I think that you are doing what we are doing except we did the MBR/Bath 2 years ago. I havent't added it all up yet but I wouldn't be surprised if it comes in at your range when all is said and done. We are also removing load bearing walls and moving the powder room to double our kitchen space. We are also adding a 9' picture window and 2 full glass doors in our adjoining family room. We are probably doing less on the cabinet budget since we are going semi-custom and maybe less on the granite as we don't have a huge island so that offsets some of our higher appliance costs. I am probably going to try and trim some costs in the backsplash tile, granite, sinks, and pendant lights. I don't want to skimp on my appliances as they will be functional and I want them to have certain features. We are going with BlueStar, Miele DW, Kitchenaid Micro, Oven and Warming Drawer and a GE Standard Refrig so they are not even that high end.

It is such sticker shock though on the labor costs which really can't be changed especially if you are set on working with a particular contractor. Ours is a friend who did our MB remodel and he is giving us the best price he can but it is alot of work. Even if you cut down on your materials the labor costs really drive the cost as it is the labor to build and install everything unfortunately no matter if it is low end or high end.

I don't know how people on the flipping or remodeling costs redo certain things at those prices. My husband and I are always flabbergasted by their quotes for certain jobs.

I don't think the price sounds unreasonable. There is alot of work you are doing and it is expensive. I would definately think hard about cutting back on anything. If you love what you have chosen would you be as happy if you cut back to lower the price. Everytime in past houses, I elimated something or went with something less expensive to save money, I wasn't happy in the end.
Good luck with your project

probably not what you want to hear right now, but when undertaking a remodel of this magnitude, one thing you really need to consider is whether you're in danger of over-improving your home. that is, spending more money than your particular market or neighborhood could possibly keep pace with.

now, that may not be an issue for you if you're planning to stay in your home for some time and aren't worried about resale value. or if you just want to make all these improvements for you and aren't considering resale value.

but if you're planning on moving anytime in the next 5-8 years, it's something to really consider. sometimes people get so caught up in putting nice stuff into their homes, and they get so bit by the remodeling bug, that they end up losing money on the deal when they sell the house.

especially in this market. be careful.

It costs virtually the same to install $2 a foot tile as it does $15 a foot tile. Same with inset cabs vs. full overlay. What I'm trying to say is that the materials can be cut yes, but overall, that won't get you where you want to be unless you're being really over the top with some of your selections. A better idea might be to piece meal the project a little at a time. It'll reduce the initial costs, but it will spread the misery out a bit.

Thanks for the feedback. Edlakin, to your point I agree it would not make sense to undergo this remodel only to move in a few years. We plan on being here at least 8 more years and most likely 10. At this point, we're doing this for us and not for resale and the good part is we bought this house for a song when the market was low. We live in a very desireable city and I think, in the end, when we go to sell we'll get more than we've put into it simply because we bought at the right time.

What we may end up doing is everything but the MBR and bath and save that for a later date.

Thanks to you all once again.

Lisa my job is close to yours with a bit bigger scope. Only one thing to consider on that master bath later thing...sometimes it's cheaper now to run all of the electric and plumbing while the walls are open...sometimes this won't matter. In my place, it would have added to costs quite a bit to piece meal it, because of the odd walls etc. And BE SURE to budget an additional $40,000 for cost over runs.

We are also concerned about over improving as resale is always on our minds during our planning. Our home has luckily doubled in price since we moved here 9 years ago and aren't planning on leaving in the near future. It was a 70's home with a great location but with nothing ever remodeled by the previous owners. So even spending what we are spending I think we will still be OK even if we were to have to sell in the next few years.

Changing the floor plan part of the remodel is more in correcting what I feel is lacking in the home and giving it the bit of wow factor that it needs. We have been mulling over the changes for years now and feel that we need to change and enlarge the layout of our tiny U-shaped kitchen in order to bring it up to date. I think that without the structural changes it wouldn't be worth doing anything since it would still be a tiny cramped kitchen.

However, I don't think my remodel merits all top of the line stuff so we are trying to make conservative but good quality choices where we can so we can splurge on some others for the overall effect. I am lucky that I like a wide range of things so it is generally easy to find stuff I like. We did that in our Master bath where we also did structural changes and it worked out well. I am still in awe everytime I enter the room.

We also thought we could spread it out. Our contractor advised us not to since it will be less costly doing the whole thing at once since walls, floors are open and they are here, plus costs for materials escalating all the time.

Hi Lisa -- you're not alone!

As I wrote you in a different thread of yours we are doing a lot of work in our house (in Boulder, CO), a little bigger in scope than your proposed project. Without the master bedroom / bath it came to ~$200K, and we definitely overimproved for our neighborhood, as nice as it is. While we have no plans of leaving any time soon on sait jamais ....

We chose to hold off on our bedroom / bath because as it is, we spent more than our "comfort zone," and we decided we'd do it next year or whenever we feel comfortable spending that kind of money again (if ever, I mean!). It may end up costing a teensy bit more to do it later (because of having people come out on different occasions instead of all at once) but given the layout of our house it doesn't matter, and the difference will truly be negligible (We also decided that whatever we do we wanted to do it completely, nothing half-way. (In our San Francisco house we were DIY and the only time all our projects were done is when we put that house on the market! We liked it so much we decided that in our next house [the one in which we're currently living] we would finish a space before moving on.) Famous last words as we're not finishing in our family room, partly for money but mostly because we just aren't sure how we want to finish this one area.

A part of me cannot believe that we live in this beautiful house and the only room which is undone is MINE! (and my husband's) How did this happen? I'm going to be 40 in a few years and I joke that my bedroom reminds me of my college dorm -- my soon-to-be four and soon-to-be two year-olds' rooms are nicer than ours.

Sometimes it's hard (for me) here in GW, where some people seem to have endless budgets and are able to do all of their projects and to the nth degree. I'm envious and sometimes feel like odd man out.

I, for one, really appreciate the honesty with which some talk about their budgets and comfort levels; I think a frank dialogue is helpful and beneficial. And if as a nation / society we were more transparent about money maybe we wouldn't be in the (collective) situation we now are ....

I am really excited about what you're about to do and look forward to following your progress, whatever you choose to do! Good luck, Lisa.

rmkitchen - an aside - I was born and raised in Colorado. Lived in Boulder and Jamestown most of my life!! How I miss it there. We're in Oregon now and let me tell you how I pine away at times for those beautiful rocky mountains!!

I do remember you posting before and I also appreciate frank discussions on these sorts of topics. I'm pretty much the kind of person you see what you get and there's no hidden agenda. I come to GW to get feedback from those of you who know what it's like to face remodeling costs, etc. Good luck to you and give a shout out to the flatirons for me!!

Lisapico, Does your bid include all the detailed subcontractor bids? If not, I'd ask for them! Ours did and that's where I found things like the cost of tile installation is huge (good-bye tile wainscotting!). (It would have saved everybody involved a lot of time if they had pointed out the high cost of tile installation before we had it all drawn out and sent out for bidding but nobody wanted to tell me.) Painting is also HUGE. We are a little bit further than you having received our huge bid a bit earlier and therefore are further down the path of taking out stuff. (And each time you take out something, you get to remove the associated chunk of profit.)

We are about one step behind you--DH has met w/ 5 different GCs and we are waiting for their bids. We are planning on doing the work in phases as well as doing some things ourselves (painting, trim work, some demo) to try and help to cut costs. We are planning on all of the electrical and most of the plumbing to be finished in the first phase to avoid having what has been mentioned above (more work, more costs if wait till later). DH made sure each understood and was comfortable with the phase work and what we planned on doing. May not have done too good of a job of this with the first 2 of the 5 as they never got back with us (a shame, because we really liked one of them) and DH met with the remaining 3 GCs this past week. Hopefully the bids will be in the end of April so we can see what we can afford to do now and what will have to be put off.

Fern - yes the bid is extremely detailed. Our GC is known for giving extremely accurate bids. People always think he's overpriced but in the end he's always right! We may opt not to do the 1/2 bath and forgo the front door, side lights and entryway tile. I am waiting for the actual bid as he's just called me with a number as he knew I was concerned about the amount. I know him well and he's not only good at what he does, but is extremely kind.

I tossed and turned last night. Part of me feeling like we should scrap the whole project; I know I won't but I was just so overwhelmed. I feel the project is mostly on my shoulders as my DH is so busy at work and is not as involved as he could be. So, I come here to get advice, etc.

When we get the actual paperwork, I'll go through everything step by step and see what we can eliminate. It will really come down to what I really want and what I can live without (which is I can live without everything). Ironic, huh?

Thanks everyone.

Hey Lisa,

I was excited to see that you got your bids. I am sorry that I don't have time to really read the thread right now. However, I did want to mention that I did go LOOK at another house this morning, a FSBO. My friend told me about it last night at the ballpark. I loved it. DH is out of town so we will have to see what he says. The price was more than we were looking for, but it is pretty much move in ready. I will also check my email tommorrow.

Shannon