Facts About Kitchens & Countertops
- 6.5-million kitchens were remodeled in 2008. The total spent on kitchen remodels exceeded $99-million.
- In 2008, kitchen remodels cost an average of $15,229.
- In 2006, more than 505-million square feet of residential countertop was installed.
- New countertops were included in 83% of 2007 kitchen remodels, but only 77% in 2008.
- The average expenditure for kitchen countertops as part of a kitchen remodel was $2,324.
- 72% of the countertops purchased in 2001 were laminate, compared with 29% in 2007. Granite accounted for 27% of countertop sales in that same year.
- A 2008 survey of remodelers indicated that granite is still the overwhelming countertop choice (32%). Engineered stone and quartz came in second at 19%.
- When asked about the kitchen countertop material they would like to replace, laminate ranked a clear number one at 57%, followed by granite (8%), ceramic tile (7%) and solid surface (7%) in a recent survey of homeowners.
- When asked the reason for desired replacement, the respondents indicated their current countertops are outdated (61%), they prefer a different material (56%) or their current countertops are damaged (36%). Only 28% of respondents would replace their countertops because they didn’t like the color.
- When asked about color, respondents cited light gray (13%), medium tan (12%), light tan (10%), medium brown (9%), light brown (7%), dark tan (7%), dark gray (7%), black (6%) and white (6%) as the colors they would most likely choose when considering countertop replacement.
- Their preferred replacement surface was granite (29%), solid surface (20%), marble (11%), laminate (10%) and quartz (10%).
In the course of our research we used and reached out to several sources including the National Kitchen & Bath Association, the National Association of Home Builders, the Home Improvement Research Institute, off-the-shelf studies from Freedonia, Catalina and Consumer Reports, as well as a selection of trade journals.:
- FGI Online Survey
- FGI conducted an online survey of 411 adult respondents ages 18 and older from a nationwide random sample.
- Qualified respondents were homeowners with some level of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) experience. Respondents must have recently had a countertop replaced in their current home or have some interest in replacing one or more countertops in their home.
- Data was collected May 14 through 19, 2009.
- Statistical significance testing in this report was done at the 95% confidence interval.
- Consumer Reports August 2008 review on kitchen countertops
- Freedonia's Residential Countertop report
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