Kitchens and bathrooms are often the two most expensive parts of a household to renovate. The reasons shouldn’t surprise you – after all, we’re talking about so many different elements that are both material- and finish-intensive.
As far as kitchens are concerned, those new countertops, cabinets, appliances, and tiles belong to the “pretty penny” category of long-term investments. In fact, we might even be understating things a bit since there are additional expenditures to keep track of, namely those stemming from the eventual electrical, plumbing, or mechanical maintenance.
Needless to say, renovating your kitchen ‘will’ absolutely set you back! Truisms aside, the real question that most folks are interested in is how much it will cost. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is once again a matter of different elements coming together into play. That’s precisely why we’re here to elucidate this topic for our dear readers!
A Matter of Priority
Before we help you answer the main question plaguing your mind, there are a few things to consider. The first one is your very own vision, so to speak. In other words – just how far will your renovation go?
Ultimately, renovation endeavors can be split into three types – small refurbishments, full-on “home improvement” projects, and those that are somewhere in the middle. Your cost, as anticipated, will be based on what you’re starting off with, what your aforementioned “vision” is, and the square area of your kitchen.
The Cost of Tiny Updates
Breathing some fresh new life into a living space doesn’t necessarily mean you’re required to spend over 10k for some much-needed updates (and upgrades). If you preserve the layout and most of the structural elements, you’ll end up focusing on the visual design more.
As one would expect, tasks like replacing handles, getting a new door, installing vinyl flooring, or updating the backsplash won’t be as expensive as, say, a new countertop. Everything is relative, obviously, and the size of your kitchen will play a more prominent role as a result.
Going All-In
On the other end of the cost-based spectrum, we have those types of full-on renovations that will require professional assistance and a whole bunch of materials to boot.
Implementing high-end appliances and opting for premium materials like exotic woods, stainless steel, or marble, for example, will push your costs beyond the 30k or 40k mark.
Keep in mind that this isn’t even accounting for those more minor updates we mentioned earlier. When making allowances for the different layout optimizations, footprint expansions, replacements, and integrations of high-end stone, you’re looking at quite the bank-breaking amount.
Thinking in Percentages
Another way of breaking things down is through percentages. It’s easier to develop a clear set of prioritized goals when taking relative rates of costs into account. It makes things a little less enigmatic if we do say so ourselves.
Most of the following will be heavily generalized based on average mechanical, plumbing, and electrical costs, among other types of tasks. It’s also worth mentioning that these three examples often take up only half (or sometimes one-third) of the overall cost.
The other part, naturally, goes toward the finishes, along with the whole process of installing said finishes.
As such, the cost of installations will often be in the 30 to 35 percent range. Following that, cabinets and countertops will cost you between 10 and 25 percent of the overall budget, especially if you’re planning on splurging on a backsplash. It is – after all – the focal element that makes or breaks the harmony of your kitchen’s aesthetics.
Okay, but what about the appliances? Well, shiny new tech can be tricky, as the costs can take up either 10 or even 35 percent of the budget, with electric hobs and dishwashers taking up most of those numbers.
When taken together, electrical work, plumbing, and HVAC-related tasks end up accounting for 30ish percent of the costs. If you’ve been following our (very generalized) summations, then you’re looking at the mid-90 range thus far, with the rest taken up by smaller tasks and fixtures.
We hope this article was helpful to all of our readers, especially those struggling with the planning stage of their future kitchen renovation!