$18,000 for labor- installing kitchen/electricity/plumbing

amother

Black

Mon, Dec 14 2015, 11:50 pm

Today I had the shock of my life. I got a quote for labor alone- removing old cabinets, doing the electricity (spotlights and new wiring for an electric oven), slightly moving plumbing for one of the sinks, and installing the cabinets is almost 20,000. And all the changes are minor, nothing is being changed that much from the old layout.

Thats besides the cost of the cabinets, countertop, floor.

This is what people pay?

Kitchen cabinet dealer said getting one person to take off old cabinets, and install new, and another for plumbing and another for electricity will give me headaches that arent worth it. He recommends this one guy.

amother

Oak

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 1:09 am

Sounds very pricey. My contractor cost less than half although I paid someone else to install the cabinets.

doctorima

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 10:26 am

Definitely sounds high. I would get another few quotes. It wasn't clear, but did the cabinet guy recommend this specific contractor? If so, it could be he has a deal with him to steer him business for a kickback, and you should definitely do your own independent research to find somebody reliable and reasonably priced. I do agree that having one person do all the work can avoid headaches where everybody blames somebody else and nobody takes responsibility.

greenfire

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 10:59 am

you're paying for the contractor who is getting a bulk of that money just to tell his workers what to do ... find the workers yourself & it would cut the cost by about 3/4 of that high-falutin price

thunderstorm

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 11:05 am

It all depends on where your are pulling the plumbing from etc. and the size of your kitchen.
I remodeled my kitchen last year, we removed soffits, moved plumbing, made a connection for a wall microwave, and had more outlets installed, and some electrical work for the lights...new wood cabinets, formica counter tops and ceramic tile floor, new sinks , faucets, and new dishwasher, stove, fridge and microwave, spackled the ceiling and painted walls...it totaled to $10,000.00..Kitchen cabinetry and counter installation were included with the kitchen store's price and we had a Russian guy and his worker do the rest of the work...But my kitchen would have cost more if we had more space for cabinets.

Chayalle

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 11:15 am

I don't know how much prices have gone up in the past 12 years, but when I remodeled my kitchen, I paid under 10K, and included were:

Removal of old cabinets
Removal of old linoleum floor, and installation of new ceramic tile - boards, mesh, grout, etc...
Removal of soffit and new vent for A/C in the ceiling instead of sofit
Plumbing for second sink on other side of kitchen
New cabinets and installation
Some new outlets
Lighting
Formica countertops
New sinks
spackle/paint

Average size kitchen.

I say get an independent contractor come down and give you a quote.

gp2.0

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 12:04 pm

It sounds extremely high to me.

I would break it down like this:

Removing old cabinets should cost about $500.
Installing new cabinets about $2000.
Electricity - $1000-$2000
Move plumbing - $250-$500

That's a total of around $5000. Even assuming higher expenses, the total should be somewhere between $5k and $10k. At $18k you are being robbed. Imho.

thunderstorm

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 12:06 pm

I agree, all the construction, electric work and plumbing including removal of cabinetry etc. was $5000.00 (note , there was no rubbish removal included in this price)

mommyla

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 2:21 pm

Sounds way overpriced. If you're going to spend more on anything, make sure the cabinet installer is good.

sourstix

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 7:39 pm

I think you should give us a breakdown of the prices he charged for each job and then we can see where the chunk is going to. it does sound pricy though.

sourstix

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 7:41 pm

now I reread your op. it sounds ridiculous. find some other contracter. I am in this line so this doesnt sound good

Rubber Ducky

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 8:03 pm

Doesn't sound reasonable for the scope of the job as you describe it. Get another estimate or be your own contractor.

mfb

Tue, Dec 15 2015, 10:04 pm

Every spotlight is probably costing u 150-200 cuz its snaking wires...
Moving plumbing to a different side of kitchen is also expensive.
Laying a ceramic floor is a few thousand (depends on size of your kitchen)(if I remember correctly it was about $4000 for medium kitchen)
I think you need to see an itemized list and then decide if its a lot.

thunderstorm

Wed, Dec 16 2015, 9:06 am

Also note, Brooklyn construction pricing( Electrical work, plumbing etc) is much higher than elsewhere...

sky

Wed, Dec 16 2015, 9:23 am

mfb wrote:

I was thinking 6 spotlights could easily cost 1000 - 1200 if done by a licensed electrician