All good points everyone. Thanks so much for your input. Shari - SA I am not looking for higher maintenance floors, you bring up a good point re the white. So nobody likes the idea of gray floors? Not sure I like the pale wood tone. Is there another contemporary shade of wood that would go well with modern finishes? Judy - Apparently laminate holds up best with dog claws. And I have a rescue dog, who definitely has claws. I know what you mean though about the thin sound when you walk on cheap laminate. I will be buying AC4 rated, 12mm thick laminate, and my contractors will be using a high grade thick under flooring - as required by the condo management. I am thinking this will help with the clack clack noise you talk about. Carolyn

I wouldn't put wood ceramic tiles in kitchen since you are having wood look laminate elsewhere. I would opt for a tile that you like. Are there inspiration photos that you are drawn to. I am not sure what regulations are for your condo in terms of sound abatement. In my experience, there are no soundproofing regulations for bathrooms and kitchens in condos because these rooms were not intended to have carpets or rugs and were generally originally built with some kind of hard flooring. There is probably more noise carried from showers and toilets than people walking in the bathrooms.

Contract types are frequently interchanged on this forum but are essential to understand as one does not get to treat their build like cost plus in one aspect, and then treat it like fixed price in another aspect. Which is this contract? One doesn’t know for sure but can assume with allowances it is likely a fixed price contract, so in this instance, one is getting a price for the job, not itemized lists of costs. Fixed price contracts can and often do provide fairly detailed bids, but this is not the same thing as the builder opening his books to you. If you want that, then proceed with cost plus. On the topic of markups, expect to pay markup on cost plus or fixed price contracts, as the home buyer should and does on any product they purchase. Trying to remove half the materials from mark-up as frequently suggested on this forum is asking the builder to work for less amount with greater risk. More expensive and complicated materials are frequently more to project manage, more effort in labor and skill to install, and CERTAINLY more risk for the builder should some of these materials need replaced during the build or the warranty period. If one paid markup on $5,000 worth of counter tops but changed to $25,000 worth of counter tops with no additional markup, it’s easy to see how the builder is in a terrible spot if he had to replace $25,000 worth of counter tops on a $5,000 worth of mark-up fee. Simple math really. Mark ups never cover all the potential things that can go wrong in a build, but they are a way to manage risk, which is real in any build. Increasing risk and work load to the builder by adding lots of expensive and complicated materials to manage without correspondingly applying the mark up fee is essentially asking them to take more risk for nothing in return. Many, especially those with sound business sense, will refuse to do it, rightfully so.

I'm a Realtor in a totally different area from you. I agree with the comments that say NOT to renovate because you won't receive a return on the kitchen. It is expensive to renovate. A refresh will generally get you the best ROI depending upon your neighborhood and the extent of your refresh. Your agent should be able to show you what has sold recently and the condition of the kitchens in each of the sales. I've noticed that in the neighborhoods in which I work the best return is from replacing appliances with new appliances. Not the high end package but a medium appliance package on sale. This is good timing since we are close to the July 4th sales. Take advantage. Check with your Realtor to see what the newer appliances bring in the sales prices of your townhomes. It should be relatively easy to determine since you are in a TH community. Changing out the countertop? That is a hit or miss proposition. Is it in bad shape? Fresh paint is a better option along with repairs of the current cabinetry. If you were going to be there longer than 2 months, more like 2 to 5 years, a more extensive remodel could make sense (but still, not an expensive remodel). You already have a big benefit - the school system. Don't throw away equity on a kitchen remodel.