How Much Does A Kitchen Renovation Cost?
The kitchen is one of the most versatile and important places in the home. Many kitchens are not just a place for cooking, but also centers for entertaining, dining, doing homework, cleaning and more! If you’re not happy with your current kitchen, then it might just be the perfect time for a kitchen renovation or refresh. If that sounds like a good idea, then you might be asking next: what will it cost?
The truth is, even for a small kitchen the cost to renovate can be high! Don’t let that deter you, though – the kitchen has one of the best returns on investment when it comes to resale value, so it’s usually a great use of your money. On top of that, a new kitchen can greatly increase the quality of your and your family’s life, allowing you to enjoy your house more before you sell it.
In this post, we’ll discuss the cost of the average kitchen renovation, what the largest contributions are, and anything else you should keep in mind.
Average Cost Of Kitchen Renovation
To get it out of the way: the average cost of a kitchen renovation in Canada is around $30,000, with most falling between $25,000 at the lower end to $50,000 at the high. This works out to around $85 to $200 per square foot.
These aren’t small numbers! There are good reasons why a kitchen remodel will usually set you back at the bank. Besides the potential cost of new appliances, a kitchen renovation usually requires new cabinets, flooring, countertops, plumbing and more… all of these fixtures and the necessary tradespeople drive up the final cost of the work.
We’ll dive into a more detailed breakdown below.
What To Keep In Mind
Let’s take a quick look at the factors that are going to affect your budget. This is helpful when trying to ballpark what your final kitchen renovation cost will be.
- Size
Size is an obvious factor in driving your costs up. As we mentioned earlier, most kitchen renos can be priced by square foot. As you increase the size of your kitchen, besides increased flooring you will normally need larger countertops, more cabinetry, and more complicated features such as kitchen islands, walk-in-pantries, or other pricier options. While you can lower this cost by keeping things simple, a larger kitchen will always be more expensive.
- Countertops
Countertops are a key factor in your kitchen design, taking up the most space along with your cabinetry and flooring. If you aren’t careful, your countertop can also be one of the most expensive parts of the renovation! Depending on the choice of material, your countertops can run from being one of the cheaper portions of your remodel to one of the larger line items on your budget. For example, a marble slab countertop might run you $10,000 or more – possibly 20-30% of your entire budget. Pick your countertop material with care – if you like the stone look, something like Caesarstone might be a better bet.
- Kitchen Cabinets
Cabinets can be another nightmare for your budget if you aren’t careful. Even off-the-shelf cabinetry from a provider like IKEA will normally run you between $5-$10K – almost a third of your budget! Customer cabinetry can run you even more – normally from $30,000-$50,000. That’s almost the entire budget for many renos! To save money, use stock cabinetry whenever possible, and pay attention to the cabinet hardware to avoid cost creep. Incorporate custom cabinets only when you absolutely can’t make do with the stock options. Remember, the best kitchen cabinets are those that let you complete your entire renovation with cash to spare.
Hiring The Right Professionals
When performing a serious renovation, who you hire is as important as the materials you use. The last thing you want is for valuable materials to go to waste because you hired a bad quality contractor!
Besides a general contractor, most kitchen renovations will require an electrician, plumber, and carpenter. It’s always a good idea to hire an excellent general contractor who can manage any tradespeople you need – it’s much easier than doing it yourself!
Some tips to help you hire the right people:
- Check their license and insurance
- Can they give you at least three positive references you can speak with?
- How detailed are their quotations and timeline?
The last tip is to always trust your gut. If something feels “off”– just say no!
Summary
A kitchen renovation can be a big project, but it’s a fantastic investment in your home’s value that you can also enjoy while you live there! We hope this post gave you some food for thought as you plan your Vancouver kitchen renovation.
