Updating an Older Ann Arbor Kitchen: What to Know

What hides behind the walls of an older Ann Arbor kitchen?

The surprises in an older kitchen are rarely dramatic, but they are common enough that a plan should expect them. Opening a wall in a house built before the 1950s can reveal any of these:

• Early wiring. Knob-and-tube or ungrounded circuits are not uncommon, and a modern kitchen’s appliance and countertop circuits usually mean new runs back to the panel.
• Old supply and drain lines. Galvanized steel supply pipes and cast iron drains may be near the end of their service life, and moving a sink is the natural time to replace them.
• Plaster and lath. Plaster walls are dense and attractive, but cutting them for new boxes or pipes takes more care than drywall, and patching has to match.
• Out-of-square rooms. Walls lean, floors slope and corners are rarely 90 degrees, which matters a great deal for cabinets and stone counters.
• Lead-based paint. The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies to paid work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes built before 1978, and it requires firms doing that work to be certified and follow lead-safe practices.

A good plan builds in time and contingency for these. We would rather tell you about them during kitchen design than have a contractor discover them on the first day of demolition.

Who issues the permits for a kitchen remodel inside Ann Arbor?

Inside the city limits, Ann Arbor runs its own building department rather than relying on the county. Its Building and Rental Services unit handles plan review, permits and inspections, with separate inspectors for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work. The city says a building permit is needed for home improvements whether you do the work yourself or hire a contractor, and applications go through its STREAM online permitting system.

A kitchen that moves a sink, adds circuits or vents a new hood will usually involve more than one trade permit, each with its own rough-in inspection before the plaster or drywall closes up. Ann Arbor Township and the surrounding Washtenaw County townships follow their own arrangements, so confirm the issuing office for your address. The historic district question sits on top of all this: preservation review covers the exterior, the building department covers the work itself.

A pre-demolition checklist for an older Ann Arbor kitchen

Most of the expensive surprises in an old kitchen can be found before anyone swings a hammer. We ask homeowners to work through this list with their contractor during design, so the findings shape the plan and the budget instead of the schedule:

• ✓Electrical panel and wiring: have an electrician confirm the panel has room for new kitchen circuits and identify any knob-and-tube still in use.
• ✓Lead paint: in a pre-1978 house, test painted trim, walls and cabinets that will be disturbed, and hire RRP-certified firms.
• ✓Asbestos: the EPA advises a professional inspection before remodeling and warns against sanding or leveling suspect flooring or its backing; samples should be taken by an accredited professional, not the homeowner.
• ✓Floors and joists: check how far the floor is out of level and whether old notching has weakened joists under the sink wall.
• ✓Heating: trace radiator and boiler piping that runs through kitchen walls or under the floor before cabinets are positioned.
• ✓Range hood route: find a duct path to the outdoors; the residential code does not allow exhausting into an attic, soffit or crawlspace, and hoods able to move more than 400 cfm need makeup air.
• ✓Windows and trim: measure actual openings and decide which original casings stay, since cabinet widths will be drawn around them.

Each answer either confirms the layout or changes it, which is why we run this list before the cabinet drawings are final rather than after.

Does a historic district review apply to an interior kitchen remodel?

Usually not for the kitchen itself. According to the City of Ann Arbor, its Historic District Commission reviews work to the exterior of a property and does not review interior work. That covers cabinets, counters, flooring and appliances.

The catch is anything an interior project changes outside. The city notes that interior plans may be needed as supporting documentation when the work affects the exterior, such as closing up a window, and that exterior changes generally need a Certificate of Appropriateness. Moving a kitchen window, adding a new exterior door or venting a range hood through a street-facing wall are the usual triggers. If you are in a local historic district, check with the city’s historic preservation staff before the layout is final.

Making an old house kitchen in Ann Arbor work harder

Older kitchens tend to be compact and ringed with openings: a back door, a basement stair, a doorway to the dining room and a window or two, often with a radiator underneath. That leaves short wall runs. A few strategies help:

• Take cabinets to the ceiling. Tall ceilings in older houses offer storage that newer homes do not have.
• Use shallower cabinets where walkways are tight; a 12- or 15-inch-deep pantry run can hold more than it looks.
• Consider closing a redundant doorway instead of removing a wall; it can add a full run of base cabinets.
• Plan radiator locations with the heating contractor, since relocating one changes what can go under a window.

Testing these options against your actual room is the work of kitchen layout planning, and in a house where no wall is straight, careful field measurements matter more than any template.

How do you keep a new kitchen in character with an older house?

The kitchens that wear well in older homes borrow from the house’s own details rather than copying a period look. Some choices that help:

Furniture-grade custom kitchen cabinets are especially useful here, because they can be scribed to uneven walls and sized to odd openings that stock boxes cannot fill neatly.