A remodel is one of the better uses of a line of credit, because the money goes out in stages and you only pay interest on what you've actually drawn. The mistake is drawing the whole project cost on day one and letting it sit in checking while the crew works. On a $60,000 kitchen that runs four months, that's interest on the full amount from week one, instead of interest on a balance that climbs as the work gets done.
So line your draws up with the contract's payment schedule. A deposit to get on the calendar and order materials, then payments tied to milestones: demolition done, rough-in inspected, cabinets set, final walkthrough. Draw the day before each payment is due, not the month before. A reasonable contractor won't blink at this, because it's how commercial jobs get paid.
Be careful with the size of that first deposit. Asking for half the job before anybody swings a hammer is not a normal term. It's a signal about the contractor's cash position. Check the license on the Oregon Construction Contractors Board site before you write anything, along with the bond and the insurance. The lookup is free and it takes two minutes.
Get a lien waiver with every payment. A lien is a legal claim against your house, and a lien waiver is the paper that gives that claim up. You need one because your contractor can be paid in full and you can still end up with a lien on your house, if he didn't pay the lumberyard or the subcontractors. Standard practice is a conditional waiver when you hand over the payment and an unconditional one after it clears. Anybody working at this level has the forms. And if a subcontractor mails you a notice of right to lien, that isn't a threat. It's a required notice. But it does tell you exactly who can file against your house, and that's a list you want cleared before the final payment goes out.
Hold the retainage. Retainage means a share of the money you hold back until the job is finished. Ten percent, held until the punch list is done and the final inspection is signed off, is normal. It's also the only leverage that survives to the end of the job. Write it into the contract at the start, because you can't add it in month three. The last 10% of a remodel is where jobs go to die, and a contractor with money still on the table comes back for the crooked door.
On the payback side, treat the remodel balance like any other chunk. Set a schedule the day the last payment clears, instead of letting it ride at the interest-only minimum. A kitchen you're still carrying in year four costs a lot more than the invoice said it would, and the reason is in the interest-only payment is a floor, not a plan.
One thing the remodel doesn't do: it doesn't raise your credit limit. Your line of credit was sized on an appraisal from before the work. The added value is real, but the lender doesn't know about it until you ask for an increase and they order a new valuation. That's a separate application with its own underwriting. Ask what it takes before you count on that equity for the next project.