Contractors9 min read
How to negotiate a kitchen remodel
The short answer
Kitchen quotes come down 15–25% when you separate the three margins: cabinets (buy direct or from a second supplier — contractor markup is 20–35%), labor (bid it on a fixed scope, not cost-plus), and change orders (lock the rate and approval process in writing). Keep the layout — moving plumbing and gas lines is where budgets go to die.
The layout is the budget
The single biggest cost decision is not cabinets or counters — it is whether plumbing, gas, and major electrical stay put. Moving a sink or range means opening walls, rerouting supply and waste, new circuits, and permits: $5,000–$15,000 before a single pretty thing arrives. Same-footprint remodels (new cabinets, counters, appliances, floor in the existing layout) routinely come in at half the cost of layout changes with 80% of the visual impact. Want a different layout? Price it as a separate line so you can delete it without killing the project.
Cabinets: kill the middleman margin
Cabinets are 30–40% of most kitchen budgets, and contractors mark them up 20–35% over the supplier price. Get the cabinet spec from the designer, then quote it yourself at a second supplier (local shops, online semi-custom, even big-box semi-custom lines) — the same boxes often price thousands less direct. If your contractor installs owner-supplied cabinets (most will), you keep the margin. Countertops are the same play: the fabricator's price to you versus through the GC.
Bid the labor on a fixed scope
Kitchen labor should be bid fixed-price on a written scope — demo, plumbing rough, electrical, cabinet install, counters, tile, flooring, paint, punch list — never cost-plus or "time and materials" for the whole job. Cost-plus kitchens are how a $40,000 project becomes $61,000 with no villain to blame. Three fixed bids on the identical scope, and negotiate the labor total, not the hourly rate.
Lock the change-order machinery
Every remodel changes in flight (rot behind a wall, a pipe in the wrong place) — that is honest work. What is not honest is pricing those surprises at 2x book with no approval gate. Lock in the contract: the change-order hourly rate, the materials markup cap (cost plus 10–15%, documented with receipts), and a rule that no change order proceeds without your written approval and price first. This one clause prevents the classic "we are already in the wall" hostage invoice.
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Start freeQuestions people actually ask
- What does a kitchen remodel actually cost?
- Minor (same footprint, mid-range finishes): $15,000–$35,000. Mid-range with some layout work: $35,000–$65,000. Major (layout changes, custom cabinets, high-end finishes): $65,000–$130,000+. The range is meaningless until three contractors price YOUR written scope — the spread between them will be 25%+ and that spread is the negotiation.
- Is it cheaper to use a designer or go direct to contractors?
- Independent designer (~$2,000–$5,000) + three contractor bids usually beats design-build on price and on scope honesty — the designer works for you, and the contractors price her drawings against each other. Design-build is simpler but prices convenience at a premium and bids against nobody. For big projects, the designer pays for herself in the cabinet markup alone.
- Where should I splurge vs save in a kitchen?
- Splurge on the things that are hard to change and used daily: cabinet boxes and hardware (soft-close), countertops at the main prep surface, the faucet, lighting. Save on: the backsplash (subway tile reads premium at $4/sq ft), the sink (a $300 sink photographs like $900), pendant fixtures, and anything easily swapped later. Applices: mid-range beats entry-luxury on reliability per dollar almost every time.
- How do I keep a remodel on schedule and budget?
- Four disciplines: fixed-price scope, locked change-order terms, a payment schedule tied to milestones (never more than 10–15% ahead of completed work), and materials ordered BEFORE demo starts (cabinet lead times of 6–12 weeks are the number-one schedule killer — a kitchen that demos before cabinets ship eats takeout for three months).