I feel your pain. We are doing a new build, and I did pad the budget, but blew through that .... so I cut a few other things that I didn't really need.

Now starting to feel the anxiety, hoping we get it finished. I refuse to finance, so what doesnt get done, we will either have to do ourselves or live with it until we can get it done :-/

And of course, the kitchen is the last thing to come together...... ha but I already have my appliances, sink, faucet, flooring, but I can see areas of like backsplash etc maybe taking a hit.

All the final touches at the end that really make it fall together, I am so afraid of it making it look like it fell apart :-(

HUGS!!! *SIGH*..

I guess that is why they say to add 10% (or maybe highter) to what your expected cost is going to be so you have a better idea of how much everything is going to cost..

We are $50,000 over budget on our new build.. YIKES.. But in the end it is still costing us less to build than it would have been to remodel an existing house in the neighborhood we are buying in.

I keep telling myself it is all worth it in the end- so although I can't necessarily ALWAYS practice what I preach--- IT will all be worth it in the end and you can look back and smile.. maybe with no $$ but you can still smile!!!

I can't wait to see your finished product.. It seems to be going so quickly (at least from my end-i;m sure not from yours!!
:O)

thanks!

I had to make some adjustments - changed the granite to reduce some extra construction costs...

The backsplash is the big question now. Do I do it now, or wait a while? Even with an inexpensive subway tile, how much is it going to cost me for approx 30 sq feet?
But if I don't do it now, I worry that it will never get done!

The postive aspects to waiting are that 1) new tile styles and colors are always coming out-one of those might be perfect, 2) you might decide you don't want a backsplash at all-or at least only a simple one, 3) if you hurry just to get it done, you may not be as satisfied with your choice later as if you waited and let your new kitchen speak to you and tell you what it wants. You'll also have that much more money in case some unexpected cost comes along.

Nobody had any idea they had to have a backsplash until about ten or fifteen years ago, so what if you don't get it done? It's not the end of the world.

I wouldn't worry about that right now.

I said I'd wait for the backsplash I wanted a year ago. I have all the tile in the garage, but we're still waiting, cause now I need to replace the window. :c( It's a hard call. 30 feet is not that much in the big scheme of things.

I too feel your pain! We are so far overbudget in the remodel that it makes me ill....gilly and I are in the same boat! The problems that they found in the ground when bumping out the kitchen foundation were more than expected. That coupled with some new rules about seismic retrofitting put my budget about $50,000 over. Yikes!!!

Goodbye big Sub-Zero refridge...goodbye all-wood floors....goodbye fun amazing light fixtures...goodbye bar area....goodbye DWR stools....goodbye many many things! It's funny though, I am still smiling and I am still SOOOO excited by my new kitchen (the first time I EVER get to pick an appliance, a faucet, a cabinet!). The things that had to be cut, I don't mourn at all now! I am so fixated on the process and the fun decisions that I have "moved on".

Annie, from what I have heard from others who have done these remodels is that they would recommend that you go ahead and do it. Put in the backsplash and move on. Having that "one last thing" that didn't get done will make the process just that much longer. I agree with all the posts that a backsplash can always be done, but who wants to have that one thing still hanging over your head after a year? Be done!! If your subway tile is $15/sq ft, at 30 ft, you are only down $450!

Well, even all of the 50-year-old and older apartments I've lived in had backsplashes, let alone the houses, so I'm not sure what Writersblock meant, but you can live without one for awhile until you feel more cheerful about your bank account. Just make sure to seal the back of the counter really well so that moisture and gunk doesn't get down behind your cabinets. However, I agree with Firsthouse that it's good to get it all finished if you can.

Most of all ((((hugs)))). I know the feeling. My budget blossomed with possibilities, even as I nixed the outrageously expensive stuff, and shifting all that money around and out the door is scary!! But it's like eggs. You know the old adage? Eggs are so precious, especially if your hens have the run of the yard, and it has just taken you the better part of an hour to find half a dozen good ones (being that the contrary choocks have eschewed their favorite spots), but if you don't break them there will be no cake!

>I've lived in had backsplashes

Yes, but aren't they the four inch kind?

I'm so sorry for those of you with big cost overruns! It's so hard when you are building or doing major remodeling, to know just what you are in for...

I was holding my breath when they gutted my oldspace - afraid there'd be rot and mold and termites and ..... who knows what! LOL

I think I'll have one more added expense now though - I didn't add undercabinet trim. On my old cabinets, there was a much deeper space than on these new ones so I didn't think I needed it. With the undercabinet lights (going in tomorrow) I'm pretty sure that they'll be visible without the trim.

I was going to wait on my backsplash until I realized that I needed to put it behind the range hood. So, I put it in and now I don't have to think about it. The tile I used wasn't expensive. For me it was more the labor costs. You should get a quote for prices on tile and installation. Then it might be easer to decide.

Nope, Writersblock. The backsplashes were tile all the way up under the cabinets, and the same height or higher where there weren't any cabinets.

I frankly thought that tiled walls in kitchens and bathrooms were standard following the discovery of sepsis in the 1800's. In the unfitted, pre-WWII kitchens I've been in they tiled the whole wall. Where there have been built in cabinets, they just tiled the backsplashes wherever there were counters, but not the walls where there were no cabinets at all. In bathrooms, they often only tile to shoulder height, but also tiled the whole thing.

Starting in the 1960's builds, I've seen bathrooms with vinylized wallpaper or enamel paint instead of all tile, but the kitchens still all have backsplashes.

I have seen plenty of four inch backsplashes with stone or Formica in non-wet areas (breakfast room, buffet, etc.) and powder rooms, but in kitchens and bathrooms there has always been tile or mirror above them.

Annie, just breathe. Just do it. If you don't have the cash you can put off some of the trims. Pay for the stuff you need. Vent our way any time.

Oh, I know how you are feeling!! We ended up $15 K over what I thought it would cost. My DH literally had no idea what neighborhood we were talking, financially! When we ended up with some structural problems, and then we needed to get a new heating system....all I heard was, "ka-ching." After all the receipts were in, he was upset for a bit about how much it all added up to. I just wasn't. And we don't have high-end appliances...but I knew that tearing out two walls, and doing all the infrastructure items would be a bundle. My sister asked me, after just seeing photos, if we had a $100K kitchen!!! I said, of course not!! But that what she was thinking. I'm glad my husband married me, not her!!

Our plain white subway tile backsplash was $850 and worth every cent. Go for it.

That bank account balance grows on you, doesn't it? I loved looking at it. But now I have almost everything bought except for the last couple thousand dollars worth of trim, sheet rock, nails, etc. All that stuff that isn't fun to buy. The bank balance isn't so fun to look at any more.

I've never lived in a kitchen with tile back splash. the closest I've come to a backsplash that wasn't hooked on to the formica counter was this house! It had formica counter, metal edge trim, and Formica from the counter to the bottom of the cabinets. The best I can remember for a time line on this house is that it was remodeled in the 70's. I think. My friend's parents lived here when we were already adults with kids of our own. They did a nice job on everything but still......it's time. I'm going to forgo the backsplash for now. I am decisioned out! And I think I will carry my wallpaper over to the backsplash area. I've had that before and I like it. I'm still on budget BUT nothing has been ripped out yet. The house was built in 1880 so I am anticipating all sorts of problems.

Soon, very soon, we will start. And then I'll know. I hadn't planned on any new appliances since all of mine are new enough. If I go over budget there's no where to cut.

Oh, annie, I hear you.

I just had to borrow $2000 to finish up our reno, and it won't even really be finished, just liveable. I was thinking today about how I made these cavalier decisions a couple months ago, when there was money in the bank account, like: "oh, I'll hire that tilesetter because he seems more experienced and that's probably worth an extra grand!" or "oh, this item is only $100 more than the other but it'll look so much better!" ....... funny how ones perspective changes. Now I'm like, whoa, I could really use that $1100 now to finish up! And I USED to consider myself extremely frugal and a good planner. What happened?

FWIW I just purchased some really nice subway tile. The materials for 20 sf came to less than $200, and I decided to install it myself... since it was either that or NO backsplash for a long, long time.

My tile is by Architectural Ceramics and it has a really nice, almost handmade look. It was about $7/sf.

I'm really hesitant to tackle tiling a backsplash myself. In part because I don't have the time, and in part because I'm not sure what I'm doing! LOL

Whether now is a good time to spend on a backsplash depends less on how much overbudget you are and more on how much is left in the bank for emergencies, etc. Big difference between taking $1000 out of a $50K balance than a $5K one.

If you have stained cabinets or custom paint and feel the need for undercabinet trim, I'd do that before doing the backsplash. There will be a better chance of getting the new trim to match than if you wait until after the wood has aged some.

Yes, I hear you, we made a big push to get some things done before Christmas and now we are drained :(. Actually, a week ago I paniced when I checked and thought I didn't have enough for the last big bill to go through, but then I realized I already moved the money over and it had cleared just fine. It's really nerve racking dealing with these high numbers, LOL.

Yikes is right!!!!! I understand completely!!

I'm sorry about the mini-hijack, though we are talking about whether or not to do the backsplash now, and how.

Writersblock, the backsplash thing seems to be a regional thing. Formica with the 4" splash with paint above seems to have been the way to do it in some regions for several decades. In the West and other areas, tile remained much more common throughout the Formica era.

Annie, I'm glad you're considering this so carefully. A really great tile setter can make cheap tiles look fabulous, and a really bad tile setter can make amazing tiles look crappy.