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What should a kitchen remodel estimate include?

Check that your kitchen remodel estimate separates demolition and haul-off, cabinet supply from cabinet installation, countertop templating and cutouts, plumbing and appliance hookups, hood venting, new circuits, permit duties, wall patching and paint, and the payment schedule, along with the work description, materials, completion date and price that the FTC says a written estimate should include.

Source: FTC home improvement guidance, read 15 October 2026.

Researched by the InstaBids editorial team. Last checked: 15 October 2026 Updated 2026-10-16

Plain cabinet cartons and a quartz countertop slab on a cart in a garage, waiting to be installed.

Key facts

What should a written kitchen remodeling quote list?

Ask for a written kitchen remodeling quote broken into line items: tear-out and disposal, cabinet boxes and their installation, countertop fabrication, backsplash, sink and appliance connections, hood ductwork, any new circuits, drywall repair and paint, with the materials named for each line and a date when the room is usable again.

The FTC's home improvement guidance, read 15 October 2026, says: "A written estimate should include a description of the work to be done, materials, completion date, and the price." Treat that sentence as the floor for a kitchen bid, then work through the numbered questions below with every company in the same order.

Source: FTC home improvement guidance, read 15 October 2026.

  1. Tear-out: Which cabinets, counters, soffits, flooring and appliances come out, is hauling the debris included, and do you keep any old appliance?
  2. Cabinet line: Is the price for boxes and doors only, or does it also cover delivery, assembly, leveling, filler strips, end panels, crown molding, toe kicks, pulls and installation?
  3. Stone work: Who returns to measure for the template once the base cabinets are set, how many seams are planned, and are the sink, cooktop and faucet holes and the edge profile part of the price?
  4. Backsplash: Which tile or slab, how far up the wall, and does it continue behind the hood or stop at the counter?
  5. Connections: Who reconnects the faucet, dishwasher, disposal and refrigerator water line, and who sets and connects the range, wall oven and microwave?
  6. Hood and power: Does the hood exhaust outdoors or recirculate, which way does its duct run, and which appliances are given a dedicated circuit?

Ask the bidder to write in any spoken promise, such as matching a stain to existing trim, keeping the window casing or reusing your current range. In its list headed "Before you sign a contract, make sure it includes", the FTC names "any promises made during conversations or calls related to issues such as the scope of work and the cost of labor and materials".

Source: FTC home improvement guidance, read 15 October 2026.

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Which items are often left out?

Check your kitchen remodeling quote for line items that are easy to miss: drywall repair where old cabinets come off, paint after installation, appliance disposal, a second visit for the countertop template, dust barriers for the rest of the house, and how many days you will be without a working sink.

Ask where the stone is cut and polished. A joint OSHA and NIOSH hazard alert on silica in countertop manufacturing, finishing and installation, read 15 October 2026, recommends: "Do as much work as possible under controlled shop conditions instead of at an installation site." Ask whether the sink and cooktop openings are cut at the fabricator's shop or in your kitchen.

Source: OSHA and NIOSH Hazard Alert: Worker Exposure to Silica during Countertop Manufacturing, Finishing, and Installation, read 15 October 2026.

For any trimming that still has to happen at your home, the same alert says: "Perform work outdoors and use water to suppress dust in situations where onsite finishing tasks cannot be avoided." Ask the fabricator which part of your property that work would use and who cleans up the wet residue afterward.

Source: OSHA and NIOSH Hazard Alert: Worker Exposure to Silica during Countertop Manufacturing, Finishing, and Installation, read 15 October 2026.

Put the year your house was built into the scope when tear-out will disturb painted cabinets, soffits or trim. EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Program page, read 15 October 2026, states: "In general, anyone paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be certified in lead-safe work practices." If your home predates 1978, ask each bidder how its quote covers containment and cleanup.

Source: EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, read 15 October 2026.

Ask where boxed cabinets, the slab and new appliances wait before installation, and whether the bidder sets up a temporary sink or counter while the room is torn out. A garage stacked with cartons, or a slab delivery that needs a clear path from the driveway, belongs on the schedule in your written quote.

What should the payment terms say?

Check that your kitchen remodeling payment schedule follows stages you can see: tear-out finished, cabinets delivered and inspected for damage, cabinets set, countertops installed, appliances connected, and a final walk-through. Ask how a change order for hidden rot, outdated wiring or a moved outlet is written up and approved by you before the work continues.

Look closely at any loan offered with the remodel. The FTC's home improvement guidance describes a pattern in which a contractor calls or comes to the door: "He offers a deal to install a new roof or remodel your kitchen. He says he can arrange financing through a lender he knows."

Source: FTC home improvement guidance, read 15 October 2026.

The same FTC page advises: "Never agree to financing through your contractor without shopping around and comparing loan terms." Keep any loan paperwork separate from the kitchen quote so you can read each one on its own.

Source: FTC home improvement guidance, read 15 October 2026.

Ask how the bidder pays the cabinet supplier and the countertop fabricator, and whether you will receive a written lien release covering each stage you pay. Keep cabinet supply, countertop fabrication and appliance connections as separate payment lines so a late delivery is easy to match against what you have already handed over.

Does the quote say who pulls the permit?

Ask which business files any permit your kitchen remodel needs and on what date, whether the plumber, electrician or gas fitter is a separate business working under it, and who schedules the rough and final inspections. Your written quote should name the business whose name goes on the application.

Palm Beach County's Contractor Regulations page, read 15 October 2026, includes the tip: "Make sure a permit is pulled (if applicable - click here)." The same list says: "Do not make the final payment until the permit is closed out." Ask whether your last kitchen payment waits for that closeout.

Source: Palm Beach County Contractor Regulations, read 15 October 2026.

Florida's owner-builder disclosure statement in s. 489.103(7) includes the sentence: "I understand that I may protect myself from potential financial risk by hiring a licensed contractor and having the permit filed in his or her name instead of my own name." If a kitchen bidder suggests you apply for the permit yourself, ask why, and whose name each inspection record will show.

Source: Florida Statutes s. 489.103, Exemptions, read 15 October 2026.

Florida Statutes s. 489.117(4)(a)1, read 15 October 2026, states: "For purposes of this section, job scopes for which a local government may not require a license include, but are not limited to, painting; flooring; cabinetry; interior remodeling when the scope of the project does not include a task for which a state license is required; driveway or tennis court installation; handyman services; decorative stone, tile, marble, granite, or terrazzo installation; plastering; pressure washing; stuccoing; caulking; and canvas awning and ornamental iron installation."

Source: Florida Statutes s. 489.117, read 15 October 2026.

DBPR's What Requires a License page, read 15 October 2026, lists "Install a dishwasher (requires connecting to drinking water) or replace a hot-water heater for compensation." in its Needs a DBPR License column. Its Electrical Contractors section states: "If you pay someone to perform even the simplest of electrical work, such as connecting two wires, you must hire a licensee."

Source: Florida DBPR What Requires a License, read 15 October 2026.

Ask each bidder to state in writing which kitchen tasks its own crew performs, which go to a separate plumbing or electrical business, and whether any wall in the plan is load-bearing. Looking up any of those businesses in DBPR's public records is an optional step you can take yourself.

What should my request include?

Describe the kitchen in one written scope: what comes out, what stays, your cabinet and countertop choices, which appliances you are supplying, any wall, sink or range you want moved, and the year the house was built. Add a photograph of each wall, the ceiling above the hood, the outside wall a duct could exit and each appliance's model plate.

Note where cabinet cartons and the slab could be delivered, whether the driveway or a side gate gives the clearest route, and which rooms a crew would pass through to reach the kitchen.

Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, read 15 October 2026.

How can I compare it with other written quotes?

Compare kitchen remodeling quotes line by line against your written scope: tear-out and haul-off, cabinet supply and installation, countertop fabrication and cutouts, backsplash, plumbing and appliance connections, hood venting, circuits, wall repair, paint and the finish date. Ask any bidder whose quote drifts from that scope to explain the difference in writing.

  1. Cabinet line: Does each quote price the same cabinet line, door style and box material, with installation shown on its own line?
  2. Stone work: Does each quote name the same slab, edge profile, seam count and openings, and say where the cutting happens?
  3. Connections: Which quotes reconnect every appliance, and which leave the dishwasher, disposal or gas range to someone else?
  4. Walls and finish: Does each quote include drywall repair and paint after the cabinets go in?
  5. Timing: Which quotes give a template date, a countertop installation date and the day your sink works again?

When one bidder proposes a different slab, a pull-out pantry or moving the sink to the island, list it under a heading such as Option A with its own price line. Should you adopt it, every other bidder needs the updated kitchen scope too, otherwise their numbers describe a different room.

Once each bidder has answered the cabinet, stone and hookup questions, send that one written scope, unchanged, to anyone else you invite to respond.

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Sources for the facts on this page

Sources checked: 15 October 2026.

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