The price of kitchen and bathroom remodels range widely depending upon several factors. One of the biggest factors that will determine how expensive a remodel will be is the quality of materials. Higher quality grades of cabinets, countertops, and flooring all require more highly skilled laborers to produce. Most of the highest quality materials are not produced in a cookie cutter fashion, such as the average run of the mill cabinets or laminate countertops which can easily be found in any large brick and mortar hardware store.
A jump in price is extremely common from basic laminated chipboard cabinets, which are found in every basic new home, to real solid wood cabinets, whether it be oak, maple, or especially exotic woods like African Sapele. The same is true of countertops.
Laminate countertops are the easiest and cheapest manufactured countertops available. Much like laminate cabinetry, laminate countertops are simply a manufactured pattern that is glued onto a section of chipboard. While the selection of colors and patterns of laminate countertops has increased, granite and engineered stone countertops have almost infinite color variations not to mention that granite countertops are the most durable and versatile of all countertop material.
Invariably, when a homeowner remodels a kitchen or bathroom, cabinets and countertop material make up a very large part of the budget. The reason for this is due to the fact that both components receive the highest amount of wear and tear. The cliche “you get what you pay for” is very true in regards to kitchen upgrades. The actual kitchen hardware, such as, drawer pulls, drawer slides, fold out racks, etc. can either last 3 months or 20 years. Many home owners are surprised and shocked to find out the cost of the hardware alone when remodeling a kitchen can easily reach into the thousands depending upon the size, layout, and features a kitchen offers.
As of 2007, the average price of a kitchen upgrade was in the neighborhood of $40,000. This figure is largely skewed due to the housing and overall real estate market enjoying a huge boom in the past decade. A realistic everyday expectation for kitchen remodels can be achieved for well under $20,000. While that is still a substantial figure, it should not be viewed as an expense, but an investment. Homeowners can realistically expect to recover at least 97% of the cost of upgrading a kitchen with the sale of the home.
