How long does it take (on avg) to remodel a kitchen completely?

I'm sure it matters on the size of the kitchen, etc. but assuming it's from the '50s and needs to be gutted, approximately how long does that take? A few weeks, a few months? I have no clue.

Also, about how much may it cost? I'm talking replacing the cabinets, applicanes (but not top of the line) regular countertops, etc.

Does about $20K sound right? See, I'm clueless!

a link I have been looking at


as for time...beware...it takes longer to remodel than to build...


I have been browsing this site - THS garden web


we are thinking about doing IKEA though...they are VERY affordabel..and to keep costs down we will most likely be doing the labor ourselves...


hope this helps...

It really depends on so many factors. My kitchen is pretty small and it took about a month from the day the contractors came to return to useabilty. But if you factor in all the time it took to pick things out and wait for them to show and interview contractors, etc... it was more like 6 months.

Even if you assume middle of the road materials, you have to factor in a lot of things. For example, if you get 'cheap' cabinets but have 100 linear square feet, its going to be expensive no matter what. And drawers are more expensive than doors, etc.. Do you need new plumbing? electrical? flooring? sheetrock? windows? etc.

Also factor in if you plan on living many years in this kitchen, you are probably going to want to get the nicer stuff. Its easy to say now that you will stick to a budget but its hard to maintain it when everything is just insanely expensive.

I would say that it would be very hard to redo your kitchen for $20K unless you were doing the work yourself OR it was very small OR you were not doing a complete gut.

Since I just did it, I know prices for just about everything so feel free to ask away.

Thanks for the links Erica!

Stef - thanks for all your info. The houses we've been looking at have original kitchens from the 1950s so I wondered about getting them updated before we moved in, but that doesn't seem possible before the baby's arrival in August.

Regardless of when, we'd definitely update the kitchen at some point, but since this house will be a starter, we wouldn't need to go top of the line on everything, since we may not be in it long enough to get all of our money's worth!

Your kitchen was completely gutted, right? Everything from floors to windows to cabinets?

When we do settle on a place, maybe we'll see what can be avoided to completely gut the room and just update what's needed.

My kitchen was almost a complete gut. We laid the new floor over the old tile and we kept the ceiling. But that is pretty much it.

But the things that made it a complete gut were not THAT expensive (door, new windows, new electric, etc..) - it was teh basic things like the cabinets, appliances, etc.. Those two things were more than half of what we spent. We got pretty nice appliances but our cabinets were definitely middle of the road.

teri...if you are serious about it being a starter home...have you checked out 5/1 arm rates?

they are 2% less...and can make a huge difference in what you can afford

Thanks again Stef!

Erica - we're expecting to only stay in this house for about 6-7 yrs but I'd hate to be locked into something and have to move when we want to stay longer.

I only say this because I hope that after 6-7 yrs, we'll be able to trade up for a nicer, larger home.

My parents re-did their entire kitchen ( which is BIG ) and even added an extension. It cost a LOT more than $20K

It was about 9 months time to finish.