Go visit an IKEA store!! Plan to be more than surprised by how sturdy and nice the cabinets are there. They use top-notch hardware (Blum), and it can by diy'd. If you're not crazy about their door selection, purchase after-market doors at Scherr's or Semi-Handmade in almost unlimited colors/styles. Get drawers in all your lower cabinets. And what's more, you can open up the Ikea Kitchen Planner and design in all yourself, which might be pretty easy if you're not changing the layout. You will be surprised by how much money you can save right there.

I'm surprised that someone can get an amazing, beautiful high-end kitchen for 40K. Around here, it would be 80-100K, maybe more. But assuming you have no layout changes, if you can get your cabinets designed, you're halfway there.

After my project with the GC, I can't imagine doing a project without one, but will let others speak to that since I'm sure it depends on the scope of your project and your experience.

With cabinet prices, it's shocking how small things affect the cost. If your total quote was $12K, I'm guessing $6K in cabinets doubling to ~$12K? That seems very possible to go from a flipper-style kitchen (looks fine, zero extras) to a small kitchen with smart GW details (cabs to the ceiling, drawers, super susan, finished end panels, molding).

Ultimately the devil is in the details. I think the sticker shock you're experiencing is very common, where contractor can throw out a number, but when you pin down what you actually want the cost increases exponentially. I think they don't always know the cost themselves until they collect all the bids from the subs.

but the OP will be changing the layout, as far as I understood..

I wonder whether this was the main culprit in the intitial bid changing

you can piece it out and manage it yourself, given it's a small kitchen..you'll spend a lot on logistics, and if anything goes wrong-trades will blame each other, maybe rightfully so. With a GC, he'll manage all that. With you in charge-you'll have to manage all that. Even putting aside all the time you'll spend coordinating them. Which will be a lot.

You'll still have to go to slab yards, tile stores, and whatnot. I can't say for everybody, but I found it a really long and draining experience. Days after days spent on finding materials that will work with each other(our kitchen is small and modest btw. I just wanted it to make sense)

But. if you decide to piece it out-start with a good local cabinetmaker maybe? I don't know your kitchen size, yet sometimes the quote can be fairly close to what ready made cabinets will be..IKEA can also be worth around 10 K in a quite small kitchen, depending on how many cabinets you've got there. A good cabinetmaker might know a good plumber, a good electrician, a good granite guy, a good tile guy, a good flooring guy, etcetera. So you'll piece it out but at least will have some references, and some reassurance at least some trades worked together already, and find each other reliable?

I agree IKEA's kitchens are one of the best things IKEA makes..they also carry countertops, and probably have their own installers? Semi-Handmade will add quite a lot to the project..I looked into this option myself when deciding about kitchen. It's a great option, but depending on a kitchen size-you can already go fully custom

Our kitchen is custom, we got 2 bids from 2 cabinetmakers. and the low bid was 13 K , including Blum hinges and all..we personally knew the guy and knew he's good enough. We went with the higher quote to make life easier for our GC thus for us(he really wanted us to work with his cabinetmaker rather than figure out the logistics with somebody he didn't know), and we weren't sorry in the end since the higher end guy was amazing in everything, but say if we didn't -we'd still get a nice custom cabinetry for 13 K including Blum, and a lot of drawers, and everything we wanted.

We re in Orange county CA, to give idea of location..I know quotes can depend on that, labor and all.

It's hard to say how much our kitchen exactly cost, since it was a part of a general remodel, so I can't know for sure plumbing, electrical, drywall, painting, flooring etc. When I put together what I do know-it's about 30 K, given we saved like crazy on appliances(scratch and dent, open box, etc).

It's a small (not by any means tiny, just modest sized) u-shaped kitchen, no island, nothing like that..4 can lights..didn't change plumbing, did bump walls out a bit to redo into semi-open plan.

I served as our general contractor, and got locally-built custom cabinets - but as April said, I used the electrician the cabinet maker recommended, so they had a good working relationship. The cabinet guy also hired the quartz fabricator, and has his own installers (who were incredible). No changes to plumbing. A contractor friend did some minor (but above my skill set) work - like cutting a hole in the outside wall for the range hood vent.

I did the design myself, ordered every component, tore out the old kitchen, painted the kitchen prior to cabinet install, and coordinated all the subs. I allowed a lot of extra time between stages, so no one was held up by a delay along the way. A GC would have probably saved that time, but 2 or 3 more weeks in the grand scheme of things was not a problem for us.

If my project had been more complex, or if I had more money than time, I would have hired a GC, but I'm very happy with the way our project turned out.

IKEA really only saves you money if you DIY. If you have to pay someone to put them together and install you really do not save at the end of the day. Read on here and or the bathroom/building a home forum. There are sucess stories and there are horror stories. If you have no idea as far as exactly what you want, how to purchase, how to shcedule the subs, and the time to do all the above you will not save anything and may end up costing your self more monay and a ton more time. Remember GC's have a relationship with suppliers and subs. If a busy time (which it is most everywhere these days) you may struggle to get subs.

It's a very busy time..here it's a nightmare

we're waiting for more than a month already even for our handyman to come in, and he usually really tries to make time for us, weekends and all..everybody's crazily busy

After getting ridiculously high quotes from contractors and them showing me the really poor quality cabinets they were going to use, we decided to basically be the general contractor with us doing most of the work. My friend is also doing a kitchen, window/door swap, and flooring remodel and to stay within her $19k budget, she is being the GC and piecing out the jobs. She bought nice quality cabinets from Cabinets To Go (yes, they are a Chinese product), found an installer to install them, bought new sink and faucet and found a plumber to make plumbing changes, found someone else to do the window and patio door swap with whatever repairs are necessary, found a Quartz counter place herself, hired a neighbor who does tile for a living to do her backsplash, found someone else to install laminate flooring after they demo the current cracked tile themselves. This friend found people on Angie's List and got 3 quotes for each piece of work that was easily divisible and went with the lowest. She would have never been able to get what she wanted at a cost she could afford just by hiring one GC.

Thank you all for your input!! It gives me a lot to think about. From the first quote to the second the cabinets went from 8K to 18K, which was the biggest surprise. They asked for a deposit before I even saw what options we had, and I was worried that this would happen so luckily I refused. What I thought was a simple cabinet (white, shaker) was actually both an upgrade and an added cost for the paint.

I think the biggest issue we have is that we cannot afford a 35K kitchen, but we also can't afford not to make this one appealing, because we'll be selling our house in a year or two and it's the first thing you see when you walk in.

I absolutely think that contractors are worth the money for what they do!! I do NOT undervalue them. The problem is the lack of options. They do custom cabinets or have their own cabinet people and if I can't afford their options/people I'm out of luck.

So, it's very good to hear your personal experiences and know that if it comes down to it, we may be able to achieve our goal if we manage the project ourselves. I'll just need to dig deep to find what patience I have left. :)

I'm still crossing my fingers that maybe the perfect contractor is out there. Maybe my next best bet is to visit a local cabinet shop and Ikea...

You mentioned a plumbing issue. There's no insurance involved? That would help.

well it's strange..the construction of cabinets matters..the size does..I'm sure the type of wood matters, in case it's something special..drawers are more expensive etc..but we were told not once that paint or stain, that doesn't change the pricing..neither did the profile of the doors, as far as I understood..and we were told so by both cabinetmakers, that did the measurements and provided bids..the quotes were absolutely identical, except for the price-one had a small shop, another's much bigger, more upscale shop, with more people in his employment..both provided free four samples of painted doors of our choosing (never mind I grabbed twelve in the end lol)-any paint by any company..if we'd decided to go for stain-it would be four stained sample doors.

but they weren't our GC's subs. Well the one we went with in the end, technically was on his other jobs, yet in our case(we had cost plus contract) we dealt with him by ourselves. The GC preferred him because he knew him for years, and he obvioulsy wanted to make sure the kitchen is up to his standards, since he didn't know the other guy.

Maybe it's worth, after all, to check with local shops on your own, and see how that will go?

35K is low for a kitchen with the issues and changes that you are describing. It's about 60% of the national average cost of a kitchen redo. It is low on labor if your cabinets are 18K as well. I'd expect a good 10 K higher in the labor department. Yes, everything that is currently popular is an upgrade. You can still do a partial overlay oak kitchen with plain laminate counters for 10K, with no layout changes. That isn't what you want.

Most people forget about the demolition and disposal of the old kitchen. That adds up to a big chunk.

Electricians and plumbers aren't getting a fresh infusion of kids into the business who want to learn their jobs. Consequently, they are in very very high demand, and command the highest prices of anyone on a job site.

Flooring needs a lot of prep for the subfloor to be absolutely flat, and strong enough to support your material of choice. Patching in new to old is a skilled trade in demand.

Everything requires skilled labor. And someone to be knowledgeable enough in quality control and scheduling to make sure that the work keeps happening with few mistakes and limited backtracking. But the biggest ability that a good GC brings to the table is his network of pre screened subs that will actually show up and do decent work--for him. When someone pays a good chunk of your annual take home, you come running when they call you. Even if that means delaying a single use homeowner job for a week or two.

Fast. Good. Cheap.

Pick two.

You've already got cheap. Really .You do. Unless you're willing to do that oak with laminate kitchen....? Didn't think so. :)

Now you just need to decide on quality or speed.

"we'll be changing the layout"

If you are moving plumbing or wiring or both ... it's EXPENSIVE. And then you have the floor affected ... and suddenly you went from an "upgrade" into a full remodel and are wondering where the money went.

Why aren't you keeping the original layout? Unless it's to fix a serious usability problem, leave appliances and sinks where they are.

It's a usability problem. We wanted to keep the same layout to save money, but to be up to today's code, they can't put it back the way it was. So if we keep our u-shape, the stove will be in the corner of the U butting right up against the cabinets running perpendicular. That will be weird when using the oven, and I think it will deter sellers when we want to put the house in the market in 1-2 years. But, we don't need to move the sink, stove, refrigerator, or dishwasher. They can stay where they are. I want to turn the U to an L and add a small island.

Where's your layout post? What cabinet line are you considering? There isn't much to be cut from such a lean budget, but start with all of those upgrades. Like white cabinets. And all of the extras in the cabinets. Like taller well cabinets. Like drawers. Like everything that is useful that you need, and pretty that you want.

The only other way to save money is to increase the DIY factor. Labor is the most expensive part. What kind of DIY skills do you have? If you aren't a knowledgeable DIYer, with some construction experience, then self GC'ing should be off the table. You don't know enough to supervise such a technically complex project. And you haven't even made the effort to post a measured layout asking for suggestions. You will need to do a lot of footwork and effort if you want a lower price. Are you up for that in order to save money? The most work occurs in the design phase in order to make that happen. Start there. Post a measured layout asking for help.

Or, do a HELOC and get the better function that you need, with a GC doing all of the work, and pay it down over time. And don't expect those numbers to be final. It will go up. It always does. Especially from such an unrealistic beginning.

"we'll be selling our house in a year or two"

Then I would leave as is, or maybe just a freshening of appliances, and perhaps new laminate countertops that are not expensive. You've sidestepped the question about what the plumbing issue was, so I am going on what I can assume.

Seriously, once you settle the plan, budget, hire people, and complete the work, I think it's at least six months off, and likely longer. You also give the impression from your posts that you are not really prepared for this project mentally, and all the decisions you will have to make. Also keep in mind that whatever you budget for, allow at least 20% more for unexpected items. Your expenditure for this kitchen will not be recouped in the sale, but you won't even have the benefit of enjoying the new kitchen for very long.

The plumbing issue was a leak behind the wall that caused mold and wood rot. The last two months we were getting that quoted and taken care of - mold removal and repairing 7K of structural issues. Now half our kitchen is pulled apart - bottom cabinets and counter are destroyed. There's no salvaging them. We've already taken out a HELOC in anticipation of this project. I have taken measurements and we've worked through some design items at Lowes, I just haven't posted here. I did make another post with photos though. I'll consider adding measurements but I think I've gotten some good insight already.

I think you need to post your kitchen design here for the gurus to help you.

Can you do things like put together Ikea boxes yourself? That will save you a bundle as they're less expensive and look fabulous.

island adds a ton I'm sure

numbers stay numbers unless we know how many cabinets are there, and what they are

my cabinets were 18 K..but as we have 2 big windows we have very few uppers..small kitchen, no island..well to be frank we also got around 5 K discount since our GC wanted us to go with his guy so much, he convinced us into taking his bid, and convinced him into giving us this very hefty discount

can't agree with GreenDesigns more about all the points of skilled labour. It will sound very gloomy and Flannery O'Connor-ish, but a good man is hard to find(c)

take heart though..we always try to lay the best laid plans, and then something's off..then you adjust. you might even think you move soon yet things work out differently

we changed all upstairs flooring in 2013 that's when we wanted to list our previous townhouse

well guess what we lived with better flooring for another full three years..:) but that was quite enjoybable too

For disposal of old, in good shape cabinets, see if your local Habitat for humanity will take them. My local chapter will even "deconstruct" the kitchen (remove countertop, take down cabinets) and I've had them deconstruct two for me so far (current home and townhome I renovated for my daughter).

If you can donate that stuff to Habitat, that's one less expense (removal and dumpster fee) you have to worry about.

This is our kitchen currently, including my best attempt at our current kitchen drawn out. Both walls terminate at doors, the left one to our mudroom, and the right one double doors to our dining room. To be up to code, we have to switch the stove with the cabinet to the right of it, putting it right up against what WAS our bar.

I'm STUNNED at your quotes This is a VERY small kitchen with very few cabinets. You need to look further.

For 30' of kitchen assuming a 4' island (counts 2x as it's finished 360) with cabinets and stacked crown to the ceiling, in an actual mid grade line, that is not a bad quote at all. Sure, you can go down to an entry level line for less. What are you willing to lose? Thinner cabinet sides? Cheaper drawer hardware? Less of a warranty? Made in America? or, stay g at the same level, Cabs to the ceiling, or the island, or a painted finish?

Here is what I'd do.

THANK YOU CPARTIST. This is my ideal layout -- when we first started considering a full remodel I was like "let's move the fridge to the other side to open up that line of sight more and move the oven where it was." I feel like it would open up the space SO MUCH. Plus, the new DW location would be a dream come true.But, the quote I got back for keeping it mostly the same tells me that I could never afford to move everything around so drastically.

What layout is your quote for? What if you did the L like cpartist suggested and use a worktable for an island (like you have)? Like Sophie mentions, islands are expensive since they're finished on all sides.

Layout we got quoted for is, I believe, the current layout but with the bar chopped off and an island added. I'm open to a work table instead of an island. Would need something bigger but that leaves it open to the next homeowner to add their own permanent island if they want. I wonder how much we would save in cabinets if we did that.

I am an over-researcher so I have looked at a LOT of stuff online. A LOT. I would understand our cabinet quote if we were doing custom cabinets. But we aren't, and based on everything I had read, I was blindsided. But, I went to Ikea today and the quality did seem fine. The tall lower cabinet drawers for trash cans seemed a little wobbly to me. But I think if I dressed them up with some nice hardware they could work just fine!

I redid my son's kitchen with about the same number of cabinets as you have. We found decent looking and surprisingly well built RTA Chinese cabinets through a local discount builder supply for $6500. That was including an upgrade from particle board to plywood carcases. They assembled them for $25/cabinet. (At higher end kitchen places we were offered the opportunity to buy the same cabinets for nearly twice the money). I was able to install them without any problems in about two days work.

Because of the plumbing and electrical work needed I tore the kitchen down to the studs, and took up three layers of prior flooring down to the subfloor. Moving plumbing and gas cost about $2000 with the plumber, I was able to pull an electrical permit myself in his town and added a new subpanel and completely rewired the kitchen for the cost of materials, less than $1000. Granite countertops were a splurge at $2400. Prefinished maple hardwood floor ran about $600. Very nice, nearly new pre-owned appliances came from Norm's for about $2000 for stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher. A decent hood was $600, building a soffit to hide the exhaust pipe was just cost of materials. I hired a plasterer for blueboard and plaster which was about $1000 for that room. So with incidentals (permits, paint, remaindered sink, faucet, and light fixtures), we spent about $16,000 in total, doing everything I could myself. We could have saved $1500 or so by using laminate countertops, and most of the plumber's bill if I'd been allowed to do the work myself, but it's hard to imagine we could have completed the project much cheaper.

That is very good perspective, rwiegand. Thank you! We are not replacing the appliances (unless we find that we have to for some reason). Luckily most of the wiring in the kitchen has been updated, just not the outlet the stove runs from.

I feel so lucky that I can gain so much insight in one place! I can't thank you all enough for continuing to take the time to respond. :)

Go with the Ikea cabinets and move the gas line to get what you need and want. You will not regret the Ikea cabinets. I had Ikea in my first kitchen.

True story. When we went to sell that first house, back in 93, a well to do older couple came in and were so impressed with the kitchen and how beautiful the cabinets were. They were downsizing and arrived in their Mercedes. They wanted a small house in the same town. They went on and on about the quality of the Ikea cabinets. She then asked where I got them because she wanted to add another cabinet up top. I hemmed and hawed that I didn't remember. ;) They wound up buying the house.

Honestly the arrangement I did above for you is exactly what I had for that first kitchen and that kitchen worked like a dream. And mine was actually a bit smaller in width and I had no island/rolling cart. With a wonderful L layout you really won't miss the island or peninsula.

None of my other kitchens ever worked as well as that first one. In fact now that we're building our last gasp house, my kitchen will again follow the same basic layout.

BTW: If you go with Ikea and you hire a GC, there is no reason you can't put the boxes together yourselves. Save yourself the money of having the GC do it. After the first one, it's very easy to do.

I don't disagree with the advise you're getting, just caveat on splitting work (or sourcing material even) with the GC is that is erodes some of the overall GC responsibility. My GC let me buy all the materials rather than buying them for me and marking up, and I used Conestoga RTA that he assembled. It saved money overall, but there were some minor issues that I ended up paying to fix because it was hard to prove whose mistake it was. Like if you assemble the Ikea cabinets and he installed poorly, will he say the assembly was the problem? It may be worth pursuing this option to save money, just want to raise potential problems so you can think through how to avoid them.

Skipping the island also saves on running electrical there, not needed if you keep a work table.

I wonder if it would save anything to keep the bar and avoid the flooring work. Though if the flooring needs refinishing anyways, maybe that money would be well spent.

I'd love for you to be able to make it work with cpartist's layout minus fixed island. Does your existing quote move the gas line at all? What cabinet line are they quoting you? Are the cabinets going to the ceiling?

Have you looked into Ikea assembly / install services in your area? Even where I am there are 3 firms that specialize in assembling and installing Ikea kitchens. I think if you do that and forego an island for an upgraded worktable you will save a small fortune. Also, it maybe time for the Ikea semiannual kitchen sale, which is usually 20% off I think. Under no circumstances should you try to put the cabs together yourself if you aren't handy. Final question....What do buyers expect in your area, since you are doing this for an eye toward resale? If your market doesn't demand solid surface, just save yourself the heartache and put in a really nice laminate.

"Last gasp house", haha. I've never heard that term. Yes, we could certainly put the boxes together ourselves, we're a little bit handy. But caligirl5 - that is a REALLY good point about pinpointing where problems come from. Luckily we don't have a gas line - our stove is electric. I think our Ikea stopped recommending companies that install, but you're right, I should look into that before we make a final decision.

I would love to leave the floors out of it, but the buyers in our area are going to expect a kitchen with good flow, and I think it'll ruin it immediately if the stove butts against the adjoining cabinet. Do you guys see what I'm saying about code? Moving the cabinet to the left side of the stove changes everything.

I got in touch with a couple realtors and they're saying buyers in our area want white cabinets and granite countertops.

Oh, also - they quoted us using Marsh Furniture Company cabinets. And yes, cabinets all the way to the ceiling. We have so few cabinets and no pantry, so that's really a matter of making the most of the space more than just looks, even.

Get J&K Cabinets (GREAT quality Asian import)....then do a free standing island. You can find them for a lot less than installed cabinetry. And they won't require electrical for code. Plus you can put in the real estate contract that it goes with you when you sell. :-)

Here is a job I did for a client this past spring. The room is 11x13. They converted from a U shape to an L with an island. Cabinets (J&K-plywood constructed White Paint; soft close all) were $5400 (includes L-shape; ref. area w/ pantry with rollouts and island; tax and delivery). The granite tops with sink were $2489. Decorative hardware $209. All together (without labor), materials, tax and delivery were $8113.00. The husband did all the installation. They did their own floor, backsplash and appliances as well. He still needs to apply his moldings to the top. But here are their before and after pictures below. I'm not sure of the total cost if they had hired out the labor, but to just SET THE CABINETS alone here in Ohio would be $2400 to $2900.

Only downside to J&K: To keep costs down, they only offer a handful of doorstyles. And if you like a door but not the finish, you can't change it. Each doorstyle only has ONE finish to choose from. Also, their cabinet sizes are very limited!

They do have a new door that LOOK INSET...very pretty!

BEFORE

AFTER