Kitchen renovation

SEARs has a FREE estimate....my parents are getting their kithen redone.....cabinets, countertops, backsplash and appliances - stainless steel PLUS labor and painting will be about mid 20s k.......i think if you are going mid range.....70 to 90 is way over....you should come in under 40k......call sears ...they come and give you a FREE estimate...then at least you have an idea.

I can reccomend Design by Francois- www.francoistenenbaum.com

I used http://www.hanssemamerica.com/ and was very pleased.

I am using Cool Kitchens.. ask for Sarah.. very talented designer ... Haven't completed, but the process has been painless so far. http://sarahtombaugh.com/ or http://www.coolkitchens.com/ My kitchen is probably coming in at around 70k all in with higher end appliances and fixtures . Good luck!

Try All Renovation Construction, they have both Architect (Design + Build) and General Contractor services. You can get more information about them here http://www.allrenovationllc.com

Good Luck,
Adam

thanks all - bb10024 - is Sarah an independent architect or is it one integrated company?

I believe Cool kitchens was owned by Lloyd Choo some years ago, i know he moved to Florida and Sarah might work for him. I happen to like their cabinets. If you would like to get several ideas and several quotes I would also be happy to take a look and give you a free estimate. There are not too many kitchens in Manhattan that costs 70-90k. Most of the high-end kitchens I have done are closer to 50k but yours might be much bigger.

If you want to see my work: www.primerenovationsnyc.com

Unless you're installing solid gold faucets it's hard to see how you could
spend over $15,000, or even $10,000.

I'm gut renovating a 775-800 ft. 2-bd with an all new kitchen and all new bathroom,
including floors, all new light fixtures, new doors, DW and reconfiguring the space
with new walls and expect to come in under $15,000 using high end materials, includ-
ing an all new 3.5 inch wide-plank maple floor and replacement brass plumbing.

rb345, please keep me updated with your progress. I may find myself in a similar situation and would need advice...

rb345 - appliances alone likely above 15K and thats not the top of the line stuff.

uws9- sarah is also an independent licensed contractor. it just made the whole process so easy for me , great selection of cabinets as well. if you choose to shop for your own appliances i purchased everything at gringer (lower eastside). shopped my list around and gave them last look. overall i saved over 6k on appliances I also have a great contractor..

uws9 sorry sarah is also an independent licensed architect .. it's early!

Look into Kraftmaid cabinets - I've seen some very nice kitchens that look very close to custom high-end stuff.

I like Drimmers for appliances.

UWS9 - if i were you, i'd first pick a kitchen cabinetry company who's design/aesthetic i liked. For example, poggenpohl, henry built, scavolini, etc. or maybe even go to a kitchen showroom to look at a variety of manufacturers. you can do a lot of this online these days too. then i would go to their showroom and make sure you like the quality of the finishes in person. usually, the showrooms have their own in-house design person. i used henry built, and their on-site design person was a licensed architect who was very familiar with high-end appliances, work-triangle type issues, and very knowledgeable about their product line, which was extremely helpful. they designed the whole kitchen with floor plans and elevations using CAD and even dropped in the exact appliances i had selected so i knew exactly what my kitchen would look like. they suggested several contractors who have installed their kitchens before, but i ended up just using my general contractor install the kitchen. even though i had my own architect working on other parts of my apt, i found this process (i.e. working with the kitchen manuf's design person) to be far smoother.

Reno09: sounds like you didn't have any problems with Henrybuilt but I know that's not the case with everyone. Their design person (in the Soho showroom) might be a licensed architect, but not licensed in New York, and doesn't seem to know much about NYC building code, and definitely doesn't know anything about NYC local law as it pertains to ADA compliances. This can cause huge problems because most NYC kitchens are pretty small to begin with and HB dimensions (cabinet boxes, countertop, end panels, etc) are deeper than what's standard.

Primer: maybe you can weigh in, but is it standard for kitchen cabinetry companies to have you sign a contract where they take no responsibility for field measurements? Even if their designer takes the measurements themselves?! Might be fine if they didn't make so many careless errors, but they do. Then you're stuck waiting another couple months for a new piece of wood to be shipped from Seattle. It's too bad because their kitchens can be quite beautiful.

Everyone loves to list these " high-end" cabinet companies that use presswood. If you find a good Millshop they can make the same cabinets using the same wood veneer except they will use plywood which is much better. It is also a lot cheaper as the overhead of a place like Poggenpohl has.

As far as spending 15k to do a full gut in 800 feet. Please give me your contractor as he will make me a very rich man

rb345--sounds like your version of "high end" is my version of shithole--but then most of what you speak comes from such a place.

W:

For many years I have advertised my apts at top of market prices and gotten them, until
Lehman, generally within 1-4 days. I buy nice quality materials. better than many LLs
according to my tenants, but not fad or super-premium.

I expect to rent my 2-bd for about $3000/month at a renovation cost of $15,000 or under
because I have spent many years learning about materials, buy my materials directly -
and thus without middleman mark-ups, and hire skilled trademen directly instead of thru
middleman who add unnecessary fees.

And just so you and Socialist can get orgasms together fantasizing about taxing me, I paid
$6,000 for the apartment and expect to net over $24,000/year from renting it out.

That, my dear, is the wondrousness of capitalism. It encourages and rewards risk-taking and
hard work. And it's also the cure for America: workers instead of shirkers.

So you're abusing HDFC, a low-income housing program. And bragging about it. Nice.

9th Street - oye! i'm sorry to hear about your problems with hb! things went very smoothly for me. it might've been bc i had my general contractor and architect on board. they dbl checked measurements and were in charge of install from beginning to end. we had a couple of pieces that were damaged during shipping, and hb was great about replacing it right away (although the lead time was a bit long). we didn't run into any problems with space or size of the cabs, etc. we even had some custom made to only 15 inches deep. i'm not sure if we ever addressed ADA concerns though.

primer05 - i agree some "high-end" manuf. (incl. poggenpohl) are not so well built, but hb feels sturdy and well built and quality. i have to agree that custom millwork can sometimes produce a better product, esp. if it's from a trusted source. i had my gc build out my closets, and they turned out 1000% better than a company like california closets. they're awesome! i think for some people (like me), we go with a known manufacturer more for the look and the aesthetic and the comfort of knowing what you're going to get. having said that, now that i know my gc's millwork is excellent, i'd go with them next time and just copy the look of a kitchen i liked.

Reno,

exactly my point. Any great millshop can build anything out there and it will be better and cheaper, with maybe the exception of sprayed lacquer. That usually is better from a manufacturer who has a machine spray finish.