One of the first questions we have when starting to work with clients is... "What is the first step we should take to start our kitchen remodel project?". There are several different options such as picking a contractor, choosing a start date, should we keep the same layout or redesign the space? Based on our experience, the very first step that should be done is deciding on a budge or budget range for the project...
"But we have never remodeled our kitchen before, how do I know how much to spend?". In all honestly, that really does not matter because in the same space, most contractors can work with a $5,000 budget or a $200,000 depending on what you want to do. My favorite analogy is purchasing your very first car. You really do not know how much it is going to cost, only how much you can afford. And even in the same dealership, lets say a Ford, you can have trucks that have a $50,000 price difference. Imagine walking into a dealership and telling the sales person you do not know how much you want to spend but all you want is a new truck... you probably would not get too far. And if you did find someone that is willing to help (which most contractors are, which is another topic on why so many contractors fail), you may get through the entire process, test drive, options, warranty, insurance, etc, only to find out you can't or don't want to pay that much...
The big difference between buying a new car and a remodel is that cars for the most part are not customizable, what you see on the lot is what you are buying and they all come from the same manufacturer. With remodeling, contractors have no idea exactly what you have in mind and are typically guessing based on an initial consultation what it is you want them to build...
Having a budget in mind AND disclosing it to every contractor that you are interviewing gives you one constant variable that you can measure one to another.
"But if I tell the contractor I have $50,000, they are going to say the project costs $50,000". Of course they are and they should, that is the budget you are disclosing, why would they come in under that budget? Going back to the car analogy, if you tell the car sales person that you are looking for a car in the $50,000 range, would you expect them to bring you a car that costs $30,000?
Be honest with your budget and come up with a number that you can not only be comfortable with, but that you can afford. When you are going through your interview process, disclose that budget and ask each contractor what is the most they can do with that budget. Inevitably, you will have some that promise you the world, some that will say your budget is too, but most that will give you a proposal addressing all of your wants and needs.
Remodeling is just as much of an art than a science and every contractor has their own processes, techniques, quality, communication, project management, design, and other aspects of their business that make their product and service unique to them. Each of those aspects have an associated cost which is why a budget is important to establish so you can have one variable to measure them to one another until you find the contractor that best suites your needs.
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