GC or Kitchen Design Store?

try Manhattan renovations they are highly qualified design/built company they can also take care of all you approvals submittals and necessary drawings manhattanrenovations.com

striver, I think that your situation is very common. I bid (unsuccessfully) on an apartment where both bathrooms needed considerable updating, but otherwise the apartment didn't need much work. Many people told me that it would be difficult to find a GC who would want to do such a small project so I started visiting kitchen and bath stores. Some stores recommend outside contractors (after you buy the fixtures, vanity, etc. from them) and others have their own people for installation.

I left these stores feeling that the design help that they offered was rather limited. As a novice in renovation, it would make me nervous to rely solely on a design store. If this situation arises again for me, I would try to find a designer to help me plan out the room and to refer me to a contractor with whom they often work. Of course, working with a designer would increase the cost of the project but might help me better plan out the room for renovation.

See www.streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/15295-bathroom-renovation-pricing, contractors and style

LobsteR: I got your back. Would totally help you (and many others on the board as well).

Thanks for the suggestions--I appreciate it. I was surprised at the estimated cost given to us from one of the kitchen stores for the demolition of the existing kitchen & the design, purchase & installation of mid-range choices for a new kitchen. Here was the breakdown, for a grand total of $29,000:

--Demolition & removal of old kitchen
--Ultracraft Category 4 Cabinets w/ crown & soffitt to match
--Marble-looking caesarstone countertop
--Backsplash tile w/ some glass tile added (tile choice from their samples)
--Floor tile, hardware also from their samples
--Under cabinet lights
--Job co-ordination

The $29,000 does not include any appliances or plumbing or electric. This seems high to me, but I don't know if we could do better money-wise by hiring an interior designer who will do the drawings & job co-ordination with the GC that they work with.

Part of me also thinks that because kitchen installs/design are all that these kitchen stores do, they must be more expert at it than interior designers because it's such a niche thing. But I am new to this, so it could just be my ignorance about the scope of what an interior designer can do. Any thoughts?

Try going to Home Depot. I have a close friend who just used them for a small but very high-end kitchen renovation and was very, very happy. Home Depot has its own contractors and stand behind them so if you have any trouble, you deal with Home Depot not the contractors. The entire project was done in about three days (including demolition of the old kitchen, new cabinets, new counters, new appliances, re-wiring etc.) which meant he wasn't living in a construction zone for weeks on end. He originally went to Manhattan Kitchen and Bath and other high end places but said they were very unhelpful and crazy expensive (when he could get an estimate - some places wouldn't even start working with him until he put down a deposit). The finished product was very nice.

downtown1234, it would be very helpful if you posted the HD location your friend went to, and the name of the specific contractor who did the job -- HD's contractor vetting not being the best, from what I've heard.

If you have a GC and are only looking for a kitchen store for mid to high end contertops,tile, lighting etc., who offers the best combination of service, selection and price?

striver, your point about kitchen stores having expertise with kitchen design and installation is interesting. Again, I'm no expert, but I would assume that redoing a kitchen is a very common part of an apartment renovation and that an experienced interior designer would have done many of these projects. I also like the fact that a designer can order from different suppliers as opposed to having to use whatever brands the store sells. I'm not trying to persuade you to any particular point of view - just thinking out loud.

I've never renovated a kitchen, but some of the prices that I've heard have far exceeded $29,000 (unfortunately). Did you get estimates from more than one store?

nyc10023, thanks for your kind words.

striver, before the design store gave you the $29,000 estimate, how much time did someone from the store spend in your apartment looking at your kitchen? Did the person suggest moving any walls or other ways to reconfigure your kitchen?

striver, IMO, it's a difficult decision trying to decide between using a kitchen and bath store or using a contractor. If you have alot of additional work in an apartment (refinishing or staining floors, painting, redesigning closet interiors, etc), then using a GC might be the better option. But if you just want to redo one room, then it's a more difficult choice. For myself, since I would need some design guidance, I would probably use whichever option afforded me the most help in that area. But cost is always a big factor.

Thanks, Lobster, and everyone else, for the comments. The $29,000 quoted from the kitchen design store did not include appliances, plumbing or any electrical work, so I am assuming that the actual amount spent on everything would definitely be $40,000 & up for a mid-range job.

We do have additional work to do in the apartment, like the bathroom, painting, floor refinishing, closets etc. So to your point, Lobster, a GC or interior designer might be a better option than only a kitchen/bath store. But based on the feedback here, we are planning to go to Home Depot & other kitchen design stores to make comparisons.

And any new hats to throw in the ring regarding General Contractors & Interior Designers for us to look at? I've looked at the ones people have listed on SE but wanted to see if there might be others I might have missed....