The cost of a Portland kitchen remodel depends on many factors – from the scale of your project and material choices to design complexity and necessary structural changes. With so many variables, understanding potential costs can feel overwhelming when you’re planning your remodel.
As a Portland remodeling company that designs and builds many kitchens each year, we’ve created this guide to help you navigate kitchen remodeling costs with confidence. Here’s what you need to know:
- The Three Types of Kitchen Remodels
- Kitchen Remodel Cost Breakdown
- Factors That Increase Cost
- How to Keep Costs Low
The Three Types of Kitchen Remodels
Almost all kitchen remodels can fit into one of three categories:
- Cosmetic refresh
- Pull & replace
- Full custom remodel
Each category represents a different price range, scope of work, and level of customizability. The good news is that a significant portion of remodel costs are recouped in the resale value it adds to the home. Here is a basic pricing breakdown for the different types of kitchen remodels.
1. Cosmetic Refresh ($70,000-$90,000)
Kitchen remodels in the “cosmetic refresh” category are minimally invasive, less expensive, and add the most value to your home per dollar spent. A typical refresh involves purely aesthetic changes to the space. This may include repainting cabinets, updating fixtures or small appliances, and installing new floors or countertops.
Make Your Dream a Reality With a Custom Kitchen Remodel
2. Pull & Replace ($90,000-$150,000)
Considered a mid-level remodel, pull and replace kitchen remodels tend to offer the best balance between cost, comfort, and customizability. In this type of project, everything in the kitchen is removed and – you guessed it – replaced.
This category of remodel allows for homeowners to get entirely new cabinetry, appliances, flooring, and fixtures without the cost of rearranging electrical, plumbing, and structural features of the space.
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3. Full Custom Remodel ($150,000-$350,000+)
For homeowners who will settle for nothing but their perfect dream kitchen (and don’t mind paying the higher price tag), a full custom kitchen remodel may be the way to go.
These projects are by far the most expensive. They also take the longest to complete and add the least value to the home per dollar spent compared to other types of remodels. However, there is nothing quite like walking into your kitchen and having it exactly the way you want it.
Full remodels often involve moving appliance locations and changing the general layout of the kitchen. This in turn means moving electrical and plumbing systems. Many remodel projects in this category also involve increasing the size of the kitchen, or opening up the floor plan.
These types of changes require tearing out walls and changing the structural design of the house, which also adds exponentially to the cost of the project.
Still, if you know how you want your kitchen to look and won’t have it any other way, a fully custom remodel is likely the route for you.
Preparing For a Kitchen Remodel?
Read Our Kitchen Remodel Buyer’s Guide!
Remodeling your kitchen is about tailoring the space to your specific needs and style. Discover your remodeling options in this free guide written by the experts at Lamont Bros. In it, we’ll cover the different ways to remodel your kitchen, the potential cost, and remodeling best practices.
Kitchen Remodel Cost Breakdown
When preparing to spend several thousand dollars on a remodel project, homeowners are often much more comfortable with the total price when they know how their money is being spent. Below is a chart that shows the highest-cost items from a sample kitchen remodel in Portland, as well as the approximate percentage they make up out of the entire project budget.
Cabinets – 22%
Because of high costs associated with both material and labor, cabinetry usually makes up the largest percentage of a kitchen remodel budget.
Plumbing & Electrical – 15%
Remember, any time you decide you want to move an appliance to a different location, the utility hookups have to be moved, as well. With hourly rates in the trades on the rise, this is an especially important factor to consider.
Finish Work – 15%
Once all the big-ticket items are in place, carpenters will spend several days working out the small details on a remodel. This includes everything from drywall repair to door casings. While it may not seem like much, the attention to detail required to make a kitchen remodel look polished requires lots of time and expertise.
General & Administrative – 10%
When you hire a construction company to do a remodel, some of their operating costs are factored into the final price tag. Company vehicles and construction management staff are included in this category.
Appliances – 10%
If you’re installing new appliances, they’ll likely need to be professionally delivered and installed. Ordering the entire appliance lot together as a package may save you a few bucks.
Countertops – 8%
A custom quartz or granite countertop must be cut to the exact dimensions of your kitchen. The average cost per square foot for solid-surface countertops can range from $100 to $200 depending on the quality of material, and that’s just the cost of the countertop. Custom cutting, shipping, and installation also factor into the cost, too.
Tile & Flooring – 8%
Several factors affect the actual cost of flooring, including the type of material, the expertise required to install it, and the total square footage.
Demolition – 6%
In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, your old kitchen has to come out before your new one goes in. Safely removing all of the old material from your home requires extensive planning and care.
Design – 5%
Creating a custom design for your kitchen that is both structurally sound and tailored to your individual needs means hiring a professional designer to draft the plans.
Cleanup – 1%
After the work is done, some contractors will bring in professional cleaners to make sure you as the homeowner get the “white glove experience.” Though not a significant portion of the total budget, it’s really important to do a deep clean, as the construction dust gets in every crevice of the cabinetry and the kitchen. After all the work that’s gone in, you want to start off with a clean space.
Factors That Increase Cost
Every decision you make throughout your remodel process will either positively or negatively affect your budget. Below are a few of the most common factors that will increase the total overall cost of your kitchen remodel.
Structural Changes
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that tearing out a wall will cost more money. This is especially true if a renovation involves the removal of any load-bearing walls, a process that requires permits and inspections to ensure that your home’s structural integrity is not compromised by the process.
Plumbing & Electrical
Say you want to move your gas oven range from one wall to another. Well, in that case, you would have to bring in an electrician and a plumber to rewire the circuits and hook up the gas lines. During a remodel, this work may need to be subcontracted out, depending on the extent of the changes being made, which means a higher total bill.
Designer Cabinets
As previously mentioned, cabinetry is one of the most expensive parts of a kitchen remodel. But, if you want to install fully custom artisan cabinets from a name-brand manufacturer, expect to pay even more. There is certainly something to be said for the level of skill and attention to detail in many high-end cabinet lines, and we’ve seen clients willing to pay over $60,000 for a cabinet system they just couldn’t live without.
How To Keep Costs Low
Trying to remodel on a tight budget? Here are a few tricks we recommend to make sure your kitchen looks great without costing you an exorbitant amount of money.
Keep Your Current Layout
Believe it or not, you can still breathe new life into your kitchen without changing the entire design of the space. In fact, you just might end up saving yourself tens of thousands simply by keeping your current kitchen layout.
With a light cosmetic refresh or even a pull and replace remodel, none of the electrical or plumbing fixtures need to be moved, which means no expensive subcontracting.
Trust a Designer
Remodel designers know the construction business inside and out, which means they can assess your current kitchen space, listen to your ideas, and help you find practical, stylish solutions that won’t break the bank.
Perhaps there is a custom cabinet line that you absolutely love but is a few thousand dollars outside of your budget. You want something similar, but don’t know where to look. A designer can help you find a similar product at a more reasonable price. Consider remodel designers to be the guardian angel of your dream home.
Be Flexible
The inconvenient truth about the construction industry is that everything is constantly changing. We’ve seen this in action through the drastic changes in lumber prices over the course of 2021. What this means for the consumer is a constant influx of product availability and pricing.
So, when the hardwood flooring you had your heart set on turns out to be on backorder for the next six months, your options are to wait it out, delay the project, and incur costs, or compromise and go with something else.
As a general rule of thumb, keeping your project going and sticking to a schedule is one of the best ways to avoid additional costs. If the materials you planned on using suddenly become unavailable, work with your build team to find something that is.
Get Started With Your Kitchen Remodel
Hopefully this has been a helpful starting point in estimating the cost of your kitchen remodel. If you have specific questions about your remodel, reach out to one of our Design Consultants. They’d be happy to provide more information on cost, materials, and timeline.
Or, if you’re looking to do more research first, download our free Kitchen Remodel Buyers’ Guide to learn more about the process.