How do I measure linear feet of cabinets?

Measure base cabinets along the wall at counter height, then wall cabinets as a second run. Count tall pantry or oven units separately. The floor area of the kitchen does not enter into it.

What does moving the sink add?

Only a bid can say. Moving a sink or range reroutes drains, vents, supply lines, gas or circuits, and each is a trade and an inspection. Ask for it as its own line and type it in the wet-work box.

Do I need a permit for a kitchen remodel?

Cabinets and counters alone are finish work the IRC exempts. New circuits, moved plumbing and gas work need permits under the model code. Your building department decides. Try the permit checker first.

Does a pre-1978 house change the job?

Yes. Paid work that disturbs more than 6 sq ft of paint per room needs an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm, and lead-safe work practices take time. Ask each bidder for the certificate.

Should I add a contingency?

That is your call, and the box starts at 0. A contingency is money you hold outside the contract for what opens up behind the walls.

Does a kitchen remodel pay for itself?

One survey estimates a midrange minor kitchen recoups 112.9% at resale (Zonda, Cost vs Value 2025). That is surveyed professional opinion, not a sale price, and not a forecast for your house.

HyreRemodel tools

Kitchen remodel cost calculator

Measure the cabinet run, pick a HomeGuide band or type your bid’s rate, then add the lines only a bid can price: appliances, moving the sink, new circuits.

$160–$380 per linear foot, stock and semi-custom cabinets HomeGuide, “How Much Does a Kitchen Remodel Cost?”, retrieved August 23, 2026. Custom cabinets on the same page run up to $1,000 per linear foot.

Kitchen remodel cost = the cabinet run × a price per linear foot, plus counters, demolition, appliances and any move of the sink or range. 20 feet of stock or semi-custom cabinets at HomeGuide’s $160 to $380 per foot, plus its counter and demolition bands, is $5,200 to $16,100 before appliances.

Work out your kitchen

Arithmetic on your figures. Nothing is stored or emailed.

— Budget on your figures

— Cabinets

— Wet-work

— Contingency

What this assumed —

A check on a bid, not a quote. Hidden conditions push a real price up.

Settle these before anything comes off the wall

Built before 1978? Paid work that disturbs more than 6 sq ft of paint per room inside, or 20 sq ft outside, needs an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm (40 CFR Part 745, Subpart E). Replacing a window counts at any size.

Old flooring, ceilings or insulation. These can contain asbestos. Leave them alone and have them tested before demolition.

A wall coming out. Find out whether it carries load before you plan around it. A load-bearing wall needs a sized beam and a building permit.

Gas lines and the electrical panel. Moving a range’s gas supply or adding circuits is licensed, permitted work.

Worked examples

Two kitchens run through the calculator

Survey bands only

20 ft of stock or semi-custom cabinets at HomeGuide’s $160 to $380 per foot is $3,200 to $7,600. Add its counter band ($1,500 to $6,000) and demolition band ($500 to $2,500): $5,200 to $16,100, before appliances.

The same kitchen with bid lines

Cabinets at $300 per foot from a bid ($6,000), the same counter and demolition bands, $4,000 of appliances and $3,500 to move the sink, plus 10% contingency: $17,050 to $24,200.

Budget = cabinet run × $/ft + counters + demolition + appliances + wet-work + electrical, then contingency. The bands are HomeGuide’s, retrieved August 23, 2026.

Why cabinets are priced by the linear foot

Cabinets are made and sold along the wall they sit on, so a floor-area rate hides the one line you can measure yourself.

Measure the run. Measure base cabinets along the wall at counter height, then wall cabinets as a separate run. Count tall pantry and oven units on their own: they are priced differently.

Two kitchens, one floor area. A long galley and a square room with the same floor area can need very different lengths of cabinet. That is why the calculator asks for feet of run, not square feet of floor.

The three tiers. Stock cabinets come in fixed sizes with filler strips. Semi-custom adds finishes and some size changes. Custom is built to your dimensions, which buys fit in an awkward room.

What each line of a kitchen bid should say

Two bids for the same kitchen can differ because one leaves a line out. Check each row.

Line	What it should name	If the bid leaves it out
Cabinets	Maker, line, box material, drawer and hinge hardware, finish	“Custom cabinets” is a price tier, not a product.
Counters	Material, edge, cutouts, backsplash, who templates	Price it with the countertop calculator.
Appliances	Models, and who buys and connects them	Ask before you order a fridge that may not fit the opening.
Plumbing	Whether the sink, dishwasher or range moves	Ask for the wet-work line on its own.
Electrical	New circuits, and whether the panel has room	A panel upgrade found later is a large change order.
Lead-safe work	Firm certification on a pre-1978 house	Ask for the certificate before you sign.
Permits	Who pulls them and which inspections apply	Check with the permit checker, then your city.

HyreRemodel’s checklist, not prices. We hold no dataset of kitchen bids.

What one survey says about a same-layout kitchen at resale

The figure. Zonda’s 2025 Cost vs Value report puts a midrange minor kitchen remodel at $28,458 and estimates it adds $32,141 at resale: 112.9% recouped, 5th of 28 projects.

What it is. The resale side is an estimate by surveyed real-estate professionals, not an observed sale price. It ranks projects against each other. It is not the return you will get on your house.

To test a resale figure you can defend, use the remodeling ROI calculator with an appraiser’s or agent’s number.

What a kitchen bid should state in writing

The cabinet run and the specification
Linear feet, maker and line, so two bids price the same boxes.
Whether any service moves
Sink, dishwasher, range, hood duct, circuits: each as its own line.
Allowances in dollars
And what happens when a selection costs more or less than the allowance.
The cabinet lead time
Demolition should wait for a delivery date, not a free week on the crew’s calendar.
A written change-order process
A price and your signature before extra work starts.
Payments tied to finished stages
With a final payment held until the work passes inspection.
“Custom cabinets, to be selected”
That is a placeholder, not a price. Ask for a line and a model.
A large deposit before anything is ordered
Check your state’s deposit limit and tie payments to delivery and progress.

What the calculator leaves out

Your walls. Out-of-square walls, a sloping floor and rot behind the sink base cost time and material. They push a bid up, not down.

Your panel. Whether the electrical service can carry new circuits is a question for an electrician.

Your market. HomeGuide’s bands pool quotes nationally. Labor in a dense metro and in a rural county are different numbers, so type your bid’s rate when you have one.

Questions this calculator answers

How much does a kitchen remodel cost?: It depends on the cabinet run, whether the sink moves and the age of the house, so HyreRemodel publishes no national average. This calculator builds a range from your cabinet run, HomeGuide’s dated bands and the lines on your bid.
How do I measure linear feet of cabinets?: Measure base cabinets along the wall at counter height, then wall cabinets as a second run. Count tall pantry or oven units separately. The floor area of the kitchen does not enter into it.
What does moving the sink add?: Only a bid can say. Moving a sink or range reroutes drains, vents, supply lines, gas or circuits, and each is a trade and an inspection. Ask for it as its own line and type it in the wet-work box.
Do I need a permit for a kitchen remodel?: Cabinets and counters alone are finish work the IRC exempts. New circuits, moved plumbing and gas work need permits under the model code. Your building department decides. Try the permit checker first.
Does a pre-1978 house change the job?: Yes. Paid work that disturbs more than 6 sq ft of paint per room needs an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm, and lead-safe work practices take time. Ask each bidder for the certificate.
Should I add a contingency?: That is your call, and the box starts at 0. A contingency is money you hold outside the contract for what opens up behind the walls.
Does a kitchen remodel pay for itself?: One survey estimates a midrange minor kitchen recoups 112.9% at resale (Zonda, Cost vs Value 2025). That is surveyed professional opinion, not a sale price, and not a forecast for your house.

Sources and methodology

Figures dated August 23, 2026. Last reviewed August 16, 2026.

How Much Does a Kitchen Remodel Cost? (HomeGuide, retrieved August 23, 2026). Cabinet, counter and demolition bands used as defaults. Member-reported quotes.
Cost vs Value Report 2025 (Zonda, retrieved September 29, 2026). Minor kitchen remodel figures. Resale values are estimates by surveyed professionals.
Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program (US Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved September 5, 2026). 40 CFR Part 745, Subpart E: the 6 and 20 sq ft thresholds and the window rule.

Kitchen remodeling The trades, the order they work in, and what goes in the scope.
Countertop calculator Counter area × a rate, with cutouts and edges on the bid.
Bathroom remodel cost calculator Area × a scope band, plus the layout line.
Remodeling timeline planner Cabinet lead time sets the start date.
What remodeling costs What moves a remodeling price.
Contractor deposit limits by state Before you pay for cabinets up front.

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