Sorry joyjoy... we had the same thing 60amp service. We had it upgraded to 200 amp and had the entire circuit box moved. Plus DH had wiring done for his shop and plug for our motorhome. Cost us around 3 grand too. It's the very first thing we did and then we waited. Then we moved the hot water heater and re-routed the plumbing... 2nd thing we did and then we waited. I know it really stinks... but you will eventually get there. I promise. Don't do things on the cheap... wait.

Concentrate cheapness in things that are easy to upgrade later. Appliances, lighting, backsplashes, faucets, furniture, refinishing existing stuff, etc. Spend the money on stuff that you'll be ''stuck with'', like new flooring, cabinets, counter, etc. That's my view, anyway.

I have to agree with mostly Remodelfla on this one. Cut the $3-$4k from the current budget by simply not doing the things that can be postponed. Don't do them on the cheap--unless we're talking a $25 Craigslist faucet or a $200 plywood countertop, that sort of thing. But don't buy brand new, inferior-grade products with the intention of swapping them out later. That would just put hundreds of dollars down the drain--perhaps over a thousand, if you add the labor of installing and removing the cheap faucet, cheap backsplash, etc.--which would postpone the day when you'll be able to afford the stuff you really want.

Instead, concentrate the money you have left on the most important stuff, like Johnliu says: the cabinets, for example. Build them so that they can accommodate the appliances you want, but (if necessary for your budget) leave the appliances you have in place for now.

I totally feel for you, joyjoyjoy. I found the cutest little townhouse and was all set to buy it, and for a great price, too, till I found out it had 40 amp (!) service that couldn't be upgraded.

You could also consider something like ikea BB counters as a temporary measure. If you'd been planning on granite or quartz, that would probably make up the difference right there.

But infrastructure is THE most important thing, even if it's not fun or exciting.

Pay for the electrical upgrade ASAP. Get it over with. Waiting will only add costs in the long run. Buy a bucket of Mistake Paint for cheapo, have a blast with it, and then wait until you can afford to keep going. While the electrician is in the house, have him/her wire more outlets where you've always wanted them. You'll have grounded outlets. Much better for your electronic stuff.

Code requirements are there for a reason. I agree with WritersBlock: Infrastructure is THE most important thing, even if it's not fun or exciting.

Oh joyjoyjoy I so feel your pain! I was in the middle of my remodel- half the kitchen torn out, when the inspector said I must update the panel. I had a 100 amp Federal Pacific- lots of horror stories on those..... I had to update the panel, service, move the meter and route it through the roof (the wires had previously been just hanging on the side of the house!). The biggest cost was rewiring everything the 40 feet to the front of the house so the electric company could read the meter without coming onto my property!

So, yeah, I understand that one! Ka Ching!

In my case, everything is still on hold- I paid for the new panel and service, and I'm in the process of rewiring everything myself at the cost of supplies and permits, so that I can save money for the kitchen.

Whatever you do, don't go on the cheap. In a few years you will look at it and be unhappy. If you can get to a certain point and wait, that is what I would recommend, until you can save the money. Do whatever you can DIY- some contractors will work with you on this one. Hang onto your old appliances- that's one thing I've done. I also put in a cheap Ikea counter until I can afford the custom walnut one. It is temporary and I know that- so it's easier to deal with.

All of my new cabinets sit in the basement waiting.... I finally covered them up with a tarp so that I wouldn't be constantly reminded that I need to get stuff done!

If it makes you feel better many insurance companies will lower their rates if you upgrade your electrical service - make sure you check. We spent 10 years doing a lot of structural ugrades before we did any cosmetic work so it could be worse.

ouch! wow joyjoyjoy, that must be so disappointing for you. :(

but yeah, don't get junk as a temporary substitute. better to wait.

you can still do some really nice updates by being creative and doing diy. the budget renos here have been amazing, don't you think?

did you see the ikea countertop info i posted on your "Paperstone Seams" thread? absolutely beautiful and low cost! your dad can help you do it, i'm sure.

remodelfla's reno is a splendid example of how waiting can pay off. in the meantime, there are still things you can do. keep heart!

Have you checked with your local utility company to see if its offering any grants or rebates to upgrade for energy efficiency with your home? IF your electric company has such programs, it might mean upfront grant assistance or rebates on the back end - it's worth a try.

I'm sorry to hear it but this will really be money well spent. That sure isn't something you could DIY due to the safety issues.
This Kitchen Forum post about how she found wonderful online and Craigslist deals on almost everything is a true inspiration to me. On my next project I will do so much more myself than I did on my kitchen now that I have learned from this poster.....

Here is a link that might be useful: money saving tips on a real kitchen reno

Although the wires in the walls and the pipes between the studs are not what you see after a remodel, they are VERY important and NOT an area to 'cheap-out'! My husband refused to entertain the idea of a kitchen without these. His mantra: take the walls off, do it all right from the start. Yes, it has made the project take alot longer timewise, but will surely pay off in the long run! Imagine if you skimp on this crucial step, then later, your beautiful new cabinetry must be removed to get to some void behind them - NOT cool! Once the walls came off, other things came up that we didn't plan for too - it happens all the time, even new homes. Just goes with the territory.

Been there, done that. I love my new wiring -- it's so nice when you plug in the iron and the lights don't dim. :-)

To be honest, $3.5K for upgrading the service and re-doing all house wiring actually seems very reasonably priced. I know, it doesn't feel good. But it is a good thing to do. Obviously, get all the outlets, switches, and wiring you'll want for the kitchen (don't forget undercab lighting) done at the same time.

We have an electrician at our house today to quote adding 120v and 230v outlets in the basement (SWMBO's long-planned pottery studio) and a 40A subpanel w/ 120v and 230v in the garage (being converted to a shop, I want enough juice to run anything up to a small TIG welder). I won't like spending the money, but it is money well spent. Same for you.

Not to upset you, but how is your plumbing . . . ?

yep, I had to do some wiring updating also. panel had to be rewired - it was a mess of twisted wiring! looks so nice and logical now. the majority of switches did NOT go to what they were marked to go to. I stood with the electrician and made a new diagram/list.

While I don't plan to have a high powered stove/oven I had them go ahead and make sure a 220 was there for it. One bathroom didn't have a GFI socket by the sink - so that's being changed.

A number of things have come up that have caused me to change plans for other things... But having the basic things done right is tops in importance.

for somethings can you check a restore place - like for a few light fixtures? those are easy enough to change out later - IF the wiring is there for them! later you can redonate them for someone else who might need them.

Oh Joy, I'm so sorry to hear that! I know how it feels too. My ex-GC, when he was our GC, had his electrician come over to do his bid. At the end, they said that they better check the panel just to make sure. They were joking about finding a 100amp Pacific panel like Oldhousegal's. And guess what? That's what we found. Cr@p! Now we need a whole new panel. I think his quote was around $1000 for that. I don't want to pay for it, but those are the places where you do not skimp. I have to suck it up and move on.

I agree to get it fixed sooner rather than later and see where things stand. I'm sorry you might have to postpone your plans. Keep us posted on your outcome.

The electrical floored us too. The first change order had us paying $5k extra which included upgrading to 200 amp. We already have 150 amp and are converting to gas cooking, so it was a surprise to us. We had them refigure and knocked off $2,500 by not going to 200 amp and giving us a separate panel. We use different electricians who are much more reasonable than our gc's ones, so we will go to 200 amp someday and pay less to get there. Your estimate does not sound so bad since you are starting with only 60 amp service and it sounds like they are doing a lot of work. We are in NY where we get soaked for labor horrendously. The $2,500 we are paying is just for extras over what was contracted in the bid. I think it is too high and will go over every line when it is time to settle up. Sure, we wanted some extra outlets, but I can't imagine how little was considered "standard" in order to jump our costs up so much. We are not doing a single hi hat fixture and even supplied the outlet covers!

Thanks everyone. I'm already really good at pinching pennies and am already doing so to stick to the budget.

I'm having a final meeting with our cabinet guy on Friday to make some choices. The estimate he gave us has an $1,800 range depending on the choices I make. I'm sure I can cut some there. Also my full wall pantry is quoted as quartersawn instead of plain oak which is a mistake so that will help a little too. We haven't had an estimate done for the floors but had guessed $2000 for refinishing. We want to do the entire first floor all at once, so it will just have to wait.

So I think we'll be able to swing it and still do it all right. IT just stinks to have to wait on the floors. I've been waiting on them for 5 years!!

skyedog - good to know. I'll have my husband call his sister (our insurance rep) and get the scoop

ironcook - I did see those, I've actually had my eye on them. I'm still considering the wood anyway, even if I can budget paperstone. We'll see!

johnliu - Our plumbing is new, thank goodness! We had everything re-plumbed when we remodeled our bathroom 3 years ago. I have a plumber uncle who owed my dad some favors! Whew!! I wish I had an electrician uncle...

JoyJoyJoy - oh I hope you can save enough on the cabinetry to do the floors...we waited 10 years to do ours (the whole first floor, like you), and when we did our kitchen reno last year it was costing more than we planned and we said the same thing: "better just wait on the floors". But at the end (of the kitchen reno) we just bit the big bullet and had the floors done, because everything was already a mess and we were already so used to contractors in the house and just soooooo ready to really be done (and have no more dust). If we hadn't done the floors at the time, I'm afraid it'd be another 10 years, easy! I know these are all big-ticket items, and there is only so much money, but the inconvenience of doing floors later might outweigh some of the cost. Good luck with everything.

Unfortunately, that's what happens in older homes. DH and I spent 5K to upgrade and rewire our kitchen 10+ years ago. Expect that there will likely be more things you have to fix or repair that weren't on your list.

Check with your plumber uncle, he might know an electrician. You just never know!

As an aside, I was rumaging through my local Re-store today and scored 2 Benjamin Moore Aura quarts for $3 a piece. I think they run around $15 or $17 a quart. The bargains are out there if you are willing to look for them.

Count me in also. I had to upgrade the original wiring in a 1958 house I bought. None of the lights worked. I had the kitchen wired also for cooktop, ovens, etc. I am glad I did it, but the price negated other things I wanted to do.

I am glad you figured a way out to make it work also.

This guy quoted me - for a 125A subpanel four feet from the main panel and a 60A subpanel in the garage 10 feet away through unfinished two wood frame walls, five circuits, 12 outlets (2 being 240v, and 2 others being exterior), permit fees - $4500. Main panel and service unchanged. Easy access, basement and garage are open stud walls, no fishing wire or crawling around. I think it is a day's work for a professional electrician, I've costed out the parts (~$700) and permit fees (~$350), it is something like $300/hour labor.

Obviously, I need another bid . . . and I don't even like the design, it leaves me with an undersized main panel. I may end up having a new main panel installed, making the existing main panel a subpanel, and then DIY'ing the circuits and garage subpanel. I don't think this is more than a $2000 project, honestly. This isn't freaking Bel Air.

We spent around $5k on wiring our kitchen/dining when we remodeled. Still have to use plug adaptors and extension cords everywhere else in the house.

I know you can save a lot depending on trim and molding choices. I know I did!

Good luck. Hope you get mostly what you want. We had to wait on sanding our floors, too. And the previous owner had an incontinent dog. Thank goodness for area rugs.

Can't wait to see your oak remodel! I find that species exciting. I wanted plain oak, too, but well, that's another story.

Well, we had another guy come last night, and he said that all we need is a new panel. Our service is actually 100 amps, we just have a very small panel. Given the size of our house, he said 100 amps is plenty. We jut need a bigger panel so we can have everything on separate circuits like we're supposed to. He also said that everything in the basement is up to code. Its not the same conduit material that is used today, but there is nothing wrong with it.

He can put in a new panel for us for $400. Of course this is excellent news, but we'll have to do a little research and find out what we actually do need. Al of these electricians come with excellent references!

Wonderful news, joy! I hope the latest electrician is right, that would be a terrific relief, and then you can get back on track : ).

Becky

It is not the size of the house that determines how Many Amps you need. Ask him, how many Amps are available at the meter. If the two are close, the meter and the box you should ask him to install 200 amps of service. it is just a larger breaker and wire from the meter to the new box. Pay once do it right the first time. You never know when you will need more power...Seperate circuts eat up a lot of your box...

joyjoyjoy... that's wonderful news!!! if he's right, that is a huge load off your mind and your budget. i'm so glad. very promising. keep us posted! :)