The more time Kimberley McArthur spent remodeling her vintage West Town two-flat, the more she learned. And the more she saved.
Take the tale of her two bathrooms, for example. McArthur, who owns a Chicago-based entertainment company, spent $300 for expensive sand-colored “spa” tile to redo the shower area in her first-floor bathroom. However, when McArthur finished remodeling the shower, she was out of money–and out of steam. Hence, “the rest of the bathroom has vintage black-and-white tiles,” she says.
McArthur was wiser with the second-floor bathroom. She bought inexpensive tile and peppered it with eraser-size marble tiles. The cost of the tile: $55.
“People really like the look of the marble accents,” McArthur says.
Remodeling is big business: This year, Americans will spend $291 billion fixing up their homes, according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, a trade group based in Des Plaines. Of that amount, $13.5 billion will go toward kitchen remodels and $10.5 million to baths, NARI estimates.
And it is an expensive business. The average bathroom remodel runs from $10,000 to $25,000, and kitchens, from $40,000 to $75,00 and beyond, says Grant Fairchild, managing editor at Country Home magazine, based in Des Moines.
More and more, homeowners aren’t willing to overspend on remodels.
“What we see are people wanting luxury when they can, and they’re making choices,” Fairchild says. “If it’s a SubZero appliance, then they’re sacrificing on flooring.”
Fairchild followed that trend when he remodeled his kitchen at his home earlier this year. He spent $15,000 to $20,000, splurging on cabinets and saving with Formica flooring and inexpensive countertops.
“People are trying to get the nice things they want and go for a lesser product elsewhere,” he says.
Contractors and designers who offer advice on how to save during a remodel say pretty much the same thing: Remodeling, like life, is full of choices. Making the right choices can save money; making the wrong ones can cost dearly.
Here, local experts offer a dozen ways to keep a remodel from becoming a money pit.
1. Hire an architect or designer for a big project. This tip has multiple benefits, says Dennis Hanzel, owner of Hanzel Construction in Carol Stream. First, with one master plan, contractors “will bid apples for apples,” giving the homeowner a true cost comparison. Second, designers can tell homeowners what’s possible and what’s not, given a home’s structure. Finally, architects and designers can look at a structure and find sensitive spots that an amateur might miss, such as bearing walls, return ducts and vent pipes. Discovering such “surprises” after a remodel is in progress can cost thousands of dollars to rectify, Hanzel says.
2. Follow a budget. Make a list of everything you’ll need (remembering details such as pulls and knobs for cabinets, paint and construction materials), and then give yourself a 10 percent to 20 percent room margin within which to work. “If you’re planning a $10,000 bathroom, plan on $12,000,” says Don Gerstein, owner of The House Doctors Handyman Service in Northbrook.
Once you have the list, “always have two selections, A and B,” Gerstein advises. Why? Your priorities may change as you plan the remodel. For instance, buying a $400 bathtub instead of a $500 model frees up money to spend, say, on a spa shower head.
Do your own demolition. Not all contractors offer the option, but it can save money–about $1,200 on a kitchen remodel and $2,000 on a bath remodel. Turn off the gas and electric, disconnect the water supply and then remove everything from the space so only the four walls are left.
The process isn’t as tricky as it sounds. “Taking out cabinets is only a matter of two screws,” Gerstein says.
As for removing a bathtub, “smashing it can help you take out your frustrations,” he says.
A bathroom demolition typically takes two people a full day and a kitchen will take two people two days, Gerstein says.
4. Leave major mechanicals where they are. Plumbers and electricians can adjust a plumbing stack or electrical outlets a foot or two. But moving electric, gas and plumbing hookups across a room is a costly undertaking.
“You have to move the venting, the stack and all that,” says Jeff Cannata, owner of Designers Showcase Kitchens and Baths in Carol Stream. When moving mechanicals involves the roof or exterior of the home, “that’s `ka-ching’ work,” Cannata adds.
5.Consider the big picture. Your dream remodel may involve some expensive logistics that you haven’t considered, says Laura Jensen, owner of The Kitchen Guide in Barrington.
For instance, installing granite in a vintage home’s kitchen or bath might require major reinforcement of the floor.
“Granite is really, really heavy,” Jensen says. A granite-looking laminate will cost less and won’t require structural work, she says.
6.Remember installation. With so many ways of getting nice, inexpensive product–the Internet, Ikea, Home Depot–“people forget about how much the installation is going to be,” Jensen says.
Installation can run as high as 30 percent of a project’s total cost, she says.
7.Replace only what needs replacing. If your kitchen appliances work and are in good shape, consider keeping them, Cannata suggests. You can replace them later or even paint appliances to match a new kitchen’s decor. Painting a refrigerator (using a special process) costs about $300, while a new model could run $1,500 or more.
8.Buy your own materials. Contractors charge a markup, ranging from 30 percent to 100 percent, to shop for materials and arrange for shipping and handling.
The only drawback is storing the items, which may prove a problem for condo owners with limited storage space.
Condo owners can arrange for delivery the day the products are needed; homeowners with garages can store products in the garage, up off the floor.
9.Search for look-alikes. So many companies offer so many products that it’s no longer necessary to pay top dollar for marquee brands.
Jensen offers faucets as an example: Danze, a bath accessories maker, offers an attractive, high-quality line of faucets that is about 20 percent less expensive than those of a top-of-the-line manufacturer.
Cabinets are another example. Well-known brands can cost up to $1,000 per linear foot, but plenty of makers offer high-quality (a plywood frame is key) cabinets in the neighborhood of $200 per square foot.
Still another example is flooring.
“Formica, at the last builder’s show, had really nice stuff,” says Fairchild of Country Home magazine.
Fairchild says he saved $5,000 by using Formica instead of slate or soapstone when he remodeled his kitchen earlier this year.
For her kitchen floor, Kimberley McArthur found an unusual substitute for more expensive hardwood planks: plywood. She covered her kitchen floor with squares of high-quality plywood, positioning the squares with the grains running in opposite directions. She then stained the floor a shade of mahogany and gave it a polyurethane coating.
“It looks gorgeous,” she says, and cost about $600, compared to $2,500 for hardwood.
10.Buy white appliances. “They’re cheaper than stainless and white is timeless,” Jensen says.
For example, a KitchenAid 30-inch, self-cleaning combo wall oven/microwave in white is $3,286; the same model in stainless is $3,590, resulting in a $304 cost savings by choosing the white finish.
11.Do your own finish work. Hire a contractor to do the structural work, then do your own drywall, painting and trim and hang your own cabinets. Do-it-yourself finish work can save $10,000 to $20,000 on a big job, Hanzel estimates.
12.Use paint instead of wallpaper. “Wallpaper, even for a small area, is a couple hundred dollars, Jensen says. “But a can of paint is $30 max.”
Plus, she adds, painting mistakes are far easier to correct than wallpaper mistakes. Jensen suggests checking out painting classes at home-improvement stores to learn how to do faux finishes, stippling and other fancy painting techniques.
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Scrimp or splurge?
Where can you cut corners during a remodel and where should you buy the best you can afford? Contractors and designers offer these tips:
Splurge
Kitchen and bathroom faucets. The faucets get the most wear of anything in the kitchen, points out Laura Jensen, owner of The Kitchen Guide in Barrington. Make sure kitchen faucets have a ceramic cartridge, more durable than washers. A ceramic cartridge can last 15 years, Jensen says.
Kitchen and bathroom sinks. Along with the faucets, they’re the most-used item in the room. Even a lower-gauge stainless-steel sink is more durable than an acrylic sink, says Don Gerstein, owner of The House Doctors Handyman Service in Northbrook. For all-around utility, Gerstein suggest a farm sink, a single big, deep tub.
Installation services. When it comes to hiring a pros who will do your remodel, “you get what you pay for,” Jensen says. A properly licensed, bonded professional who comes highly recommended is worth the wait. “Schedule your remodel for when he’s available,” she says.
Mechanical work. When it comes to electrical, plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, “spend the money and get it done right,” says Dennis Hanzel of Hanzel Construction in Carol Stream.
Paint. “Your $10-a-gallon paint does not paint like a $40-a-gallon paint,” Gerstein says. Inexpensive paint “doesn’t cover and it bleeds through,” he says.
Scrimp
Cabinets. “There’s no reason to spend $1,000 a foot on cabinets,” Gerstein says. A good quality wood cabinet with a plywood frame and solid-wood door can cost as little as $225 per linear foot and offer the same good looks as a more expensive cabinet.
Countertops. Countertop makers offer believable facsimiles of slate, soapstone, granite and other high-end materials; the laminates cost less and are easier to install.
Flooring. Laminates that look like hardwood or prefinished hardwoods, which are sanded and finished at the factory, cost less than traditional hardwood and offer the same classic look, says Jeff Cannata of Designers Showcase Kitchens and Baths in Carol Stream.
Tile. Ceramic tile makers offer thousands of colors and finishes: “Slate, porcelain, marble–you really don’t have to do that,” Cannata says. Use more expensive, decorative tiles as accents, as Kimberley McArthur did. Or, Jensen suggests, use tile sparingly, for instance, only in the shower surround.
–Lisa Bertagnoli
