You are standing in the kitchen now. You may be making coffee.
You may be unloading the dishwasher for the millionth time. You look around. Think you really need to do something, about the place. I have stood in the kitchen. Felt the same.
The cabinets are twenty years old? Thirty? One door does not close properly. The countertop has a crack that you have been ignoring. Every time someone comes over you apologize for how the kitchen looks.
I feel the scary part comes next. The question that makes most people delay the project for another year is: what is the cost?
I run a remodeling company, in Montgomery County. I have been doing kitchens in Gaithersburg, Rockville, Bethesda and other places, in the area for longer than I care to admit. I am going to tell you something that might surprise you—asking about cost first does not make you cheap or difficult. Asking about cost first makes you smart.
Because the fact is I would rather spend an hour talking about budgets. I would rather talk about budgets than watch a person get halfway through a project and realize the project cannot be finished because the budget is not enough. I have seen that happen. The problem is awful, for everyone.
Let us lay everything out. Real numbers, talk. The real numbers are taken from the kitchens that were completed in 2026.
What This Actually Costs
I wish I could give you a number. A kitchen remodel costs $47,382.16. That number does not tell the story. The cost of a kitchen remodel depends on the things that go into it. Anyone who says the cost is always that number is.. Has not done enough kitchen remodel projects.
Some clients spend $18,000. Other clients spend $140,000. Most clients spend an amount, between those two numbers. The amount that a client spends depends on factors. The factors will be explained later.
I will break this down. I break this down the way I explain when I am sitting at someones kitchen table.
- The people who spend around $15,000 to $30,000 do not want to tear everything out.
- The people only want the kitchen to stop looking like it is stuck in the 1990s.
- I paint the cabinets.
- I do not use a DIY Saturday brush from Home Depot.
- I paint the cabinets with preparation and a proper finish.
I install hardware that does not look like it came from a mansion. I would replace the countertops with a material that will not crack when you set a pan down. I would add the backsplash that does not make you cringe. I would swap the sink and the faucet for models that’re from this century. I would install flooring.
The layout stays the same because moving the plumbing and moving the electrical is where the costs go high. When we are finished the kitchen looks very different. I had a client, in Wheaton year who could not believe that the kitchen was the room. The client kept walking in and out just to see the kitchen again.
The $35,000 to $60,000 range is where 60 percent of my clients end up. You get cabinets. We rip out the cabinets. Replace them with ones. The stone countertops will outlast your mortgage. The backsplash will make people stop and look. The appliances will have the features you want of white boxes.
Good lighting matters. I cannot say how kitchens I walk into where the cook can see what the cook is chopping.
Sometimes I move walls. I open spaces. I move the sink to a spot. I update the plumbing. I update the electrical to meet code and that update should have been done years ago in most of these houses.
I often hear this in Silver Spring, Olney, Darnestown. People who have lived in their house for ten or fifteen years see their kids getting older. People want a kitchen that actually works for the way people cook and live now. People do not want a builder grade kitchen that was put in when the house was new.
If you are, in Potomac or Bethesda I have worked on projects there. I must discuss the price point. I am not going to hide the cost. The projects run from $80,000 to $150,000 and sometimes more. Craftsmen who have been doing this for 30 years build the custom cabinets. Stone quarried in Italy makes the countertops. The islands are larger, than my apartment. The professional appliances could equip a restaurant kitchen.
Are the kitchens, over the top? Sometimes they are. If you have the budget. You want the kitchen to be the room in the house who am I to judge? I love building the kitchens. The work, in the kitchens is amazing. The homeowners use the kitchens and appreciate everything we put in the kitchens.
I Explain Where Your Money Goes (And Why Your Money Goes)
Okay here is the place where I lose people sometimes. Stay with me.
Cabinets will take one third of your budget. Cabinets may take 40 percent of your budget. I know that sounds crazy. Cabinets are boxes right? Good cabinets are well built. The difference, between cabinets and quality cabinets is not clear on the day. The difference becomes clear after three years. I have seen the cheap cabinets sag, after three years. I have heard the drawer slides sound like you are grinding coffee beans each time you open a drawer.
I have installed cabinets that cost $3,500 for the kitchen. I have installed cabinets that cost $45,000. The expensive cabinets are not necessarily better, in a sense. The expensive cabinets give you options. The expensive cabinets can offer custom sizes. The expensive cabinets can use materials. The expensive cabinets can have finishes that hold up to use. The expensive cabinets can have features that make your life easier.
Do you want to hear a secret? I have found that semi‑custom cabinets often hit the balance. Semi‑custom cabinets give you options, than stock cabinets. Semi‑custom cabinets provide quality. Semi‑custom cabinets do not cost the custom premium.
I have seen countertops cost from $2,000 to $12,000 for a Montgomery County kitchen. Laminate is the option—laminate has gotten much better, than laminate used to be. Laminate is still laminate. Quartz has taken over the market. I understand why. Quartz is tough quartz looks great you do not have to seal quartz and quartz comes in, about a million colors and patterns.
The granite is still popular, with some people. I like the granite. Every slab of the granite is different. The granite is stone. The granite has been around forever so people know the granite lasts.. You have to seal the granite a year and some people forget.
Marble? The Marble is gorgeous. The Marble is beautiful. The Marble is a pain if you actually cook. The Marble stains. The Marble etches. The Marble needs maintenance. I am not saying do not get Marble just know what you are signing up for.
The appliances are another 15-20 percent of the budget. You can outfit a kitchen with appliances for $4,000. The refrigerator, the range, the dishwasher the microwave are all steel. Come from reputable brands that will last.. You can spend $25,000 on the European appliances with more settings than anyone actually uses.
In my experience most people split the difference. Most people get range appliances that work well and will not die in three years. Most people may splurge on one appliance—a range if a person loves to cook or a fancy refrigerator if a person is picky, about food storage.
Labor and installation cost is usually twenty to thirty percent of the total. Labor and installation cost is the part where some people try to save money by hiring a cousin’s friend who does this kind of work. Please do not do that. I have had to fix the mess left by the cousin’s friend. When you pay me to redo the work that the cousin’s friend messed up you have spent more than you would have if you had hired a professional who knows the job. Labor and installation cost is worth the money. Hiring a professional who knows the job saves you from the cost of fixing the cousin’s friend’s mistakes.
Good installers are worth every penny. In my experience good installers know how to handle the surprises that appear when you open up walls, in houses built in the 70s and 80s. Good installers get everything level and square. Good installers leave no gaps or odd seams. Good installers protect your floors. Clean up after themselves.
Living Here Means Dealing With This Stuff
Montgomery County has the rules. You need the permits. I know nobody wants to hear that. The permits keep you safe and legal. The permits prevent disasters down the road when you try to sell.
I have seen that a building permit costs, between $300 and $800 depending on what you’re doing. The electrical permit costs another couple hundred dollars. The plumbing permit goes through WSSC. Costs another $150 to $300 or so.
In my experience if you are, in Gaithersburg or Rockville city limits you get the permits from the city. If you are outside those limits you get the permits, from the county. The permits add a weeks to the timeline. The permits are not optional. You need the permits.
I want to talk about MHIC licenses because MHIC licensesre important. The Maryland Home Improvement Commission must license every contractor, in Maryland. No contractor is left out. I have watched contractors ignore the MHIC license. I know the law does not let contractors do that.
I cannot tell you how times I have gotten calls, from people who hired a guy they found on Craigslist because the guy was five thousand dollars cheaper, than everyone. I have heard these calls over and over. Now the guy has disappeared. The work is terrible. The guy was not. Someone got hurt on the job.
The MHIC license is not a piece of paper. The MHIC license means the contractor has insurance. The contractor has a bond. The fund protects you if things go south. Saving a thousand upfront is not worth the risk. Trust me on this.
Location affects pricing. People get annoyed about that fact. That fact is real. I have seen location affect pricing times. If you are, in Potomac, Bethesda or Chevy Chase you will pay ten to twenty percent more than the county average. Pricing does not come from contractors overcharging you. Pricing comes from expectations, higher finishes and higher costs, for insurance, overhead and materials. Insurance, overhead materials, all of it.
In my experience in Gaithersburg, Germantown, Clarksburg you will usually get prices. In Gaithersburg, Germantown, Clarksburg the work has the quality and the contractors are licensed. In Gaithersburg, Germantown, Clarksburg there is no neighborhood premium.
I hear everyone ask the money question. The money question shows up often. The money question matters.
Will I get the money back when I sell?
Probably not all of it. I notice the statistics say the homeowner will recoup sixty to eighty percent of the kitchen remodeling costs at resale. In the areas the return may be higher.
But can I be honest with you? That’s kind of the wrong question.
Unless you are flipping houses you are not remodeling the kitchen as an investment strategy. You are doing the kitchen remodel because you live in the house. You are tired of the kitchen you have now. Every morning when you make coffee you are annoyed by the cabinets, in the kitchen. Cooking dinner in a kitchen you actually like is worth something. The kitchen remodel is, about making the kitchen a place you enjoy.
My clients who remodeled three years ago are not thinking about resale value. My clients think about how much easier it’s to cook. My clients say the new layout makes sense. My clients are not embarrassed when friends come over any more.
I notice improvement, in quality of life. Daily improvement in quality of life is the return on investment. Daily improvement, in quality of life does not show up on a spreadsheet.
Making Your Budget Stretch
In my experience you do not need a check to get a kitchen you will love. You just need to be smart, about the money you spend. Plan well.
First I am serious: plan everything before the demolition starts. Pick out every material make every decision finish the design before any work begins. Changes, after the work has started cost a lot money and push the schedule back. I have seen people add $8,000 to the budget because people changed their mind about the backsplash through.
If your current layout basically works, keep your layout. I know it is tempting to move the sink over by the window or to flip the thing around. Moving plumbing is expensive. The same is true, for electrical. Sometimes your existing layout is actually pretty good. You are just sick of looking at your existing layout. New finishes, in the setup can feel like a different kitchen.
Here is a trick: I spend more on the stuff I see and touch every day. The countertops, the cabinet doors, the backsplash, the faucet. I save money on the stuff that no one really looks at or touches. The interior of the pantry cabinets the drawer boxes that sit behind the fronts.
I mix the end. The budget friendly, in a careful way. Most people cannot tell the difference.
Timing matters a lot. I have seen many people want to remodel in spring and summer when the weather’s nice and the kids are, out of school. The demand for remodel, in spring and summer makes contractors busy. Contractors charge rates. In fall and winter contractors have fewer jobs and contractors look for work. You may get pricing or more attention to the project.
Working with a contractor helps because the contractor knows Montgomery County inside and out and the contractor knows which inspector is picky, about what. The contractor has relationships, with suppliers. If something comes up the contractor is fifteen minutes away not coming from Baltimore or Virginia.
How do the people actually pay for this?
I have noticed that few people have $50,000 in their checking account waiting to be spent on a kitchen. It is not common. So how do most people pay for the kitchen?
Home equity line of credit is the option. The rates, on a home equity line of credit are usually quite good. I have seen people borrow against the house with a home equity line of credit. The interest, on a home equity line of credit might be tax deductible. You should check with the accountant because the tax rules can change.
If you are already refinancing your mortgage you can roll the kitchen remodel into the refinancing. The kitchen remodel can be part of the refinancing. Refinancing your mortgage works best when you can lock in a rate, than the rate you have now.
From my experience personal loans work fine if you do not have equity, in the house or you do not want to touch your equity. From my experience personal loans usually have an approval process. Personal loans may have slightly higher rates.
I have seen some people use credit cards. People use credit cards especially when they have a 0% intro rate that they can pay off before the rate expires. Credit cards work fine for projects. Credit cards also work when you are doing the work in phases.
Some people pay the cash. If the saver has been saving up for the purchase, power, to the saver. No interest no debt hanging over the persons head.
I found the stuff nobody tells you about.
You need a kitchen while we are working. The temporary kitchen should have a microwave, a toaster oven, a coffee maker, a fridge, paper plates and plastic forks. The temporary kitchen is not glamorous. You have to eat. I have a budget of $300, for the kitchen items.
Eat out will happen often than the person expects. I have seen that. I do not care how serious the person is, about making it work. When the person does not have a kitchen for six weeks the person ends up at restaurants. A lot. I would budget $500 to $1,000 for extra food costs. Maybe more if the person has kids.
I always set aside ten to fifteen percent of the budget for surprises. I have seen the budget get stretched when the surprises show up. When I open up the walls I find the stuff. The electrical should have been updated in 1995. The plumbing is one freeze, from bursting. Sometimes the structural issues are unknown.
That is not me trying to pad the budget or to rip you off. The reality, with houses is that we cannot see inside the walls. We have to open the walls to see what is, behind the walls.
I think you will probably want some upgrades while we are there. You will want outlets, lighting and USB charging ports built into the island. A hundred dollars, to a thousand dollars usually covers the cost of upgrades. The electrical upgrades are worth the expense.
I check the window treatments. The old curtains do not match the kitchen. I set the budget between $200 and $800 depending on the desired style.
This one is silly. The pattern repeats every time—people want new small appliances and accessories to match the new kitchen. New toaster, new dish towels, new utensil holder. The new small appliances and accessories add up, to a hundred bucks. The new small appliances and accessories are part of making the whole thing feel complete.
When You’re Ready For Real Numbers
I have found that when a person is ready to get quotes giving the contractors a lot of information makes the quotes better. More information leads to quotes.
I want to see the pictures of kitchens you love. I want to hear the things you hate about the kitchen. Be specific, about the must‑have items and the nice‑to‑have items. I want to know the budget. The team will not judge the budget. Try to push the budget than the amount you are comfortable, with.
I would ask about the payment schedule. Most contractors want some money upfront, for the materials then progress payments as the work gets done a payment when the work is complete. The payment schedule is normal and fair.
Check the quote. I want to make sure I know what is, in the quote. Does the quote include demo? Does the quote include disposal? Does the quote include all the finish work?. Does the quote have extras that will be added later?
Give me an itemized breakdown. The itemized breakdown should let me see where the money goes—$X, for cabinets, $X for counters $X, for labor all of it.
I ask you to verify the MHIC license before you sign anything. The MHIC license verification takes two minutes. Verify the MHIC license now.
Let us talk about Your Kitchen
I see how each kitchen shows the family that lives there. Every kitchen is different. We design each kitchen in a way because each family has needs. The retired couple, in Bethesda who love to entertain need things than the family in Gaithersburg with three kids, under ten and a golden retriever that sheds everywhere.
Your kitchen should fit the way you live. Your kitchen should not follow an Instagram- idea of a kitchen.
I have been doing this in Montgomery County for a time. I know the houses. I know the neighborhoods. I know what works. I will not push you toward granite if you are happier, with quartz. I will not try to sell you a $15,000 range if you mostly reheat leftovers.
We are not lowballing you to get the job. We are not hitting you with the bunch of change orders later. I hate that crap. You will get the number upfront. The honest number shows what the job actually will cost.
Free consultation means I will come to look at your kitchen. Free consultation means we will talk about what you want. Free consultation means I will give you the estimate. There is no pressure. There is no obligation. Free consultation gives you the information so you can make the decision.