Kitchen Cabinet/Countertop Costs

[Kyle Boatright]

I'm trying to come up with some budgetary figures for a kitchen remodel for a home my parents bought, and the only thing I don't have a handle on is the cabinet and countertop cost. My guess is they will need to replace 35 lineal feet of base cabinet and matching countertop, and another 35' of wall mounted cabinet.

I assume they will want medium to high end cabinets and probably granite countertops, but the problem is that the information I see on-line has a huge amount of variation... $80 to $250/lineal foot is a pretty wide range and isn't really helpful, because the question they are trying to answer is whether they want to spend the $ to replace the existing cabinets or whether they will just have the existing (relatively cheap) cabinets painted and have new countertops installed...

Any recent experiences? Thoughts? BTW, the house is in the Atlanta suburbs.

Thanks in advance.

KB

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Sure it is. Do you want to spend $85 a foot for mediocre stuff or $250 for better quality? Or do you want to spend $400 or more? There are cabinets available in every range. Appearance aside, theee are many factors that differentiate chap versus good cabinets. Drawer construcion, slides, self closing drawers, self closing doors, shelf adjustability, finishes insed and out, quality of hardware, types of materials.

If they are cheap, get rid of them now, not after living with them for a year and finding you wasted a lot of money on a re-furb that just is not up to the standards they want. Why not set a budget and se what you can find in that price range? If it is suitable, buy, if not, wait until youcan get what you want or try to increase the budget.

You can get lost of ideas on line, but you really have to get your ass to a store and look at the displays up close. Note construcion types, joinery, etc. Do some reading to find what makes good versus cheap.

[Kyle Boatright]

I agree wholeheartedly, but in the end, they are the ones who have to get comfortable that reworking a kitchen is going to cost $30k or more. It isn't that they don't have the money, but it may be that they have sticker shock, not having done any real home improvemtents in over 30 years.

My philosophy is to never do a half assed job then come back a year or two later and re-do the whole thing. That's a great way to spend 50% more than you should have to get the same final product.

I understand good vs cheap cabinets and the different construction types and materials. I'm simply looking for data points, which are probably all over the place depending on how well people shop and how "hungry" contractors are.

KB