It's important to understand what you are getting for your money so that you can adequately compare your choices. That means not only an "apples to apples" comparison based on the same cabinets and trim, but also understanding quality differences. Builder grade cabinets are generally not customizable at all compared to mid grade semi custom cabinetry which has some customization available. The biggest difference between builder grade cabinets and mid grade cabinets is the material. The construction material and hardware is lower grade for builder grade. But many lower grade cabinets available will still pass KCMA construction guidelines, and you would not be purchasing significantly more durability by purchasing more expensive cabinet boxes. Once you reach a certain level of construction in boxes, anything above that is overkill with little return. The doors are a different matter. What separates mid grade cabinets from upper grade cabinets is the finishing of the doors. The boxes and the hardware are pretty comparable. What you are buying is the extra time required to do a more premium job in selecting and finishing the wood for the doors. We all know that labor is the most expensive component of any product or service. In higher quality cabinets, the wood matches better, it's sanded smoother, and the staining or painting is of better quality. Since the doors and drawers are what show on cabinetry, the difference in finishing can impart significant differences in appearance and wear over time. The difference between upper grade cabinets and premium grade cabinets is back to the materials chosen and the ability to completely customize them to any degree. Exotic woods, solid polished stainless, or specialty box materials like no VOC plywood can be part of the mix. You're also talking custom labor installation from people who do nothing else and are part of the package. Christopher Peacock customers aren't DIYers. ;) The term "custom" gets bandied about a lot, but it doesn't have a fixed unalterable meaning because some wood workers (NOT woodworkers) have usurped the term to make themselves sound more skilled than they are. The term is stretched almost to the breaking between a builder's carpenter who makes a couple of big long boxes on the wall to fit doors that he pre-ordered from a wholesaler to a true craftsman who will make any wood you want in any door configuration and in any size. Custom is NO guarantee of quality---EVER. Some of the worst slapdash quality cabinets you will ever see will come with that label, as well as some of the finest furniture quality casework. Be sure to do enough research to know what you are getting for your money. Sometimes the products considered are not worth the money difference, but much of the time it is. But, even if it's intrinsically worth the money doesn't mean that it's not overkill for your situation and thus not "worth" the money to you. There is sometimes a world of difference between what we want and what we really need. It's not "settling" to spend 20K on full overlay semi custom cabinets rather than inset fully custom 100K cabinets if that is where your budget number needs to be. It's probably where your house needs to be as well.

I'm so sorry. I know you love your cat & want only the best for him; otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to the university, & you wouldn't have authorized $1500 in fees & expense. You might double check on the blood type info; Since my old vet used to keep an office cat who donated for her surgeries, I thought that any cat can donate to any other. Even with blood tests & everything else, I don't see how it all adds up to $2300, especially at a university. I thought the whole idea of using a university veterinary department was that you would get expert care for a lower fee, since the work is being done by students under the supervision of their professors. Here, I don't think you could spend $2300 on a cat (unless you had the thyroid irradiated; then you'd be looking at about $1500); blood work & such might run $300 if the condition were really obscure & baffling & every test under the sun had to be run. An amputation would probably be less than $300. I think I'd make a list of the items on my bill & ask my vet to list her charges for the same services. Don't ever be intimidated into not confronting the situation when you think you may have been over-charged. I wish you the best.

marcolo - you obviously have some pent up frustrations left over from your bluecollar childhood. You also have no clue about how the industry works either! A GC can be a project manager or not. Can be a sales man on not, can, and often is, both. He or SHE might have employees and might not. That $40 an hour to a sub doesn't just go into that plumbers pocket ( less uncle Sam's cut) like your "salary" does. (S)he gets to pay our uncle just like you but, many get the privilege of sending a lot of that money in ahead of time in quarterly estimated payments, not taken out of a paycheck every two weeks like most people on salary. You should try paying your tax bill in advance - you'll love it! Out of that $40/hr comes professional fees an licenses and overhead like a phone or two, and a vehicle that gets outasite gas mileage and some have offices believe it or not, and then there is workman's comp insurance so if he steps on a nail at YOUR house you are protected, and many even have something like obamcare too, and lets not forget one of the biggest - Liability Insurance - you want your slave.... I mean contractor to have that , right marcolo? I mean you don't want him accidently cutting a water pipe and flooding your house and then leave you with the bill simply saying "sorry maser, I dinnen mean ta , I guess ya can whip me." So, what do you suppose all that is worth? Would you like to pick up some of you're job's overhead like contractors do? You can easily give your employer back $$$ for use of the phone & pay ALL of your health care costs, and buy your own computer and pay for the internet out of your salary - sound good? While your at it why not round up and pay him for your desk/chair and pencils, pens and all the reams of paper you use? Another thing none of you math wizzes have taken into account in the scenario is that the bid @ $40/hr include some material, drywall, paint, cost $$$ and should be deducted BEFORE you start computing labor scenarios. So, now we are really talking about less than $40/hr or $80k/ year , which really isn't - see weismann's explanation. To all of you that think the "hidden conditions" is just a scam - grow up. If contractors included everything that might happen in your job's bid you'd soil your pants when you saw the estimate/contract. You'd also never do the job because it'd be too expensive. The vast majority of people that did decide to move forward would be overpaying especially when no asbestos laden corpse or flesh eating mold was found in your walls or it turns out you really didn't need an all new electrical system. You'd be obligated under the contract to pay for that stuff whether you needed it or not. -OR- Do you folks think the contractor is going to assume all the risk for what might be there AND only charge you if it actually comes up? Get a clue gang. - AND / OR _ You'd all then be complaining that remodeling prices are ridiculous (even worse than in this conversation) and the threads would be about "how can I lower/ afford my remodel" And- why isn't a plumber or carpenter with 20 years experience worth $80k? Is your broker that just yaks on the phone all day, tells you to buy COKE and sell DOW and buy as much Fannie Mae as you can - "it's going through the roof" AND who is WRONG more often than not, worth $150-$500k + bonuses a year and deserving of that Maserati? Or what about the Calif. prison guards that takes home $122k a year, or the actor on the silver screen that get $10 -$40 million for 6 months work? Oh, he's worth it , cause "he's dreamy". Even better is the one whose only talent is she's recognized all over the world often gets $1milion an appearance - can't even tell the difference between cocaine and bubble gum. That's certainly a trait more valued by our society than making sure you kitchen floor is level or that hot/cold water flows to your sink for 30 + years without a problem or the lights work and don't burn your house down - so now I'm probably the one who has no clue. Oh, what about that mechanic at your Ford or Honda dealer that is charging you $90/hr? he even gets to work in a climate controlled building. Sure stuff is expensive - and I'm not saying that the OP should accept those two bids, but this is a two way street. Just because you you only have or are willing to spend $24,635 doesn't mean you can get a new kitchen in YOUR house - especially the one you really really have been salivating about. BTW marcolo, what do you think is fair for the nail driver to earn a year. What would you really like to pay him? How about: 1.your auto mechanic 2.your broker/financial planner 3.your minister/rabbi/priest - they should prob. do it for nothing? 4.the TSA worker at the airport 5.your kid's teachers 6.your accountant 7.your Gen. Practice doctor

Are you working from specific plans so that you can send the plans out to other GC's for bids. In order to get an accurate bid, the plans have to be very specific so that the bids are apples to apples. When I solicited bids, the plans that were submitted were the same plans that were sent to the City for permits - everything was specified and those items which would be supplied by me were specified - e.g. I supplied actual tiles but installation and all materials for installation were part of the bid. The design of the tiles was specified since that impacts the actual cost of installation - and so on. That said, the skilled labor for a bathroom is extremely expensive - it involves licensed plumbers, electricians and skilled tile setters. Moving a shower involves changing the drain for example - when I swapped my bath/shower combo for a walk-in shower, the drain needed to be changed as shower drains are different than tub drains and I would assume different than sink drains. Also there are materials that are used in construction that have costs - which can add up . For example all of the rough plumbing is generally covered by the GC and isn't supplied by the homeowner. In my remodel, I supplied all of the fixtures - e.g. shower trim, toilet, tiles, floor tiles, vanities, sconces but the *boring* stuff was supplied by the GC. Don't forget that you are not just paying for labor in the sense that you hire a plumber to install a toilet. You are paying the GC (or at least a good one) to coordinate everything - hire the skilled trades - supervise them - deal with the inspectors and getting permits. A good GC has a relationship with the inspectors - not in terms of bribing them - but knowing what is needed to pass inspection. My shower was inspected three times and the GC had to be there and wait for the inspector who generally wasn't prompt and would cancel a few times. In my jurisdiction they can cancel up to two times if they run out of time. So you pay the 18% GC fee for their expertise, supervision and also taking ownership of all of the snafus. Personally I am not surprised at the cost based on what my relatively recent remodel cost me (gut remodel of a condo including two bathrooms and a kitchen) but you should bid it out. Baltimore/DC is a high cost of living area so it can't be compared to costs in other places so people from LA, NY, Boston will probably feel your bid was not out of line whereas someone in Plano or Bismark would be able to have it done less expensively,. As a complete non-professional who picked up a LOT of useful information by haunting these forums and relying on the kindness and expertise of houzzers, I can say that hiring a GC who is competent and reliable is worth a premium. This forum is filled with tales of woe - especially for bathrooms - in which people were either unlucky or tried to economize by hiring cheaply instead of wisely and then wound up dealing with additional costs; additional time wasted and additional headaches. My GC and designer were probably not the cheapest but in the end they delivered a beautiful bathroom with no worries about leaks; lippage, gaps or other types of horrors that appear on these pages.