Chapter 1

An Overview of the Remodeling Process

In This Chapter

Going through the stages of a remodeling project

Mentally and physically gearing up for the work

A ll remodeling projects have key elements or processes, and knowing what they are prepares you for the adventure. That’s a good way to look at remodeling. The experience consumes your life for a period of time, but when it’s over, you’ve created a new and improved home and learned something along the way. Maybe you decide that you never want to do it again, but maybe it entices you to remodel another part of your house.

The old saying “a little knowledge goes a long way” certainly applies to a bathroom or kitchen remodeling project. You can’t be too informed about what to expect and how to plan and carry out the work. Understanding the process is important because, although you can perform some phases of a job independently of the others, many depend on other tasks being completed first.

Think of these stages like dominos: They’re all related. Every kitchen and bathroom is different, but we include just about every scenario we can imagine. Making a list of the elements of your own bathroom or kitchen — for example, what you’re going to replace and anything you plan to reposition — helps you create a custom list of phases for your particular project. The more time you spend noodling the process, the less time you waste after you begin the actual remodeling.

Walking through the Stages of a Typical Remodeling Project

Remodeling any room involves a lot of individual processes and projects that you have to complete in sequential and workmanlike order. When you understand the process of remodeling, you’re better prepared to know what to anticipate. From start to finish, the following sections give you a breakdown of the ten stages of remodeling a bathroom or kitchen.

Getting the permit

So you have your plan, got bids for the project, and selected a contractor or are confident that you can handle the project yourself. You’re ready to roll. Stop! Don’t even think about lifting a hammer until you have a building permit in hand. And don’t contemplate doing the job without one, or some bright, sunny day (building inspectors don’t go out in the rain), someone may knock on your door and ask to see the permit. If you think a building inspector can be cranky on a good day, just try to deal with one after you’re caught red- handed without a permit.

Most building departments are helpful and can make suggestions to get the plan approved. If you’re hiring a contractor to do the work, he deals with getting the permit, but you should insist on seeing it before the work starts. In most towns, you have to display the permit before the job gets underway.

Creating the work zone

When a bathroom or kitchen is the construction site, you must remove all furnishings and personal belongings so that work can proceed. Don’t underestimate the time it takes to do this removal. You’re going to be amazed at all the stuff you find stashed away behind the towels.

All construction creates dust, and now’s the time to take preventive action. You may think that you won’t notice drywall dust in your cornflakes, but you will — and the rest of the family will, too. You can contain most dust by taping heavy plastic dropcloths to the doors. Cut two plastic sheets several feet larger than the door opening. Tape the first to the top of the door molding and to the left jamb molding. Then tape the other sheet to the top and right molding. The overlap seals the door but enables you to enter the room. You can also find commercial door seals complete with zipper doors.

Don’t forget to seal the furnace ducts, too — especially the cold air returns. The furnace blower can spread dust throughout the house if you don’t seal the ducts carefully.

Finally, place a box fan in a window so that it blows air out of the work area. The fan creates negative pressure in the room and helps keep the dust at bay. The air moves into the room and carries the dust out the window. During the winter or a hot summer, you can run the fan during the worst of the demolition.

Tearing out the old stuff and taking it away

The size and scope of the project determine how much demolition you need. For a swap job that involves simply replacing fixtures, cabinetry, and flooring, you basically have to remove, replace, and redecorate. But if your project involves replacing windows, framing in a new door, bumping out a wall, or combining two rooms, the job can be much more complicated.

You may need a dumpster to haul away the old materials. This large box is delivered on the back of a truck and dropped in place. After it’s full, the truck picks the box up and takes it to a landfill. Schedule a delivery date that gives you enough time to fill it up, but not so much time that the dumpster becomes a permanent fixture in the neighborhood. You can find companies that rent dumpsters listed in the Yellow Pages under “Rubbish & Garbage Removal.” If you’re having your regular trash collector remove materials, check to see whether you need to make special arrangements, pay a fee for pickup, or secure a permit to leave the container on the street if you can’t store it on your property.

If you’re enlarging a bathroom, obviously you must remove the adjacent walls. This step, of course, affects the room that shares the common wall with the bathroom. A closet that shares a common wall is a natural place to borrow space for a larger bathroom; if that’s the case, you must empty the closet.

Removing cabinets and fixtures requires turning off and disrupting water and electrical services. Careful planning of this phase ensures that you have the utilities off for the shortest time possible. You can cap water lines temporarily as you remove fixtures and then easily turn the water back on. The same is true for electricity. Remove the electrical fixtures and install wire nuts on the ends of the wires and tape the ends. Push the wires back into the electrical boxes so that they’re out of the way.

Let your family know as far in advance as possible when the water and electricity may be shut off. Everyone needs to know when they can’t flush the toilet or how long the furnace won’t be cranking out heat.

Framing and making structural changes

In this phase of the project, the bathroom or kitchen is empty, the walls and floor are pocked with holes, and the room is ugly. During this period, you or your contractor frame the new walls in to create the floor plan. You install rough framing outlining the new walls and build partitions around tubs and showers in a bathroom. Unless you’re making major structural changes to the floor or other parts of the room, this phase of the project goes surprisingly fast. The old bathroom or kitchen begins to transform with the smell of lumber outlining new walls, windows, or skylights.

Laying out and roughing in plumbing lines and electrical wires

This phase changes the room with new plumbing supply lines for all the water fixtures (sink, toilet, shower, and tub). If you have to move the drain pipes to accommodate a new location for a fixture, you or your contractor may have to cut up the floor and then reinforce it after you install the piping.

The electrician arrives and roughs in (does all the behind-the-walls work) new electrical boxes for switches, outlets, light fixtures, venting, and heating and cooling lines. Then the electrician runs wiring to the boxes and back to the power panel but doesn’t turn on the power just yet.

Getting code work approved

While the walls are still open and you can see the new plumbing and electrical rough-ins and the wall framing, local building inspectors must visit the work site and inspect the job. The inspector may require leak testing of the drainage system if you’ve made major alterations. Many jurisdictions require you to bring whatever you can access up to current code. If all the work meets the local building codes, the inspector approves the work, and the next phase of the project can begin. Any exterior walls must then be insulated and inspected. Until the inspection is complete, you can’t close up the walls, so scheduling the inspection is key to keeping the remodel on schedule.

Finishing wall, ceiling, and floor surfaces

After the rough-in plumbing, electrical, and framing work passes code inspection, workers can close up the walls. They apply standard drywall in adjacent areas and moisture-resistant drywall (called green board ) to interior bathroom walls. Waterproof cement board goes on tub and bath enclosures. Workers tape and finish the walls with several coats of drywall compound to conceal the joints between panels. This phase of the job produces a lot of dust, but the bathroom or kitchen is taking shape. Next, workers install the flooring and wall tile, paint, and add wallcoverings.

Setting fixtures and furnishings

The room begins to take on its new life when you put the fixtures in position. This process involves setting the toilet, tub, and shower in place and hooking up and testing plumbing lines. You may want to place large one-piece showers and whirlpools in the bathroom before you complete the wall framing. Carpentry work includes installing cabinetry, open or linen closet shelving, and any other built-in furnishings.

Finishing up the electrical and mechanical work

Workers hook up new receptacles and outlets, along with heating and cooling lines and lighting and venting systems. Everything is in place, so you should have a good idea what the room will look like when it’s complete. Now’s the time to go over the original plan and check that all the fixtures, lights, outlets, and heating and cooling ducts are in place and that nothing is damaged.

Start a notebook and write down any problems that you discover and the date. The building trades call this notebook a punch list. At this stage of the project, you need to meet with the builder and work through any problems.

Getting final code approval

The local building department makes a final inspection and signs off on the job. This sign-off usually comes in the form of an occupancy certificate. The inspector checks that you have installed the wiring correctly and that all the plumbing fixtures work. He notes any problems, which you have to correct before the inspector issues the final approval. Because the inspector has already been on the job for the initial inspection and knows that everyone is aware of the code requirements, this step is only a formality, in most cases.

Bracing Yourself for the Destruction

The kitchen or bathroom is only one room, but you’ll be amazed at how much material goes into making it fully function as the room of your dreams. So where does all the stuff get stashed when it’s delivered prior to installation? You guessed it — wherever you can find space in and around your house. Some folks feel that living around large boxes and building materials is the worst part of remodeling because those annoyances discombobulate daily life. But if you can mentally prepare yourself for being displaced for a while, it’s not so bad.

Watching your house turn into a mini-warehouse

Any remodeling project creates stress. To make it go as smoothly as possible, think about the process and how it may affect family members. Also take into account that the house will become a mini-warehouse of materials to be used in the new room. This storage issue may not be much of a problem in a large home, but it can be a challenge in a smaller house that’s already packed full.

Plan a staging area for the new materials. Make space for all the components of the new room. It’s a good bet that they’re delivered at different times, and often the first items to arrive will be the last things that you install, so be sure not to block access to anything. Most of the elements are large and bulky. Framing lumber, whirlpool tubs, and cabinets take up a lot of floor space, and you need to provide a clean, dry storage area. An enclosed garage offers the best protection; a porch or breezeway is another possible location. You should protect any wood products stored outside, such as flooring, from the rain and bring them inside for several days before installation to allow them to adjust to the indoor environment.

As materials and fixtures arrive, open the containers and check to see that what’s delivered is what you ordered, that all the parts are included, and that the parts aren’t damaged. Check fixtures for the correct color, style, and size. Make sure that the flooring is the correct style and amount, and check the wallcovering to see that it’s the correct pattern and that all the rolls came from the same dye lot or run.

Making it easy on yourself

During any major remodeling project, the contractors you hire become part of your family, whether you like it or not. To make it as stress-free as possible, take preventive steps to prepare for the increased activity.

Decluttering

Get ready for the invasion — not of body snatchers, but of contractors, plumbers, carpenters, and electricians. Before they arrive and during the remodel, your house becomes an open door to tradespeople and inspectors, who are all focused on the kitchen or bath. They want to get in, do their job, and get out, so make it easy for them to do so. Unclutter the hall or area leading to the room by removing any furniture. Lay down a heavy-duty dropcloth to protect the floor or carpeting from foot traffic.

Creating a tool zone

Designate a space near the kitchen or bath where workers can put their tools or gear — or where you can store yours if you’re doing the work yourself. Some workers store their tools in their truck, and others leave their large, heavy tools at the job site (your house). If you do the work, you want to designate a place near the room to keep your tools so that you don’t clutter up the small confines of the work area.

Surrendering to dust

If you’re hanging new wallboard, prepare for drywall dust — not just once, but several times as installers sand and then resand the seams. Even when contractors hang protective plastic sheeting at the door to seal off the rest of the house, the sanding produces clouds of fine dust throughout the house. Until workers paint or finish the walls, get used to a fine white haze that covers every conceivable surface of your house.

Purchase a shop vac that’s designed to pick up dust and debris. A standard vacuum isn’t designed to pick up this type of material. The fine dust eventually damages the motor, and the vacuum just spreads the dust around the house. Most shop vacs have an optional bag that fits over the standard filter that’s designed to contain fine particles, such as drywall dust.

To prevent a nervous breakdown, take major cleaning chores off your schedule during remodeling. Admit that you can’t contain the dirt and dust. Concentrate instead on keeping the job site clean, which reduces the possibility of accidents. This attitude also sends a message to the workers that you expect them to maintain a clean, professional work site.

Avoiding entertaining

Remodeling a bathroom or kitchen is stressful enough. Don’t plan other major events while you’re living through it. Unless you’re Martha Stewart, don’t think about entertaining or having a houseguest. If you wait until the room is remodeled, you can enjoy your guests and show off your new kitchen or bath.

Being there 24/7

You may be tempted to avoid the project and take off on a vacation during the remodel, but doing so is a bad idea. You gotta be there. First, someone has to be home to accept deliveries of materials, which come at different times before the project begins. Second, you have to be available in case a snafu occurs. Despite the best-laid plans, remodeling often involves on-the-spot decisions and improvisations. When a plumber discovers a water line that can’t be rerouted, which affects the position of a sink, you have to be there to consider the options and make a decision. If you’re not available 24/7, you can’t expect the workers to make the right call for you.