David Ling talks about hiring contractors, New York City

When you renovate the kitchen, it's important to allow professionals to do most of the work. With water, electricity, gas and ovens, the top priority is making sure appliances and plumbing are safe for you and your family. For the first phase, consider using a designer or architect to help draw up the plans. A good way to find the right one? Look back at the magazines, and call whoever designed your favorite kitchens. Local chapters of the AIA (American Institute of Architects) or the ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) are other good resources.

While style and experience count in choosing any professional, experts emphasize the importance of personality, so find out where your choice travels, what movies she watches, what books he reads. An even more important quality in a contractor is the ability to control his or her "subs," or sub-contractors, so try to evaluate that ability and ask for references.

Part of choosing a contractor is agreeing to pay, using one of these potential price structures:

• Negotiate a flat fee to research and draw up the floor plan
  
• Pay the designer a percentage of the total budget
  
• Ask what the designer would charge by the day
  
• Agree upon a price by the square foot

As an alternative, some home improvement companies won't charge a design fee at all if you use them to create your entire kitchen. The question is, what will give you the biggest bang for your buck?

When dealing with contractors, be clear about schedule and payment, and basically assume the renovation will take two or three times longer than you think — or than your contractor says it will. One fair payment schedule: pay the contractor 30 percent up front, so he can buy materials. Pay 30 percent in the middle of the job, another 30 percent when it's nearly done and the last 10 percent after you approve all the work.

David Ling, Architect
New York City
212-982-7089
www.davidlingarchitect.com

Metropolitan Home
Elena Frankel, Senior Editor, Design and Architecture
212-767-6000

American Institute of Architects
Washington, DC
www.AIA.org

American Society of Interior Designers
Washington, DC
www.ASID.org