Planning Your Kitchen Remodeling Budget

by Gabby Hyman
Face Your Kitchen Columnist

Before you leap into a full-scale kitchen remodeling plan, there's this word to the wise: beware the claim of remodeling on a "shoestring budget." Shoestring budgets are great if you're replacing your shoestrings. If there's one thing upon which most kitchen remodeling survivors agree, it's that everything costs more than their best estimate suggested. With that in mind, have a look over some of the more common pitfalls in homeowner's "small budget" kitchen remodeling plans:

• Under-estimating total renovation costs. It's reasonable to plan on spending 15% of your current home valuation on any major kitchen remodeling effort. You should consider that new cabinets and countertops will comprise almost 50% of your total budget. Perhaps another 30% of the total cost will go toward appliances, electrical wiring, floor and wall covering. That leaves some 20% for labor. And these estimates are modest, depending upon sound plumbing and electrical in your existing structure. It's not unreasonable to expect a modest budget to come in around $15,000, and more likely it will top out around $30,000 for average-scale projects.
• Under-estimating materials. Let's say you intend to keep the project small and do much of the labor yourself. You can visit home improvement stores to price your materials. Many people visit online improvement sites to price and order decorative knobs, pullers, cabinetry, or small appliances. Be realistic. Are the parts compatible with existing materials? Have you planned for breakage during assembly? Are you looking at current prices? Are there shipping costs?
• Taking on more than you can handle. If you've never done kitchen remodeling work before and plan on doing it all yourself, beware. Many homeowners who haven't budgeted correctly will have to regroup and bring in an expert. Calling in a professional kitchen interior designer, architect, or remodeling contractor during the planning stage can help you assess the scope of your project and your ability to complete it yourself.

About the Author
Gabby Hyman has written for print and online media for more than 20 years. He has created online content for eToys, GoTo.com, Siebel Systems, Avaya, and Nissan UK. He has also been a web consultant to the Governor of California. As an author of fiction, journalism, and poetry, Gabby is a former English professor for the University of Illinois, University of Alaska, and Old Dominion University. He holds an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Alabama.