Kitchen cabinets Renovation

Name: Jennifer Pade
Type of Project: Kitchen remodel
Location: West Village, New York, New York
Type of building: 300 square foot apartment in a co-op building

Jennifer's kitchen renovation is finished, and it is beautiful. Some of you are probably wondering: how much does it cost to transform a broken-down NYC apartment kitchen with falling-apart walls into a dreamy space like this? Let's break it down.

From Jennifer:

As much as I would have liked to save money on this project, I don’t have any experience doing renovation work. So I knew that this wasn’t going to be a DIY project, which meant a bigger budget for labor. And our co-op requires the use of licensed electricians and plumbers for all alteration work, so I couldn’t use experienced-but-not-professional friends or referrals on the project.

One surprise hit on the budget was the electrical work, which was almost $1, 700 more than the preliminary estimate. Because of new city codes, the electrical panel had to be replaced and relocated, which meant a great deal more electrical work than was planned for. The other surprise was the cost of the cabinetry. It came in $2, 200 higher than the original estimate, mainly because I didn’t take into account all the extra pieces (side panels, door pulls, hinges, etc.) that would have to be purchased separately for each cabinet — because IKEA sells everything separately. And of course, there’s the cost of labor and materials in New York City, which can be much higher than in other places in the country.

It seems amazing to me that such a tiny little kitchen could end up costing so much. But the costs shown here also include the (beautiful) flooring for the kitchen, living room and bedroom, as well as a new closet to replace the one that was demolished in order to expand the kitchen into the living room. Both great investments, since my floor looks fantastic and the closet goes all the way to the ceiling, providing much more storage space than the old one!

Budget Specifics:

LABOR:

• Projected:
  Contractor Labor (Includes demolition, construction, flooring, cabinetry, installing sliding door): $12, 250

  Electrician: $5200

  Plumbing: $4200

  Total: $21, 650

  Actual:

  Contractor Labor (Includes demolition, construction, flooring, cabinetry, installing sliding door): $14, 105

  Electrician: $6875

  Total: $25, 180

  Difference: +$3, 530

DESIGN AND PERMITTING:

• Projected:
  Architectural/design/filing fees, $3, 950
  Co-Op Fees, $500
  Total: $4950

  Architectural/design/filing fees, $4, 530

  Co-Op Fees, $500

  Total: $5, 030

  Difference: +

  $580

APPLIANCES:

• Projected:
  Jenn-Air Speed oven: $1750

  Miele Cooktop: $979

  Fisher & Paykel Dishwasher: $760

  Fisher & Paykel refrigerator: $1549

  Actual:

  GE Advantium oven: $1, 746
  Miele Cooktop: $980
  Fisher & Paykel Dishwasher: $760
  Summit refrigerator: $1, 215
  Tax on Appliances: $303
  Total: $5, 004

  Difference: -$122

FIXTURES:

CABINETS AND COUNTERTOPS:

• Projected:
  IKEA Cabinets, $3000

  Caesarstone Countertops, $1400

  Backsplash tile: $225

  IKEA Cabinets, $5, 205

  IKEA Caesarstone Countertops, $2, 123

  Backsplash tile: $378

  Total: $7706

  Difference:

  +$3, 156

OTHER BUILDING MATERIALS:

• Projected:
  New window security gate: $300

  Actual: $0 (security gate omitted)
  Difference: -$300

OTHER PROJECT COSTS:

• Projected:
  Apartment rental for two months: $3600
  Actual:
  Apartment rental for two months: $3600

  Difference: $0

Difference:

And a quick note: although this wasn't included in the original budget estimate, Jennifer received $5400 from the co-op to cover repairs to the walls and ceiling. Good news for anyone considering remodeling in a co-op building.

Readers, Check out the full series to see the whole renovation process, step-by-step. And tune in next week for Jennifer's final thoughts on what she learned during the renovation.