Budget Kitchen Remodel

[JonT]

Is there such a thing? I've looked at new cabinets, new countertops, appliances, backsplash, new sink and lighting. Estimate came in at $20,000. How can I get this down to $10,000 or less.

Thinking about painting the cabinets (w/ new hardware), and tiling my own backsplash.

Any tricks or suggestions by someone who went through this? Remodeling websites? Tips?

[makaio]

Laying the tile yourself can save some large $. Using existing cabinets with new doors & hardware is another large money saver. Appliances can easily exceed $10K if you're after professional examples. As well, lighting fixtures that are more custom or one off from a lighting store can increase the cost of light fixture greatly vs. using more common items from the big box or mom & pop hardware stores.

It all comes down to how much work you can do yourself, and if you have champagne or beer taste.

If we had some pics it might give a better idea as well. Even though I'm not a contractor, I've done lots of remodeling at fire stations and home improvements.

[vash]

i subscribe to SAVUER magazine. there was an article on a kitchen remodel. they kept the cost down by buying IKEA cabinets. the theory is to spend money on appliances, stuff you physically touch and use. cabinets just hold things. they bought decent stuff, stainless appliances. and i think they kept the cost down to 13k. it came out badass. they even went with these retro 16" linoleum tile that came out cool. and thanks to China, granite countertops are within reach of us mere mortals.

[Don Ro]

I'm interested in the same thing.
Half the RE agents say, "Re-do kitchen/bathrooms...hardwood floor here/there."...etc.
"A good $40k - $60k will bring you more in return."
Other half says, "Paint everything, shampoo carpets, and let the buyer do what they want.
Many buyers won't like the improvements. Give the buyer a discount up front."
Who knows, eh?
.
I do know that dumping/selling collected crap for 20+ years, packing and selling is a royal drag.

[RickM]

You can save alot of $$$ with the Direct Buy program. A friend built a house using them and saved ALOT of money. Worth an hour of your time. If you go bring estimates with appliance and cabinet manufacturer names, model numbers and cost. They'll let you compare the prices while there.

I've always heard if one has the choice go one rung down on the cabinets and one rung up on the countertops.

If you're good with wood working tools they sell refacing kits or veneers. Also, decent hardware can be found on Ebay for pennies on the dollar.

[BGCarrera32]

Originally posted by RickM
Also, decent hardware can be found on Ebay for pennies on the dollar.

Thanks for the tip...! (seriously)

[onewhippedpuppy]

Refacing your cabinets and adding new doors is one way to keep costs down, custom cabinets are big bucks (I used to build them), and box cabinets often mean sacrifice in layout. Just so the interior finish is to you liking, from the outside re-faced cabinets are pretty convincing. Or you can always paint them, just be certain to sand and prime ahead of time, or the paint will peel right off of the old varnish.

If you're handy, doing simple stuff like light fixtures, faucets, tile, painting, and getting your own appliances will save you. Remember, most anything a contractor supplies you with is marked up so they make money off of it. Going with a Formica instead of a solid surface or stone will save a bunch, some of their new finishes have a texture similar to stone that's fairly convincing. There's also companies that will install a thin granite veneer over your old tops, I can't comment on the cost or quality of this though.

[jtfreels]

We pretty much did that a couple of years ago, we had pretty good cabinets (house built in 1978) had them painted and replaced all the hardware. Formica used on the counter tops and then new double oven, cook top and refrig.

Then we sold the house to someone from California

If you go the painted cabinet route make sure the prep work is done correctly. And formica has a limited life....

[HardDrive]

I redid my kitchen myself once.....never, never again...I don't give a **** what it cost.....

[notfarnow]

LOL... I have so much to say about this, but I have to go put some kitchen cabinet doors on. I took them off in September when I started painting the kitchen...

I'll post some pics later on tonight after I've put another 5-6 cabinet doors on. My wife needs to see PROGRESS or she'll kick me in the seeds.

BTW, I bought the brass pulls & handles (41 of them) on ebay for $28.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally posted by jtfreels

If you go the painted cabinet route make sure the prep work is done correctly. And formica has a limited life....

Properly done, formica will last longer than most people live in their home. I used to remodel mobile homes for my grandfather, even in a 20 year old home, the formica tops would be fine. Occasionally there would be loose edges, but that's from poor installation. It may not be as nice as solid surfaces, but it does last, and is one hell of a lot cheaper.

[Rondinone]

Originally posted by JonT
Is there such a thing? I've looked at new cabinets, new countertops, appliances, backsplash, new sink and lighting. Estimate came in at $20,000. How can I get this down to $10,000 or less.

Thinking about painting the cabinets (w/ new hardware), and tiling my own backsplash.

Any tricks or suggestions by someone who went through this? Remodeling websites? Tips?

We did this exact thing two years ago. $3500 for a decent of cabinets from home depot, that I installed myself. We kept the hardwood floor so no cost there. All new fixtures, new cast iron sink, new countertop (black granite tile from a salvage place $5/sf). Taking out the old cabinets makes the room real easy to paint. Trimmed out the whole room plus countertop in oak. The biggest improvement was a high powered range hood and a new 10 inch duct right out the side of the house. That thing can evacuate a tire fire. All told we spent $7000. I'll dig up pics if you want. Planning is king.

[RickM]

Originally posted by BGCarrera32
Thanks for the tip...! (seriously)

No problem, brother.


I just checked and another avenue for cabinets is EBAY as well. This auction is the type I've seen many times before.... http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Maple-Kitchen-Cabinets-Stove-Formica-Chicago_W0QQitemZ6027587285

People buy new houses with kitchens they dont want. Then they sell the entire setup for very little. If you have a similar layout it can really work out for you.

I came close to doing this but I want a relatively custom layout with a budget of $60-$80k. Not really that much when going for high end appliances. Since I'm paying cash thats all she's getting.

This setup looks like it'll go for 3k with appliances, hardware, countertops and cabinets.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by JonT
Is there such a thing? I've looked at new cabinets, new countertops, appliances, backsplash, new sink and lighting. Estimate came in at $20,000. How can I get this down to $10,000 or less.

Thinking about painting the cabinets (w/ new hardware), and tiling my own backsplash.

Any tricks or suggestions by someone who went through this? Remodeling websites? Tips?

My mother had her cabinets refaced, they stained the cabinets to match new doors. Looks pretty good.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally posted by RickM
No problem, brother.


I just checked and another avenue for cabinets is EBAY as well. This auction is the type I've seen many times before.... http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Maple-Kitchen-Cabinets-Stove-Formica-Chicago_W0QQitemZ6027587285

People buy new houses with kitchens they dont want. Then they sell the entire setup for very little. If you have a similar layout it can really work out for you.

I came close to doing this but I want a relatively custom layout with a budget of $60-$80k. Not really that much when going for high end appliances. Since I'm paying cash thats all she's getting.

This setup looks like it'll go for 3k with appliances, hardware, countertops and cabinets.

Not a bad deal, but those look like box cabinets, nothing special. Wouldn't s&h be a b!tch on something like that?

[red-beard]

Originally posted by RickM
You can save alot of $$$ with the Direct Buy program. A friend built a house using them and saved ALOT of money. Worth an hour of your time. If you go bring estimates with appliance and cabinet manufacturer names, model numbers and cost. They'll let you compare the prices while there.

I've always heard if one has the choice go one rung down on the cabinets and one rung up on the countertops.

If you're good with wood working tools they sell refacing kits or veneers. Also, decent hardware can be found on Ebay for pennies on the dollar.

Direct Buy is great, but, you need to be planning spending $10K or more to pay back the $3500 membership fee. We joined but needed to fill a house with furniture. Money well spent.

[VINMAN]

I bought all my cabinets from Ikea. They are decent quality cabinets. Price was pretty good( although my wife picked the most expensive one). The same cabinets from a custom cabinet maker would have cost almost 15 grand. Mine came out to around
$5,000 for all the cabinets. not counting the countertops. I did all the work myself on it.

[84CAB]

Check out this site and see if this service is available in your area. I just had A "TUNE UP" done to cabinets that I thought were beyond hope, they now look new, and I am very picky. No sanding dust or resurfacing to deal with. Had a whole kitchen and utility room done for $800.00, and they were finished in about 6 hrs.http://kitchentuneup.com/

[mikester]

I you're going to do the work yourself you'll save a lot of money but you'll spend a lot of time and effort.

Just depends on if you have that available or not.

We spent about $30k on our kitchen and while the process was a nightmare the kitchen turned out awesome. If you like your current configuration and just want to freshen it up, new cabinet faces and new countertops are the easy solution and of course some new tile from home depot is easy too. Probably could do that around 10kish...

How about a picture of the current setup.

[Mike Bonkalski]

Go to www.us-appliance.com for you appliances. Best prices around, $69 dollar shipping anywhere in the continental US no matter the order size, and no sales tax. We saved a ton going this route.