The kitchen is one of the most-used spaces in any home – just one of the reasons to make it your own with a great kitchen renovation. It’s hard to overlook the costs involved with even a modest reno, but as you read through this overview on kitchen renovation costs, we urge you to remember that depending on your home’s market, you may be able to reap much of your investment upon resale.

Advantages: 

It’s good to have a positive mindset when you’re embarking on a major renovation, especially one in which you’re spending a lot of money. With a higher budget, you can achieve a great new floor plan yielding a better kitchen workspace. Everything you’re working with is going to be shiny, clean, and new. If the space is completely gutted, you’re probably going to be upgrading the plumbing, HVAC, and electrical, which also means those systems will be up to code and will require little to no maintenance in the immediate future. Most importantly, this is the kitchen of your dreams, and it will increase your home’s value.

Disadvantages: 

Cost is an obvious disadvantage, but time spent is an important consideration too. You’ll need to be prepared with a makeshift kitchen, a spot in the bathroom in which you can wash dishes, and especially if you have kids at home, a plan to be out of the house when the work crews are at their noisiest. Be prepared for delays in construction, imperfections that need to be addressed and corrected, and other inevitable frustrations that go hand-in-hand with a major kitchen renovation.

Where do the costs lie?

In general, high quality kitchen cabinetry is the single most expensive aspect of a kitchen renovation. Flooring and countertops are typically less than half of the direct cost of the cabinets themselves. However, much of this depends on the amount of reworking/reframing, or adding to the existing layout of the home. Though any single aspect of this may not outpace cabinetry, the cumulative and necessary costs of framing, electrical and heating work, insulating, dry-walling, trimming, and painting associated with a new layout can add up to more than the cost of the cabinets alone.  So, in planning a kitchen renovation, though the cabinets are the single most expensive aspect, it is important to remember all of the other work associated with layout changes, particularly if they involve exterior walls with windows and doors, opening up structural walls, or moving plumbing on the interior.

Big Costs:

• Cabinetry: $10,000-$75,000 (variance is attributed to quality and craftsmanship)
• Countertops: $50-$100/sq. ft. installed (based on high-end marble and granite pricing)
• Flooring: $20-$40/sq.ft. installed
• Appliances: $15,000-$25,000

Other big costs:

• Demolition
• New windows or skylights
• New sink
• Structural changes (if you’re removing walls)
• Plumbing
• HVAC
• Electrical
• Lighting
• Hardware
• Built-in technology (surround sound, built-in TV, home automation systems)

Hidden Costs:

• Rot: The joists and framing beneath the existing floor and drywall may require repairs from water damage.
• Roofing or siding expenses
• Accidental demo: If you and your crew aren’t on the same page, something that was supposed to be saved might get the sledgehammer. Be aware of what electrical and plumbing is staying intact before you begin demolition.

Don’t forget that you can splurge on certain areas of the kitchen. If you’ve been dying for a marble countertop and that is the one thing you wouldn’t be able to live without, then go ahead and get it. However, you have to be careful when it comes to splurging too much. There will be hidden costs or things that you weren’t expecting to happen will happen. Just roll with the flow and remember that at the end of the long reno tunnel, there is a new kitchen waiting for you. When it comes to choosing your new kitchen, head to PlumbTile. The expert employees will be able to steer you in the right direction to create the kitchen you will love.