A kitchen remodel is often one of the best options for aging homes or homes that need more functionality. Whenever you have guests over for dinner or a party, it seems like everyone ends up congregating in the kitchen. Since most kitchens are the hub of a home, most people want them to be as nice as possible, which may lead to a kitchen renovation for many older houses. If you are considering remodeling your kitchen, there are two costly mistakes you need to avoid. Martha Stewart gives 11 common kitchen renovation mistakes to avoid in your design project.

How to Avoid Common Mistakes in your Kitchen Remodel

Mistake #1: Kitchen cabinets are chosen before selecting a sink

You may think selecting the kitchen sink before your new kitchen cabinets are installed seems backwards, but it can save you a lot of time and money, not to mention frustration. Dependent on the type of sink you want, the connectors for the water lines could be in a different place than the sink you have currently. With some sink models, especially an under cabinet sink, your current water lines would be placed too high in the wall to connect to the sink. For more helpful tips about where to place the sink in your kitchen remodel – This Old House gives some tips for sink location.

Kitchen sinks and kitchen sink plumbing should be coordinated

If you have the kitchen cabinets installed before selecting kitchen sinks and then find out the water lines are in the wrong place, the cabinet may have to come out so a plumber in your area could be your best option for fixing the problem. For example, a plumber in East London can reposition the waterlines in order to properly connect the new sink. This would mean spending extra time, and money, on a problem you could’ve easily avoided by discussing the sink selection with the cabinetmaker or by selecting the sink before the cabinets were installed.

Mistake #2: Kitchen flooring isn’t installed beneath kitchen cabinets and dishwasher

In order to save money, many people choose not to have flooring installed under the cabinets and dishwasher. However, if the flooring isn’t installed, when the dishwasher arrives, it may not fit because the new flooring is higher than the subfloor. While this can be corrected by waiting for the dishwasher to be installed before the flooring is put in, if the dishwasher needs to be repaired, the flooring around it would have to come out in order to do so.

To prevent wasted time, have the new flooring installed under your cabinets and where the dishwasher goes so it can easily be put in and pulled out when necessary. Don’t just install the flooring where the dishwasher goes, because then the kitchen cabinets will need to be lifted slightly to allow for the dishwasher. The extra expense for the flooring will help prevent bigger, more expensive problems in the long run.

Avoiding these two easily preventable mistakes will save both time and aggravation for all involved with the kitchen renovation.

For more kitchen renovation ideas on Stagetecture, click here.