Kitchen Renovation Costs Can Be a Killer If You Are Uninformed!

July 23, 2012 - PRLog -- Kitchen Renovation Costs, just like kitchens, come in all sizes.  Most home owners often have dreams of kitchens like the ones they see on TV, however in reality those kitchens cost too much money and will often have a sunk cost that cannot be recuperated when the house is sold.

While there are many factors that impact the cost of a new kitchen, the biggest ones are also the most obvious.  Size, Quality of Materials, and Quality of Labor are the biggest factors in the cost of your kitchen renovation.  The old adage of “you get what you pay for” has never been more true than it is with kitchen renovations.  Why are each of these factors the biggest cost factors?  Let’s discuss.

Size.  The size of your kitchen makes a big impact upon how many cabinets you need, how many square feet of countertop you need, how long it takes to install everything and so much more.  Also don’t forget that with bigger kitchens you may need to run more plumbing and electricity to accommodate the more spaced out design.  The next biggest factor with size that most people don’t think about is the appliances, the bigger the kitchen the bigger the appliances need to be as well.  If you have a massive kitchen with a small refrigerator or only a two stove oven everything will look out of proportion which could cause your house to actually lose value.

Quality of Materials.  Kitchen materials range from pre-fab cabinets available at any big box store like Home Depot, Lowes, and many others all the way to fully customized cabinets that are specifically made for your kitchen.  As you would expect the cost ranges from low to high respectively.  When deciding on the quality of the materials the biggest factor is really budget.  Pick a quality level that is within your budget.  As you move up in quality there are nicer feature available, such as no slam drawers, more engraving, and other things.  If you go to any of the big box stores they also have employees who will help you design your kitchen with 3D drawings and everything.  This is very helpful if you are buying the pre-fab cabinets because it will also spit out a nice chart of each cabinet type you need to purchase.  Then all that is left is to pick a color!  Of course if you are having custom cabinets made, the maker of the cabinets will provide these drawings as part of their estimate.  

The next biggest cost for quality of materials is the countertop.  Popular choices now include Formica, granite, caesarstone, and cement.  They each have their pros and their cons.  Again any big box store will have examples of each of these for you to see so you can understand your cost options and the pros and cons of each.  The thickness of the material will also play into the overall cost.  In some cases you can find a stone like granite that is thinner than others and that will reduce its cost down to an affordable range.  Be sure to ask around when looking for a countertop material.  Prices can vary and in most cases you can negotiate a discount off the rack rate.  We discuss this type of cost in greater detail at http://www.kitchenrenovationcosts1.com

Quality of Labor.  Not all labor is created the same.  While the installation of kitchen cabinets and coutnertops has become a fairly easy process which most general carpenters can handle, the quality of the labor is still very important.  How would you feel if you were cooking dinner when suddenly the cabinet you had hanging from the wall with all your dishes suddenly ripped out of the wall and crashed to the floor.  Not only would this ruin your dishes, your dinner, and your night, but it could very well be dangerous as well!  The other big factor is that if cabinets are not placed correctly the wood may contract or expand in ways that make the cabinets difficult to use.  Be sure to choose wisely when picking your contractor.  

Overall kitchen renovation costs can vary widely on may other factors than those discussed here, however when you understand the biggest factors and are informed on how best to perform your kitchen renovation you will end up with the best possible kitchen for the price you wanted.  Having information is key in todays home renovation market, more information on kitchen renovation costs can be found at http://www.kitchenrenovationcosts1.com