So much depends on how/what you want to do. Painting the cabs is a not too difficult DYI project. What size is your kitchen? If you do decide to gut and replace, and are handy, there are a number of ready to assemble (RTA) products out there that can save you thousands. Ikea is a well respected company in regards to that. You can also buy prefab countertops through them. I've read of people who did entire kitchens for about $6,000 through Ikea. Are you replacing appliances? Then.... well that opens up a whole different can or worms depending on your wants/needs. Though, that also can be managed within a budget. We purchased a two year old appliance package (Whirlpool Gold) that included frig, range, DW, and micro off craigslist for $550 for a rental we have. Give more insight as to your thoughts and you won't believe how wonderful and helpful the folks on this forum are.
Elyse

I'm no expert, but to the best of my knowledge unless you're buying an "off the shelf" countertop, they're ALL made to measure, so that shouldn't really be that big a deal, should it? (Somebody more experienced than I am can chime in here, I hope). What kind of price were you expecting, and what were you quoted? All of the solid surface countermaterials are cut to the exact dimensions of the cabinets/design, so I'm just not sure why you would have been told it was a big deal.

I guess as far as the cabinets go, the question has to be, "Do you LIKE them?". Do you WANT to keep the vintage look and restore them? In which case, no new cabinets are going to recreate that period look and feel as well as the real thing!

Just my beginner-remodeler 2c.

it also depends on how big your kitchen is. If you talk to a KD you might find that you'll be saving money in the long run - if you're just doing cabinets and counters and not changing anything else you probably don't need a GC, especially if you're going to do the prep demo work. Your KD then ends up coordinating the cabinets, the counters and the installation of all of that.

For reference, my kitchen area is about 12x12 and I'm spending about 26k but that includes the following:
two walls of cabinets including some specialty ones (pull outs, pantrys, etc)
a 6x3 island
granite on the perimiter
wood on the island
a range hood and liners
a sink
crown molding and baseboards
and installation

AND my kd is handling it all. I just sit back and watch it happen. So to me, that was worth it. Demo on the other hand was done by my GC as part of the whole package so I don't know what the value of that is but I really don't know why you'd need a GC if you're going to do that stuff yourself.

HOpe that helps.

I'm confused at what you mean by a custom built countertop - all counters are custom built except prefab stuff and even those have to be tweeked, so that "designer" doesn't have a clue and keep looking or let us go at it. My neighbor who has the same house we do, is the original owner with metal cabinets (hers are in great shape) put corian on hers and it's very nice. We had a weird combination and our kitchen was horrible 1950's so we had to replace.

Why are you removing the plaster? Clean it up and refinish it. Cabinets cover a good chunk and you can always tile a backsplash. They are good solid walls and look better than dry wall.

DIY we spent about $18,000, but $10,000 was on cabinets and I could have done it much cheaper with Ikea or 1/2 that on my Kraftmaid, but I wanted nicer cabinets. I got all new appliances, but I could have kept the dishwasher. I also could have gotten a cheaper granite, but choose not to. If you are a bargin shopper and willing compromise and DIY a lot of work, you can easily do it for under $10,000 and even less if you keep your cabinets and appliances (or even if you get new ones).

I wouldn't put granite on old metal cabinets, but if they are nice/good shape, keep them and get a nice countertop - it keeps the charm of the older house. Don't be sold on something because they want to sell it to you to make money.

Agree with the others; as long as you weren't looking at postformed laminate counters (with the raised and rolled front edge and built-in backsplash) your unusual counter depth shouldn't be any more expensive. If you do decide to aim for a complete gut and redo, $10K isn't likely to cut it unless you do all of the labor yourself, and even $20k could be tight for some kitchens. Don't let anyone pressure you into buying more than you want.

You can still do a postformed laminate top with a non standard depth. You can either order it that way to begin with, or you can order peninsula tops, and either have them ripped down (on the back) to fit, or do it yourself and do a alternative backsplash.

Or, if your countertop fabricator is saavy, they could do a smart clip backsplash out of the balance of the peninsula tops.

Talk to someone else about countertops. Even someone else at the same store!

If you really end up having to replace the old cabinets (it won't be because of the odd counter depth, though!) gently remove them and sell them on ebay or craigslist. They are rather sought after in many markets and might help pay for a chunk of the remodel.

22" deep cabs are very common here in pre-WWII homes out here (SF Bay Area). It was standard to build the cabs on-site - redwood in the '20's, giving way to plywood by the '40's. Frankly, many old cabs cannot be taken out intact. You'll have to check the construction, or have a carpenter-savvy friend take a look.

Demolition is something you can handle yourself with friends. You will save yourself a lot of money doing it. Wear proper protective equipment (gloves and eye protection, lots of tarps (canvas is expensive but less slippery than plastic), and hang plastic in the doorways or you'll really regret the dust factor. Cover all exposed ductwork both in the room and nearby.

Do NOT try to take out soffits or walls without somebody expert to be sure you are not whacking a sledgehammer through ductwork, plumbing or electrical.

If you wish to keep your old cabs - don't do this unless they are: 1) in really good shape otherwise, and 2) bumping out to the standard 24" base cabs will cause you layout difficulty (it would have done this to my MIL's kitchen, which is why we never remodeled it).

For counters, there are quite a few options. One is the resin pour-over types done by various specialty companies, like Granite Transformations and its ilk. It's a little plastic-y and glossy to me - I'm a matte Swanstone surface kind of person - but I've seen it done in a friend's older home and it's quick and simple.

You can also tile a countertop - whether porcelain or granite tile, it's relatively easy and if you take the time to do it right, even amateurs can do a pro-look job.

Cutting a pre-formed laminate countertop to fit, then tiling a backsplash, is also within reason provided you have, can rent, or have a friend with the proper power tools. Laminate can be ordered in sheets as well, so you can lay it atop plywood counters yourself if you want a wider choice of colors/patterns. Do a wood edging and poly it well. You can edge it in solid surfacing (like Corian) but it's pretty costly.

Granite, soapstone, metal (such as stainless steel) and concrete are fabricated to order - in fact, concrete you can do yourself although I don't care for it, can't stand the etching and maintenance involved - so a narrow depth should not be a big problem.

However, don't go to HDepot or a big box store. Go directly to a stone or concrete fabricator, get references, and check them. Install is critical and you don't want to be penny-wise and pound-foolish in this area.

In reading your post, I can't quite tell if you want to update your kitchen WITH metal cabs or just update your kitchen when it already HAS metal cabs, by painting them. The metal cabs are easy to take out and definitely have resale value, so do the ecology a favor and find someone who wants to recycle them for a retro look.

Nobody can tell you what this will cost you, in the end. Labor is the big issue and if you are willing to spend the time to DIY in certain areas, you can save a lot of money. But if you want to minimize the time you can't use your kitchen, then whether it's a small remodel or large remodel, you will need to break out the checkbook.

Just remember, a "small job" to a contractor is anything under $10K, and a "short time" is usually anything under six months to a year!