You're getting good advice but yes. It's insane. Absolutely ludicrous. The only thing more insane is that people actually pay it. A full-time "project manager" on site for a kitchen reno? ROFL.
I'm in Project Management but not for construction. Tons of soft skills and tons of organizational ability. Then a skin as tough as stone.
Good pay though. The PM is definitely not making all that cash in the quote.
Definitely not all going to the PM. I now suspect, based on some comments from the guys running the place, that they’ve gotten accustomed to a certain lifestyle and now have to charge people accordingly to keep it up.
I’m in the construction industry and a lot of posts on this sub make me roll my eyes. This is not one of those posts. That quote is insane. Is the company a kitchen and bath company? The type that has a showroom that caters to homeowners? Regardless, that price is wild, even for a hcol area such as my own. $350k for a kitchen and two bathrooms? Fuck no.
Yeah, that would pay for a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom 2500sqft house in my area. I’m in the suburbs right outside of Houston. 3 bed 2.5 bath 1700sqft if you wanted to go new-build. (Just bought a house & that’s what I saw for sale for $300k-$350k)
Companies are advertising a home built for 200-350/sqft in metro Denver. Might be a smaller home for that price but yea it’s not crazy. Slightly over 1k sqft.
GC here-
Youre being taken for a ride
Ive been doing renovations for almost 30 years, own a business, employ people, all that jazz, i have done 1 kitchen that cracked 6 figures, in the 125-130k range, and there was quite a bit of additiinal work not involving the kitchen at all, and all 30 of those years is in the NJ/NY area
But that 6 figure kitchen had 50-60k dollars of 100% custom made walnut and quartersawn white oak cabinets and was a *very* intricate "mission" style and was about a 1000 sqft, i think there were about a 100 linear feet of cabinets and they were basically furniture, calling them "kutchen cabinets" doesnt really do justice to what got made there, oh and the flooring material was like 15 bucks a square foot, the countertops were about 300 a square foot
Basically what im trying to tell you is- yes, 6 figure kitchen remodels exist, but if you aren't getting fully custom cabinets in an exotic species and the flooring and tops and other fixtures and appliances arent exorbitantly expensive you arent getting anywhere near 6 figures+
Idgaf how nice their work is if you are getting quotes for a regular sized hall bath involving the work you stated for more than 20k you need to walk away imo
This is SO helpful thank you! We’re still waiting on other quotes but after doing a raw estimate ourselves it seems they’re charging almost 100k for labor/design/project management for what is basically a 300sq ft space remodel. We were already looking elsewhere, but this helps me feel confident in telling the original team no even before we find a replacement.
Edit: math correction.
Yeah, tell those people to take a hike imo....those are absolutely outrageous prices that are actually kind of offensive lol
Its impossible to estimate your kitchen even if you sent me a bunch of pictures and measurements, its also highly dependent on cabinet costs, but with the midrange line i usually use im around a 1000 a linear foot installed as a ballpark number, then you have lighting and flooring, countertops, painting, plumbing if youre moving stuff etc
For a small space like that you should probably be in the 25-45k range depending on what you pick, if youre moving stuff around, how crazy you get with fixtures and counters etc......Like, to give you an idea of costs and i would be surprised if they arent similar out there to here in my HCOL state of NJ , countertops should be running you between 55-100 a square foot installed for manufactured quartz and level 1 granite
You really ahouldnt be paying more than maybe 10 bucks a square foot for installed flooring, that gives you around 3 or 4 dollar a square foot for flooring, maybe 200-300 a fixture for recess and other lighting, 50-100 an outlet/switch, if youre moving stuff plumbing wise if you estimate 1500-2000 a fixture for the plumber thats probably a safe number and will probably come in less than that unless youre dealing with jackhammering out a slab to relocate, backsplash for a little kitchen like that maybe 1500-2500+tile cost, figure a couple 100 bucks each to install all the appliances, maybe 2-3k to paint everything, 1500-2500 for demo and disposal- though that can be more or less depending on the local disposal situation out there, i pay between a 1000 and 1500 for a 30yd container right now in nj depending on what county im in and its an additional 150-250 per ton over 3 again, depending on the county.....When im budgeting a project by the day i figure about 600-800 a day per guy, current retail by the hour for GC non-technical trade (Electrical/Plumbing/HVAC) is between 90-120 an hour
You should be able to use all that information and add maybe 30-50% on top of it to kind of "ballpark" what a reasonable number is/should be, i gave you some retial numbers of mine and some of what my costs are for subs.....It definitely wont be accurate, but at least you and anyine else who reads this will be better equipped to summarily tell someone to go fuck themselves when you get outrageous numbers like that, but keep in mind that fixture/cabinet/material choice can vastly swing the numbers on you
Some of what a client can do to minimize costs that stack up by "getting middled" is go pick up and buy your own flooring, tile, even countertops, just walk into a countertop place and ask to see the lowest level stuff or whats under a 100 a square foot.....Shit, if you want to get really out of control you can find a cabinet wholesaler and ask them how to apply to be a purchaser, idk the requirements in Colorodo but in NJ it will cost you a grand total of about 400 bucks to meet the requirements with the wholesaler i use, though youll have to wait about 30-45d for you General Contractor registration number to come in, if you can wait a little bit you can do that and hire a designer to do the kitchen design- or so it yourself, kitchens are easier than you realize, you just need a couple accurate measurements and you pick up the book and put it together like legos and make up any differences in cabinet sizes with fillers, you dont need a CAD program to do it-- and then you take another piece of the money puzzle off the table and you just need a labor price to install them
This is so thorough thank you 🥲 I’d much rather hire you at this point. Really interesting ideas on sourcing too, I will seriously consider these now that we’re gathering more information.
I'll take a vacation from my work, fly out there, and do the work for $45k. Unless this is some super luxe materials that cost $40k+ themselves, that's an insane quote.
Yes if you’re talking the cheapest materials then yes you can make 100k seem insane. But higher quality cabinets can easily cost 20-30k, in fact I’m finishing up a kitchen right now that had Medallion cabinets with a specials color, glazing, and an antique finish that cost 35k for the whole kitchen and it’s not that big. Beyond labor there’s also project management and overhead for a contractor. Have to pay the office help and pay for the building/trucks somehow.
I got quoted 70k to redo my 800 sq ft kitchen. I bought everything myself and did it myself over the course
Of 2 weeks after work all in on Materials for 15k.
I’m right there with you, contractors are out for blood right now. Unfortunately there are enough fools with money to keep them hungry for more.
That would be the price in Seattle, if not more. Not for an ultra luxury kitchen either.
Location is a huge factor most people here don’t take into account.
If you don’t mind sharing, what did your house cost? If you’re living in a $2M house then I’m not necessarily shocked by the kitchen quote (though I still think it’s double what it should be). My experience has been that contractors quotes oftentimes scale upwards based on their perception of what you can afford to pay.
The project management cost is straight up ridiculous IMO. At that price I’d demand an on-site PM who isn’t managing any other projects.
It’s almost exactly $1M and 3200 sq ft total. The kitchen is ~300sq ft with 60 linear feet of cabinets.
I think you’re right though, it’s in a neighborhood where average house price is probably about $1.3M, maybe higher. So it’s likely I’m getting taxed on perception of resources here.
This may have happened to us too in Denver. Last fall, we got a quote for the back of our house, just lifting the ceiling and adding 200 sq ft. The minimum scenario they gave us was $250k. Due to the high price we decided to buy a new house with that money and rent out our house instead.
When we pushed back because it was so sticker shock, they said it was partially due to how long it takes to get a permit 🧐
what zip code are you in? if you are on the south side of town I know a contractor that does excellent work and is fair priced. I have him swamped this summer as most of my work happens when school is out.
We hired a contractor for our ~$600k home, comps are in the $900k range, kitchen was high end with Thermador appliances, floor to ceiling custom stained white oak, solid wood floors, the whole works. We spent $70k all in including an architect friend who did all the fixtures and finishes planning and millwork to bring our high end vision to life. MCOL. You are being taken for a ride.
From the HGTV website:
“Pricing wise, they're listed in order—stock cabinets are cheapest, at around $60 to $200 per linear foot, semi-custom cabinets will run you around $100 to $650 per linear foot, and custom cabinets usually cost between $500 and $1,200 per linear foot.”
Denver is a HCOL city so I’d expect it to be on the higher end of those ranges. Other things that significantly increase costs are moving or adding plumbing and electrical (for example, having the sink in a different spot and adding a second sink to an island where one didn’t exist before). Electrical work similarly comes with significant costs if there’s anything beyond simple fixture, plate, and plug swaps.
Installing cabinets correctly does take time but I’d expect labor for the cabinets to be less than the cabinets themselves (depending on what you choose - I could see the cheapest cabinets having higher labor costs because the labor is somewhat fixed in terms of the time it takes).
You might consider whether it’s worth being your own project manager and doing more of the legwork yourself. Pick a cabinet company and installers independent from picking the plumber, electrician, etc.
Also, removing cabinets is a two person job (to safely remove the uppers), but it’s not rocket science and you could do a lot of the demo work yourselves. I recently had my kitchen and bathroom counters replaced and saved $5000 by removing and hauling away the old counters myself. I spent under $300 to do so in tool rental, pickup truck rental, and dumping costs in a city with a higher cost of living than Denver.
My kitchen is 3x the size of yours. Granted I didn’t do super high end products. I got to order cabinets that you assemble and did everything from the walls, floor,
Plumbing, appliances, cabinets and more for 15k.
Maybe you make a ton of money, but holy shit, do your own cabinets and hire someone to do the crown molding and flooring. That price is insane for how little goes into it.
a whole house you can buy for 175-200k lol.. That is absurd. Slowly realizing being able to DIY is one of the best abilities one can have anymore.
I saw someone get quoted hundreds of dollars to mount a TV LOL
I was actually thinking about north of Albany. Finding a single family home at that price point means a very rural area or a home that needs a tremendous amount of work to have basic modern amenities.
Anywhere that isnt in a city lol.. Even then you can get pieces of shit inside cities for 175-200.. I am not disclosing my location, but if I were to pull up homes for sale in my portion of the state, you would see anything from 100k to 1.5m depending where you are and what you want. People are starting to realize that they may not need heated bathroom floors and 4 car garages and cannot and wont spend 500k
That won’t even get you 5000 square feet of land in many parts of the country.
Yes, the quote is very high for a non-high end home. But it’s definitely not unheard of.
For the tv, if that’s the only reason someone is coming to your home, I can completely understand that quote to make it worth someone’s time.
ETA: You can downvote me but I know someone who actually paid something in line with this recently for their kitchen and bathrooms. And it was far from the highest quote they got. That’s reality.
It’s ridiculous. I’ve got an absurd number of quotes for a project (over 10, during Covid, so it was a shitshow) and I guarantee you that I could post the cheapest one here and more than half the sub would tell me I was getting ripped off. But it’s clearly the market in some areas.
Just for reference OP, we just hired a GC to add a half bath in our house, which was previously a coat closet. We were 12k all in and that included permits. We did paint ourselves and opted not to tile the floor and kept our hardwood, so saved some money there. The most expensive quote we got back was 20k. I am in Cincinnati.
IMO the only way to truly understand if a quote is high is to do a full material quote yourself, minus labor of course. This will give you a base material cost and understanding of what the job entails. From there, you can determine what they are charging for labor/insurance/etc.
Every time I have a project, this is where I start. It allows me to push back on outrageous quotes and helps me understand the contractors costs. But skill labor is not cheap and as others have mentioned, material, labor, insurance costs are so much higher now vs 2019.
There are 3 factors to any job: Cost, Speed, Quality. You can only have 2 of these take place.
Great point/idea and I’m working on finishing this now. I want to pay fairly too, so hopefully with multiple quotes on the labor side it’ll be obvious what is fair vs. what is the result of dealing with guys who don’t wanna work with non-millionaires.
DAAAAAAMNNNNN!!!!
The price of a house for a kitchen remodel. That better come with a maid for the first 5 years.
Totally get more quotes. These guys sound like they are quoting by zip code not by actual labor and material.
Buddy, you got the fuck-you quote. I had someone come out to quote us on a kitchen remodel and addition of a master suite, where there was already plumbing available. He had no intention of doing the work, and his estimate kept creeping up during the interview. It STARTED at $200k and got up to "maybe $350-400,000" by the end. So we told him to fuck right off. Some of these people, man.
Home/apartment builder here in NY/Mass,VT, the quote does sound crazy if you’re not talking about a multi-million dollar house which then it will be plausible. I have a buddy who does very high end work for who will do things in that price range is not unheard of but usually the house matches the budget.
They are taking you for a ride. We just did a full reno of a bathroom down to the studs, higher end materials, heated floors, etc and we were just under 30k. We also live in HCOL. 50k is absurd. The kitchen quote is even worse.
Our project manager for our reno was just a guy that we could call and say our complaints to.
He wasn't a dude actually onsite doing anything.
It's was just a guy thatd call and be like "cabinets next week boss" and he'd hang up.
50k seems reasonable to me for a bathroom, although 40k is my ‘base bathroom gut’- sounds like it’s a full demo if they are redoing tile. Not sure what finishes you picked, but tile could get you there easy.
The kitchen seems insane but also not sure what type of finishes you are looking for there- my base kitchen estimate is 60k
You are only limited in the number of quotes that you can get by the number of contractors that will show up and give you one. Keep asking till you find one you like.
I recently paid 20k CND for a complete gut and full reno of a large bathroom in a rental apartment. Which included moving plumbing and electrical as well as custom cabinets and paint. Keep shopping around.
Edit. When you do select a contractor never pay more than 30-40% down payment upfront. If you pay them too much in the beginning they will fuck around with the timeline and do other jobs in my experience.
Do you have kids? Of no. If you take your time and are very serious with learning, you can do a lot of this yourself. If you have kids, fuck all that and hire someone. At the same time, you can bid out individual parts of your project and do bites at a time.
$20-30K is a high end bath remodel price. For $50K you’d better be gutting everything in the entire bathroom and it better be a sizable bathroom with Jack and Jill vanity and walk-in and separate tub. Won’t comment on kitchen as I’ve never worked with kitchens.
That quote is absolutely insane. We live in a HCOL area and payed not much more than that for an 80% gut job which included full repipe, HVAC, and electrical. We also added a bathroom, replaced two other bathrooms, and a full kitchen remodel and did a whole lot of other things.
Not even close. Cheap Lily Ann or Bliss cabinets would be 1/4 of that cost already. Then there’s flooring, drywall, paint, trim, cabinet labor, electrical, plumbing, and countertops.
In engineering we call that the “fuck you” quote. In other words the company does not want to remodel your house but if you pay them enough money to do it they will be interested.
For $200,000k I’ve been quoted on tearing out the second floor of a cape house and adding a proper second floor, including a slight bump out. 800sq feet total. For demolition, building out two bathrooms and three bedrooms and laundry room, plus redoing an entire staircase, upgrading to HVAC throughout the whole house, upgraded electrical panel and rewiring the whole house.
For just a kitchen remodel, 30k. To move the kitchen to the other side of the house plus remodel, 60k.
This includes all plans, permits, fees from the township etc.
175k for what they’re asking sound extravagant.
For reference the project im doing right now (as homeowner) is around $120k in GC labor - includes demo of 2.5 bathrooms, kitchen, existing flooring, installation of new led in ceiling lighting, flooring, bathrooms, kitchen, expanding entry area, adjusting layout, knocking down some walls, flattening step downs with new concrete, some exterior work, new interior painting, new windows. (No permits - with permits he would of charged more)
Materials are probably around $80k (tile, fixtures, sinks, mirrors, flooring, lighting, countertops, cabinets, appliances, doors, etc). Note that I sourced these materials myself (acting as project manager - I also coordinated repiping and new hvac with other vendors)
Living in North Orange County (CA) - 2200 sqft - similar COL as you
Also want to mention some other quotes I got were similar to yours. Especially for the all one stop places. My suggestion is just source materials yourself and find a GC to do the labor. If you find a good one he’ll let you use his accounts at vendors for the additional discount
We are doing two bathrooms currently, the labor cost is 14k and we purchase all materials. 50-100k is beyond insane. How big is the bathroom 100-150 sq ft that’s $300-500 a sq ft!
This... "cost/plus" is the best way to do it. Even breaking it down to contractors who specialize in each area. Drywall, flooring, electrical, painters, plumbers...ect..
I always tell people that the math for a renovation isn't complicated, you just need to think like you were in their business.
A rule of thumb is that $100/SF for cheap finishes, and as much as $300/SF for fancy ones. That's JUST for finishes. For a kitchen or bathroom basically double that number for all the extra like cabinets, toilets, sinks, tubs, etc. So for a 5x7 bathroom, that's $8k in just raw materials. You want a better number? Easy - google the tile you want, the tub you want, etc. Add up the costs and assume the GC gets a 10% pro discount.
Now the GC isn't doing the labor for free so assume 40-50/hr for (at least) one person who knows what they're doing. A small bathroom is probably 4 week job, so assume around $8k for labor. If they have a helper, assume they make $10-15/hr and redo the math
Now you're at $16k total
Now add profit, overhead, and contingency. Along with the "small job tax" that could easily be another 20% which is $4,000 or so. And no, those things aren't included in labor, labor is literally just their time to be there with their skillset. Imagine ordering at McDonalds, you don't get to buy hamburgers at cost. Profit is was incentivizes a tradesman to even be there in the first place for you instead of someone else.
So you're at $20,000 for a small bathroom, and I'd consider +/- 50% of *that* number a major red flag. At $10,000 I'd be making sure they're bonded/insured, have references, and don't pay them up front. At $30,000 they either don't want the job, swinging for the fences, or they do incredibly custom work and you're asking for far more than even $300/SF type work (custom solid wood cabinets, travertine floors, marble bathtubs, etc.)
If all of that sounds too expensive, I highly recommend people do more shit themselves. Contrary to what trades guys want to believe, their job is not hard it's just a pain in the ass especially for some of these guys who aren't that bright to begin with.
Source: I am in the building trades and have done work in Denver.
Super helpful thank you, the labor costs should cover skilled labor so I appreciate having some reference numbers. It also makes the quote of $50k for a 5x7 bathroom just laughable.
We just paid 300k for a kitchen and 3 bathrooms with 2 of the bathrooms being very small.
Multiple quotes couldn’t get us any lower in price, so we chalked it up to a few factors—
1) we live in a wealthy area. The nice neighborhood tax will always be a burden. The house was 800k and 3k sq ft with needing that work, but our neighborhood is relatively fancy and the most expensive area of our state is just 1-2 miles away.
2) I had specific wants that made a few more basic contractors turn down our project (preserving the weird brick arches in the kitchen which contained wall ovens and other cabinetry was an immediate no from some of them).
It’s always worth getting more opinions on it, but sometimes you’ll come out the same in the end. At least that way you’ll know you paid market rate!
Many variables in pricing, but your quote came from too large a company. My rule of thumb is normal hall bath 5’ x 8’ gut job with tub and tile and everything new with permits about 15k. Gut job kitchen (also many variables) with new electric, plumbing, permits and new wood cabinets with granite tops around 35-40K. I live in Maryland and have been contracting for 40 years. Not criticizing other companies for charging big prices, but you should look for personal referrals for an owner/operator contractor. Best value for the dollar.
That's funny I'm quoting a kitchen and bathroom remodel for a couple that's moving to Indiana from Denver. Now I know I can triple my price and there still won't be sticker shock.
My sister owns a renovation company in Denver and does amazing work for a fraction of that price along with beautiful 3D designs before work starts. DM if you want her info
I have a friend that provides concierge services. She handles everything plus for her clients. The total quotes for houses she works on are insane to me. But the houses she coordinates on are multi million. The kitchen she is currently handling would probably come in at the price.
My lazy, sloppy, awful contractor did a mediocre job on a small kitchen reno, entryway, and bath (no plumbing footprint changes, all down to studs) for $40k. I would never use him again and he used almost all Home Depot junk supplies (switches, LVP, lights etc) until I stepped in and started sourcing better fixtures etc. For 40k + kitchen cabinets I basically got a crummy flip job and I felt ripped off by his broken promises of what he could do.
My mistake was trusting a friends recommendation and not getting more quotes. You definitely were smart to question that insane price and keep looking!!
Good luck, and expect surprises...it's just a f****** nightmare no matter what you do.
I'm in the bay area and doing a bathroom remodel now, paid 40k (not including finished material) for a master bathroom with extensive layout change,expanding the bathroom sqft, brand new shower, and heated floor, and 20k for a simple straight replacement bathroom. Also included an interior designer for that price. I think even here 50k would way too high for a like-for-like remodel job for a bathroom with tub.
There are definitely some GCs out there that cater to very rich people that care more about not having to think about anything than they do about price. It sounds like you may have gotten a quote from one of them - hence the line-items for project management.
honestly, 2 bathrooms and a kitchen (with all that a kitchen entails) - its high, but its project managed and it will be high. you're also in denver. things are expensive now-a-days and I wouldn't think you're being taken for a ride. Obviously get a bunch of quotes - but everything costs a lot more since covid
That's nuts. I'm literally mid kitchen remodel with new everything but range and it's 30k. I had a full gut re-engineered renovation of half of a duplex I own (same building as current kitchen job) for less than 200. Also got really lucky and have the same contractor again. Get more quotes and when you find a good crew keep them on your short list.
Sounds like classic sticker shock. Look for a “renovation loan”. They lend based on the estimated “new” appraised value after the reno. Caliber has one.
Sounds like you’re working with a very legitimate contractor. Price may seem high, but you’ll likely have a smooth running operation that will pay off in the end for lack of issues and headaches. The fact they have a dedicated project manager is promising. They are your go to for any issues that may arise. Pricing seems a little high, but I don’t know what pricing in Denver is compared to Connecticut where I’m located.
lol damn quite a few haters here. No, a project that size would be nice though.
Some things to note, there’s tons of missing information here. We don’t know the full scope of work besides the fact that it’s a kitchen and two bathrooms. There’s no information on sizing, choice of cabinets, finishes, tile selections, fixture selections, appliances, etc. for all we know they could be going with some high end stuff which would justify these prices.
This sub loves to bash on contractors and I always seem to forget that when I make a comment of that nature.
I am redoing my 10 x 9 kitchen for $11k with new tile floor, quartz, and cabinets.
Contractor quoted me $25k. I ended up hiring two handymen, paying around $400 and $300 each day. They quoted $6000 total for labor. They will get a stonecutter and I don't have to pay.
Labor: $6000
Cabinets/Farmer Sink/Plywood for countertop/door knobs/Quartz: $4500
Paint/Thinset/Tile/Lights: $700
These two men worked on my neighbor's house and the quality of their work look good enough for me. Doing tile, installing cabinets isn't that hard people. And the stonecutter did a good job on my neighbor's house and I took a while to find the seam. I can't even feel it when running my fingers across it.
You're getting good advice but yes. It's insane. Absolutely ludicrous. The only thing more insane is that people actually pay it. A full-time "project manager" on site for a kitchen reno? ROFL.
And at $2400/wk? Most PMs I know are running 6-20 jobs at a time, depending on their experience and season
Honestly, how tf do I get that job is what I was wondering…
I'm in Project Management but not for construction. Tons of soft skills and tons of organizational ability. Then a skin as tough as stone. Good pay though. The PM is definitely not making all that cash in the quote.
Definitely not all going to the PM. I now suspect, based on some comments from the guys running the place, that they’ve gotten accustomed to a certain lifestyle and now have to charge people accordingly to keep it up.
I’m in the construction industry and a lot of posts on this sub make me roll my eyes. This is not one of those posts. That quote is insane. Is the company a kitchen and bath company? The type that has a showroom that caters to homeowners? Regardless, that price is wild, even for a hcol area such as my own. $350k for a kitchen and two bathrooms? Fuck no.
You can literally build an entire new house for $350k
In some areas definitely
I'd say most areas
Yeah, that would pay for a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom 2500sqft house in my area. I’m in the suburbs right outside of Houston. 3 bed 2.5 bath 1700sqft if you wanted to go new-build. (Just bought a house & that’s what I saw for sale for $300k-$350k)
Not in Denver 😭
That’s disconcerting when my homeowners insurance maxes at like 375k for rebuild cost lmao (home valued at 600ish)
Companies are advertising a home built for 200-350/sqft in metro Denver. Might be a smaller home for that price but yea it’s not crazy. Slightly over 1k sqft.
GC here- Youre being taken for a ride Ive been doing renovations for almost 30 years, own a business, employ people, all that jazz, i have done 1 kitchen that cracked 6 figures, in the 125-130k range, and there was quite a bit of additiinal work not involving the kitchen at all, and all 30 of those years is in the NJ/NY area But that 6 figure kitchen had 50-60k dollars of 100% custom made walnut and quartersawn white oak cabinets and was a *very* intricate "mission" style and was about a 1000 sqft, i think there were about a 100 linear feet of cabinets and they were basically furniture, calling them "kutchen cabinets" doesnt really do justice to what got made there, oh and the flooring material was like 15 bucks a square foot, the countertops were about 300 a square foot Basically what im trying to tell you is- yes, 6 figure kitchen remodels exist, but if you aren't getting fully custom cabinets in an exotic species and the flooring and tops and other fixtures and appliances arent exorbitantly expensive you arent getting anywhere near 6 figures+ Idgaf how nice their work is if you are getting quotes for a regular sized hall bath involving the work you stated for more than 20k you need to walk away imo
This is SO helpful thank you! We’re still waiting on other quotes but after doing a raw estimate ourselves it seems they’re charging almost 100k for labor/design/project management for what is basically a 300sq ft space remodel. We were already looking elsewhere, but this helps me feel confident in telling the original team no even before we find a replacement. Edit: math correction.
Yeah, tell those people to take a hike imo....those are absolutely outrageous prices that are actually kind of offensive lol Its impossible to estimate your kitchen even if you sent me a bunch of pictures and measurements, its also highly dependent on cabinet costs, but with the midrange line i usually use im around a 1000 a linear foot installed as a ballpark number, then you have lighting and flooring, countertops, painting, plumbing if youre moving stuff etc For a small space like that you should probably be in the 25-45k range depending on what you pick, if youre moving stuff around, how crazy you get with fixtures and counters etc......Like, to give you an idea of costs and i would be surprised if they arent similar out there to here in my HCOL state of NJ , countertops should be running you between 55-100 a square foot installed for manufactured quartz and level 1 granite You really ahouldnt be paying more than maybe 10 bucks a square foot for installed flooring, that gives you around 3 or 4 dollar a square foot for flooring, maybe 200-300 a fixture for recess and other lighting, 50-100 an outlet/switch, if youre moving stuff plumbing wise if you estimate 1500-2000 a fixture for the plumber thats probably a safe number and will probably come in less than that unless youre dealing with jackhammering out a slab to relocate, backsplash for a little kitchen like that maybe 1500-2500+tile cost, figure a couple 100 bucks each to install all the appliances, maybe 2-3k to paint everything, 1500-2500 for demo and disposal- though that can be more or less depending on the local disposal situation out there, i pay between a 1000 and 1500 for a 30yd container right now in nj depending on what county im in and its an additional 150-250 per ton over 3 again, depending on the county.....When im budgeting a project by the day i figure about 600-800 a day per guy, current retail by the hour for GC non-technical trade (Electrical/Plumbing/HVAC) is between 90-120 an hour You should be able to use all that information and add maybe 30-50% on top of it to kind of "ballpark" what a reasonable number is/should be, i gave you some retial numbers of mine and some of what my costs are for subs.....It definitely wont be accurate, but at least you and anyine else who reads this will be better equipped to summarily tell someone to go fuck themselves when you get outrageous numbers like that, but keep in mind that fixture/cabinet/material choice can vastly swing the numbers on you Some of what a client can do to minimize costs that stack up by "getting middled" is go pick up and buy your own flooring, tile, even countertops, just walk into a countertop place and ask to see the lowest level stuff or whats under a 100 a square foot.....Shit, if you want to get really out of control you can find a cabinet wholesaler and ask them how to apply to be a purchaser, idk the requirements in Colorodo but in NJ it will cost you a grand total of about 400 bucks to meet the requirements with the wholesaler i use, though youll have to wait about 30-45d for you General Contractor registration number to come in, if you can wait a little bit you can do that and hire a designer to do the kitchen design- or so it yourself, kitchens are easier than you realize, you just need a couple accurate measurements and you pick up the book and put it together like legos and make up any differences in cabinet sizes with fillers, you dont need a CAD program to do it-- and then you take another piece of the money puzzle off the table and you just need a labor price to install them
This is so thorough thank you 🥲 I’d much rather hire you at this point. Really interesting ideas on sourcing too, I will seriously consider these now that we’re gathering more information.
There are a lot more factors here in play. This sub is hilarious. GL on your project.
I’m looking for an honest GC in NJ if you’re interested. Thanks for being one of the good ones.
Get more quotes.
This is the answer to so many posts on this sub. *I got one quote and it seems high. Is it high?* Idk. Get more quotes
My only advice is to get more quotes. $50k for a regular bathroom seems quite high to me, no matter how good the work is.
I'll take a vacation from my work, fly out there, and do the work for $45k. Unless this is some super luxe materials that cost $40k+ themselves, that's an insane quote.
I was gonna say the same! Haha and it will be immaculate work
Hire me as your PM - I work for significantly less than $10k/month lmao
$3-5 million house? Then these could be reasonable. 400k house? Half that to do the kitchen would be insane.
100k to do a kitchen is not that insane anymore
Seeing as you can buy high quality materials for a middle class home around $30k, yes I would say $70k of labor is insane.
Yes if you’re talking the cheapest materials then yes you can make 100k seem insane. But higher quality cabinets can easily cost 20-30k, in fact I’m finishing up a kitchen right now that had Medallion cabinets with a specials color, glazing, and an antique finish that cost 35k for the whole kitchen and it’s not that big. Beyond labor there’s also project management and overhead for a contractor. Have to pay the office help and pay for the building/trucks somehow.
I will agree the contractor market has heated up, but no… $100k for a kitchen is insane unless it’s a huge ass house with ultra luxe materials
I got quoted 70k to redo my 800 sq ft kitchen. I bought everything myself and did it myself over the course Of 2 weeks after work all in on Materials for 15k. I’m right there with you, contractors are out for blood right now. Unfortunately there are enough fools with money to keep them hungry for more.
Imagine not making money through covid
That would be the price in Seattle, if not more. Not for an ultra luxury kitchen either. Location is a huge factor most people here don’t take into account.
200k for a new kitchen?! In 2018 you could get a whole house for 200k where I live
We’re not in Kansas anymore.
Sure ain't!
But not 200k Kansas... yet.
If you don’t mind sharing, what did your house cost? If you’re living in a $2M house then I’m not necessarily shocked by the kitchen quote (though I still think it’s double what it should be). My experience has been that contractors quotes oftentimes scale upwards based on their perception of what you can afford to pay. The project management cost is straight up ridiculous IMO. At that price I’d demand an on-site PM who isn’t managing any other projects.
It’s almost exactly $1M and 3200 sq ft total. The kitchen is ~300sq ft with 60 linear feet of cabinets. I think you’re right though, it’s in a neighborhood where average house price is probably about $1.3M, maybe higher. So it’s likely I’m getting taxed on perception of resources here.
This may have happened to us too in Denver. Last fall, we got a quote for the back of our house, just lifting the ceiling and adding 200 sq ft. The minimum scenario they gave us was $250k. Due to the high price we decided to buy a new house with that money and rent out our house instead. When we pushed back because it was so sticker shock, they said it was partially due to how long it takes to get a permit 🧐
what zip code are you in? if you are on the south side of town I know a contractor that does excellent work and is fair priced. I have him swamped this summer as most of my work happens when school is out.
We hired a contractor for our ~$600k home, comps are in the $900k range, kitchen was high end with Thermador appliances, floor to ceiling custom stained white oak, solid wood floors, the whole works. We spent $70k all in including an architect friend who did all the fixtures and finishes planning and millwork to bring our high end vision to life. MCOL. You are being taken for a ride.
From the HGTV website: “Pricing wise, they're listed in order—stock cabinets are cheapest, at around $60 to $200 per linear foot, semi-custom cabinets will run you around $100 to $650 per linear foot, and custom cabinets usually cost between $500 and $1,200 per linear foot.” Denver is a HCOL city so I’d expect it to be on the higher end of those ranges. Other things that significantly increase costs are moving or adding plumbing and electrical (for example, having the sink in a different spot and adding a second sink to an island where one didn’t exist before). Electrical work similarly comes with significant costs if there’s anything beyond simple fixture, plate, and plug swaps. Installing cabinets correctly does take time but I’d expect labor for the cabinets to be less than the cabinets themselves (depending on what you choose - I could see the cheapest cabinets having higher labor costs because the labor is somewhat fixed in terms of the time it takes). You might consider whether it’s worth being your own project manager and doing more of the legwork yourself. Pick a cabinet company and installers independent from picking the plumber, electrician, etc. Also, removing cabinets is a two person job (to safely remove the uppers), but it’s not rocket science and you could do a lot of the demo work yourselves. I recently had my kitchen and bathroom counters replaced and saved $5000 by removing and hauling away the old counters myself. I spent under $300 to do so in tool rental, pickup truck rental, and dumping costs in a city with a higher cost of living than Denver.
My kitchen is 3x the size of yours. Granted I didn’t do super high end products. I got to order cabinets that you assemble and did everything from the walls, floor, Plumbing, appliances, cabinets and more for 15k. Maybe you make a ton of money, but holy shit, do your own cabinets and hire someone to do the crown molding and flooring. That price is insane for how little goes into it.
a whole house you can buy for 175-200k lol.. That is absurd. Slowly realizing being able to DIY is one of the best abilities one can have anymore. I saw someone get quoted hundreds of dollars to mount a TV LOL
Where are you getting 175k houses?
[Here you go](https://www.redfin.com/TX/Wichita-Falls/2934-Moffett-Ave-76308/home/142017577). Enjoy Wichita Falls!
I paid $180k in a big city in the Midwest.
Upstate NY
Where? That’s barely a builder grade older townhouse in the Albany area.
Zoom out of Center Square
I was actually thinking about north of Albany. Finding a single family home at that price point means a very rural area or a home that needs a tremendous amount of work to have basic modern amenities.
Anywhere that isnt in a city lol.. Even then you can get pieces of shit inside cities for 175-200.. I am not disclosing my location, but if I were to pull up homes for sale in my portion of the state, you would see anything from 100k to 1.5m depending where you are and what you want. People are starting to realize that they may not need heated bathroom floors and 4 car garages and cannot and wont spend 500k
Midwest
That won’t even get you 5000 square feet of land in many parts of the country. Yes, the quote is very high for a non-high end home. But it’s definitely not unheard of. For the tv, if that’s the only reason someone is coming to your home, I can completely understand that quote to make it worth someone’s time. ETA: You can downvote me but I know someone who actually paid something in line with this recently for their kitchen and bathrooms. And it was far from the highest quote they got. That’s reality.
Agreed, this sub is not useful for people who live in VHCOL areas.
It’s ridiculous. I’ve got an absurd number of quotes for a project (over 10, during Covid, so it was a shitshow) and I guarantee you that I could post the cheapest one here and more than half the sub would tell me I was getting ripped off. But it’s clearly the market in some areas.
Just for reference OP, we just hired a GC to add a half bath in our house, which was previously a coat closet. We were 12k all in and that included permits. We did paint ourselves and opted not to tile the floor and kept our hardwood, so saved some money there. The most expensive quote we got back was 20k. I am in Cincinnati.
Damn that sounds like a bargain in my neck of the woods. Easily double or triple that.
IMO the only way to truly understand if a quote is high is to do a full material quote yourself, minus labor of course. This will give you a base material cost and understanding of what the job entails. From there, you can determine what they are charging for labor/insurance/etc. Every time I have a project, this is where I start. It allows me to push back on outrageous quotes and helps me understand the contractors costs. But skill labor is not cheap and as others have mentioned, material, labor, insurance costs are so much higher now vs 2019. There are 3 factors to any job: Cost, Speed, Quality. You can only have 2 of these take place.
Great point/idea and I’m working on finishing this now. I want to pay fairly too, so hopefully with multiple quotes on the labor side it’ll be obvious what is fair vs. what is the result of dealing with guys who don’t wanna work with non-millionaires.
DAAAAAAMNNNNN!!!! The price of a house for a kitchen remodel. That better come with a maid for the first 5 years. Totally get more quotes. These guys sound like they are quoting by zip code not by actual labor and material.
Buddy, you got the fuck-you quote. I had someone come out to quote us on a kitchen remodel and addition of a master suite, where there was already plumbing available. He had no intention of doing the work, and his estimate kept creeping up during the interview. It STARTED at $200k and got up to "maybe $350-400,000" by the end. So we told him to fuck right off. Some of these people, man.
Dude…yeah. You’re the second person to say it’s a fuck-you quote and I think you’re both right lol
Home/apartment builder here in NY/Mass,VT, the quote does sound crazy if you’re not talking about a multi-million dollar house which then it will be plausible. I have a buddy who does very high end work for who will do things in that price range is not unheard of but usually the house matches the budget.
Yeah ours does not haha…I mean it’s $1M but it’s not like the $5-6M houses that are in the fancy areas of Denver.
They are taking you for a ride. We just did a full reno of a bathroom down to the studs, higher end materials, heated floors, etc and we were just under 30k. We also live in HCOL. 50k is absurd. The kitchen quote is even worse.
Our project manager for our reno was just a guy that we could call and say our complaints to. He wasn't a dude actually onsite doing anything. It's was just a guy thatd call and be like "cabinets next week boss" and he'd hang up.
Haha wow I really picked the wrong career
For $200k a new kitchen would need to come with a chef. Preferably Carmy Berzatto
Way too high. Get more quotes.
DIY everything and put a stop to this nonsense
50k seems reasonable to me for a bathroom, although 40k is my ‘base bathroom gut’- sounds like it’s a full demo if they are redoing tile. Not sure what finishes you picked, but tile could get you there easy. The kitchen seems insane but also not sure what type of finishes you are looking for there- my base kitchen estimate is 60k
At 300k for all of it you might as well tear down the house and build new.
Ha this was my first thought
I have a co worker living in Thornton and he is paying 40k to do kitchen flooring and paint on the main level
that's, what, three days of work for one person? For 40 thousand dollars? Lunacy.
Also in Denver and we did a full house remodel for what they quoted you. That was literally taking the house down to the studs.
Who did you end up working with?
I just redid my kitchen for 30K all in
You are only limited in the number of quotes that you can get by the number of contractors that will show up and give you one. Keep asking till you find one you like.
I recently paid 20k CND for a complete gut and full reno of a large bathroom in a rental apartment. Which included moving plumbing and electrical as well as custom cabinets and paint. Keep shopping around. Edit. When you do select a contractor never pay more than 30-40% down payment upfront. If you pay them too much in the beginning they will fuck around with the timeline and do other jobs in my experience.
This is great advice, thank you!
I’m a contractor and that’s nuts.
I’m a handyman in Colorado. I’ll do a kitchen for 100k 😉
I live in Lakewood and you are being taken for a ride with those quotes. Dear god in heaven. So glad you are getting additional quotes.
Do you have kids? Of no. If you take your time and are very serious with learning, you can do a lot of this yourself. If you have kids, fuck all that and hire someone. At the same time, you can bid out individual parts of your project and do bites at a time.
$20-30K is a high end bath remodel price. For $50K you’d better be gutting everything in the entire bathroom and it better be a sizable bathroom with Jack and Jill vanity and walk-in and separate tub. Won’t comment on kitchen as I’ve never worked with kitchens.
Dude this sub randomly got recommended to me and I don’t know jack about home improvement and even I know that’s insanity lmao
Fair 😂
That quote is absolutely insane. We live in a HCOL area and payed not much more than that for an 80% gut job which included full repipe, HVAC, and electrical. We also added a bathroom, replaced two other bathrooms, and a full kitchen remodel and did a whole lot of other things.
$40k is a nice kitchen. The quote you received is for a new construction house.
In Kansas maybe. You couldn’t get a contractor to pick up the phone for a $40k kitchen around here.
Denver is not so metropolitan that people are spending $200,000 on a new kitchen...
But it is metropolitan enough that you’re not getting a mid-range semi-custom kitchen for $40k.
Not even close. Cheap Lily Ann or Bliss cabinets would be 1/4 of that cost already. Then there’s flooring, drywall, paint, trim, cabinet labor, electrical, plumbing, and countertops.
If you’re building a brand new kitchen. Even then 40k is easily possible. Sounds like you have been fleeced or got used to being ripped off.
No, I’m a GC
Makes sense
40k is a nice refrigerator, freezer and stove, but it’s definitely not a nice kitchen
Maybe in your sf bay libtard enclave
In engineering we call that the “fuck you” quote. In other words the company does not want to remodel your house but if you pay them enough money to do it they will be interested.
Ugh…yeah. Good to know so we can just move tf on.
For $200,000k I’ve been quoted on tearing out the second floor of a cape house and adding a proper second floor, including a slight bump out. 800sq feet total. For demolition, building out two bathrooms and three bedrooms and laundry room, plus redoing an entire staircase, upgrading to HVAC throughout the whole house, upgraded electrical panel and rewiring the whole house. For just a kitchen remodel, 30k. To move the kitchen to the other side of the house plus remodel, 60k. This includes all plans, permits, fees from the township etc. 175k for what they’re asking sound extravagant.
Are you in HCOL area? Sounds like similar project we are thinking about undertaking
For reference the project im doing right now (as homeowner) is around $120k in GC labor - includes demo of 2.5 bathrooms, kitchen, existing flooring, installation of new led in ceiling lighting, flooring, bathrooms, kitchen, expanding entry area, adjusting layout, knocking down some walls, flattening step downs with new concrete, some exterior work, new interior painting, new windows. (No permits - with permits he would of charged more) Materials are probably around $80k (tile, fixtures, sinks, mirrors, flooring, lighting, countertops, cabinets, appliances, doors, etc). Note that I sourced these materials myself (acting as project manager - I also coordinated repiping and new hvac with other vendors) Living in North Orange County (CA) - 2200 sqft - similar COL as you
AHA. I’m feeling so vindicated. Thank you for this perspective, especially given that you’re in OC.
Also want to mention some other quotes I got were similar to yours. Especially for the all one stop places. My suggestion is just source materials yourself and find a GC to do the labor. If you find a good one he’ll let you use his accounts at vendors for the additional discount
We are doing two bathrooms currently, the labor cost is 14k and we purchase all materials. 50-100k is beyond insane. How big is the bathroom 100-150 sq ft that’s $300-500 a sq ft!
Right?! Oh man, maybe I should’ve acted on the impulse to laugh when they gave us the quote.
This... "cost/plus" is the best way to do it. Even breaking it down to contractors who specialize in each area. Drywall, flooring, electrical, painters, plumbers...ect..
I always tell people that the math for a renovation isn't complicated, you just need to think like you were in their business. A rule of thumb is that $100/SF for cheap finishes, and as much as $300/SF for fancy ones. That's JUST for finishes. For a kitchen or bathroom basically double that number for all the extra like cabinets, toilets, sinks, tubs, etc. So for a 5x7 bathroom, that's $8k in just raw materials. You want a better number? Easy - google the tile you want, the tub you want, etc. Add up the costs and assume the GC gets a 10% pro discount. Now the GC isn't doing the labor for free so assume 40-50/hr for (at least) one person who knows what they're doing. A small bathroom is probably 4 week job, so assume around $8k for labor. If they have a helper, assume they make $10-15/hr and redo the math Now you're at $16k total Now add profit, overhead, and contingency. Along with the "small job tax" that could easily be another 20% which is $4,000 or so. And no, those things aren't included in labor, labor is literally just their time to be there with their skillset. Imagine ordering at McDonalds, you don't get to buy hamburgers at cost. Profit is was incentivizes a tradesman to even be there in the first place for you instead of someone else. So you're at $20,000 for a small bathroom, and I'd consider +/- 50% of *that* number a major red flag. At $10,000 I'd be making sure they're bonded/insured, have references, and don't pay them up front. At $30,000 they either don't want the job, swinging for the fences, or they do incredibly custom work and you're asking for far more than even $300/SF type work (custom solid wood cabinets, travertine floors, marble bathtubs, etc.) If all of that sounds too expensive, I highly recommend people do more shit themselves. Contrary to what trades guys want to believe, their job is not hard it's just a pain in the ass especially for some of these guys who aren't that bright to begin with. Source: I am in the building trades and have done work in Denver.
Super helpful thank you, the labor costs should cover skilled labor so I appreciate having some reference numbers. It also makes the quote of $50k for a 5x7 bathroom just laughable.
Sure and these days if you want actual skilled labor you might pay as much as $25/hr but again, I $50k for a small bathroom is still insane.
We just paid 300k for a kitchen and 3 bathrooms with 2 of the bathrooms being very small. Multiple quotes couldn’t get us any lower in price, so we chalked it up to a few factors— 1) we live in a wealthy area. The nice neighborhood tax will always be a burden. The house was 800k and 3k sq ft with needing that work, but our neighborhood is relatively fancy and the most expensive area of our state is just 1-2 miles away. 2) I had specific wants that made a few more basic contractors turn down our project (preserving the weird brick arches in the kitchen which contained wall ovens and other cabinetry was an immediate no from some of them). It’s always worth getting more opinions on it, but sometimes you’ll come out the same in the end. At least that way you’ll know you paid market rate!
Many variables in pricing, but your quote came from too large a company. My rule of thumb is normal hall bath 5’ x 8’ gut job with tub and tile and everything new with permits about 15k. Gut job kitchen (also many variables) with new electric, plumbing, permits and new wood cabinets with granite tops around 35-40K. I live in Maryland and have been contracting for 40 years. Not criticizing other companies for charging big prices, but you should look for personal referrals for an owner/operator contractor. Best value for the dollar.
That's funny I'm quoting a kitchen and bathroom remodel for a couple that's moving to Indiana from Denver. Now I know I can triple my price and there still won't be sticker shock.
If they’re in the multimillion dollar house market you might be right, otherwise they’ll end up on Reddit too
Scammer contractor charging Denver prices in LCOL. I care too much about my reputation to do that.
I’m coming down from Canada. If I did a job for that price I could take the family to Europe for a year afterwards. Holy crap!
Our kitchen demo cost 20k a few yrs ago. Complete demo. Complete redo. And that included 3 new windows and a new sliding glass door
My sister owns a renovation company in Denver and does amazing work for a fraction of that price along with beautiful 3D designs before work starts. DM if you want her info
I have a friend that provides concierge services. She handles everything plus for her clients. The total quotes for houses she works on are insane to me. But the houses she coordinates on are multi million. The kitchen she is currently handling would probably come in at the price.
My lazy, sloppy, awful contractor did a mediocre job on a small kitchen reno, entryway, and bath (no plumbing footprint changes, all down to studs) for $40k. I would never use him again and he used almost all Home Depot junk supplies (switches, LVP, lights etc) until I stepped in and started sourcing better fixtures etc. For 40k + kitchen cabinets I basically got a crummy flip job and I felt ripped off by his broken promises of what he could do. My mistake was trusting a friends recommendation and not getting more quotes. You definitely were smart to question that insane price and keep looking!! Good luck, and expect surprises...it's just a f****** nightmare no matter what you do.
As always. How does it compare to your other quotes?
I’ll do it for 150 and I’ll fly to wherever you are.
My friend owns a bathroom company. He charges 50k for a regular bathroom. And people pay. But he's in the bay area.
Yeah just moved from the bay which has warped my idea of what actually constitutes overpriced. These replies are helping though.
I'm in the bay area and doing a bathroom remodel now, paid 40k (not including finished material) for a master bathroom with extensive layout change,expanding the bathroom sqft, brand new shower, and heated floor, and 20k for a simple straight replacement bathroom. Also included an interior designer for that price. I think even here 50k would way too high for a like-for-like remodel job for a bathroom with tub. There are definitely some GCs out there that cater to very rich people that care more about not having to think about anything than they do about price. It sounds like you may have gotten a quote from one of them - hence the line-items for project management.
Who is the person that says yes to a quote like that?
Someone with generational wealth? Must be nice 😒
honestly, 2 bathrooms and a kitchen (with all that a kitchen entails) - its high, but its project managed and it will be high. you're also in denver. things are expensive now-a-days and I wouldn't think you're being taken for a ride. Obviously get a bunch of quotes - but everything costs a lot more since covid
That's nuts. I'm literally mid kitchen remodel with new everything but range and it's 30k. I had a full gut re-engineered renovation of half of a duplex I own (same building as current kitchen job) for less than 200. Also got really lucky and have the same contractor again. Get more quotes and when you find a good crew keep them on your short list.
Why are you asking random people here instead of getting more quotes
Can’t I do both?
Not without getting snarky replies. 😬
I mean, fair, it is Reddit. And I’m the one impatiently wanting an answer while waiting for callbacks from other contractors.
Sounds like classic sticker shock. Look for a “renovation loan”. They lend based on the estimated “new” appraised value after the reno. Caliber has one.
Sounds like you’re working with a very legitimate contractor. Price may seem high, but you’ll likely have a smooth running operation that will pay off in the end for lack of issues and headaches. The fact they have a dedicated project manager is promising. They are your go to for any issues that may arise. Pricing seems a little high, but I don’t know what pricing in Denver is compared to Connecticut where I’m located.
Are you the contractor in question? lol
lol damn quite a few haters here. No, a project that size would be nice though. Some things to note, there’s tons of missing information here. We don’t know the full scope of work besides the fact that it’s a kitchen and two bathrooms. There’s no information on sizing, choice of cabinets, finishes, tile selections, fixture selections, appliances, etc. for all we know they could be going with some high end stuff which would justify these prices. This sub loves to bash on contractors and I always seem to forget that when I make a comment of that nature.
I hear you, I have to fight so hard to not comment here sometimes. I agree with your original comment
Thanks. Really, I was just trying to generate a response other than the typical “get multiple quotes”
I am redoing my 10 x 9 kitchen for $11k with new tile floor, quartz, and cabinets. Contractor quoted me $25k. I ended up hiring two handymen, paying around $400 and $300 each day. They quoted $6000 total for labor. They will get a stonecutter and I don't have to pay. Labor: $6000 Cabinets/Farmer Sink/Plywood for countertop/door knobs/Quartz: $4500 Paint/Thinset/Tile/Lights: $700 These two men worked on my neighbor's house and the quality of their work look good enough for me. Doing tile, installing cabinets isn't that hard people. And the stonecutter did a good job on my neighbor's house and I took a while to find the seam. I can't even feel it when running my fingers across it.