Kitchen Remodel – Countertops or Cabinets?
March 21, 2010 by admin
Filed under Kitchen Ideas
Hi everyone, we’re remodeling our home to put it in the market for sale. Given the comparable properties in the neighborhood, our home in good condition will likely not fetch no more than $170,000.
The bulk of our renovation funds will be going to be going to remodeling our bathrooms, which are in serious need of a remodel due to unsightly tile grout, old fixtures and unattractive vanity colors.
We will have little funds left over for a kitchen remodel, and wondered whether what would be best to renovate to increase the value of our home for sale. The countertops or the cabinets?
We have a relatively small kitchen (10×9), the countertops equate to only about 14 linear feet and are of a wooden-type style. Our cabinets are painted white and have brass hinges and white/brass handles.
With either of these options, is it better to reface or replace? With countertops, should we go with laminate or granite (taking into account the home value)? Any idea how much either renovation could cost (material and labor as we would not be doing the work ourselves)?
Thanks in advance for the advice.
Personally I would chose to give the cupboards a fresh coat of paint, some new updated hardware (including hinges) and a mid range new countertop..maybe a silestone or corian. The look and age of your appliances will make a huge cosmetic difference too as many people cannot see past such things. As you stated, your home will brings in around 170000 top, so I would not spend much money…high end products cost a lot of money that cannot always be recouped in all situations.
You can not paint cabinets. Well you can but people also paint glass, plastic, grass, roof shingles, carpeting etc but that dont make it right. Painted cabinets are ugly and will chase away any buyer. With 9 million homes for sale across America and only 4 home buyers looking, do you think a buyer will choose your home over the one with a new kitchen?
And what you have describes exactly what so many sellers have. The ol white paint with the ol brass hardware. That will chase any buyer away. Men have no say in a home purchase. The woman says buy or walk and she makes that decision based on the kitchen. No question about that.
Replacing is almost always cheaper then refacing. Refacing is the same thing as putting a nicely pressed clean suit on an unwashed man who is wearing dirty underwear and worn out sneakers.
You should put your limited remodel funds into your kitchen and baths first. If bought correctly you dont have to have dollar signs in your eyes. First off, DO NOT go to the big orange and big blue who only want your green. They charge full list price on everything. You dont pay list/MSRP/sticker price for your new car so why pay it for cabinets.
Instead search out discount showrooms who advertise those magic words 35 to 50% off list price. Most showrooms discount today, if they didn’t then they would not last in this economy. Realtors all tell you you must have granite today. I’m not so sure of that. With nice new cabinets and the lessor cost laminate, I believe most buyers just see new new new new and nothing else matters.
Dont worry about buying a particle board box to save money. Particle board cabinets only mean the carcus is PB, the face frame, doors and drawer faces are always going to be solid wood. In other words, only real wood shows. PB boxes save you 30% right there. Forget about all the goodies and options. Just buy an inexpensive brand such as Covered Bridge Cabinets, Brandom Cabinets, Ultra Craft Cabinets, and maybe Mills Pride Cabinets. These are all MADE IN THE USA brands and are inexpensive.
Based on the size you said you should be able to put in all band new cabinets and laminate tops for about $4000 if you do the work. Think about $20 per box count for install if you need some one to do it for you. If you have to add appliances you can add from there. Same thing goes for applainces,look for discount stores.
I would estimate a high price of $5000 for your sized kitchen without appliances if you help with minor parts of the remodel. DO NOT buy those Chinese crap formaldahyde and sulfur infested cabinets or you will put your family’s health at high risk.
Hope that helps