CHAPTER 1
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
Food for thought:
The four most expensive words in renovation are:
While. We’re. At. It.
Even when you know your budget, many decisions need to be made before we can determine the actual price tag for the renovation.
Consider:
• How many cabinets will there be? What you have now is not necessarily the same number you will have in a new design.
• What is the overall cabinet height, door style, finish? Is it a stain, or paint with a glaze, or lacquer? If you’re contemplating cabinetry from a big box store, you might be able to get a linear foot price on cabinets, countertop material, and installation before you begin. However, since they are not custom cabinets, you’ll have limited choices of finish and sizes, and they are usually of a basic quality. That being said, they are a good solution if your budget is tight, and you’re trying to stretch each dollar as far as you can.
• Will there be glass inserts in the doors and will the glass be clear, frosted, textured, seeded, stained, or antique?
• Which wood species do you plan to use?
• What type of internal accessories do you want, i.e. cutlery trays, knife blocks, roll out shelves, food processor lift, spice storage, towel bars, trash/recycling/compost containers?
• What style of crown moulding and light valance will you use? How many lengths?
• What finish will the toe kick (the panel underneath the base cabinets that meets the floor) be? And how many lengths will be required?
• What style cabinet pulls (knobs or handles) do you want? The labor costs to install them on the job site are different for each type.
• What material do you want for your countertops: granite, marble, quartz, laminate, solid surface?
• What’s your preference for edge profile? Choices include square, waterfall, ogee, bullnose, and a bunch of others.
• What brand of appliances, which items and which colors will you choose? Typically stainless steel costs more than white and a cabinet-match panel is even more expensive and requires labor to install the panels.
• What brand and size of sink would you like?
• How about the finish and brand of faucet?
• Will you want a TV in the kitchen, and will it be wall-mounted, under-cabinet mounted, on a shelf, or in a cabinet?
• Will there be a built-in sound system and speakers?
• What kind of material do you envision on the backsplash (the wall area between the counter top and the underside of the wall cabinets)?
• If the backsplash will be tile, will it be ceramic, porcelain, stone, glass, wood, or laminate?
• What about flooring?
• What type of lighting? How many fixtures and what kind of bulbs will be needed?
• Will the new lighting require removing the whole ceiling to run new wiring?
• Will the walls be painted or will there be a wall covering like tile, paper, or vinyl?
• Are new windows
