Kitchen Remodel Expense Completely Unexpected
The New Cooktop part of our Kitchen Remodel Expense
Our home warranty company had repaired our 30 year old cooktop lots of times.
Recently, when two burners stopped working, they offered us a new cooktop and downdraft. Naturally, the home warranty covered this cost. However, we had requested a stainless steel cooktop. Ultimately, they sent us a new white cooktop and down draft. Although the cook top was not the color we wanted, we had installed both.
In the end, with alterations, we only paid about $300 for the appliances and installation.
The Countertop was a major Kitchen Remodel Expense
Once we installed the cooktop and downdraft, we had to replace our outdated countertops with modern, exciting stone. 
Consequently, we went to warehouses to look at slabs of different kinds of stone. There was quartzite, slate and granite. Beautiful porcelain slabs were imitating stone. For our countertop and backslash, we needed about 130 sq. feet of material. Incredibly, prices ranged for $47 to $250 /sq.foot. The material we picked had a total price of $6200. Wow!!
As well, on top of the material cost, we received bids to install the countertop. They ranged from $3800 to $5200 depending on the material. Incredibly, the cost for the material and labor could be almost $1400. We were not at all sure we needed a modern kitchen for that price.
New Kitchen Sink and Faucet
that we wanted a large, single bowl, stainless steel sink. As well, we wanted a new industrial faucet. In fact, our old porcelain sink and fixture had been around for 15 years. Consequently, we were sick of it and wanted something new and easier to clean. Beforehand, we had estimated that the cost for a new sink and fixture with installation would be about $500.
The Estimated Kitchen Remodel Expense Changed Things
Because of cost, we are going to demo the kitchen counter ourselves. Fortunately, we will eliminate that part of the cost. As well, I will hook up the sink and faucet eliminating the need for a plumber. Since the beginning of the project, we intended to redo the cabinets ourselves. Hopefully, we can cut our costs almost in half by making a few simple changes. Watch for the next episode of our senior adventure.
Hello. Thanks for sharing your remodeling adventures. I have had several of these myself. If your projects go anything like mine then the majority of the time there is surprises and unexpected expenses. Especially now a days it seems like prices go up daily. Have you looked into any of the products to resurface your countertop instead of replacing it? May be worth looking into.
We have been thinking about that. Thanks for the suggestion and the comment.
It is amazing how remodelling costs can be so much higher than one were planning or hoping for. And that seems to be the case with your kitchen as well. The price of the kitchen countertops vary in price incredibly, so which material was the most expensive? Was it the granite, or a the porcelain slabs?
Being able to do some of the work yourselves, you can save a certain amount of money. Hopefully you can complete your kitchen makeover within a decent budget. I look forward to seeing the end result.
We can’t do the heavy work anymore. Well, maybe now we are smart enough not to do the heavy work. But, we can do the small stuff. Thanks for your comment.
Getting a new kitchen is a costly process, but oh so nice as it feels like you have a brand new kitchen after the fact. Most people need to take out a second bond to afford a decent renovation job, but you have managed to save a lot of money by doing a lot of it yourself and going around the middle man.
Hope you enjoy your new stove and counter tops, and you know you probably won’t need to do that again in your lifetime at least.
We did the kitchen 25 years ago. Now everything is old like us so we have to do it again. Last time!! Thanks for the comment.
Thanks so much for such a valuable post. I too have been looking for an idea to repair our kitchen for a long time..your post is very valuable for a time like this. And I can do that work for less money than I thought. Mam said it would cost me a lot of money. Because of your post I was able to see how much it costs. Keep posting like this. Very helpful post like this. Keep it up.
I am glad it was a help to you. Thanks for leaving a comment.
The prices can be very staggering now a days! It seems to me that there are too many companies creating huge mark ups in order to make massive profits. Where are the companies that recognize the value that seniors have contributed by working many years? Seniors on limited budgets must do everything possible in order to save money. You are amazing at what you have accomplished on a limited budget. you are truly an inspiration to seniors. Thank you for sharing your adventure.
It sure is different doing this stuff as a more “mature” person. Thanks for your comment.
Hello and thank you for sharing your senioradventurekitchenremodel!
Whew! That must have been a daunting task and it is so upsetting to have a kitchen torn apart. I am an avid watcher of home renovations so a post like yours is always readable for me. You are in a good niche because this is a very popular theme.
Having said this, I enjoyed this very much but I wanted to read more. I know another installation of your story will follow so you already have an audience.
I have two small critiques and that is to proofread one more time. Also, work on getting the tenses to agree. That will clean up the story, as it felt a little confused.
Overall a great read and thank you for posting this.
Regards, Corinne
Thanks so much for the comment.
If you know what you are doing replacing these by yourself will surely save you some major bucks. But not everyone is capable of doing it by themselves and I strongly suggest anyone to pay an expert if you have no clue what you are doing. It can be a rigorous work but also satisfying if you finish it by yourself and be able to see the result of your hard work.
I have done a lot of renovating over the years, but dealing with these huge slabs is too much for me now. So, we will do the smaller things like demo, plumbing etc. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.
Hey James!
Thank you for sharing about your kitchen remodel. For only $300, I think it was worth it to remodel your kitchen. I’ve paid way more for a simple bathroom remodel. I do like the counter marbletops. You just inspired me to think about remodeling our kitchen now. Thank you! A nice kitchen will make the food cooked there better!
I agree with that. Thanks for your comment.