Budget Reality Check

11 years ago

Before I go too far down this kitchen renovation road I wanted to get some feedback on my budget. So far I have got cab quotes from HD and local kitchen design shop. Neither could quote install labor. My big guesses are for demo (cabs and ceramic tile floor) and cab install. Here are the components of my $46K budget:

Demo Floor(364 sq ft)/Cabs-$3k
Appliances - $8.5K (already purchased)
Counter Granite - $4K(approx 26 ln ft, installed&sink mount)
Cabinets $16.6K (approx $14 for cabs+$2.6 install)
Backsplash $2K (approx 22 ln ft)
Light Fixtures $1K ($250x2 pendants/$500 chandelier)
Red Oak Flooring $3.6K (364 sq ft @$10 sq ft)
Sink $.9K
Faucet $.6K
Replace Window $.7K (same size and location)
Plumbing $1.2K (sink/dw/Fridge hookup)
Electrician $1K(lights,range outlet)
New Table $2.8K

I have another thread entitled "Island in Narrow Kitchen" which involves moving a wall back 2 feet and doing a built-in cabinet along the walking aisle of a possible island. The above budget does not include these. My budget right now pretty much is based on current kitchen layout. Is there anything I am missing or that I have under/over estimated?

FY: RE labor costs, I am in Massachusetts near Boston

Comments (13)

ArchitectMamma
11 years ago
The cost is all relative to where you are, so hard to comment on that. Some items to consider depending on your project scope:
Ductwork for vented hood
Relocating or adding electrical outlets at backsplash or for new appliances
Skim coat/paint at ceiling and walls
live_wire_oak
11 years ago
Moving a wall is just as expensive as removing a wall in most cases. In your location 3-9K depending on if it's load bearing or not. All of the electrical, HVAC etc has to move. And you have to have room in the other room to push everything back.

Depending on the age of your house, and the size of your panel, you could be a little low with the electric. Or, if you have an older home with a full electric panel, you could need to add 10-12K to that to run a new service to the home and upgrade the panel. Many kitchen remodels in older homes morph into doing that exact project because a modern kitchen requires so many dedicated electrical circuits.

The other thing that may need addressing is some form of contingency budget for the things that you will find when you do demo. It WILL be something that you hadn't though about, from a slow leak around the sink to the fact that the walls have no insulation.
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bluetea57
11 years ago
Having just completed a kitchen remodel , and living near Boston..my question is your plumbing and electric budget. Now I did move the location of the stove, so the gas line got moved, and the sink moved down about a foot so the drain got moved..and we had dishwasher and water line for fridge...and we talked the plumber down to 3 thousand. The electric seems low as well...are you planning on under cabinet lights..that's another expense.
huango
11 years ago
ditto bluetea: your electric seems low.
How much lighting/outlets do you currently have?
I didn't have many, but I also didn't go completely overboard, and my electric was over $7K for 2 rooms (kitchen and familyroom), not including my chandelier, sconces, fan, UCL, etc.

Don't forget the "while you're at it" budget, like since they're moving the light switches (since we flip the way the porch door open), let's add in a switch for the future driveway lights.
My molding and trims were a big add-on.

We only moved our sink line 3 feet, but when we demo-ed, we found that the plumbing was wrong, so cost was to fix it and also move it 3 feet.

oak floor: pre-finished or site finished? site: how many coats? that's cost more.

I'm in Metrowest.

kids bath time.
Amanda
suzanne_sl
11 years ago
Are you going to be your own GC? While you can get HD to come out and install those cabs, you might do better to hire a GC to oversee all these projects. Or, if you're going to GC it yourself, you might want to choose your own installer.

I agree that your electrical and plumbing seem on the low side. You're doing a $900 sink? Our flooring installer charged us $2.25 a square foot, which in your case comes out to around $780 just for installation, but this is So. Cal., not Boston.
ittybittybungalow
11 years ago
Don't forget to add in the cost of building permits/approvals for your area. This may also include additional labor time for who will be responsible for obtaining the permits and receiving the appropriate sign off at inspection and so on.

We haven't started our project yet, but our municipality has a vast array of rules related to bringing all things up to code (including windows) along with visual requirements. Historic District.
nehome
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you so much for all the feedback - your comments brought to light some of the things I had in my vision but hadn't accounted for in my budget - like finish work for wainscoting etc. My guess is that the wall I want to move is load bearing but I would be moving it back to align with the other load bearing walls(see the rough sketch of my 1st level floor plan which is not to scale.) Regarding Electrical & Plumbing: I would need to move electrical to move this wall but not HVAC since the heat/air registers are on the opp side of the room. The only heat/air vent in the kitchen area is under my sink cab and vented through the kickplate. My stove is electric so no gas lines involved. The house is 17 yrs old so hopefully electrical is to code. I have 5 outlets along the outside wall and 2 on the opp side but yes I will need new appliance outlets. Hadn't thought of under cab lighting. Keeping sink where it is since it is at the window and don't want to get into moving the window. $900 for sink is probably over estimated. It was just based on the most expensive apron sink on lowes.com.
So to beef up the budget:
* Does moving load bearing wall to align with other load bearing walls make a difference in the cost?
* Will need to move waterline for fridge-ballpark?
* Under cab lighting- any rough figures for that expense?
* Any finally what kind of expense is involved with the permits - couple hundred? a thousand? And how much time/labor for managing this process?
dp1404
11 years ago
We just did a whole kitchen remodel that include removing a non load bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room and enlarging another opening which was a load bearing wall by three feet. This involved installing a laminated beam to carry the load. We also reconfigured an outside wall with new windows and a new door.

We are located in the Midwest. I did the demo on gutting the kitchen, removing cabinets and the removing the non load bearing wall. All the other work was hired out.

Total was $ 61195.00, our original budget was around $ 45000
with out appliances then you get into the project and you realize for instance the even though your old oven is fine and still looks good you rationalize that you can't put an old oven in brand new kitchen so the costs add up. Only appliance we reused was the fridge since it was new.

Then there is the collateral damage like the new dining room set, painting the rest of the floor, new this, new that all of which is not included in the $ 61195 an probably is adding another $10000 to the project

The actual numbers are shown below

Kitchen Design and $24,500.00
includes cabinets and installation

Appliance installation $805.00
Plumbing (relocate sink, gas line, water lines, vent $2,250.00
Dishwasher door (cabinet panel) $160.00
Cab Hardware $350.00
misc $539.00

Carpenter rough - rebuilt exterior wall, install windows/door, install lam beam $2,750.00
Carpenter Finish Millwork install $700.00

Materials
Door oak exterior $804.00
Windows (2) $824.00
Lumber yard materials $700.00
Mill work $553.00
Paint $200.00

Exterior Siding $1,500.00

Electrical Rough $2,475.00
Lights $800.00

Counters soapstone $5,850.00

Drywall $1,657.50

Sink silgranite $405.00
Faucet waterstone $1,350.00

HVAC reconfig ducting $804.00
Water Heater Vent $350.00

Wood Floor 3/"4 oak $3,150.00

Oven KA steam assist $2,740.00
Hood BroaN $771.00
MW KA undercounter $1,022.00
DW Bosch $1,194.00
Cooktop Wolf with griddle $3,649.00

Total $ 61195.00

Hope this helps
live_wire_oak
11 years ago
Get a structural engineer in to look at the wall that you want to move. A $300 expense now may mean you do a better detailed plan for the contractor (more accurate quotes), or you scrap a plan in favor of spending time on an alternative.

Also, look at the other side of the wall that you want to move. It would be the rare living room that didn't have more than 1 supply duct, and it's probably located in that wall.
huango
11 years ago
I am not an electrical stuff guru, but read up on under cabinet lighting.
I THOUGHT I wanted it hardwired, but after some research, the plug-in LED UCL were way more affordable than the hardwired ones.
So now DH had to convert the hardwire and install outlets, after electrician had set up the wires for hardwired UCL.

Have you posted your layout?
For me, the layout went hand-in-hand w/ the budget. Once I knew what layout I wanted, that help dictate the budget. But the budget also help guide the layout, such as not removing my loadbearing wall, which resulted in the layout I like best.

You need to include X% for stuff:
- hardware: handles, knobs
- toe kick drawers
- sealant for the marble countertop
- paint (wall, trims, touch ups)
- etc.

Amanda
raehelen
11 years ago
Re expense for permits. I am sure that can vary widely from town to town. You didn't answer the question about being your own general contractor. In many cases it is actually more expensive if you the home owner applies for the permit, versus a certified electrician for example. Here, in my town the electrical permit (DH did the wiring himself) depends on the cost of the materials, eg wire, boxes, switches, etc. Plumbing permit was fairly inexpensive... $75 if I remember correctly, and in our case, since we were doing all the work ourselves, it was like getting free advice each time the inspector came out. Gas, we had a gas-fitter in, so they took care of the permit.

We did upgrade our Electrical from 100AMP service to 200AMP. I thought it cost a lot @ $3K including the cost of the panel, steel conduit pipe, wire, etc... since LiveWire stated $10-12K, now I don't feel so bad! LOL

Hope this helps.
dutchaccent
11 years ago
Thanks for the reality check! I have to rethink my budget! I was way too low on electrical and plumbing. Last time we bought a dishwasher from Lowe's they offered free installation which was nice. I hope that offer comes around again soon.
nehome
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you again for the suggestions and dp1404 for the hard numbers. I have posted a couple of layouts under the title "Island for Narrow Kitchen". Right now I am at the stage of evaluating the affordability of entire kitchen renovation versus counter/appliance replacement and refinish current cabs. To answer the question which comes first the layout or the budget I guess I would have to say budget. I am gradually getting quotes to confirm these numbers and doing a reality check here for my guesstimates. I've received 2 quotes for semi-custom but the proposed layouts were exactly my current configuration. Refinishing current cabs seems to make more sense if I'm not talking a new layout and not able to solve some of my dislikes like prep space near the range. I'm now waiting on a quote from a custom shop for the proposed island layout which calls for moving the wall. I did let them know that moving the wall might be out of my budget. I think custom may be the only way I can design an island that works in my narrow kitchen. If the quote and layout is acceptable, I'll proceed to construction quotes and moving the wall. This is the biggest unknown for me that is not included in the original budget I quoted and could be a budget buster. As far as being my own GC I'm not sure what knowledge/ skills maybe required or the potential cost savings. Could I end up spending more if I mess up? I'm sure there must be some threads on this question!

Budget Reality Check

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