Kitchen and Bath Renovation Tips

Renovating your kitchen or bathroom can significantly enhance your home’s value and functionality. Here you might find some helpful tips you can include in your next kitchen or bath renovation, even if it isn't with us.

One of our Kitchen Renovations from 2021

New Style of Cabinets

One of the most significant trends in kitchen renovations has become the shaker style cabinet. These are fairly simple styled cabinets that are increasingly popular. Many kitchens in recent years have detailed this style cabinet and we see why. Although a simple design they have a very modern look to them and can be either inset style door or face mounted doors. In the picture above from 2021 you can see the inset design of these cabinets in the shaker style.

Solid blocking in your walls

Solid blocking in the walls in specific areas can be a game changer for your renovation. When renovating a bathroom, using blocks between studs in the walls of areas such as your shower or the spot of your toilet paper holder can help tremendously. Not only does this make for easy installation for you (if you're a DIYer) or your contractor, it also provides extra stability on these accessories. The extra cost of two by material to add this to your renovation is worth it to save you the hassle of trying to find a stud or using wall anchors to mount a towel bar or other bath accessory. In a tile shower, solid blocking can be a game changer for those who wish to add grab bars either during the remodel or in the future. It provides an immense amount of stability to grab bars over wall anchors. Our vast experience in handicap renovations has given us the knowledge to see the difference.

Open Concept Layouts

Open concept layouts continue to dominate kitchen designs. This trend emphasizes the importance of creating a seamless flow between the kitchen and living spaces. Here's some tips on what to expect when creating an open concept layout:

• Load bearing wall: That wall you're looking to take out could very well be load bearing. To check and see if it is indeed a loading bearing wall, after stripping the sheetrock off the wall you should see horizontal blocking between studs called "cats". These "cats" indicate the wall is load bearing and help provide stability to the wall. It is not recommended trying to complete this project without professional help if you find your wall is load bearing. The damages of removing this wall incorrectly can mess with the structural integrity of your home significantly.

  
  

• Possible ceiling repair may be required: Removing a wall could mean shifting another area of the ceiling whether it be spackle tape lines cracking or nails in the ceiling popping out. These lines and nail pops can be fixed fairly simply by either a professional or by a homeowner.

  
  

Waterproofing your tile shower properly

When remodeling your shower, it is important to protect the area below. If using a tile base for the floor, you're going to want to waterproof it properly. We always use waterproof fabric and waterproofing liquid to initially seal the shower floor against the subfloor. After the shower is initially sealed and the mud for the tile base is down over the waterproofing, you should add more waterproofing liquid over the mud floor. This provides an extra sealant to the shower floor against water. In all the years we have used this method to seal our shower bases, we can honestly say we've never had a shower leak! In addition, if using a fiberglass shower pan, you should not be waterproofing below, this often voids the warranty of the fiberglass shower pan if it ever cracks.

Sealing your new tiled shower or backsplash

Whether it's a kitchen or bathroom, we at FP Construction Services always recommend sealing the corners of your tile with clear silicone. Every remodel we do with tile we always go an extra step to ensure grout doesn't come out of of the corners. We use 100% silicone in clear to still be able to see the grout. Here's some benefits of doing this to your tile corners:

• Clean Lines: Silicone will keep your grout lines looking fresh and new with proper cleaning and upkeep. Using clear silicone allows you to be able to see that nice grout color you selected for your tile as well.

  
  

• Waterproof: Silicone is waterproof and keeps water out of the grout in the corners of your shower or backsplash. Without silicone the grout in these corners can become saturated and start to crack and fall out.

  
  

• Easy to clean: Grout without silicone can become dingy faster than when sealed. Corners can be hard areas of a shower or backsplash to clean, so using silicone can be another benefit to an easy clean on your tile. Seek instructions either on the tube of silicone used or by searching the internet for safe cleaning supplies to use here.

  
  

Conclusion

All these tips listed here today are based on our experience in doing these types of projects and doesn't mean these are the only ways to complete a project like this. Seeing as much as we have over the years we know that there is more than one way to complete a renovation. We hope our tips are useful to you in future renovations and remodels to come. And as always we hope you decide to choose FP Construction Services Inc. for your next remodel.