KITCHEN REMODEL COST

The 5 Types Of Kitchen Remodels & How Much Each One Costs

If you’re thinking of remodeling your kitchen but you’re not sure how much it SHOULD cost or what you SHOULD budget then the following list of kitchen remodeling cost examples will help you figure out what’s best for your remodeling goals.

Here’s what we’ll cover (click the kitchen types to skip ahead): 

1. The Touchup
2. The Facelift 
3. The Gut
4. The DIY 
5. The DIY Hybrid
6. BONUS: Avoid Paying “Stupid Tax”
7. BONUS #2: Clearing Up Kitchen Remodel Misconceptions

If you’re looking to make some quick improvements that don’t cost you a bunch of cash, then the touchup is a great solution. 

The Touchup kitchen remodel consists of: 

-Replacing Your Countertop With Granite or Quartz Countertops

-Maybe adding a tile backsplash

The most common touchup is replacing your old tile or laminate countertops with a Granite or Quartz surface. They’re beautiful, durable, and cost on average between $2,500 - $4,500. 

(This is for a kitchen hovering around 50sqft of total countertop space with 1 sink cutout) 

Obviously the bigger your kitchen, the higher the cost. And if you have a larger kitchen with an island, you’re typically looking at an additional 2-3 slabs to complete the job. 

You can get a nice subway tile from Floor & Decor for as little as $1.20/sqft. 

Assuming you have 40 sqft of backsplash, you’d spend approx $50 on the tile, $25 on 2 one gallon buckets of tile adhesive (mastic), and $15 on a bag of grout. 

You’d spend less than $100 on materials. 

If you subbed this job out to a local tile installer, they’d probably install the tile for you for $600-$800. 

All in on tile backsplash cost? Less than $1,000 for 40 sqft of tile. 

Kitchen Remodel Cost for “The Touchup”: $3,500-$4,500. 

“The Facelift” kitchen remodel is everything in “The Touchup” plus refinishing/refacing your cabinets. 

Before we go into the cost, let me define the difference between “reface” and “refinish” as some folks seem to oddly use them interchangeable.

Cabinet Refinishing - you keep all of the components of your existing cabinets and simply change the color of finish. 

Cabinet Refacing - you keep your cabinet boxes but replace all of your cabinet doors and drawer fronts with new ones. 

According to the HomeWyse calculator for cabinet refinishing cost, you’re looking at $3,707.90 for a 10x10 kitchen (assuming 10 cabinets in this example). 

NOTE: If you’re using HomeWyse to calculate your costs, its wise to ALWAYS use the highest number. 

For cabinet refacing cost, according to HomeWyse you’re looking at $3,691.39 (using the same example kitchen size in the previous example.) 

Total cost for The Facelift kitchen remodel: $7,200-$8,200. 

For the last 3 kitchen remodel examples, we’re going to assume a complete kitchen remodel with a few variables.

Lets get started…

Sometimes when you’re considering remodeling your kitchen, the whole kitchen needs to GO!! 

For this cost example, we’re going to look at a more realistic kitchen size 10’x15’ (150sqft) 

We’re going to also assume that you’re at a Value Grade (Mid Tier) for all materials, you’re using a licensed & bonded contractor, and the kitchen is a galley kitchen. 

It’s also assuming all of the work in the image on the left (below if you’re on your smart phone). 

This kitchen remodel cost will be approx $56,565.

The kitchen remodel cost per square foot in this example is $377.10.

The time calculated to complete this remodel would be 4.8 weeks (assuming 40 hour work weeks) 

(To get a breakdown for your kitchen, you can use the kitchen remodel cost estimator from HomeWyse.) 

In this example, we’re going to use the same scope of work as “The Gut” but price it out as a 100% DIY project. 

Now DIY is you doing all the labor yourself but buying materials (cabinets, countertops, tile, etc) 

The estimated cost for a DIY kitchen is $30,641. 

It is also estimated that this project will take you 9 weeks to complete if you worked on it 40 hours/week. 

Why is much longer? 

Simple. 

Lack of experience, watching a TON of YouTube videos to figure it all out, PLUS fixing mistakes made from lack of experience. 

It’s not a bad thing. It simply is what it is. 

This is probably our favorite recommendation for our design clients. 

It essentially makes you the general contractor and can often times save you upwards of 30% (The typical overhead & profit that a GC charges to have them manage your job and use their subs.) 

The DIY hybrid consists of you hiring your own subs (reaching out to trade vendors directly). 

You’ll need a SOLID kitchen design & bid package to get the best bids possible and to make sure that all of the work gets done exactly the way you want it. 

Shopping for the CHEAPEST price for your trades isn’t the best way to go on this either. Use the HomeWyse calculator to get a feel for the cost of trades in your area, then get a couple bids to feel it out. 

My dad used to tell me “Free Costs More & Cheap Is Just As Expensive”. 

Keep this in mind, hire the BEST company that can get you the BEST end result, not necessarily the CHEAPEST. 

For the DIY hybrid, assuming the same scope as “The Gut” example, you’re looking at an approximate cost of $40,000. (Thats a $15k savings). 

The cost per square foot for the DIY Hybrid kitchen remodel: $266. 

The stupid tax is applicable for any of the examples we’ve discussed today. 

They come from: 

1. Change Orders

2. Being An Asshole

Change orders can absolutely destroy your budget. A change order is essentially “ordering a change” in the MIDDLE of construction. Some can be small, others can be large. 

It’s best to make all of your decisions before construction begins and STICK to your plans as much as you possibly can to ensure you stay on budget and on schedule. 

Next… 

Being an asshole. 

Excuse the language, but it’s a legitimate thing that can cost you triple. 

We’ve worked with contractors all of the United States and there is a common response from ALL of them when it comes to potentially difficult clients: 

“If they’re a pain in the ass in the beginning, charge triple to scare them away without you looking like the bad guys. If they say yes to the inflated contract price, now it’s worth working with the pain in the ass!” 

Be kind, be honest, have integrity, and you’ll get accurate pricing. 

-The 10x10 Kitchen Remodeling Cost

There are MANY kitchen remodeling companies that advertise a “10x10 kitchen remodeling cost”. 

Here’s a picture of the 10x10 they’re basing it off of: 

Most kitchens don’t look like this but companies will use these numbers to get you in the door. Once in the door, you’ll typically be getting a much higher price than what was advertised. It’s not bait n switch per se, but they use that lower number to attract you. 

-The Typical Kitchen Remodel Cost 

It doesn’t exist.

Kitchens come in all shapes and sizes. Kitchens are in homes designed by different architects, built by different contractors, in different areas all within completely different eras. 

There is nothing typical about them.

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