New kitchen for $90,000 to $100,000???

[jpeppers]

I find it very insulting that you would find it appropriate to put a $90,000-$100,000 renovation question on a budget board? Apparently your budget is way different than mine. My 3 Br, 2 Ba home (built in 97) didn't even apparaise for that this year! I don't really think a $100,000 renovation question belongs on a Budget board.....most of us live in the real world!

[Aliceacc]

Originally Posted by jpeppers

I find it very insulting that you would find it appropriate to put a $90,000-$100,000 renovation question on a budget board? Apparently your budget is way different than mine. My 3 Br, 2 Ba home (built in 97) didn't even apparaise for that this year! I don't really think a $100,000 renovation question belongs on a Budget board.....most of us live in the real world!

Why? Obviously the point of the thread is to question the numbers.

I think a good part of it is geography.

My husband and I are both teachers in Catholic schools, so money is always a concern. We live in a modest little 3 bedroom Cape; my 2 daughters share a room.

But because we live on Long Island, our house appraises for at least $300,000. (Keep in mind, when we bought it in 1991, it cost a lot more than you're claiming your house appraises for now.)

One of the 3 contractors we spoke to quoted $90,000 as his price. No, we're not going with him, not if 2 other contractors were in the $60,000 range.

But my point is that the OP didn't post to make everyone envy the cost of her house. It was to question what she considered to be a high estimate. Believe me, it's a very real world even for those of us living where the prices of everything are higher than where you live.

[momto3gr8boys]

Originally Posted by Aliceacc

Why? Obviously the point of the thread is to question the numbers.

I think a good part of it is geography.

My husband and I are both teachers in Catholic schools, so money is always a concern. We live in a modest little 3 bedroom Cape; my 2 daughters share a room.

But because we live on Long Island, our house appraises for at least $300,000. (Keep in mind, when we bought it in 1991, it cost a lot more than you're claiming your house appraises for now.)

One of the 3 contractors we spoke to quoted $90,000 as his price. No, we're not going with him, not if 2 other contractors were in the $60,000 range.

But my point is that the OP didn't post to make everyone envy the cost of her house. It was to question what she considered to be a high estimate. Believe me, it's a very real world even for those of us living where the prices of everything are higher than where you live.

We are also on LI, and over the past year redid two bathrooms, a kitchen and basement. LMK if you are settled with your GC or want another option. We LOVED LOVED LOVED ours. He was not the cheapest, but in the end, the least expensive is not always the least expensive.

To the OP, I would suggest getting several estimates. We interviewed 6 GCs. It was a lot of work as each one took several hours. We also got a subscription to Angie's List, which is where we ultimately found our GC. My father was a commercial GC, so I knew a lot of the right questions to ask, etc., but mainly, I just had a gut feeling that this was our guy, and we could not have been happier.

We ended up spending somewhere between $50,000-60,000 not including appliances. Medium quality cabinets, mid-range granite, a glass backsplash that was a bit of a splurge (not very $$ but higher than tile), lighting was in normal range except for the pendant lights over our peninsula, faucet I did go high range - but I am so happy I did.

[momto3gr8boys]

Oh, OP, I forgot to say that while the estimate you are looking at is high, I don't think it is unreasonable. There are so many little things that add up when doing a project like this, and just going slightly higher on each one can significantly raise the overall cost. One thing I can say is you will love your kitchen when it is done! I would spend the money we did for our renovations again in a heartbeat (came to about $130,000 total). It is just something you appreciate on a daily basis for many years to come.

[auralia]

I don't know if you are near an ikea but its worth looking at. They have very nice cabinets at reasonable prices.

[HHSTigerFan]

We gutted out kitchen last year, took out a closet, parts of two walls to open it up.. New cabinets, solid top counter, moved some plumbing, added electrical, new hardwood.. Cabinets were Kraftmaid from Lowes.. Spent around $21K.

[Jasonkat]

Originally Posted by momtofour

I need help from my budget minded disboard friends!! We are looking to gut our kitchen that is 22 years old. The cabinets were poor to begin with so refacing etc. will not work. The space is large so we are not adding any square footage, moving walls etc. Looking at granite, medium grade cabinets, upper end appliances. My first quote came in at about $70,000 to $80,000 not including appliances. Does that seem about right? I am going from a U shape to an L shape with a large island. I have a hardwood floor so that needs to be sanded down again. It seems exorbinant!

In 2005 we did a full remodel of our kitchen. Our kitchen was tiny, it was maybe 10 feet long and 8 feet wide (so with appliances and counters installed there was about 3 feet of open space in the middle to walk through). We got the cheapest stuff out there. Cheap sink (not even stainless steel), cheap fridge, cheap dishwasher, cheap oven, formica countertops (I think they were formica, whatever the cheapest is). We got the cheapest cabinets with fake wood and the cabinets didn't even have backing so you could see the concrete of the wall when you looked at the back of the cabinet.

We used Home Depot instead of a contactor so our price was at least "fair" and not a total rip off. This remodel cost $20,000.

So I think if you have a much bigger space, and are using much better appliances/countertops/sink then $90,000 is completely reasonable.

[java]

Originally Posted by momtofour

Market value of my home is about $750,000. We would not be doing any of the work ourselves. The appliances are about $20,000. I am dealing with kitchen places that do all of the work. Would I save much by hiring a general contractor? We do not know anything about this!

That quote sounds about right. My friend just did hers and it was an average size- no bumping out - it was right around $100000 including appliances.

I did a major one 12 years ago including a big extension and it was right around $100,000 too. Man how costs change. Back then our appliances were about $20,000- so that price hasn't changed much

[Jenny3]

Originally Posted by Aliceacc

Why? Obviously the point of the thread is to question the numbers.

I think a good part of it is geography.

My husband and I are both teachers in Catholic schools, so money is always a concern. We live in a modest little 3 bedroom Cape; my 2 daughters share a room.

But because we live on Long Island, our house appraises for at least $300,000. (Keep in mind, when we bought it in 1991, it cost a lot more than you're claiming your house appraises for now.)

One of the 3 contractors we spoke to quoted $90,000 as his price. No, we're not going with him, not if 2 other contractors were in the $60,000 range.

But my point is that the OP didn't post to make everyone envy the cost of her house. It was to question what she considered to be a high estimate. Believe me, it's a very real world even for those of us living where the prices of everything are higher than where you live.

I agree, it's all relative!

We are doing a kitchen remodel this year, but are doing the majority of the work ourselves, along with some help from our friends who are licensed professionals. A good friend of ours is a contractor; another one is a tile guy; another does granite and my dad does floors.

We are doing a complete overhaul, gutting it all including taking out a wall to expand the kitchen and moving a gas line and electrical. My DH is a woodworker, but we're going with Ikea cabinets to save on the cost; my estimates so far in the $15-20k range for everything.

Like many have said, it all depends on what you choose and your finishes. Definitely get multiple estimates. I would guess in your price range for the changes you described, $60-75k sounds about right. So your initial estimate seems a bit high to me.

[eeyorethegreat]

Originally Posted by Gina

That's more than my very nice little house cost...

Wow I am amazed at some of the estimates for renovations. I know different areas have different cost measures but seriously you could buy my entire house and property it is on for what is being quoted in this thread. Interesting how everyone has a different take on what is affordable. I think we must be on the lower rungs of the ladder.

[chicagodisneyfan]

Originally Posted by jpeppers

I find it very insulting that you would find it appropriate to put a $90,000-$100,000 renovation question on a budget board? Apparently your budget is way different than mine. My 3 Br, 2 Ba home (built in 97) didn't even apparaise for that this year! I don't really think a $100,000 renovation question belongs on a Budget board.....most of us live in the real world!

Should not be insulting. This is the budget board - not the poor board. It is for people of all budgets - and millionaires like to save money too!

The real world has people of all classes and financial situations.

Just my $.02

[gracie1]

Originally Posted by chicagodisneyfan

Should not be insulting. This is the budget board - not the poor board. It is for people of all budgets - and millionaires like to save money too!

The real world has people of all classes and financial situations.

Just my $.02

Love it! The poor board

I do not find it insulting that their questioning a remodel. Heck, if I had $90k to remodel my kitchen I would!! After I paid my mortgage off

[peyjax]

Originally Posted by jpeppers

I find it very insulting that you would find it appropriate to put a $90,000-$100,000 renovation question on a budget board? Apparently your budget is way different than mine. My 3 Br, 2 Ba home (built in 97) didn't even apparaise for that this year! I don't really think a $100,000 renovation question belongs on a Budget board.....most of us live in the real world!

What exactly would be an appropriate number for the budget boards? 3k-10k-50k.

Personally I don't think it is a geographic thing. I think it is someone who wants to spend their money wisely. They are using this section to gage if that number is fair or not for their circumstances. As you can see there are a lot of responses so many people actually do not think or live as you do.

For the record that is a very high number to me as well and I did a double take but than thought about it for a minute. I live in the real world as well and I don't know about you but the world I live in has houses that are of all diferent sizes and prices. I think people who make the money that live in the big houses have a budget too.

[Pooh2]

Originally Posted by jpeppers

I find it very insulting that you would find it appropriate to put a $90,000-$100,000 renovation question on a budget board? Apparently your budget is way different than mine. My 3 Br, 2 Ba home (built in 97) didn't even apparaise for that this year! I don't really think a $100,000 renovation question belongs on a Budget board.....most of us live in the real world!

I do have to say at first glance, I though the OP was kidding! Guess you live in my neighborhood!

[hsmamato2]

Originally Posted by momtofour

If the $120 faucet can do the job.. great! I'll keep investigating.

Generally if you look hard enough you can find bargains...and yes,I've never seen a 500 faucet that does things that a 120.00 faucet can't do also... My brother installs those high end kitchens we're discussing here for a living..... yes, at OP's pricepoint....he examined our ikea solid wood front cabinets when we installed them and told us that the base boxes ,shelves,etc are pretty much the exact same quality...and when he redoes his own home he intends to make use of the higher quality Ikea options.... So I think a lot of people assume that if something is less expensive the quality isn;t as good, but that is definitely not always true... (it is true in some cases, but be your own detectivemit'll save you money!)