Anonymous wrote:Do you really think labor costs $60k? Come on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP it sounds about right. We just completely gutted and remodeled our very large kitchen. We moved everything aroound, so new gas lines, electric, plumbing, overhead range ventilation that is flush with the ceiling. Top of the line appliances including two beverage fridges, custom cabinets, two dishwashers, two islands, brand new pantry, bar area, new floors. Hired a high-end kitchen designer and used their contractor. Labor was $55K. Total came in at $200K, but that also included refinishing all the wood floors on our entire first floor and painting the entire first floor.

It's spectacular. Good luck - everything is much more expensive now and hard to find good people to do the work. They're all swampped with work.

Better be spectacular. For $200k, I could build you a 3br cape cod. Can’t believe how much people around here pay for just a kitchen.

Anonymous wrote:Yeh this is a rip off. 60k for labor is crazy to just remove a s replace cabinets. Cabinets are too high as well. Get a price breakdown and also consider rtm cabinets.

Anonymous wrote:OP it sounds about right. We just completely gutted and remodeled our very large kitchen. We moved everything aroound, so new gas lines, electric, plumbing, overhead range ventilation that is flush with the ceiling. Top of the line appliances including two beverage fridges, custom cabinets, two dishwashers, two islands, brand new pantry, bar area, new floors. Hired a high-end kitchen designer and used their contractor. Labor was $55K. Total came in at $200K, but that also included refinishing all the wood floors on our entire first floor and painting the entire first floor.

It's spectacular. Good luck - everything is much more expensive now and hard to find good people to do the work. They're all swampped with work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here with the $45k for the GC/labor fees and some building materials: the project started in April and concluded in August. Labor included demo down to the studs and subfloor, the cost to properly remove the construction debris including asbestos subfloor, subs for tiling, moving electrical and plumbing, drywall, cabinet install, etc. 16 weeks = approx $2800/week for a small crew of professionals. If you think that's unreasonable, calculate what your hourly cost of compensation is including benefits, employer paid taxes, pension contribution etc.

I know the exact costs of appliances and most of the materials because we sourced and purchased directly. We estimated that of the $45k paid to the GC, probably $35-40k was for the labor.

Yes, $40k is a lot out of pocket but it's also fair and reasonable when considering that there are real people doing the work and providing for their families.

Even when you factor that there were days and weeks when they didn't work a full 8hr day/40hr week, we factored that the hourly rate came out to approx. $80-85/hr.

Again, that's for a small crew of people and our kitchen is approx 14' long x 9' wide.

Given the fact that babysitters charge upwards of $20-25/hr, I don't understand how you can argue that these "labor charges seem crazy."

To me it sounds like you have a "let them eat cake" mentality. Please get some perspective and place value in the crew working on your home. Chances are, if you care about them, they'll care a bit more about the work they're doing on your house.

Thanks for your thoughts. I still think that $80/hr, in other words the equivalent of $150k a year is *a lot* for construction workers and also agree with some pps that most of the guys were probably making a fraction of that. Clearly I chose the wrong line of work!

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Three years ago we paid 100K for a brand new kitchen, a full bathroom and an office. Insane how much costs have gone up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here with the $45k for the GC/labor fees and some building materials: the project started in April and concluded in August. Labor included demo down to the studs and subfloor, the cost to properly remove the construction debris including asbestos subfloor, subs for tiling, moving electrical and plumbing, drywall, cabinet install, etc. 16 weeks = approx $2800/week for a small crew of professionals. If you think that's unreasonable, calculate what your hourly cost of compensation is including benefits, employer paid taxes, pension contribution etc.

I know the exact costs of appliances and most of the materials because we sourced and purchased directly. We estimated that of the $45k paid to the GC, probably $35-40k was for the labor.

Yes, $40k is a lot out of pocket but it's also fair and reasonable when considering that there are real people doing the work and providing for their families.

Even when you factor that there were days and weeks when they didn't work a full 8hr day/40hr week, we factored that the hourly rate came out to approx. $80-85/hr.

Again, that's for a small crew of people and our kitchen is approx 14' long x 9' wide.

Given the fact that babysitters charge upwards of $20-25/hr, I don't understand how you can argue that these "labor charges seem crazy."

To me it sounds like you have a "let them eat cake" mentality. Please get some perspective and place value in the crew working on your home. Chances are, if you care about them, they'll care a bit more about the work they're doing on your house.

Thanks for your thoughts. I still think that $80/hr, in other words the equivalent of $150k a year is *a lot* for construction workers and also agree with some pps that most of the guys were probably making a fraction of that. Clearly I chose the wrong line of work!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here with the $45k for the GC/labor fees and some building materials: the project started in April and concluded in August. Labor included demo down to the studs and subfloor, the cost to properly remove the construction debris including asbestos subfloor, subs for tiling, moving electrical and plumbing, drywall, cabinet install, etc. 16 weeks = approx $2800/week for a small crew of professionals. If you think that's unreasonable, calculate what your hourly cost of compensation is including benefits, employer paid taxes, pension contribution etc.

I know the exact costs of appliances and most of the materials because we sourced and purchased directly. We estimated that of the $45k paid to the GC, probably $35-40k was for the labor.

Yes, $40k is a lot out of pocket but it's also fair and reasonable when considering that there are real people doing the work and providing for their families.

Even when you factor that there were days and weeks when they didn't work a full 8hr day/40hr week, we factored that the hourly rate came out to approx. $80-85/hr.

Again, that's for a small crew of people and our kitchen is approx 14' long x 9' wide.

Given the fact that babysitters charge upwards of $20-25/hr, I don't understand how you can argue that these "labor charges seem crazy."

To me it sounds like you have a "let them eat cake" mentality. Please get some perspective and place value in the crew working on your home. Chances are, if you care about them, they'll care a bit more about the work they're doing on your house.

Thanks for your thoughts. I still think that $80/hr, in other words the equivalent of $150k a year is *a lot* for construction workers and also agree with some pps that most of the guys were probably making a fraction of that. Clearly I chose the wrong line of work!