This is very helpful to me, to get a sense for what is VERY important when buying a home. Lots of places in our area have old wiring. And old windows. Getting all that replaced? Well, according to this one estimate:

• electrical (upgrade old panel and re-wire entire house, add new lights/plugs where desired), $12000
• new windows/sliding doors, $16000

Dang, that's a chunk of change!

Wow, the reno costs more than my house did. I bet it will look awesome when it's all done!

That's really interesting! Will definitely keep this in mind on our next house hunt in the Bay Area, where the move-in ready renos are $700,000+ and the fixer uppers are in the $500s. Would still save money doing this, plus we'd get to customize it to our tastes!

wow. that's quite the budget. wish it was mine :)

Well it depends on what part of the country the house is... This is a house in california, so labor is not cheap. We will embark on a similar journey very soon with a small house in NYC... so what you have done here is super helpful. I am surprised on the architect's fees... Some have quoted me $15K - 25K here in NYC... so it is good to know that some things are possible.

Thank you for posting this. I will use it as a guide for future reno's. Thanks Seth & Allison, and AT. Though I wish I had as big of a budget as theirs for all my projects, we can only do our renovation wish list in phases. : )

Thanks for sharing this information. It's pretty rare that anyone shares the numbers, but it's so helpful to the rest of us who are dreaming up our own renovation ideas.

Your architect fees are a real bargain. Did you already have existing floor plans or other documents?

All above costs seem in line for what we pay for in the Boston area, depending on finishes of course. Work on a house is expensive. When we gutted our downstairs, we had no idea that electrical could be $10,000 (and we didn't even re-wire the house- we did add outlets to every room & upgrade from 60 to 100 amps).

The architect fees being less than 5% of the overall budget seems really small. Is the architect only involved to do drawings? And not be involved thru construction?

This is an exciting process & I hope it opens peoples' eyes to how hard & expensive work on houses really is. Watching those home shows are unrealistic on timing & expense in my opinion.

woah. flooring cost what my whole kitchen remodel cost.

guys, HONESTLY, why do you have to make such comments: wow this costs more than my house, more than my toilet... lalala. If you don't have anything constructive to add to the discussion, please by all means, talk to yourself in your head, but sometimes it is okay to think something and not speak it

This really is informative. I've looked at some houses and thought, hmm, all it needs is windows, or all it needs is electrical, without having a real basis for what that meant. Seeing what a real budget breaks down to is a real education for a novice like myself. I've always been very suspicious of the shows on tv and their 'budgets' which never seem to include labor costs and I agree that they create unrealistic expectations. Also, can't wait to see what this will look like in the end!

just to clarify the windows/sliding doors we chose are quite a bit more than the standard vinyl retrofit windows most people would choose to install.

Yes, we decided to manage the construction aspect of the project ourselves. We had the architect get us the basic plans needed for the permit process and worked from there.

for clarification - this budget is for the entire house remodel. Since this renovation diary is focusing on our kitchen we tried to separate our budget accordingly, but some trades were nearly impossible to break-down by each room of the house. I would guess that the budget for the kitchen/family room is about $20k-$25k.

last year we did a partial renovation (basically all that was untouched was the kitchen, sadly), but because our budget was so tight ($25k total), we ended up doing most of the work ourselves. things turned out fine, but damn, if you've got the money to spend on hiring stuff out, DO IT. :) tiling the bathroom floor alone nearly made me swallow my tongue in rage about thirty times. looking forward to seeing the progress of this reno!

Get a grip on life, it's supposed to be a free society where people can say whatever they like. Sure we all like ONLY see nice comments, but its a part of life. You take the good with the bad, chill out.

Looks like an exciting project. I'm doing something similar, I'm doing it in stages though as I'm doing most of the work myself, though have a similar budget. It's shocking how things add up if you do anything other than builder-grade from Home Depot.

Must be nice to not have to worry about money. But what was wrong with the "before" kitchen??? It looks much better than mine. I would love to have the cast offs!!!

Spending 100k on a reno that includes IKEA cabinets when you already have GORGEOUS CABINETS that look like they are about a million times higher quality is such a senseless, shameful waste that I can't even wrap my head around it. "A fool and his money are soon parted" seems like it applies here.

Oh my god, people. I know it seems hard to believe, but doing a 100K renovation does NOT mean that one "doesn't worry about money". This is as silly as assuming that every single person who lives in an urban center must be rich, because they pay more rent than a house in the country. People spend and save their money in a multitude of ways - some splurge on designer furniture, some buy mcMansions, some opt for tiny expensive apartments, some live in the country but have 2 cars, some take 6-month backpacking trips, some even decide to stay in a low-paying but rewarding job, and just because their way is different than yours does not mean they deserve do be judged. And anyone who is calling the original IKEA cabinets gorgeous clearly does not comprehend how nonfunctional old kitchens can be (however charming they may be, and even if they're solid wood).

I am all for refurbishing when it makes sense, but sometimes, a gut job is necessary, and people should stop being so judgmental about it. I would love to do a renovation of this level some day and I can't wait to see the results of yours!

Remember it's a matter of taste as well. We bought an apartment in our building around the same time our friend did. It was 12 years old and had carved solid oak cabinets. He wanted a more traditional look, so he just had it all refinished and stained. We wanted something really modern, so we ripped all the doors off and had them replaced with something that is NOT solid wood, but is way more in line with our aesthetic. If I walked into that house I would have ripped the kitchen out completely, but many of you would have fallen in love. It goes the same with people who would walk into our house if we were ever to sell it-some would love all the glossy white cabinets, others would plan on ripping it out and installing something else.

"Spending 100k on a reno that includes IKEA cabinets when you already have GORGEOUS CABINETS that look like they are about a million times higher quality is such a senseless, shameful waste that I can't even wrap my head around it."
LOL. Have you ever heard of the word "design". You obviously don't have the same taste. Why don't you go check their garbage bags if you like it so much...
Higher quality than Ikea's kitchen is useless. You obviously don't have one.

Not getting it. People buy a house that they obviously *liked*, then spend over $100K (you always run over budget) to rip the whole thing apart. Why not just either build what you like, or wait until you find something you really *do* like, rather than remodel a house it turns out you really *hated* after all? I'm sure there are plenty of modern open floor plan houses in California, ones that were obviously affordable for people who own two houses & can afford to spend such an eye-watering amount on a total demo of one. Really don't understand why they bought this house at all if the sole object was to take it down to the studs in every room. I honestly don't get it.

I dislike it when people take beautiful old houses, with actual walls (I would KILL for actual walls, but unless you're willing to put up with a private landlord, you can't get anything but an open floor plan in apt bldgs), & make them look like a cookie-cutter NYC loft. Most of that beautiful real wood flooring is going to the dump with moving all the walls. So sad.

I also looked at the *before* pic of the kitchen & thought, there's nothing wrong with it that new flooring, countertops, & a lick of paint wouldn't cure. Those cabinets were probably solid wood & the pic above of the homeowner destroying them when they could've gone to Habitat for Humanity to be loved & appreciated instead of to a landfill to rot was heartbreaking. There was no reason to rip them apart when they could've been used elsewhere. It's just a matter of unscrewing, for Pete's sake, you don't need to take a crowbar to them!

I also agree with the *shock horror* of replacing them with cheap IKEA. Cabinets are not where you should skimp in a kitchen re-do, especially with kids/pets in the household. If you can afford over $100K on top of the cost of owning two homes, what's another few grand to get quality-made cabinetry that will hold up & last? IKEA is inexpensive because it's *pressed wood*. The degassing fumes from that alone for a pregnant woman....

That room off the deck isn't a *family room*, it was a spacious formal dining room back in the day. I also don't get why people *need* a family room & a formal living room when they don't need a formal dining room. And if they wanted a house with an attached garage that opened into the house, again, why buy this one that didn't have that?

Just not getting the need for this expensive remodeling project at all, sorry. I can see cosmetics, like painting, getting rid of ugly wallpaper, or outdated countertops & linoleum being replaced. I can see upgrading to more energy-efficient items, like windows. But gutting a perfectly sound house that obviously passed inspection, one you *liked* when you bought it? Blows my mind.

Since this is said to be a *split level*, it would be nice to see the entire floorplan & what there is at the bottom of those stairs. I bet there's a family room down there! There always is in a split level! Just not getting this one.

Can't wait to see the project as it goes forward, along with any budget changes, unexpected stuff they come across, etc. and of course PHOTOS!!!
My brother and his wife are planning a kitchen remodel and are blown away by the bids they are getting. I would love to see them with an upgraded, functional kitchen, but they have to find the right contractor... and back off on some of the expensive selections, downgrade a bit... IMHO...

@ christine_z

Very well said! It's ridiculous how easily people judge each other on the money and money-spending front.