Just bought a house, yay! The kitchen sink & countertops need to be replaced. We would like to stay low-budget as possible but no laminate countertops. Ideas on how to make this project affordable? We went to Home Depot and were quoted over $5000 which was more than we had planned. First time homeowners so just looking for tricks. Are Home Depot, Lowes etc more expensive than local contractors? Hire a different person to do demo & repair than the actual installation? It's very overwhelming.
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We went to a local stone and marble place (rather than Home Depot or a big box place) and they offered an offbrand type of quartz that we ended up getting for our countertops. It ended up being significantly less expensive than the Ceasarstone or Silestone (the name brands) that we were initially looking at. If you know the general type of material you want, it might be worth asking if there are any offbrand choices. Also, have you heard of the blog Young House Love? They have remodeled several kitchens on fairly tight budgets. Maybe it would be worth checking out for ideas/inspiration?
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We have concrete countertops, which I hear are affordable, and I hate them. They take a lot of maintenance - buffing and sealing monthly - which we don't don't have time to do. Without a good fresh seal acid from citrus or pretty much anything in the kitchen will etch and stain. That happens weekly and without fail it happens when we have a guest.
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I would check out local fabricators and also remnants. If you don't have a large area, a remnant could be a good way to get a nicer countertop for less. What types of counters are in the house? You guys might be able to take care of demoing the counters, which will save you money.
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Congratulations on your new home! A coworker of mine recently bought and renovated an apartment. Originally he got a quote from Home Depot for installing new cabinets and a countertop in his kitchen, and their quote was way higher than a private contractor (my guess is because they require for everything to be done on the books). He still purchased the materials from Home Depot though.
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Look at Costco! They have a lot of the same name brands as Lowes/Home Depot, great fabricators, and lower prices. We did that at our old house, and it was great. IKEA also uses name brand counter tops, but we didn't like their fabricator as much, at least in our area. Check out those options in your area
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@Mrs. Microscope: wait what, Costco? Where would I find this? Online? I have done lots of stuff through Costco but haven't ever seen kitchen countertops there...
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@Eminthevalley: Yes, costco! Sometimes they have visiting reps in the stores, and you can see their samples, etc. I think you can also request more info on costco.com too.
We used costco to connect us to a shop that does the quartz for our kitchen remodel. They were very reliable, quality was great, and you get costco cash back at the end! We were very satisfied.
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@Corduroy: Concrete can be more expensive than granite/quartz because of the labor involved for installation . . . it's labor-intensive, and tricky to get right! Eta: this is assuming the concrete is a custom pour for your kitchen - I think there is *slab* concrete that is pretty economical.
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Check with a local place -- our Lowes straight up told us that their countertops come from XYZ store in town, we saved $$$ buy cutting them out and going directly to the store. Also, our local store had Granite remnants that depending on what and how much you needed you can get for a way better cost doing it that way.
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You might consider butcher block (IKEA sells it); also, I thought I hated laminate but color-through laminate has me possibly reconsidering.
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