Kitchen Renovation - need reliable contractor recommendations
We did our kitchen renovation three years ago and had good success with Eugene and his crew at OGC PRIME CORP, 31 South Ashby Ave., LIVINGSTON, NJ 07039, Phone (973)-699-8534. They came to us from another Maplewood resident and friend who had them do work for them as well. Will PM you more details.
We used Thompson Carpentry for our kitchen and bathroom renovations. Contact info is
Eddie Oliveira
eddie@thompsoncarpentry.net
973-985-9867
We were vey happy with his work on all projects - PM if you want more details or want to take a look.
You can give us a call we do it all!
Phil Masucci Plumbing 973-763-8420 Philtheplumber.net
I have been attempting to get to point of a kitchen redo; started with bringing in IKEA who do have vendors that can install their cabinetry but also provide full renovation support. However ours is a real layout challenge. Suzanne Hassler is another local person that can provide design support. It might be worth reaching out to her as well to explore need/value and cost. Architect is if you are making any structural changes - you seem quite certain not what you are planning to do. I need a designer's help to optimize a solution within constrained space. We have toyed with an expansion, and if we go that route, would pull in an architect. Do not have anyone yet on contractor front, since really need our layout/solution decided to have them bid the work. They are likely helpful once clear on an ideal plan to weigh in on issues or anything high cost that may chose to modify the plan. Sharing what I have learned thus far through both a coop gut renovation in brooklyn heights and attempting to do kitchen renovation here.
We're going through a kitchen renovation and gut of most of the 1st floor now with KDH, Kevin Huffman's firm, and he has been fantastic so far and lives in Maplewood. We'll see how it turns out, the walls are starting to go up. He's a designer and contractor. We also met with Jarek and found him to be very professional, it was Kevin's design experience that put him over the top.
bog said:
We used Thompson Carpentry for our kitchen and bathroom renovations. Contact info is
Eddie Oliveira
eddie@thompsoncarpentry.net
973-985-9867
We were vey happy with his work on all projects - PM if you want more details or want to take a look.
We also used Thompson Carpentry (+ Clawson artichtects) for our kitchen renovation and we were very happy with the work.
Total newbie question, but what's the basic process? Do you START with a designer, PROCEED to an architect if you're doing anything structural (and if the designer isn't also an architect), THEN hire the contractor? If you work with a designer and/or architect, do you have to go with their preferred contractor or do you get bids?
Probably six-12 months away from a kitchen renovation that will preserve the footprint of the original (not adding/removing any walls) but will definitely need a designer to help with the layout & finishes. Not interested in going the IKEA route but definitely not going all Smallbones of Devizes either. [I just like saying/typing "Smallbones of Devizes."]
beppolina said:
Total newbie question, but what's the basic process? Do you START with a designer, PROCEED to an architect if you're doing anything structural (and if the designer isn't also an architect), THEN hire the contractor? If you work with a designer and/or architect, do you have to go with their preferred contractor or do you get bids?
Probably six-12 months away from a kitchen renovation that will preserve the footprint of the original (not adding/removing any walls) but will definitely need a designer to help with the layout & finishes. Not interested in going the IKEA route but definitely not going all Smallbones of Devizes either. [I just like saying/typing "Smallbones of Devizes."]
We are in the same situation. We have a good idea of the layout we want but there are some questions as to when some items should really go vs where we envision them, and we are partially removing a non bearing wall. We keep postponing this project since we also want to do the bathroom above. The number of $$$ that I know will take keeps making us wait a little longer.
I think it's important to have design decisions made and drawings on paper before talking with contractors. Contractor estimates should be based on the actual drawings and written description of the work.
A good designer or architect should know exactly what information contractors need for the most accurate estimates.
Same here - know what I want (layout, appliances), but want it to look great and not cookie cutter! will start with designer (MOLs own shh) then use contractor (MOLs "Demo Man" John Clayton then I'll use subs (Gateway for plumbing and Sean Christie for electric ).
Using a designer like Suzanne is key for me, someone with color, design, and sense of space who can apply it all creatively.
I could do it myself...but I'd end up copying a design a saw in a magazine or Pinterest or Houzz, or even a showroom - and that's really limiting, I feel.
This guy is great, and reasonable: Lou Colucci. He's done tons of work for me in my home. 973-632-2660
We did a kitchen reno on a budget and were very happy with contractor Dave Greene of dgreeneconstruction (908) 612-9053 and design by John Gasper, a certified kitchen designer for Jaeger Kitchens in Union. Dave was a pleasure to work with. There was no additional cost for John's design beyond the cost of the cabinets, which have held up well. If we had a larger budget, I've seen some beautiful kitchens designed by Heidi Piron of Summit in This Old House magazine and architect Bill Figdor of Maplewood IRL and in This Old House.
We started with an architect. We have a very small kitchen that needed to be renovated but also wanted to add a powder room, and stay within the footprint of the house. Our incredibly talented architect came up with a fantastic plan that got us our powder room, made our kitchen so much better (even though we lost square footage for the PR, the kitchen seems bigger - I have more counter space, a vastly better work space, even an eat-in area). We didn't knock down a wall but did create a new doorway between the kitchen and DR. The first floor flows so much better. Highly recommend Jung Lee Masters.
http://jungleemasters.com/
Hello, we are in the process of researching contractors to interview for remodeling our kitchen this fall. We are not planning on moving things around but we would like to knock down the wall (not load bearing) between the kitchen and dining room. I started researching through Angies' List and Home Advisor but was hoping to get some recommendations from you all as well. We have a modest budget, not looking for top of the line everything but want to make the kitchen look nice, updated and functional. We thought about \meeting with an architect or designer but have no previous experience on that and don't know if we have the budget. Any advice is very much appreciated!