Kitchen remodel question, when and how much?

[Poulsonator]

My buddy has his kitchen done...the final bill was around $17,000. Had some walls ripped out, granite tops, new sink, etc. Unreal the difference, but it took some time and it was expensive. Like others have said, there aren't many better ways to add value to your home. My advice is to get what you "need" and be happy with your choice. Remember that you won't be in this house forever as well, so I wouldn't get something that's too customized or too crazy. Unless you are going to stay in your house forever.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I'm flabergasted at the thought that a $785,000 home that's 13 years old has particle board cabinets.

In this area the land is about $600k, so the house is basically build as a $150k house elsewhere in the nation where land is only $50k. Insurance coverage on the house is $200k only.

Our next door used to be a clinic, and the current buyer bought it for $1.5M to tear it down and build 4 houses on it (The same design as ours as he reuse the floor plan). Then he sold them for $850-900k each.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: PandaBear

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: akshatp
Im not sure about your 6 grand estimate... Our granite countertop alone cost $5500 for our kitchen. If you are talking about replacing all the cabinets, fixtures, appliances, countertops, etc you are looking probably closer to a $20,000 bill.

That being said, if your wife wants a new kitchen, you should make it a priority #1. This is the most important room in the house for a woman. A nice new kitchen will make her want to be in there longer, thus you will be getting rewarded from it also. (Unless of course she just moves her bed in there)

In all seriousness, remodeling the kitchen will add value to the house in excess of what it costs you for the remodel. Dont go cheap on the remodel either, use quality cabinets and when you sell you will be glad.

And oh btw... This last bit made me LOL "Suggestion welcome (mature suggestion only, no "time to dump wife" or "is she hot, post pic" crap). "

Same here except I did a reface of the old cabinets and put in granite countertops for a total cost of $15k and I haven't done the backsplash yet. Probably looking at another $1k at least to do that in tile (doing the work myself).

We replaced the appliances last year when our cheap builder select stove crapped out (our house was built in 1994).

Granite is well worth the money and it is so freakin' beautiful if you choose well. I love our kitchen...in fact, I'm sitting in it now as I type this.

Old kitchen

New Kitchen

That's it. That's the exact same kitchen setup that I have in the "old" kitchen. Except my cabinet is white (composite exterior, particle board).

How is your $15k break down?

It was about $9k for the cabinet reface. The face of the cabinets is solid oak but the cabinets themselves are particle board, the doors were oak frames with a thin oak veneer center (cheap builder crap). All the cabinet doors/drawers were replaced with solid hardwood doors (44 of them total) and a veneer of the same hardwood was bonded to the existing cabinets. New cabinets would have cost easily double what the reface cost.

The granite was $5.6k installed. They came out and measured for the template on a Friday and we had our new countertop installed the next Wednesday.

I still have to do some type of backsplash. I'm thinking a light colored travertine 4"x4" tile. I'll do that myself though.

FWIW-This house was built in 1994 and cost about $150k when new. I paid $220k for it in 1999 and it is worth about $500k currently even with the market downturn.

 

[LordSnailz]

My wifey is going to kill me for posting these pictures of our messy kitchen but here goes ... some before and after pictures -

before

after

We knocked down the wall to the entrance of the kitchen to open it up, we also moved the stove over to the other side(that's why we had to rip the drywall out for the electrical wiring), took out the microwave/oven thingy on the right hand side and made a cubby hole in the garage for the refrigerator.

Cabinets were about $3k, granite about $1k including backsplash and tile were about $2/square. Labor for everything including gutting the kitchen, putting up new drywall, and everything else came out to be $5.5k, so the whole thing was a little under $10k. Although our kitchen is pretty small

Just realized you're in the bayarea too, there are definitely some places that would do a kitchens for $5k-$8k.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Snailz - did you rip out the drywall and do everything yourself? I just bought a house...that would open up my kitchen a bit too

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: PandaBear

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I'm flabergasted at the thought that a $785,000 home that's 13 years old has particle board cabinets.

In this area the land is about $600k, so the house is basically build as a $150k house elsewhere in the nation where land is only $50k. Insurance coverage on the house is $200k only.

Our next door used to be a clinic, and the current buyer bought it for $1.5M to tear it down and build 4 houses on it (The same design as ours as he reuse the floor plan). Then he sold them for $850-900k each.

Ahhh, that makes sense then.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Snailz - did you rip out the drywall and do everything yourself? I just bought a house...that would open up my kitchen a bit too

Just make sure none of the walls you want to rip out are load bearing.

 

[LordSnailz]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Snailz - did you rip out the drywall and do everything yourself? I just bought a house...that would open up my kitchen a bit too

Just make sure none of the walls you want to rip out are load bearing.

nah, I wish I was that handy We had a contractor do it ... although they were really cool about letting be help out and learn at the same time.

Ripping out the drywall is easy but as julesmaximus said, make sure you don't take out a supporting wall. Actually for the wall we took out, it wasn't a supporting wall, but we still left one of the cross beam intact just in case. It actually came out looking better that way, since it helped divide our kitchen our dining room.

 

[Greenman]

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
My wifey is going to kill me for posting these pictures of our messy kitchen but here goes ... some before and after pictures -

before

after

We knocked down the wall to the entrance of the kitchen to open it up, we also moved the stove over to the other side(that's why we had to rip the drywall out for the electrical wiring), took out the microwave/oven thingy on the right hand side and made a cubby hole in the garage for the refrigerator.

Cabinets were about $3k, granite about $1k including backsplash and tile were about $2/square. Labor for everything including gutting the kitchen, putting up new drywall, and everything else came out to be $5.5k, so the whole thing was a little under $10k. Although our kitchen is pretty small

Just realized you're in the bayarea too, there are definitely some places that would do a kitchens for $5k-$8k.

Where did you find granite for 1k?

 

[PandaBear]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
FWIW-This house was built in 1994 and cost about $150k when new. I paid $220k for it in 1999 and it is worth about $500k currently even with the market downturn.

I bet the same company build our houses. =)

 

[PandaBear]

Originally posted by: Greenman

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
My wifey is going to kill me for posting these pictures of our messy kitchen but here goes ... some before and after pictures -

before

after

We knocked down the wall to the entrance of the kitchen to open it up, we also moved the stove over to the other side(that's why we had to rip the drywall out for the electrical wiring), took out the microwave/oven thingy on the right hand side and made a cubby hole in the garage for the refrigerator.

Cabinets were about $3k, granite about $1k including backsplash and tile were about $2/square. Labor for everything including gutting the kitchen, putting up new drywall, and everything else came out to be $5.5k, so the whole thing was a little under $10k. Although our kitchen is pretty small

Just realized you're in the bayarea too, there are definitely some places that would do a kitchens for $5k-$8k.

Where did you find granite for 1k?

I guess a Chinese contractor that gets Chinese granite from Chinese owned store somewhere in Oakland? That's where my dad got his granite from.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: PandaBear

Originally posted by: Greenman

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
My wifey is going to kill me for posting these pictures of our messy kitchen but here goes ... some before and after pictures -

before

after

We knocked down the wall to the entrance of the kitchen to open it up, we also moved the stove over to the other side(that's why we had to rip the drywall out for the electrical wiring), took out the microwave/oven thingy on the right hand side and made a cubby hole in the garage for the refrigerator.

Cabinets were about $3k, granite about $1k including backsplash and tile were about $2/square. Labor for everything including gutting the kitchen, putting up new drywall, and everything else came out to be $5.5k, so the whole thing was a little under $10k. Although our kitchen is pretty small

Just realized you're in the bayarea too, there are definitely some places that would do a kitchens for $5k-$8k.

Where did you find granite for 1k?

I guess a Chinese contractor that gets Chinese granite from Chinese owned store somewhere in Oakland? That's where my dad got his granite from.

How thick is the granite?

 

[Greenman]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: PandaBear

Originally posted by: Greenman

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
My wifey is going to kill me for posting these pictures of our messy kitchen but here goes ... some before and after pictures -

before

after

We knocked down the wall to the entrance of the kitchen to open it up, we also moved the stove over to the other side(that's why we had to rip the drywall out for the electrical wiring), took out the microwave/oven thingy on the right hand side and made a cubby hole in the garage for the refrigerator.

Cabinets were about $3k, granite about $1k including backsplash and tile were about $2/square. Labor for everything including gutting the kitchen, putting up new drywall, and everything else came out to be $5.5k, so the whole thing was a little under $10k. Although our kitchen is pretty small

Just realized you're in the bayarea too, there are definitely some places that would do a kitchens for $5k-$8k.

Where did you find granite for 1k?

I guess a Chinese contractor that gets Chinese granite from Chinese owned store somewhere in Oakland? That's where my dad got his granite from.

How thick is the granite?

It's always 3/4". For a full bullnose top they add a piece on the edge so it looks like it's 1 1/2"

 

[Greenman]

A couple of you have mentioned cheap Chinese contractors, are they real contractors, with a license and insurance, or just some guy that calls himself a contractor?

 

[NoShangriLa]

Kitchen remodel can cost as much or money that you have. And, resurface the cabinet doors or replace it with new doors and trims will save $$$ and look just as nice a new cabinets.

IMHO, it is not worth it to replace cabinets because you are the microwave is smaller than the old model. However, there are work around that look just as nice for less than $100.00

a. Take a small cabinet door to a woodwork shop with the dimention of the gap between the cabinet and microwave and have them colour match & make a trim/filler piece of wood.

b. Retiles the back area to match & fill in the gap.

c. Intall a polish stainless steel strip of metal to cover the gap between the tile and microwave.

d. You can Paypal me 50% of the money that would have cost you for remodel using cheap Chinese workmanship, and I'll fly down from Canada to finish it for you.

 

[Oceandevi]

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Here's our remodel pictures:

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/k...vor/Kitchen_Before.jpg

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/kelemvor/Kitchen_After.jpg

What we did: Cabinets, Countertops, Floor

Total price: $1000 or so

Painted cabinets and put on new hardware
Put on new counter top that I installed myself
Put in new flooring that I installed myself.

Remodeling doesn't have to be expensive if you are smart with your money and hunt around for a good deal.

Now here is some good advice. Thanks for the pics they really help convince me to not spend 30 grand on some rock countertops.

I like the white btw very clean.

 

[NoShangriLa]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: akshatp
Im not sure about your 6 grand estimate... Our granite countertop alone cost $5500 for our kitchen. If you are talking about replacing all the cabinets, fixtures, appliances, countertops, etc you are looking probably closer to a $20,000 bill.

That being said, if your wife wants a new kitchen, you should make it a priority #1. This is the most important room in the house for a woman. A nice new kitchen will make her want to be in there longer, thus you will be getting rewarded from it also. (Unless of course she just moves her bed in there)

In all seriousness, remodeling the kitchen will add value to the house in excess of what it costs you for the remodel. Dont go cheap on the remodel either, use quality cabinets and when you sell you will be glad.

And oh btw... This last bit made me LOL "Suggestion welcome (mature suggestion only, no "time to dump wife" or "is she hot, post pic" crap). "

Same here except I did a reface of the old cabinets and put in granite countertops for a total cost of $15k and I haven't done the backsplash yet. Probably looking at another $1k at least to do that in tile (doing the work myself).

We replaced the appliances last year when our cheap builder select stove crapped out (our house was built in 1994).

Granite is well worth the money and it is so freakin' beautiful if you choose well. I love our kitchen...in fact, I'm sitting in it now as I type this.

Old kitchen

New Kitchen

Ouch, I would restain the door to the new colour scheme and save a tone of money. The old hinges are not as nice as the new hinges, but I can easily live with it.

 

[LordSnailz]

Originally posted by: PandaBear

Originally posted by: Greenman

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
My wifey is going to kill me for posting these pictures of our messy kitchen but here goes ... some before and after pictures -

before

after

We knocked down the wall to the entrance of the kitchen to open it up, we also moved the stove over to the other side(that's why we had to rip the drywall out for the electrical wiring), took out the microwave/oven thingy on the right hand side and made a cubby hole in the garage for the refrigerator.

Cabinets were about $3k, granite about $1k including backsplash and tile were about $2/square. Labor for everything including gutting the kitchen, putting up new drywall, and everything else came out to be $5.5k, so the whole thing was a little under $10k. Although our kitchen is pretty small

Just realized you're in the bayarea too, there are definitely some places that would do a kitchens for $5k-$8k.

Where did you find granite for 1k?

I guess a Chinese contractor that gets Chinese granite from Chinese owned store somewhere in Oakland? That's where my dad got his granite from.

actually there's a couple of places that sells for that price in the bayarea ... sincere hardware in oakland is one of them, the other that I've heard good things about kz in san jose and oakland.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: akshatp
Im not sure about your 6 grand estimate... Our granite countertop alone cost $5500 for our kitchen. If you are talking about replacing all the cabinets, fixtures, appliances, countertops, etc you are looking probably closer to a $20,000 bill.

That being said, if your wife wants a new kitchen, you should make it a priority #1. This is the most important room in the house for a woman. A nice new kitchen will make her want to be in there longer, thus you will be getting rewarded from it also. (Unless of course she just moves her bed in there)

In all seriousness, remodeling the kitchen will add value to the house in excess of what it costs you for the remodel. Dont go cheap on the remodel either, use quality cabinets and when you sell you will be glad.

And oh btw... This last bit made me LOL "Suggestion welcome (mature suggestion only, no "time to dump wife" or "is she hot, post pic" crap). "

Same here except I did a reface of the old cabinets and put in granite countertops for a total cost of $15k and I haven't done the backsplash yet. Probably looking at another $1k at least to do that in tile (doing the work myself).

We replaced the appliances last year when our cheap builder select stove crapped out (our house was built in 1994).

Granite is well worth the money and it is so freakin' beautiful if you choose well. I love our kitchen...in fact, I'm sitting in it now as I type this.

Old kitchen

New Kitchen

Ouch, I would restain the door to the new colour scheme and save a tone of money. The old hinges are not as nice as the new hinges, but I can easily live with it.

Well, we kind of lucked out. We had a water leak which required tearing out the wall between the sink and the stove along with all the cabinets below the counter and the countertop so insurance actually paid for a lot of that remodel since they couldn't match the existing cabinets. It really wasn't something I wanted to do...more that it was something I was forced to deal with and since they were picking up a good portion of the bill my wife and I decided to get the kitchen we wanted instead of settling on a kitchen that was similar to the one we had.

Besides, I'm sure stripping and restaining those cabinets would have been pretty costly...not to mention time consuming and caustic. Living with the fumes during the week or so that they were installing and staining our new cabinets was bad enough.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Jules, your kitchen renovation looks great. Curious, can you open those upper cabinets? Or are they just look?

 

[PandaBear]

Originally posted by: Greenman
A couple of you have mentioned cheap Chinese contractors, are they real contractors, with a license and insurance, or just some guy that calls himself a contractor?

Real Contractor, but they speak little English so they can't make the big bucks from the wealthy clients, and have to make do with their own local communities.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally posted by: Greenman
A couple of you have mentioned cheap Chinese contractors, are they real contractors, with a license and insurance, or just some guy that calls himself a contractor?

Real Contractor, but they speak little English so they can't make the big bucks from the wealthy clients, and have to make do with their own local communities.

Another thing is that you have to pay attention to them so they won't cut corner, and the final touch of their workmanship is not top grade. Sometimes there are tiny gaps between cabinets that they fill with pudding and left a mess that YOU have to clean it up. If you want the absolute best I wouldn't go for them, but if you are on a budget or need the absolute bang for the buck (like for rental units) they are good enough.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Greenman
Where did you find granite for 1k?

I've seen some absolutely beautiful granite for less than that. It's in (I think) 8'x8' squares (may have been 9x9, it's been a while), about an inch thick if my memory serves me correctly. I can't remember the name of the place; it's about 5 miles from I-86 in the central southern tier area of NY. (Bath, or someplace East of Bath.) You walked around their yard, picked out the slab you wanted, and could either buy the slab as is, else have it custom cut for you. I just happened to see their ad on the side of a semi-trailer one day and made a side trip for the heck of it. It was by far the cheapest way for me to get granite counter-tops. Far far cheaper than what the local places (including Home Depot) wanted; although the local places included labor in the price.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Jules, your kitchen renovation looks great. Curious, can you open those upper cabinets? Or are they just look?

Thanks. Yes, those are functional cabinets.

 

[fallenangel99]

damn, thats a lot of $$ for remodeling in general. how do people pay that? cash (if avail)? finance? heloc?

geez, i'm afraid to own a house now