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It is clear that actual annual growth over the past 60 months has been in the range of 9% - 16% per annum.
Based on the fact that higher quality housing includes a higher value kitchen this does
identify a probable future Kitchen renovation cost range from about
$28,000 for a median priced house in Amaroo to $50,000 for a villa in Campbell.
Units vary from $205,000 in Lyons to $400,000 in O'Connor and renovation
expectations therefor could be from $14,000 to $28,000 for a Unit
But, fortunately Aneka's kitchen renovation construction costs have not been affected by these great housing cost fluctuations.
The costs of workmanship have not changed beyond the CPI adjustments but there is an evident increase in Kitchen material cost as most of our clients now spend more on accessories and high quality benchtop materials
(Granites).
Based on sixteen years experience and taking normal economic conditions into account the average Kitchen renovation costs
for the average house in the average suburb over the next 12 months may still work out at about $21,000 ($17,000 kitchen + $4,000 appliances) - taking a number of factors into account.
But.... as economic ratios over time are remarkably stable - these figures show that
kitchen renovation costs are bound to rise as well - thus there is no better time to
initiate your kitchen project then NOW.
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I understand that an "average kitchen" cost is $21,000, but I really only want to spend
no more than $12,000.
Most people when they originally come in to the showroom have no idea what a kitchen is worth, but once we go through the "How much is it going to cost", they often tell us how much they were thinking of spending.
Occasionally people are reluctant to tell the Kitchen Designer or salesperson how much
they wish to spend because of a misplaced fear that they may be sold a $10,000 kitchen for
$12,000.
But if you tell the designers how much you wish to spend then the advice that they will give and the options discussed will be tailored around this.
At the end of the day, we all know that you will be tendering the job to typically three other Kitchen Manufacturers to quote,
therefore it would not be in our interest to quote a $10,000 kitchen and try and sell it
to you for $12,000 because we would never get any sale!
Aneka Kitchens always quote our best and most competitive price up front, because we want your business, it's as simple as that. |
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A considerable amount of design, materials and appliances selection is required to provide a
useful estimate.
Aneka kitchens is able to provide (free of charge) some broad quotations to help prospective
clients with their Budget development, this is discussed in more detail in the section
"About Quotations".
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About Quotations.
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There are seven basic
areas of cost to be considered:
- The new
appliances that you need.
- The design complexity
and overall size (quantity of cabinets) of your kitchen design.
- Style and
type of doors and bench tops
- The Sub-Trades required (Removal of the existing cabinets, Plumbing, Electrical,
Tiling, etc) and in some cases delivery and/or installation; then there is the question of
how much you are willing to do yourself.
- The quantity of additional decorations, fixtures and fittings desired (lighting, bins, baskets, glass
doors, etc).
- Any Building
construction work e.g. removing or adding walls or rooms.
- Your budget.
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"Costs consists of
50% Materials
50% Labour
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Cost components:
A kitchen renovation project estimate of say $21,000 normally includes some $4,000 in appliances that are typically replaced
in most cases, such as:
cook top, oven.kitchen sink, tap and range hood .
Kitchen manufacturers normally do not sell appliances like ovens and cook tops because this is a specialised area with a great deal of choice to suit specific needs.
Custom kitchen designers and manufacturers, like Aneka Kitchens, however build the kitchen around the appliances you have selected -
or even fully enclose these, if so desired.
Kitchen sinks, taps and range hoods on the other hand are more standard items and it is typical for a kitchen manufacturer to sell these as a package deal, as they usually buy in bulk and can pass the savings on to their clients.
If you have specific requirements for either the sink, tap or range hood then it would be best to talk to an appliance re-seller as they often have a much wider range to choose from.
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Sink & Taps package |
$370 - 1000 |
| Oven | $600 - 3500 |
| Cooktop | $350 - 2200 |
| Rangehood | $200 - 2500 |
| Microwave | $200 - 1400 |
| Dishwasher | $110 - 2000 |
| Fridge | $600 - 6000 |
| Total | $3320 - 18600 |
Without appliances there is then about $17,000 to be budgetted for the new kitchen.
In this is included work to be performed by "other
Trades", such as electrician, plumber, gas fitter, tiler, plasterer,
etc, that on average will add to about $4,000.
Note: get your Kitchen designer to arrange this project work as self-arranged independent quotations take a long time and will show wide cost variation!
So that leaves $13,000.
Out of this there usually are some auxiliary items such as:
bins, cabinetry lighting, glass doors,
baskets, etc, the types of things that really make the kitchen
'personally yours'. In this example we have allowed $1,500 for these
items. Also you should allow for removal of old cabinets and provision for a waste skip bin,
if you are not going to do this yourself. Kitchen delivery and
installation costs are around $2,000.
So now we have only about $9,500 left for the design and construction
of the actual cabinetry and bench tops.
Most clients choose on average a post-formed (rolled edge) laminated bench top, instead of the standard
square tops, these costs about
$1,500 and vinyl wrapped doors may add $2,500, a total of
$4,000; these component are typically provided by specialised suppliers.
This then leaves only on average
$5,500 for the kitchen manufacturer for the planning, ordering of the
materials, manufacturing, fitting and assembly of some 14 different, custom designed cabinets.
Typically the cost of the materials is about half the cost of manufacturing; thus $3,000 covers the labour for designing, manufacturing,
ordering, project managing and includes a minimum of 12% workers compensation insurance, 10% GST and the normal
business overheads(rent, insurances, electricity, depreciation, interest, etc).
If from the outset it seemed like the
Kitchen Manufacturer is getting the whole $20,000 - when the process is broken
down as discussed, then it is clear that the actual manufacturing cost is only $3,000,
or just about 15 percent of the total cost.
From this it is clear that within our
very competitive market there is but a small amount left for labour costs, overheads -
and - given the level of competition -
there is but little margin for any firm to genuinely offer a 10% - 20% overall discount.
As a minimum, one should expect a cost of no less than $5,000 for custom designed quality kitchen
cabinetry for a small house or flat, supply only of about 10 - 12 cabinets, ex-factory with no 'Other
Trades', delivery, installation, removal of existing cabinets and no Appliances allowed for.
Good savings are possible when one buys standard 'off the shelf' cabinetry from
some suppliers (see below) for D.I.Y. assembly and installation.
The maximum cost could range past the $30,000 mark for the bigger, more up market
housing with all Appliances, Other Trades, Granite Benchtops and plenty of auxiliary items and even some
construction work.
Broadly speaking, as the cost of
new kitchen cabinetry on average is made up 50% for materials and 50% for labour and
factory overheads, then the quickest way to save is to have less cabinets
installed or to select a cheaper style of door or bench top.
As discussed below, there are great cost variations between selecting a Laminated Bench Top vs. Granite, while choosing 2-pack High Gloss Polyurethane painted doors and panels may be three times the cost of having these made from a good quality solid colour Melamine.
However, remember that
with every cost saving you make you are usually sacrificing something in return.
If you were to upgrade to more expensive doors that may cost $1,000 extra, over
the next 10 years that you lived in the house it would equate to just $100 per
year, for some people that is worth it, and it will most certainly add to the resale value as well.
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"ensure [vendor] cost comparisons
are based on a design
that makes you feel confident"
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The average cost can be skewed either way depending on the materials chosen;
for example the cost of a change in one bench top from say High Density Laminate to
RockSolidGranit or plain Corian may increase the cost by $2000,
while an upgrade to Stainless Steel, darker coloured Corian or
Rocksolid Granit 3D may add $4000 - $5000.
Real
Granite slabs can add some $6,000 to the overall costs of the average laminated-bench-cover kitchen,
without affecting the cost of labour expended by the Kitchen
manufacturers.
These different materials are discussed in
the "Benchtops" pages.
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Bench Tops
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Material and Finish
for Doors & Exterior Panels
have a major effect on Kitchen costs
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The cost of Kitchen cabinets varies according to the materials, finishes, colours and profiles chosen for doors, drawer fronts and covering panels.
- Melamine covered doors etc. are lowest cost, followed by Vinyl Wrap, painted 2-pack Polyurethane, then Wood Veneer and finally solid Wooden doors & panels.
The latter two vary much in price depending of thickness of the veneer and the species of (sometimes imported) wood.
- Light Solid colour is lower in cost then darker colours (which need a lot more care in manufacturing), while Woodgrain and Patterned surfaces are more expensive due to wastage incurred in matching panels for an even look.
- Matt orTextured finish is lower in cost, followed by Satin, Semi-gloss and High Gloss - the latter has a higher "risk premium" as small imperfections show up easily and re-work is often not possible and a complete Vinyl wrapped door may need to be discarded.
- Plain straight edged Doors etc are the lowest cost, followed by bevelled edged doors, then Face and Edge profiled doors and highest cost for recessed panelling.
The Table below shows the variation due to material and Finish possible using an average kitchen finished in Antique While Vinyl wrap (matt or satin finish) with plain bevelled edge face design.
Approximate Cost variations from a "standard solid colour Vinyl Wrapped" kitchen
| Material | Finish | Cost variation |
| Melamine | Solid Colour> | - 1200 |
| Woodgrain | - 800 |
| Powder Coated | Textured, Matt, flat surface | - 400 |
| Matt to Satin , Face + Edge profiled> | +- 0 |
| Vinyl Wrap | Matt, flat surface | "benchmark" |
| Matt , Face + Edge profiled> | + 200 |
| | + 500 |
| Matt , Recessed panel + Edge profiled> | + 800 |
| High Gloss , Recessed panel + Edge profiled> | + 1300 |
| Painted, 2-pk Polyurethane | Matt, flat surface | + 800 |
| Matt , Face + Edge profiled> | + 950 |
| Matt , High Gloss , flat surface> | + 1100 |
| Matt , Recessed panel + Edge profiled> | + 1900 |
| High Gloss , Recessed panel + Edge profiled> | + 3000 |
Wood Veneer | flat surface | + 2500 |
| Solid Wood | With Face and Edge profiles | + 3000+ |
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Then there is the cost of flooring upgrades or replacements. More details are discussed in
the "Flooring" pages, but depending on the materials chosen this may add from $45 to $130 per
square meter of floor space, or from $600 - $1500 for an average kitchen.
Floor upgrades are normally not the expertise of Kitchen manufacturers but is an art and
trade better finalised with flooring specialists, such as identified in the "Reference"
pages.
An experienced kitchen designer will be able to advise you on the cost variations for your designs in order to arrive at the best possible solution, within your budget
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Flooring
References
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So how do you go about it?.
- Determine the costs of the Appliances you need to replace.
- Ascertain your budget.
- Visit the show room to get ideas.
- Get some indicative costs.
- Engage a designer to inspect your premises and discuss your needs with them.
- Review the design and cost implications, balance you desires with your budget; make trade-offs between expensive benchtop materials and number of cabinets.
- Finalise the design, if getting other quotes be sure to compare...apples with
apples; base your comparison upon the exact same design and set of
specifications.
- Ensure that you are dealing with a reputable Company before giving your acceptance
to them, ask questions like:
- are you a member of the HIA;
- can you supply recent customer referrals;
- how long have you been in business?
NOTE: Do not compare Kitchen prices based on different designs, ensure that cost
comparisons are based on the design that makes you feel confident.
The kitchen industry is very competitive as the cost of entry is still quite low and each
firm tries to get an edge.
But if any quotation varies by more than 5% then either the
firm in question has simplified some details (that may be very important to you, for example:
straight edged benches in stead of nicely rounded corners), or has overlooked some
specification for which you may have to pay extra later.
Be wary of "special Discounts of 20%".
A large Melbourne based appliances supplier expressed the choices and cost
conundrum quite well in his Kitchen Advisory Report which is worth reading also.
There are a number of comments on the Woodworkers Forum, in particular number 188 that discusses or comments on Price Strategies employed by some or the better known Kitchen Installation companies - that are well worth reading.
Final comments.
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CHOICE Magazine September 1994, whilst discussing
'Buying a new kitchen' stated:
The path to a sparkling new kitchen is paved with dubious discounts, poor product information and potentially
high financial risks.
This article is well worth reading in its totality,
it is available in our showroom.
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Contact Information
Telephone - 02 6241 7778
(Answering
machine switched on at 4.00pm week days)
Fax - 02 6241 8068
Postal & Showroom Address - Aneka Kitchens, Unit 2 / 5 Tooth Street,
Mitchell ACT 2911 Canberra, Australia
Send us an e-mail to book an appointment, or to ask for more details or even to express
your comments about this website - we are open to suggestions -
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