Kitchen and bath remodels

[explanade]

Townhouse in San Francisco Bay Area, in prime location. Zillow shows it between $600-650k. In the past decade, units in the same complex have sold for around $750k, though they may have been slightly bigger unints.

Home Depot says 5% is the typical cost of a kitchen remodel and showed me a chart claiming that average kitchen remodel in the Bay Area was $71k.

Had a couple of contractors out, one came with an estimate of about $45k for the kitchen and 2.5 bathrooms. This includes new floors and lighting, counters and cabinets. Does not include appliances, sinks, plumbing fixtures.

Another estimate was about $70k, including about $5k for appliances.

Is there some rule of thumb for how much remodels should costs, how much value they'd add, etc?

Anyone here deal with these issues? Not necessarily in the context of ER -- still working here.

[MooreBonds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade Home Depot says 5% is the typical cost of a kitchen remodel and showed me a chart claiming that average kitchen remodel in the Bay Area was $71k. Had a couple of contractors out, one came with an estimate of about $45k for the kitchen and 2.5 bathrooms. This includes new floors and lighting, counters and cabinets. Does not include appliances, sinks, plumbing fixtures. Another estimate was about $70k, including about $5k for appliances. Is there some rule of thumb for how much remodels should costs, how much value they'd add, etc? Anyone here deal with these issues? Not necessarily in the context of ER -- still working here.

I purchased a 50 year old home 3 years ago in St. Louis. Tackled the remodel of the kitchen and 2 bathrooms (small) myself. Had a carpenter do the demo/studs/electrical/drywall, while I did the painting and tile work, and found a cheap countertop guy to do my countertops.

I wouldn't necessarily be stuck on x% of your condo cost, since your specific decisions on what to go with can vary GREATLY. As an example, just cabinet choices alone can range from
---simply repaint/refinish them, either yourself or paying someone
---repaint/refinish plus new doors for a new look
---entirely new cabinets....which then ranges from lower cost standard looks to custom cabinetry.

The cheapest option on just the cabinets can range from $1,500-$2,000 (refinishing/repainting by a contractor) to $30,000 for higher-end cabinets and countertops.

My advice: make sure you understand completely what each bid covers, with a product sample (not only for finish color, but also quality of the cabinet/wood) and clear list of what the contractor includes and excludes.

As long as you aren't rewiring things, a 'simple' cabinet removal and replacement, with perhaps a little minor electrical work to move a few outlets shouldn't result in too many unforseen things, and should allow you to get fairly straightfoward bids without too many unforseen extras.

One biggie: electric for a stove might have to change if a new range/oven requires more power than the existing electric oven/range circuit has).

Same deal w/ bathrooms - are you looking to simply change out the vanity/plumbing fixtures? Or are you expanding/demoing/moving a wall? Tearing out tile and putting in new tile? Big difference in costs.

In terms of resale value, an often cited percentage is that bathrooms and kitchens usually offer more bang for your buck - although it's relative, since very few renovations actually yield a positive return. A good kitchen/bathroom remodel could recoup 70%-80% of your construction cost when you resell it.

You could simply surf a site like realtor.com to see currently listed condos in your area to see what they are listed for, and see what condition (old/updated) their interior pictures indicate to get a feel for how it might impact your resale value.

[Bestwifeever]

I don't know about San Francisco, but we are going to have a kitchen remodel this year from the studs out and the cost is right in your ball park. Unless DH keeps adding miscellaneous tasks into the project, in which case yours is a real bargain.

I don't understand this: "Home Depot says 5% is the typical cost of a kitchen remodel...." I'd think it would be a lot higher considering that it's the most expensive room in the house. Maybe they're not talking about a gut remodel but replacing countertops, cabinets and flooring.

We got some generic data from the contractor about how long it takes for a remodel to "pay for itself" in terms of home appreciation and how much it would add to the value of a house, but the contractor said the figures are meaningless in today's market. I think a new kitchen would help your home sell faster, but not sure if it would mean you'd get much more for it.

[SVHoper]

Hi,

If you are interested in doing an IKEA kitchen, I would be happy to help (4 remodels in the last ~5 years)... you can plan the exact cost using their planning tool. I think they are suitable for $1m+ houses in Bay Area but understand that some people don't like them at all. $2k-$4.5k compared to $20k custom for just cabinet costs.

The choices you make determine a lot of the price e.g. sink $150 or $650 x 100 choices; I think you could get the $45k to cover everything... but very much depends on the choices.

Regards,

[explanade]

Keep in mind that this is a townhouse so the rooms are all small and I'm not reconfiguring any of the walls. Just replacing everything in place.

I've tried the virtual designers on various sites and I believe they all use the same software but I can't get it to display on my Mac.