Kitchen Remodeling Costs and Budgeting
I often get asked the question, "What does the average kitchen remodel cost?" Trying to answer that is like trying to answer, "What does the average car cost?" or "Why is the sky blue?" There are many factors that enter into that question. A good place to get an overview of kitchen remodeling costs (along with many other types of projects) is put out by Remodeling Magazine each year. You can see this by clicking here.
The total cost can vary tremendously depending on what your goals are. A good overview for budgeting is provided by HGTV - see that by clicking here.
In considering the question of setting a realistic budget and cost versus return on your investment Realtors have suggested the following percentages in setting an initial budget. These numbers are based on the idea of getting a return on your investment if you sold the house in 5 years. Multiply the percentage against the current appraised sales value of your house.
> "Spruce it up" kitchen remodel: 5-7% (new appliance, countertops, flooring, hardware, refurbish existing cabinets)
> Minimal Update: 8-12% (new appliances, countertops, mid-priced cabinets, flooring, no changes to layout or structure)
> Full scale update: 13-18% (new appliances, custom cabinets, flooring, change layout, move walls, etc.)
Of course, the financial return is only one of the considerations. Your happiness in living with your environment is very important also.
As to the custom built cabinetry and services that The Cabinet Guy, LLC offers. Well, we have built small sets of kitchen cabinets for as little as $2,500 and many larger projects that were over $50,000 (just for the cabinets!). The bottom line is that you can spend as little or as much as you want. However, our average prices for our part of the work (cabinets and installation) are as follows (please note these can vary widely both up and down depending on your specific needs and desires and the size of the project):
> CABINET REFURBISHING: $2,500 - $6,000 - this is where we restore your existing cabinetry to look almost new again. We can tint or glaze the cabinets to give you a new look. We also repair damage and replace worn out hardware (drawer glides, handles, etc.) and often add accessories like roll out shelves and waste baskets and so on. This is an outstanding value if your cabinets are in good shape and you just want them to look new again. We have done this procedure on kitchens up to 25 years old.
> CABINET REFACING: $5,000-$15,000 - in this case we build brand new doors and drawer fronts and overlay the existing cabinet frames and end panels with matching wood veneers. This is a great value if you are happy with the layout of the cabinets but want an entirely new look (we can do any wood and finish in this case). Some clients opt to replace the drawer glides on the existing drawers with heavier duty full extension glides. Others choose to replace the entire drawer boxes with new dovetail wood drawers and the undermount soft close full extension glides (often referred to as "Blumotion"). Typically (and surprisingly to many) refacing usually saves only about 20% of the cost of new cabinets (don't fall for the spiffy, high-pressure salesperson who tells you that you are saving 50% if you'll cut them a check right now!). This is because the largest cost of cabinetry is the doors and fronts. The cabinet boxes themselves are not a major part of a cabinet's cost.
> NEW CUSTOM OR 'SEMI-CUSTOM' CABINETS: $6,000-$35,000 - here is where we provide brand new cabinets with a new, improved layout. While this is the most expensive option many times the existing cabinets are worn out or the layout simply stinks and the only way to improve it is to start over. The fully custom cabinets we build are not inexpensive but our customers tell us that our pricing is very competitive with the big-box stores "semi-custom" lines and they find that our tremendous flexibility in style, woods, finishes and sizes gives them exactly what they want whereas they would have had to make many compromises with the limited choices in the big-box stores. We also offer two semi-custom lines - Showplace and DeWils
If you have a project in mind (kitchens or any room in your house) do not hesitate to contact us even if you think we will be too expensive. Many times we have been able to "value-engineer" the product to fit a price you are comfortable with. And if we give you a price that is too high and you choose to go elsewhere we won't be offended. In many cases through the years we have freely given clients better ideas than they had and even though they didn't buy from us they thank us for helping them get a better product from another place and avoid problems that the other company didn't anticipate. Simply put, we are here to serve and by helping enough people get what they want helps assure that we get enough business to make us perfectly happy - a win-win situation indeed!