Following a flood that damaged flooring and cabinets, these Texas homeowners built their modern dream kitchen.
Project: Kitchen remodel, including knocking down a wall separating the kitchen and dining area, installing hardwood throughout first floor, painting additional rooms and installing new trimWho: Coxco General ContractorsWhere: Garland, TexasApproximate cost: $83,000, not including lights and appliancesTimeframe: Eight weeks
Angie’s List Garland member Valerie Kasindi says an unexpected flood in her kitchen last summer completely saturated the floor and damaged her cabinets, but it inadvertently brought her the kitchen of her dreams.
Kasindi says she and her husband, Dominique, had talked about remodeling the kitchen for four or five years, but couldn't land on a specific vision. They had vague ideas about removing a wall and adding modern features. Then their dishwasher started spewing water one day, which ruined their base cabinets and kitchen flooring, she says.
“We hadn’t been planning. We hadn’t been looking at different options or anything like that,” she says. “We were forced into that situation because of the flood.”
After speaking to one contractor who never submitted a quote, the Kasindis hired Coxco General Contractors for the $83,000 job. Kasindi says Coxco owner John Cox immediately won her confidence, and he happened to live in the same neighborhood.
Cox told them he didn’t normally build the modern style they wanted, but he was willing to try, Kasindi says. “He pretty much let us go with whatever our vision was,” she says. “He didn’t try to steer us into anything that was more run of the mill.”
Cox says the couple presented great ideas, and he helped them work through the details. “We spent time discussing textures, hardwoods, tile and paint colors to be sure they tied in with their dream kitchen,” he says. “I really appreciated seeing the clean lines and color combinations come together like we envisioned.”
The new kitchen features an open floor plan with a large island, recycled glass countertops, a light blue tile backsplash and custom-built cabinets with soft-closing doors. The remodel included laying new hardwood flooring throughout the first floor, repainting the home’s living areas and installing new baseboards.
The project took eight weeks, starting with the demolition of the old kitchen and wall, and they encountered a few unexpected issues. The home's exterior framing required repairs, insulation was missing and some of the wiring was in bad shape, Cox says.
“We had to work through some original builder shortcuts we discovered in the remodel,” he says. “This added time and cost to the job.”
Kasindi says she and Dominique have lived in the home for more than 20 years, and it feels brand new since the remodel. “It’s just such a world of a difference from what we had before,” she says. “It transformed the kitchen and living areas, and the quality of the work was just outstanding.”
