Did the design company break down the costs in the bid? Did they quote the electrical work separately from cabinets? What price level of cabinetry?

If she did an IKEA kitchen, she would save money, maybe significant money, on the cabinets.

I suspect her remodel can be done for less, but she needs info before she can make decisions. It might be worth her efforts to get a quote from an electrician for the work she wants done and a construction company for dry wall repair to damaged walls, etc. or get a bid from a general contractor for everything but purchasing the cabinets. My dad, in western WI, put in a new panel, met current code on voltage into his home, buried his wires in his yard, and added 3 gfi outlets for $2,000. Chicago prices will certainly be more, but it would be helpful to see what the electrical work will cost to help determine what and where she can cut costs.

Another thought...she is about 3-4 hours from Amish cabinet makers in WI...that might be another option for cabinets...carpenter would install.

My dad was a plasterer by trade; I would replace damaged plaster with drywall and not even think twice about it...plaster cracks, and if it is an outside wall...there is probably no insulation in the wall. Plaster does not have to be replaced with plaster.

Your situation sounds very much like ours did a few years ago. We bought a condo for our daughter to live in while going to school in Milwaukee. The building was built in 1918. Huge rooms (total of 1,600sq. ft) except for the kitchen which was about the same size as yours and only had 2 electric outlets in it.

The first two places we got bids from were very high. We ended up finding a company that did a great job for way less money than the first two places. So make sure you check with several remodeling companies.

We didnt move the sink plumbing but did add a dishwasher. A lot of electrical work was needed to bring the kitchen up to code. This involved bring power from a panel quite far from the kitchen. We were lucky they could get it through the ceilings of the other rooms and into the kitchen. Lots of holes had to be made in the plaster walls and ceiling. The wall that the stove was on turned out to be concrete block behind the plaster so the electricians had to channel through that block.

The contractor had intended to just patch the plaster but decided it might end up looking like Swiss cheese so they went over all the walls with 1/4" drywall. Perhaps you could do that if needed instead of new plaster.

The cabinets we used were from Bertch Cabinet Mfg. They were a nice quality at a reasonable price. The installer carried each cabinet up 2 flights by himself. That alone was quite a job. (I hope we gave him a generous tip).

The appliances were basic GE items. The dishwasher was only an 18"

Just for reference this is what the kitchen looked like at the start of demo.

Here is an in progress picture I found

We sold the condo when my DD graduated. These after pictures are realtor photos that used a wide angle lense so the width/size is distorted.

Oh and I did use Amish cabinet makers for my own kitchen remodel. The cabinets are fabulous and the price was incredible but they were booked about 6 months before they could begin our kitchen. Actual construction of cabinets to install was 5 weeks. I don't think they guys I used would travel to IL. Friends of ours did find some Amish cabinet makers that traveled to WI from Indiana. But I think you you should be able to find cabinetry locally.

At the time we did our condo kitchen it cost less than $25,000.

Good luck with your remodel.

You need to understand what was driving the cost so for up for such a small kitchen. I went with beautful new to me cabinets that cost a little more than $2500....

We are considering Ikea; for $99, we had a professional Ikea measure-er come and measure the kitchen and are now trying to figure out the plan. This is a little difficult because we are spending most of our time in a location where there is no Ikea nearby, so have to do it on line. Her sketch shown below is distorted, but here are the particulars:

A is a pair of double hing windows, mulled together, at the south end of the kitchen. There is a radiator below. The width of that end of the kitchen is about 7'. The distance from there on the left is about 8' to a door, which opens onto the back stairs (outdoors). The stove and refrigerator are along that wall. The opposite wall is 158" long to an opening to the dining room. There is a counter top with a sink in it along much of that wall. The lower left side of the drawing is a butler's pantry, with a window to the rear stairs and between that pantry and the doorway is a built-in hutch. I hope this description is clear.

The expensive renovation ($65k) includes removing the hutch and other stuff between the doorway and the butler's pantry and expanding the kitchen into that area, but I'm not sure what cans of worms that will open up regarding building structure. It also includes upgrading the walls and ceiling to the studs, and refinishing the floor.

The Ikea kitchen we are considering will not involve that area.

The biggest problem is probably the electrical upgrades. An electrician who is both familiar with the infrastructure of the building and is expensive is going to make recommendations and propose a budget. There are load centers in the basement for each apartment and conduits running from there to the individual units which have room for more conductors. We are hoping to upgrade the electric service to allow for air conditioning, either window units or something else (the cost of the AC is not included in the budget, only the wiring).

What does "upgrade a wall" mean exactly? What made you want to take everything down to the studs?

Would there be a problem with changing the door in the kitchen area to a window and changing the window in the Butler's pantry to a door or, because it's an exterior wall it becomes a huge issue?

We had a 1921 bungalow with knob and tube and plaster walls re-wired with a new service. Minor plaster repairs, but mainly on the ceilings from all the tromping (tantrums) around in the "crawl space" attic. I learned some amazing new swear words and combinations from the electricians! This was 2009, an 1,100 sq ft house, and cost $9.1 K. Of course it was 7 years ago, a stand alone house with attic access, and a in different state, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Getting 5 outlets in the kitchen was amazing, not to mention peace of mind and the ability to run more than two small electrical appliances at one time ;)

Practigal, I thought of your door/window interchange but the coop board may not allow it. The outside walls are all brick. Taking the walls down to studs is a little over kill, but the expensive renovator thought that there would be so much "swiss cheese" holes due to the electrical work that it might be necessary. I doubt that we are going with them anyway.

Clueless, thanks for your story. Almost $10K for what appear to be a much more straightforward job scares me! I think we are saved by having the conduits already in place.

Yes, conduits are a good thing. Fishing for wires behind plaster you are trying to keep intact is NOT fun!

Actually, I have some experience in this (which I cannot use in my daughter's case because I am not allowed to work there). I wanted to rewire my own 1895 house and I have always liked wiring in conduit, but how to use it in renovating an old house? Well, it turned out that at least for the interior walls, I could go into the basement and drill up through the sill and poke a piece of 1/2" EMT through the hole. By measuring, I could determine what length I needed so that I could make the opening for the box in the right position. Easy peasy. The second floor was a little more complicated because there was flooring there, but I just removed the flooring and dropped the conduit down to the right position also.

Do some of your own subcontracting:

Get a bid from a couple of electricians for the electrical work.

The problem is that I'm not there but in NY.

You need need to get a couple more bids. There can be a lot of variation. I would stick with the same footprint to keep costs down. IKEA cabs certainly make sense as well. The budget seems doable for a small remodel you probably just need to limit the scope a bit.