best of luck with it.

[MitchellMc]

Many thanks for adding your expert advice @redbournreno. It's always truly appreciated to have someone as knowledgeable as yourself contribute to discussions.

Mitchell