When all was said and done, it really did feel like a new house, not just a new kitchen. But construction costs meant the whole project came in just under $35,000.
Overall, the total Ikea bill for all appliances (dishwasher, cooktop, double oven and installed microwave) was $3,500 the cabinets cost just shy of $8,000. Raising the ceiling meant re-routing a main air duct, which got complicated, as did removing a structural half wall. Quartz countertops and installation cost $4,265.
A mid-range minor kitchen remodel (without new cabinets) in 2015 was $19,226. Those numbers broken down for the Phoenix market were slightly lower: $55,269 for a mid-range major kitchen remodel $110,646 for an upscale major kitchen remodel and $18,839 for a mid-range minor kitchen remodel.Įlectrical work alone to update the 35-year-old wiring in our kitchen was $4,175. Their national average for an “upscale” major kitchen remodel (with custom cabinets, high-end appliances and stone countertops) in 2015 was $113,097. That’s for semi-custom cabinets, mid-range appliances and laminate countertops in a 200-square-foot kitchen. The national average for a mid-range major kitchen remodel was $56,768, according to the Remodeling 2015 Cost vs. Unfortunately, that’s less than half what it ended up costing. When we started daydreaming about this project, I thought I could do it for around $15,000 - perfectly plausible if you watch certain home-improvement shows. I wanted to do an affordable remodel. But affordable is a relative term. Out of necessity and frugal DNA, I was sure I could do an affordable remodel. Ours took longer, so apply at least three months before you’ll need it. We were told it takes an average of 45 days after pre-approval to get a home equity line of credit.
We also learned financing can take longer than a remodel. We easily could have saved more than $1,000 by doing both. Unfortunately, they were booked weeks in advance and couldn't schedule the demo in time for our contractor, who was ready to get started. Nor did we end up having the many days it would have taken to assemble 20 flat-pack Ikea cabinets.
My husband and I had hoped to save money by assembling our cabinets and having a local non-profit demo and haul away the old cabinets and appliances. Stardust Building Supplies offers a free demo service when you donate your used cabinets and appliances. Here are 10 lessons learned from our kitchen remodel, which took months to plan and five solid weeks of construction dust to complete. Until now, we’d done all we could to keep her out of the cramped space, where danger seemed to lurk at every inefficient turn. I envisioned making cupcakes (and healthier meals) with our 3-year-old at a new peninsula, and supervising her craft projects while I cooked. If done right, I knew this space could improve not just the look of our whole house, but the way we live. The last thing I wanted was to make incremental upgrades or renovate at the finish line for someone else. If we needed to sell the house, we knew we’d take a hit kitchens and baths still sell homes. When the main electric cooktop burner went out and the odd-sized oven was scorching everything, it was time. For years the task - and pricetag - seemed overwhelming. When we bought the house in 2009, we knew we’d eventually have to renovate. The tiny kitchen in our 1980s northeast Phoenix home came complete with a dropped ceiling, fluorescent box lights, tile countertops and original major appliances, including a groovy trash compactor.
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