This can be very regional. Clearly, renovations done in Iowa will have different costs than renovations done in San Francisco. So you need to say what area you live in. Your listed costs seem quite low to me, but to definitively know, you need to get at least 3 bids, and that will be the determinate. Not some people on the internet who can't see your space, can't see the scope of work, and have nothing to go on other than a brief list.

Again, to me your listed costs seem low. In particular, electrical. I had straightforward electrical work done for my kitchen and some other parts of my home, nothing fancy or complicated--like no new panel needed or anything like that. The electrical costs were the highest of all the trades for my renovation. Also, your "time and material" is pretty meaningless. Using the example of electrical again - does the electrical cost you mention include all the cables, switches, outlets, receptacles, lights, etc. etc.? And where are the appliances in this list? The hood exhaust and its ductwork?

You’re missing the big PIA charge for dealing with a condo. Restricted access, restricted working hours, dealing with multi family electrical and plumbing and permissions and restrictions on touching it.

Demo and electrical are both very low. You’re forgetting drywall and flooring repairs after the wall comes down.

IF the wall can come down. Plenty of condo walls contain plumbing and electrical conduits for other units. You generally DO NOT move around plumbing in a condo. Ever. It impacts your neighbors. Electrical for a condo often is outrageous because there isn’t enough service in the old units. To get a new panel is a chore.

I’d easily expect 30-40K depending on location. And you really ought to look at something other than basement quality cabinets like Wolf.

The average mid grade 3 piece hall bath is 20K. Plus the condo PIA upcharge. That out to be in the 25-30K range.

https://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2020/

The condo wall is 100% not load bearing and contains no plumbing or HVAC. The only thing in it is two electrical outlets, a bunch of other condos in my community got rid of the wall. The original builder just put the wall there to "hide" the fridge.

The condo unit I am in has its own exterior entrance and the HOA rules are only that we need permits and the GC needs to be licensed/insured.

I still dont get how the electrical or plumbing is any more for work in a condo. If the electrical/plumber needs their work to conform to code the condo doesn't add any extra requirements. I dont need to ask permission to move the electrical or plumbing within my unit and I have a layout the GC's have confirmed is pretty easily doable without needing to touch anything outside of my unit.

We are going to have an over-range microwave. We would need to move duct-work about 3 feet from where it currently is located but there is room in the ceiling above to put it.

I intentionally didn't include appliances in the list since the quotes I received didnt include appliances. I am budgeting 4k for appliances (36in counter depth fridge, standard size dish washer, 30 in range, above-range microwave)

For the electrical once the non-load bearing wall is taken down there will be a hole in the ceiling that needs to be patched, but this will also give the electrician a straight shot to the room with the electrical panel which is about 10 feet away from the wall that will be removed. I didnt include the electrical materials but I cant imagine the materials for electrical being much especially when compared to the labor. Ive never done a renovation before but I just don't understand how it would take more than 2-3 days for a skilled electrician to move a few outlets in a completely demo'd kitchen.

You’re missing the big PIA charge for dealing with a condo.

There are all sorts of condo. Yes, you' re probably correct if the condo is in a high rise or even a building with several floors, but we have a condo that are town houses and there is basically no problems for contractor except sending their licensing and insurance information to the HOA,

So, there is no way to know what kind of condo the OP has.

This said, this is pretty much in line with what I got for a similarly sized kitchen. Higher and lower prices may come from You may be a little bit low with cabinets. I priced my kitchen with Ikea and was close to the $5K. You' re also missing the GC,s cost,

For the rest, it depends on where you are. And when I looked at the costs for electrical and plumbing, some contractors wanted to redo all the complete electrical and plumbing in the kitchen (even though they were up to code), others were ready to just update what was necessary in function of what was needed and what was not uptocode. So it really depends on what you are getting.

OP said: " Everything will be replaced in the same exact location so it seems like a very simple 1-week job."

That made me laugh! How much remodeling have you had done? I think you have a very unrealistic expectation of pricing and timeline.

I did a similar bathroom 3 years ago and just labor was around $26K. It took about 5 weeks with 2 guys working full days. Bathroom taken down to the studs, nothing moved. My GC is a perfectionist and doesn't cut any corners. Well worth what he charges.

HU:

The arrogance of some potential customers continues to baffle me. You just get to pick numbers out of thin air and brand them "reasonable"? On what authority?

Any time I get a potential customer that tells me how simple a job is or how it should be done, or how much it should cost, she goes on double secret probation immediately. One more wrong word out of her and she'll never see me again for any amount of money.

Take it or leave it. How much a contractor profits is absolutely none of your business.

Did you come up with these estimates or did a contractor provide these for you? I agree with M Miller, the electrical done in my kitchen reno was quite high and it was fairly straight forward, no knocking of walls, appliances stayed in same place. I'd double your estimate across the board and then I'd think it's fair. If you come under, great!

People have said my estimates may be low, but no one has really explained why.

I get the contractors need to make profit and $1k/day ($125/hr) for an electrician and plumber sounds like a fair hourly rate to me. 2k to install cabinets in an 8ftx8ft kitchen seems reasonable. Other than plumbing, electrical and moving the vent, the things I see that need to be done by the GC are coordinating the subcontractors, installing the cabinets and installing the backsplash and touching up drywall ... what else would the GC need to do? (I will do floors myself or hire a flooring contractor)

And for the bathroom if keeping everything in place is not a simple job what makes it so complex. I assume 1 day demo, 2 day installing tub and surround, 1 day installing tile and 1/2 day grouting and 1/2 day installing sink, vanity and mirror. If this timeline isnt reasonable whats wrong with it and what is a reasonable timeframe for a 5x8 bathroom where there are no location changes and no electrical work?

The electrician has to come to your job site 2 - 3 times typically for a project that requires outlets in a newly tiled backsplash for example. The time to adjust locations for the rough fit out, then the time to actually put in the outlets - remember the tile is cut to the rough opening and then the covers go on last. If you have undercabinet light (which you should) that can be time intense. Also, if you are just having GCs estimate work based off descriptions you have a huge fudge factor to expect in their pricing. And that can account for the huge swing in pricing. If you have detailed drawings outlining the scope of work, showing dimensions for everything (so they don’t have to ‘think’ or ‘assume’) you will get numbers with sharpened pencils. And those numbers should be more in line with each other. Low ball price GC probably hasn’t been around the block enough to know to up his prices for a project that hasn’t been completely thought out and drawn up.

The plumber also comes to your site a minimum of twice - again for rough out first and finish out after tiling is done. Each of those trades are juggling multiple projects so you will rarely if never see all trades lined up one after the other. A small bathroom with tile work over a tub / with all trades lined up within a reasonable manner / and all your product neatly organized in your garage waiting for them is typically 2 weeks. That is the best case scenario. Anything quicker may be the ‘GC’ that acts as demo dude/tiler/electrician and plumber all rolled into one. I’d assume your condo would not allow that person from working on your space.

So I’m summary, you will be best served if you take your time to actually fully design these spaces and have someone draw up the floor plans and elevations noting all of the products you will be using, the layout of the tile work, the lighting, etc. a full design document that you can hand off to these GCs. These minimum of 3 GCs will be names from neighbors in the condo that have done work there already. Your preferred GC will be the one that will educate you on timeline/schedule for your project based on your condo/your design/their work schedule based on their trusted trade relationships. Then you have the full / accurate picture. Then you are on the right track.

The 1k a day for a plumber or electrician is for one man. What if he has a helper as a standard. As mentioned above there are multiple trips on multiple days for those trades. If you think those prices are fair, by all means keep looking. You will either come around to reality or find someone to do it for what you fell is fair and regret it later when they fall down on your project.

Remodeling projects can be adventures for clients and remodelers alike.

Each year Remodeling Magazine publishes what they call a "Cost vs. Value Report" which reports the cost of a variety of remodeling projects across many areas of the county. Comparing the project scopes and associated costs in the report with your projects should provide some useful cost benchmarks. Live_wire_oak provided a link in a post above, but here it is again:

https://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2020/

@thinkdesignlive and @millworkman Thanks for the helpful explanations.

Add in permits for the work, too. Then they have to inspect the work. That takes time as well as money.

Add in the PIA client factor too. That’s going to be closer to 50K than 40K now. Or higher.

Anytime anyone thinks a job is an easy one week time, they are going to be a big problem to deal with. Contractors have antenna for that kind of fantasy bubble. If you think it’s so easy, get out your sawzall and start that demo yourself. Figure out how to get it out of there and legally dispose of it. And all while not getting drywall dust and filth everywhere. Do you know how to do that?

Go down to the supply house and grab some Romex. The right Romex. Grab a new pair of Klein wire cutters while you’re at it because the last pair got left in a 180 degree attic because you just had to get out of there before you fainted. Get out your drywall hawk and tape roller. Rustle up your MAP gas torch and solder. Find all 22 clamps and 3 levels. Take a trip for some cabinet install screws, and wait in line to even get into the store.

All during Covid 19, where you have to mask and wash and and sanitize and keep to one trade at a time in a small bath, and at social distance for everyone, and take an extra week to do everything task.

Expand your skills. And gain a new appreciation for SKILLED labor. Because your efforts certainly would not be.

I think you have been watching too much HGTV, where the host swings a sledgehammer and the whole kitchen is gone after the commercial break. They didn't show you the crew of 3 that spent 2 whole days actually completing the demo!

Remember, a remodeling General Contractor gets 20-60% markup on all the costs.

"a remodeling General Contractor gets 20-60% markup on all the costs."

Where and what do you have to back that statement up?

@UserCan you explain how a bathroom replacement that involves zero electrical, zero HVAC and keeps literally everything in the same exact location does not qualify as a simple job?

I understand the kitchen is way more complex, I told contractors I was expecting 2-3 months when they asked about timeframe so I think my time expectations have a massive safety margin.

The one week time frame for the project raised my eyebrows, if only because we are dealing with a similar bathroom project, except we removed a tub and are making that space a shower. We are going into our 6th week (including one week of vacation for the GC).

Our single contractor and his helper laid the marble tile floor and tile shower and updated the light fixtures and switches themselves. He brought in the plumbers and painters. He is here almost every workday without fail. I won’t even get into the material costs. Except to say I did most of the buying under his instruction with the exception of installation materials like grout, sealer, and shluter bits and pieces, etc., which he purchased. I had good luck finding higher end towel bars, light fixtures, and other ’jewelry’ on E-bay and “Amazon Warehouse”, but I was willing to try ’open box’ items. I will say that our costs were way beyond your estimates, but I have trouble staying on budget. We have not received a bill from our GC yet, but I expect it to be double what the Remodeling Magazine estimated and we live in (low rent) Cincinnati. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.

We have used our contractor on five other projects so I knew what I was in for. We work well together and do everything on a handshake, which of course is not recommended, but it works for us. We have a lot of trust between us which is valuable to me, after having worked on other home remodeling projects with other contractors who were not so dependable. Good luck with your project.