Moving appliances in kitchen expensive?

[Caleb Brown]

I am looking at moving around some appliances for a better kitchen layout in a home I just purchased. Currently it is setup as a one wall kitchen, but with a wall gone between the living room and kitchen there needs to be some updating. However, this is a house I plan to sell in two years do I want to keep costs down as much as possible. Does anyone have experience with contractors moving kitchen appliance locations? Is this an expensive thing to do?

[Jeff Bridges]

Moving appliances means moving utilities needed to run them. if you want to move a gas stove, you'll have to rip out wall behind it to re-route the gas line or re-direct a new gas line from somewhere else. You'll have to have an electrician add additional dedicated outlets for the appliance at the new location. You'll need to redo the counters if you choose not to get new cabinets or add cabinets in the gaps where you are removing appliances, but you'll have to make sure you can find matching cabinets for the new appliance location, otherwise require all new cabinets to be installed. Expect to need new cabinets and counter-tops for everything. Based on this, if you still have the budget and interest to proceed, consider planning kitchen flooring, cabs, counter, appliances to all match a theme and create a cohesive look so the kitchen looks well planned to buyers when you go to sell in 2 years and not a Frankenstein kitchen. Or consider doing this project just prior to selling so you can realize return on investment shortly after the renovation.