Before Remodeling Your Denver Home

I desperately want to redo my kitchen.  My home was built in 1954 and I’m pretty sure I still have the original burnt orange and gold linoleum tile under there somewhere!  Every morning, I see the chipped dark brown tile backsplash and I take comfort thinking how I’m one step closer to remodeling my kitchen.  I’ve been saving money for years for this project!

Before remodeling your Denver home, it’s important to have two key areas checked out: the first one I learned about the hard way—your electrical—and the second is your foundation.  Believe it or not, your home’s foundation can adversely affect your remodeling project from day 1!

In my kitchen remodel journey, I discovered that the backsplash tiles didn’t quite line up correctly after we had the cabinets and counters removed.  Upon measuring the room with items removed, we discovered that the northwest corner of the kitchen had settled three quarters of an inch.  At first, I thought, “what does less than an inch matter in the scheme of things?” 

Actually, it mattered a great deal!  My foundation was completely ruining the plumbness of my entire kitchen!  The remodeler gave me two options:

1. Get the foundation returned to level condition, then have him back to finish the kitchen.
2. Allow him to shim, shift, and realign the kitchen to make the kitchen level and fix the foundation later.

I decided to have an estimator from Peak Structural out, which was pretty easy considering I work for Peak!  The Design Specialist explained that if I chose to have the remodeler shim, shift and compensate for the settled foundation, then I would not be able to lift the foundation later without a great deal of cosmetic and kitchen damage! 

Can’t you just see it?  I spend all this extra money to make my kitchen level and then I decide to sell my house.  During inspection, the buyers discover my home has settled and they want it fixed.  As the foundation is raised back to level condition, the whole kitchen becomes three quarters of an inch out of plumb!  The tile backsplash would, most likely, look crooked and some tiles would be loose.  The cabinets would be crooked, too, and things would be prone to sliding.  My counters would probably be the worst part!  Could you imagine if a marble would roll from one end of the counter all the way down until it hit the stove?  On top of that, how in the world would anything cook evenly in my oven with three quarters of an inch depth difference in my cakes?

Needless to say, I would then have to rectify all these issues just to sell my home!  After the Design Specialist calmed me down, I realized that I was probably being a little melodramatic.  I have the right people in my life to help me make the best financial decisions about my house and I appreciate that.  In just a few days, I will have four push piers installed in my home to raise my northwest corner back as to level condition as possible and then we can move on to the next crisis—I think that will be deciding on paint colors.

If you have questions about your foundation, you can contact our System Design Specialists here at Peak Structural.  Feel free to contact us at (303) 243-3028, or you can stop by 600 17^th St, Ste 2800 South, Denver, CO 80202.

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