OT: Kitchen Remodel Costs / Opinions / anyone in the industry?

[Natl20]

Before I start, go ahead and flame away for this being a Blues forum and not a home remodeling forum lol. Really I don't know where else to go for non-bias / multiple opinions from people who may have done this at their home or work in the industry. My parents still live in the 60's and think a pair of jeans should be $10 and a new car $10K so its not worth asking them, they'd probably faint at the cost.

ANYWHO, pretty strongly considering a quote to remodel our kitchen, the quote currently sits at $70K, flooring would be ~$5K, and then appliances (haven't entertained that cost yet).

The flooring guy measured the flooring which includes half bath and laundry room at about 780sf, so I'm guessing our kitchen square footage is around 650 call it to be safe. We have a u-shaped kitchens / cabinets, we have an island thats 6 fee long, and we have one of those 'desks' in the breakfast room area that was popular in the 90's (looking to convert that into a little bar area with counter height counters).

As you can probably tell our kitchens freakin big. I think I counted somewhere around 30 cabinet doors (cabinet sizes vary) and about 16 drawers. We are doing plywood, soft close, dovetail cabinets / drawers, quartz counter top and possibly backsplash too almost to the ceiling, installing a hood above the stove (microwave is going in the island), the half bath off the kitchen is getting matching cabinet / vanity, toilet, etc.

Someone make me feel good about possibly doing this project, we have no intention of moving (unless our neighborhood turns into North STL) and I know for a fact costs arent going to go down.

Is ~$80K reasonable? This is our biggest purchase ever outside of the actual house and I don't make decisions easily esp. this large but the more I see renderings of what we are going to do and think about it the more I want to do it and just think 'eff it'

PS: No I dont have 80k laying under my bed but we can afford it, its not going to disrupt life as we know it or not be able to afford food / my kids tuition. I still don't like seeing 80k disappear tho haha

Thats all, any input from experts is appreciated.

[Army's Mom]

I'd get a second bid, but not because they're over-charging. When we finished our basement ten years ago (1000 sq ft). the going rate was $100-150 per sqft, depending on finishes/materials. And that was just walls, paint, metal studs, carpet, electrical, and plumbing. Your home sounds like higher end finishes, so I'd worry that it should come in closer to $160/sqft or $124,000. If anything, I would think a kitchen would cost more per sqft than a basement...

Hope this helps. I'm definitely jealous of the kitchen size you describe. My wife loves our galley kitchen, so she'll never let me expand it!

Edit to add: I could well be mis-remembering. I'm definitely no expert, and don't have a contractor I'd recommend, or I'd send that along. Good luck to you. AI is suggesting the average kitchen remodel is between 150-350 per sqft. Yikes. I should be thankful my wife loves our kitchen as is!!!

[Natl20]

I'd get a second bid, but not because they're over-charging. When we finished our basement ten years ago (1000 sq ft). the going rate was $100-150 per sqft, depending on finishes/materials. And that was just walls, paint, metal studs, carpet, electrical, and plumbing. Your home sounds like higher end finishes, so I'd worry that it should come in closer to $160/sqft or $124,000. If anything, I would think a kitchen would cost more per sqft than a basement...

Hope this helps. I'm definitely jealous of the kitchen size you describe. My wife loves our galley kitchen, so she'll never let me expand it!

Edit to add: I could well be mis-remembering. I'm definitely no expert, and don't have a contractor I'd recommend, or I'd send that along. Good luck to you. AI is suggesting the average kitchen remodel is between 150-350 per sqft. Yikes. I should be thankful my wife loves our kitchen as is!!!

Thanks! I didn't mention we did get two other bids, one was $100K (although it seemed very comprehensive and wasn't missing anything we discussed) , the other was $80K however it the 'allowances' for materials seemed insanely low, in particular $16K for cabinets....with all the cabinets i said we had, I don't think there is anyway we are near $15K for everything. Just seemed like the $80K quote was missing a lot of stuff we talked about, obviously didn't include appliances either.

[TruBlueFan_1970]

Sounds reasonable to be honest. We completely gutted and redid our kitchen & appliances in 2020. It’s not nearly as big as yours and it was roughly $35-40k if I recall correctly. 6 years later and 4-5 years of really high inflation would probably put it near the range your sharing. STL Design & Build did ours and did a great job. Not sure who you’ve had bid it, but if you haven’t talked to them, may want to check them out. Our neighbour liked their work so much, they had them do their kitchen and bathroom remodels. Good luck.

[son_of_foolsgold]

Don't know how the "moderators" can allow this discussion given how zealous they are at censoring any topic that vaguely touches on politics.

[Natl20]

Sounds reasonable to be honest. We completely gutted and redid our kitchen & appliances in 2020. It’s not nearly as big as yours and it was roughly $35-40k if I recall correctly. 6 years later and 4-5 years of really high inflation would probably put it near the range your sharing. STL Design & Build did ours and did a great job. Not sure who you’ve had bid it, but if you haven’t talked to them, may want to check them out. Our neighbour liked their work so much, they had them do their kitchen and bathroom remodels. Good luck.

Just booked a quote with them on Monday thanks!

The 100k quote we got is obviously in lala land, getting this 4th quote by someone whos recommended will put me at ease and put this thing to rest one way or another.

Thanks!

[hullie]

I’m sure this goes without saying but research the heck out of the company you choose. Lots of horror stories out there. Your bid seems where it should be.

[Army's Mom]

Don't know how the "moderators" can allow this discussion given how zealous they are at censoring any topic that vaguely touches on politics.

WTF does an OT thread about kitchen remodels have to do with politics?

Does it hurt your sensibilities to even mention inflation? Is that it?

[Natl20]

Don't know how the "moderators" can allow this discussion given how zealous they are at censoring any topic that vaguely touches on politics.

WTF does an OT thread about kitchen remodels have to do with politics?

Does it hurt your sensibilities to even mention inflation? Is that it?

LMAO thanks, I think cuz I mentioned North STL. I guess referring to a area of STL is political...wonder if I mentioned Ladue, bet that wouldnt be considered 'political'

[MrPostman01]

Flooring guy should definitely go first because maybe not everything is still level.

Wife (boss lady) was howling because the dishwasher drip pan melted and into the base cabinets before we knew.

Whew! Just last summer. Bought new dishwasher Jenn Air and a smaller LG microwave that did not use remote (saved bucks that way) from Best Buy, roughly $2200 total, install and haul away.

I had to buy new cabinetry for base cabinets roughly 1200 bucks.
Floor guy installed porcelain and then the cabinets. He also installed laundry room big wall cabinets about $700 painted.
vanity bath had special tiling as did the kitchen backsplash (not subway)
Floor guy did porcelain floors in bathroom, laundry room, kitchen , living room, dining room and made the bottom splash porcelain borders too. He also helped build some cabinetry walls. Roughly 1100 sq, ft for around 25,000.

Another company did the kitchen electrical, new fixture install (fixtures separate $2000) installed the backsplash for the kitchen. (Floor guy got too busy) and painted the cabinets base and wall in kitchen beautiful shade of Blue (Benjamin Moore) plus amber handles on cabinets and drawers to match amber lights overhead all for about $10.000. Kitchen also painted Benjamin Moore White. Also installed vanity toilet and gold sink (color). I am ashamed of how much I got.

This is in an area where we paid about half the expected price. So shop around, maybe at decor stores.

And I almost forget the Taj Mahal granite (from India) countertops cut to perfection, installed, kitchen deep sink, new sinkerator, new faucets about $7000 total.

[Franco23]

I've been in the industry for nearly 25 years and owned my own business for the last several. I'll preface this by saying there are thousands of variables in a remodel that can affect the overall cost. That being said, that doesn't seem out of line, obviously without seeing the layout and selections it's hard to say confidently. I would strongly recommend making sure the bids you received are truly apples to apples, that the cabinet, countertop, fixtures, etc. selections are comparable, especially the cabinets & layout and all the options that come with them. On the installation side make sure that all the bids cover the same work and that they are either hard numbers or allowances that are realistic. I have customers compare our bids quite often and virtually every time I have someone who says they've got bid that is substantially less than ours, if I can see the other bid I will be able to find things that are missing or just different that explains the difference.

[Bubble4427]

Before I start, go ahead and flame away for this being a Blues forum and not a home remodeling forum lol. Really I don't know where else to go for non-bias / multiple opinions from people who may have done this at their home or work in the industry. My parents still live in the 60's and think a pair of jeans should be $10 and a new car $10K so its not worth asking them, they'd probably faint at the cost.

ANYWHO, pretty strongly considering a quote to remodel our kitchen, the quote currently sits at $70K, flooring would be ~$5K, and then appliances (haven't entertained that cost yet).

The flooring guy measured the flooring which includes half bath and laundry room at about 780sf, so I'm guessing our kitchen square footage is around 650 call it to be safe. We have a u-shaped kitchens / cabinets, we have an island thats 6 fee long, and we have one of those 'desks' in the breakfast room area that was popular in the 90's (looking to convert that into a little bar area with counter height counters).

As you can probably tell our kitchens freakin big. I think I counted somewhere around 30 cabinet doors (cabinet sizes vary) and about 16 drawers. We are doing plywood, soft close, dovetail cabinets / drawers, quartz counter top and possibly backsplash too almost to the ceiling, installing a hood above the stove (microwave is going in the island), the half bath off the kitchen is getting matching cabinet / vanity, toilet, etc.

Someone make me feel good about possibly doing this project, we have no intention of moving (unless our neighborhood turns into North STL) and I know for a fact costs arent going to go down.

Is ~$80K reasonable? This is our biggest purchase ever outside of the actual house and I don't make decisions easily esp. this large but the more I see renderings of what we are going to do and think about it the more I want to do it and just think 'eff it'

PS: No I dont have 80k laying under my bed but we can afford it, its not going to disrupt life as we know it or not be able to afford food / my kids tuition. I still don't like seeing 80k disappear tho haha

Thats all, any input from experts is appreciated.

Ok, here goes….
We did,our kitchen 4 years ago and couldn’t be more pleased. We did nice cabinets and a wood oven hood….combined they were 19K.
Our kitchen countertops were top of the line Quartz for 8k. The total cost was around 65k by the time we had everything done and added miscellaneous stuff (in drawer microwave, front vented in counter wine/beer fridge, and a hand made wooden table.

The costs added up quickly. But of all the things you can do to your house…the kitchen is the most likely to be money well spent. You ARE adding value to your house. As far as who you are hiring I would strongly suggest NOT hiring the cheapest person. The highest “no where in the ballpark” guys are normally too busy or would rather not do your kitchen unless you are going to pay an outrageous mark up. But cheapest is not the best either. My Dad told me when I first bought my house 25 years ago….”when it comes to any expense having to do with your house…you normally get what you pay for…so think twice before deciding to go with the cheapest solution.

Couple of random thoughts:

1. When you are getting bids…tell the construction guys that you will supply the flooring and for them to take the flooring materials out of your bid. That way you decide the actual cost of your floor and not deal with their “estimated built in cost”. You really only want to get bid on his Labor to build your kitchen. Think of all of the materials that are going in as extra.

2. If you don’t have it already, get the under cabinet LED lights….they are cheap to add on but make a big difference.
3. Our kitchen and laundry room is approximately 400 square ft……so it not huge.
4 We used Hallmark stone for the countertops…their prices are decent, the countertops are thicker, and their turn around time is must faster than most of their competitors.
5. We used Pro Source in Fenton for our flooring…they do wholesale pricing and have a HUGE selection. The only drawback to using them is they will not deliver, your guy has to pick it up. They also do cabinets but we didn’t use them for our cabinets.

At the time we did it I was wanting to move but my wife didn’t. She just wanted a new kitchen. I knew that if we did it…that I would just resign myself to being “lifers” in our home. Also….i would seriously consider a designer, the cabinet company lady we had is who did ours. She was incredible and suggested things that we never would have thought of that ended up making a huge difference in the end. Also, most of the measurements that your construction guy will use will come from them because they will measure everything.

I hope some of these random thoughts helped…..enjoy your kitchen.(also, be prepared to wait 6 months for your construction guy to fit you into his schedule. Most good guys/companies are behind and have a backlog. If anyone says to you “we can do you next month”…..run away…chance are they suck as a person and do krappy work.

[Bubble4427]

Don't know how the "moderators" can allow this discussion given how zealous they are at censoring any topic that vaguely touches on politics.

It’s labeled as “Off topic”. The fact that people put up with your garbage posts on here…maybe you should cut the guy a little slack troll boy….

[TBone]

Make sure they come with multiple references (hopefully from friends of yours) and pay them as they go, but hold the last 20-25% until you are completely satisfied with the job.

I can't overstate this: NEVER let a contractor you don't know or barely know get ahead of you on a job. Inspect the work as you go and if you don't like what you're seeing speak up. And if need be don't be afraid to pull the plug on them. YOU control the job and it's your money. Hopefully it never comes to this which is why homework at this stage is so important. Also expect potential delays in when the job starts and don't get upset if they're not on the project every day. They have multiple customers and it can be a juggling act with them and their subs to get itineraries on multiple jobs straight.

The saddest stories I hear is when contractors get over on customers. In fact the last project I was on was another one. Someone screwed him for 60K, left shoddy work and ghosted him once he got all his money. You have his full attention until he gets that last cut. Use your iron fist with a velvet glove. I've heard it go the other way too. I know a contractor who had a customer - he goes to church with - tell him you overcharged me. Take me to court. Left him holding the bag for 30K and he gets to look at his ferret face every Sunday.

Did I mention getting multiple references?? Oooof-dah!!

[Natl20]

Before I start, go ahead and flame away for this being a Blues forum and not a home remodeling forum lol. Really I don't know where else to go for non-bias / multiple opinions from people who may have done this at their home or work in the industry. My parents still live in the 60's and think a pair of jeans should be $10 and a new car $10K so its not worth asking them, they'd probably faint at the cost.

ANYWHO, pretty strongly considering a quote to remodel our kitchen, the quote currently sits at $70K, flooring would be ~$5K, and then appliances (haven't entertained that cost yet).

The flooring guy measured the flooring which includes half bath and laundry room at about 780sf, so I'm guessing our kitchen square footage is around 650 call it to be safe. We have a u-shaped kitchens / cabinets, we have an island thats 6 fee long, and we have one of those 'desks' in the breakfast room area that was popular in the 90's (looking to convert that into a little bar area with counter height counters).

As you can probably tell our kitchens freakin big. I think I counted somewhere around 30 cabinet doors (cabinet sizes vary) and about 16 drawers. We are doing plywood, soft close, dovetail cabinets / drawers, quartz counter top and possibly backsplash too almost to the ceiling, installing a hood above the stove (microwave is going in the island), the half bath off the kitchen is getting matching cabinet / vanity, toilet, etc.

Someone make me feel good about possibly doing this project, we have no intention of moving (unless our neighborhood turns into North STL) and I know for a fact costs arent going to go down.

Is ~$80K reasonable? This is our biggest purchase ever outside of the actual house and I don't make decisions easily esp. this large but the more I see renderings of what we are going to do and think about it the more I want to do it and just think 'eff it'

PS: No I dont have 80k laying under my bed but we can afford it, its not going to disrupt life as we know it or not be able to afford food / my kids tuition. I still don't like seeing 80k disappear tho haha

Thats all, any input from experts is appreciated.

Ok, here goes….
We did,our kitchen 4 years ago and couldn’t be more pleased. We did nice cabinets and a wood oven hood….combined they were 19K.
Our kitchen countertops were top of the line Quartz for 65K by the time we had everything done and added miscellaneous stuff (in drawer microwave, front vented in counter wine/beer fridge, and a hand made wooden table.

The costs added up quickly. But of all the things you can do to your house…the kitchen is the most likely to be money well spent. You ARE adding value to your house. As far as who you are hiring I would strongly suggest NOT hiring the cheapest person. The highest “no where in the ballpark” guys are normally too busy or would rather not do your kitchen unless you are going to pay an outrageous mark up. But cheapest is not the best either. My Dad told me when I first bought my house 25 years ago….”when it comes to any expense having to do with your house…you normally get what you pay for…so think twice before deciding to go with the cheapest solution.

Couple of random thoughts:

1. When you are getting bids…tell the construction guys that you will supply the flooring and for them to take the flooring materials out of your bid. That way you decide the actual cost of your floor and not deal with their “estimated built in cost”. You really only want to get bid on his Labor to build your kitchen. Think of all of the materials that are going in as extra.

2. If you don’t have it already, get the under cabinet LED lights….they are cheap to add on but make a big difference.
3. Our kitchen and laundry room is approximately 400 square ft……so it not huge.
4 We used Hallmark stone for the countertops…their prices are decent, the countertops are thicker, and their turn around time is must faster than most of their competitors.
5. We used Pro Source in Fenton for our flooring…they do wholesale pricing and have a HUGE selection. The only drawback to using them is they will not deliver, your guy has to pick it up. They also do cabinets but we didn’t use them for our cabinets.

At the time we did it I was wanting to move but my wife didn’t. She just wanted a new kitchen. I knew that if we did it…that I would just resign myself to being “lifers” in our home. Also….i would seriously consider a designer, the cabinet company lady we had is who did ours. She was incredible and suggested things that we never would have thought of that ended up making a huge difference in the end. Also, most of the measurements that your construction guy will use will come from them because they will measure everything.

I hope some of these random thoughts helped…..enjoy your kitchen.(also, be prepared to wait 6 months for your construction guy to fit you into his schedule. Most good guys/companies are behind and have a backlog. If anyone says to you “we can do you next month”…..run away…chance are they suck as a person and do krappy work.

Thanks! Definitely have the under cabinet lighting in there.

We are looking at Premier Kitchen and Bath in Fenton, they have a designer to help us along but also do the install etc. Online reviews are really good. Going to get a quote from STL Design that was recommended above just to make myself feel better. Thatll be 4 quotes then, that will probably tell the story of what its going to cost.

Funny the quartz we have our eye on says Hallmark Stone on the sample so that makes me feel good.

Evans Flooring in Fenton is who Premier recommended for flooring, i was happy with their quote of $5K.

So your kitchen all-in was 65K?

[Bubble4427]

Before I start, go ahead and flame away for this being a Blues forum and not a home remodeling forum lol. Really I don't know where else to go for non-bias / multiple opinions from people who may have done this at their home or work in the industry. My parents still live in the 60's and think a pair of jeans should be $10 and a new car $10K so its not worth asking them, they'd probably faint at the cost.

ANYWHO, pretty strongly considering a quote to remodel our kitchen, the quote currently sits at $70K, flooring would be ~$5K, and then appliances (haven't entertained that cost yet).

The flooring guy measured the flooring which includes half bath and laundry room at about 780sf, so I'm guessing our kitchen square footage is around 650 call it to be safe. We have a u-shaped kitchens / cabinets, we have an island thats 6 fee long, and we have one of those 'desks' in the breakfast room area that was popular in the 90's (looking to convert that into a little bar area with counter height counters).

As you can probably tell our kitchens freakin big. I think I counted somewhere around 30 cabinet doors (cabinet sizes vary) and about 16 drawers. We are doing plywood, soft close, dovetail cabinets / drawers, quartz counter top and possibly backsplash too almost to the ceiling, installing a hood above the stove (microwave is going in the island), the half bath off the kitchen is getting matching cabinet / vanity, toilet, etc.

Someone make me feel good about possibly doing this project, we have no intention of moving (unless our neighborhood turns into North STL) and I know for a fact costs arent going to go down.

Is ~$80K reasonable? This is our biggest purchase ever outside of the actual house and I don't make decisions easily esp. this large but the more I see renderings of what we are going to do and think about it the more I want to do it and just think 'eff it'

PS: No I dont have 80k laying under my bed but we can afford it, its not going to disrupt life as we know it or not be able to afford food / my kids tuition. I still don't like seeing 80k disappear tho haha

Thats all, any input from experts is appreciated.

Ok, here goes….
We did,our kitchen 4 years ago and couldn’t be more pleased. We did nice cabinets and a wood oven hood….combined they were 19K.
Our kitchen countertops were top of the line Quartz for 65K by the time we had everything done and added miscellaneous stuff (in drawer microwave, front vented in counter wine/beer fridge, and a hand made wooden table.

The costs added up quickly. But of all the things you can do to your house…the kitchen is the most likely to be money well spent. You ARE adding value to your house. As far as who you are hiring I would strongly suggest NOT hiring the cheapest person. The highest “no where in the ballpark” guys are normally too busy or would rather not do your kitchen unless you are going to pay an outrageous mark up. But cheapest is not the best either. My Dad told me when I first bought my house 25 years ago….”when it comes to any expense having to do with your house…you normally get what you pay for…so think twice before deciding to go with the cheapest solution.

Couple of random thoughts:

1. When you are getting bids…tell the construction guys that you will supply the flooring and for them to take the flooring materials out of your bid. That way you decide the actual cost of your floor and not deal with their “estimated built in cost”. You really only want to get bid on his Labor to build your kitchen. Think of all of the materials that are going in as extra.

2. If you don’t have it already, get the under cabinet LED lights….they are cheap to add on but make a big difference.
3. Our kitchen and laundry room is approximately 400 square ft……so it not huge.
4 We used Hallmark stone for the countertops…their prices are decent, the countertops are thicker, and their turn around time is must faster than most of their competitors.
5. We used Pro Source in Fenton for our flooring…they do wholesale pricing and have a HUGE selection. The only drawback to using them is they will not deliver, your guy has to pick it up. They also do cabinets but we didn’t use them for our cabinets.

At the time we did it I was wanting to move but my wife didn’t. She just wanted a new kitchen. I knew that if we did it…that I would just resign myself to being “lifers” in our home. Also….i would seriously consider a designer, the cabinet company lady we had is who did ours. She was incredible and suggested things that we never would have thought of that ended up making a huge difference in the end. Also, most of the measurements that your construction guy will use will come from them because they will measure everything.

I hope some of these random thoughts helped…..enjoy your kitchen.(also, be prepared to wait 6 months for your construction guy to fit you into his schedule. Most good guys/companies are behind and have a backlog. If anyone says to you “we can do you next month”…..run away…chance are they suck as a person and do krappy work.

Thanks! Definitely have the under cabinet lighting in there.

We are looking at Premier Kitchen and Bath in Fenton, they have a designer to help us along but also do the install etc. Online reviews are really good. Going to get a quote from STL Design that was recommended above just to make myself feel better. Thatll be 4 quotes then, that will probably tell the story of what its going to cost.

Funny the quartz we have our eye on says Hallmark Stone on the sample so that makes me feel good.

Evans Flooring in Fenton is who Premier recommended for flooring, i was happy with their quote of $5K.

So your kitchen all-in was 65K?

Buy direct whenever you can….why pay markup? We’re we’re going to use Premier Kitchen and Bath for some things….but Hallmark was cheaper when it came to countertops and the sink….

One last piece of advice.
If you are thinking of 2 options…option A is the perfect thing you want but costs more than option B which is nice, but not as nice as option A but saves you money…”. ALWAYS GO WITH OPTION “A”.
I can’t stress this enough. You are going to have to live with this kitchen for years….do it the way that YOU always dreamed of. That decision came up at least three times and we always said to ourselves “we’re only doing this once so let’s go for it”.
Best decision we ever made.