Deciding on remodeling scope

8 years ago

I’ve been dreaming of a kitchen/first floor remodel of our house for 5 of the 10 years we’ve lived in it. We’ve reached a point where it is financially feasible to tackle the project, and we’ve started planning and reaching out for bids. We’ve gotten 2 bids, there is 25k difference between the prices. One is not detailed enough to do a side by side comparison to understand if different scope was bid. I’m going to call this contractor tomorrow, to try and understand the bid. We also paid this contractor for design services and should get some drawings and cabinet elevations.

The larger bid is more than makes sense for the value of the house and has me rethinking what to do. My husband’s solution is to move, but a house in our area will require work too. I’m wondering if replacing all of the cabinets, fixtures and flooring would be sufficient, because trying to fix the layout is not feasible.

I can share layout and drawings when I get my computer, but I’m interested in how you decide what is worth it..

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Comments (6)

geoffrey_b
8 years ago
Moving walls / windows is expensive. What is the price of the two bids? - and what is the statement of work?

Most people do not recoup the cost of extensive remodels. Think about the resale value.
Kristin
Original Author
8 years ago
One was 61k and the other was 86k. It is removing one wall, replacing all the flooring (900sq ft), all new cabinets, relocating plumbing for kitchen sink/dishwasher, electrical for new stove location, new trim and paint. Our initial budget was 50k, we moved it up 70k, but I don’t think we can stomach 85k especially since it didn’t include, things like sink, faucet, cabinet hardware, vent hood etc.

The house is worth about 350k and is roughly 2400 sq ft. It was built in 1984, the kitchen is original to the house and looks worse for wear at this point.
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geoffrey_b
8 years ago
Well for sure you can't do it for $50k. Some kitchen remodels - just cabinets / floor / appliances / counter tops / etc are $50k.

With those contracts you need to specify all the items - flooring brand/style, same for cabinets / lighting / counter tops... on an on ... otherwise you may get cheap.

With that much expense - I would plan on living there for 10 - 15 yrs.
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
That’s a 100K project that you have one silly unrealistic lowball bid, and one with unrealistic allowance numbers. If you want to do a project like this, you pay for design specifications on the front end so you can compare apples to apples. Contractors do not design. Designers design.
Kristin
Original Author
8 years ago
We paid for design specifications. One firm did the design specifications and then gave us a 1.5 page 85k bid for the work. It doesn’t have cost per line item. We asked before we went through the process given the general scope if 70k was sufficient, because we wouldn’t wasted anyone’s time. I’m not sure what else we should have done.

The other bid contractor bid to measurements of our house and general description of what we wanted. That bid is much more detailed, 7 pages with price by line item.
PRO
Osmak Homes, LLC
8 years ago
Depending on the area of country and type of products being used - these estimates are average. If you'd like to stay in the house for a while, then I'd get more estimates to get more for your buck, maybe even splurge on designer to make the best use of the space. If you consider to sell, then I'd seek out couple good real estate agents to get their perspective on what is in demand and what is just waste of money. I can't tell you how many times we have done the work and customers wanted to sell and haven't gotten their return because of a custom design that fitted only their needs and style and was repulsive to buyers.