Start with the kitchen replacement scope
A stained countertop does not, by itself, tell you whether to replace the whole kitchen or retain the cabinet bodies and doors.
A package price may include the top and doors while leaving demolition, waste removal or tap reconnection outside the advertised amount.
This calculator separates countertop-only, door-only and full replacement so that you can compare each written quote line by line.
Enter the measured length and vendor rates for your home instead of treating an advertised example as a complete budget.
Separating materials, installation labour and extra work helps explain why an initial verbal price differs from the final quote.
Save the comparison schedule and use it to ask the installer which charges are included and which remain outstanding.
This is a Korea-based calculator using KRW, metres and unit counts, with the Korean VAT rule checked in 2026.
For owners considering a partial refurbishment
A less expensive scope must also be suitable for the actual site.
Ask the installer to inspect cabinet distortion, water damage, hinge fixing points and whether the existing top can be removed while retaining the bodies.
The calculator does not diagnose remaining cabinet life or recommend partial work solely because it has a lower entered price.
Use the budget together with the site findings when deciding the scope.
What each replacement option includes
Countertop only
Quoted length is multiplied by the selected countertop material rate per metre.
Door and cabinet-body materials are excluded because those components are retained.
Even when reusing the sink and tap, confirm disconnection and reconnection labour separately.
Doors only
The number of replacement fronts is multiplied by the door material rate, then installation is added.
Saved countertop prices do not affect this option.
Check whether drawer fronts, handles, hinges and colour matching are included in the unit rate.
Full replacement
Countertops, doors, cabinet carcasses and installation are combined.
The carcass rate must exclude the top and doors to avoid counting them twice.
For packages containing upper and lower cabinets, tall units or an island, use the length basis agreed with the vendor.
These alternatives deliver different functions.
A cheaper door replacement does not repair a damaged countertop or solve a storage problem.
Write down the functions you need and compare costs among scopes that can provide them.
For a different package, such as replacing both doors and the top while retaining the bodies, obtain a separate quote instead of simply adding two results and duplicating installation or extras.
Match length, layout and material specifications
Use a length without duplicated corners
Select straight, L-shaped, U-shaped or a layout including an island, then enter the total quoted length.
Check the drawing to ensure a corner has not been counted twice.
The permitted range is 0.1–100m with up to two decimal places.
Layout is a quote note and adds no automatic multiplier; special corner fabrication or double-sided finishing must be included in the entered work items.
Count fronts and record the door finish
Door count can differ from cabinet count.
Count the replacement fronts individually; for different sizes, a vendor-confirmed total divided by the count can provide an average unit rate.
Use the door material note for the product, finish and handle conditions.
The note does not set a price; it helps you request the same specification from each supplier.
The countertop categories are PT laminate, acrylic solid surface, engineered quartz and ceramic.
Products, thickness, width and edge finishes can vary within each category, so a material name alone does not confirm the price.
Check the width and thickness covered by a per-metre rate.
For a wide island or another item with a different pricing basis, use a vendor-confirmed equivalent quote.
A single common length cannot precisely compare packages with substantially different material quantities and scopes.
Check extra charges before they become omissions
The eleven extra lines cover the sink bowl, tap, plumbing connection or relocation, hood, cooktop and electrical or gas work, tile or wall finish, cut-outs or cutting, demolition, waste transport and disposal, delivery or lifting, and other extras.
Each line has four states: unconfirmed, included in the base quote, separate charge, or no work.
A blank or zero amount should not automatically mean that the work is unnecessary.
Included versus separate
Included means the charge is already represented in the material or installation lines above.
It is not added again.
Only separate-charge amounts enter the extra-cost sum; switching an item to included ignores any previously entered amount.
Even if a quote says installation is included, ask for a written description of the work covered.
Unconfirmed versus no work
An unconfirmed item remains a possible missing charge.
No work means you have established that the task is outside this project.
Reusing a tap is different from requiring no plumbing connection work.
Also check whether the demolition quote covers transport and waste disposal, or whether those are separate services.
Price inclusion does not settle the programme or responsibility boundary.
If different contractors remove and install the kitchen, agree the sequence, protection and handover condition.
Share the appliance model and required cut-out dimensions before ordering.
Agree how changes found on site will be priced and approved so that revised quotes remain comparable.
Construction cost, VAT and contingency formulas
- Countertop cost = length × selected material rate; door cost = count × door rate; full-replacement carcass cost = length × carcass rate.
Materials outside the selected scope are excluded.
- Subtotal = material costs + base installation labour + separate extras.
Each length-based cost line is rounded to the nearest KRW.
- For VAT-excluded quotes, add 10% of the subtotal, rounded to the nearest KRW.
Do not add VAT again to included prices; an unknown VAT basis leaves the result provisional.
- Construction total = subtotal + added VAT.
Contingency = construction total × entered reserve percentage, rounded to KRW; budget = construction total + contingency.
No second VAT calculation is applied to the reserve.
- If a budget cap is set, show the positive excess of the budget over that cap.
A zero cap means no limit has been entered, rather than a zero-spending target.
All lines within one scope must use the same VAT basis.
If a package price includes VAT but the cutting fee excludes it, ask the vendor to restate the lines consistently before entering them.
The reserve percentage is your planning assumption, not a recommended contractor surcharge or an established contract charge.
The calculator does not determine exemptions, input-tax deductions or a supplier's tax treatment.
Fictional example: a 3m kitchen with eight doors
These are fictional arithmetic inputs, not market averages or recommended service lives.
Assume a 3m length, eight doors, an acrylic solid-surface rate of KRW 200,000/m, VAT excluded, 10% contingency and a KRW 3 million cap.
Countertop-only labour is KRW 200,000, cutting KRW 100,000 and demolition KRW 100,000.
Door-only work uses KRW 100,000 per door and KRW 200,000 installation.
Full replacement uses the same top and door rates, carcasses at KRW 300,000/m, installation KRW 400,000, cutting KRW 100,000 and demolition KRW 200,000.
Fictional Korean kitchen quote totals, VAT and reserves in KRW| Item | Countertop | Doors | Full |
|---|
| Subtotal | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 3,000,000 |
| Added VAT | 100,000 | 100,000 | 300,000 |
| Construction total | 1,100,000 | 1,100,000 | 3,300,000 |
| Reserve | 110,000 | 110,000 | 330,000 |
| Budget | 1,210,000 | 1,210,000 | 3,630,000 |
| Assumed years | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| Annual equivalent | 242,000 | 242,000 | 242,000 |
Full replacement requires KRW 2,420,000 more upfront than countertop-only work and exceeds the KRW 3 million cap by KRW 630,000.
Assuming five years for the countertop and fifteen for full replacement makes the annual equivalents equal; the initial cash requirements remain different.
In the example, plumbing connection and waste disposal are included in the base quotes for countertop-only and full work, and other extra work is assumed absent.
Change every item that differs at your actual site.
Interpret annual equivalents and material differences
The simple annual equivalent divides the budget, including contingency, by your assumed service years.
Zero years means unknown and leaves the annual comparison pending.
This is neither an official material lifespan nor a warranty period.
Discuss the retained cabinets and your future functional needs with the installer when setting the assumption.
Future repairs, inflation, discounting and residual value are excluded.
A conditional change in the countertop rate only
For the fictional countertop-only scope, PT at KRW 100,000/m, acrylic at KRW 200,000/m, quartz at KRW 300,000/m and ceramic at KRW 400,000/m produce budgets of KRW 847,000, KRW 1,210,000, KRW 1,573,000 and KRW 1,936,000 respectively.
The differences assume identical installation and extra work.
If changing material affects transport, cutting or labour, update those lines too.
Unconfirmed rates are not compared.
This sensitivity display is not a national material-price table.
A positive saving versus full replacement means the entered scope has a lower budget; a negative saving means it costs more.
Both quotes and site suitability must be confirmed before that difference is shown.
Total-cost comparison can be ready while service years remain unknown, so treat the annual comparison as a separate confirmation step.
How to use the calculator and prepare a vendor brief
- Prepare photographs and a drawing, recording the length, door count, appliance models and water or electrical connection locations.
Confirm the contract price after measurement.
- Enter each written quote under countertop-only, door-only or full replacement.
Check that package amounts are not duplicated across material and installation lines.
- Review every extra as included, separate or no work.
Keep unresolved items unconfirmed and use them as questions for the vendor.
- Confirm the VAT basis and site suitability, then set the assumed years, reserve and budget cap.
Do not mark confirmation boxes simply to obtain a lower-looking result.
- Save the CSV schedule for review or printing alongside the original quotes.
It preserves measurements, rates, item states, assumed years, VAT basis and whether inputs started from the fictional example.
Before work begins, also agree responsibilities, access while you are away, protection, final cleaning and the period when the kitchen cannot be used.
If temporary meal arrangements or moving appliances create a quoted charge, record it under the appropriate extra without counting the same amount elsewhere.
Confirm how changes outside the agreed scope will be discussed and approved in the contract and quote.
Practical scenarios and limits
Only the countertop is troublesome
If the existing storage remains useful, request both countertop-only and full quotes.
Check for omitted reconnection charges and whether the retained bodies support your assumed years of use.
The displayed difference does not guarantee a successful repair or extension of service life.
Storage and appliance positions will change
Adding plumbing or cooktop relocation expands the work scope.
Installation differences can matter more than material rates, so compare quotes that meet the same functional requirements.
Electrical, gas and plumbing safety and installation feasibility require checks by the contractors responsible for those tasks.
This tool does not match contractors or retrieve live brand prices.
It does not determine structural condition, leak causes, permits or consent, waste classification, or warranty coverage.
Low default inputs do not establish a low-cost project.
When scope, tax or suitability confirmations are outstanding, read the number as a provisional sum of entered items only.
Frequently asked questions
Does this show the average replacement price?
No national average rates are preloaded.
Every price is entered by you, and the example is fictional.
Use vendor quotes based on the measured length and installation conditions.
Is countertop-only work always cheaper?
The retained bodies, removal method and reconnection work can change the cost.
Compare confirmed upfront budgets and assumed service years, while keeping site suitability separate from price.
What happens to an old amount after marking it included?
Only separate-charge amounts are added.
Switching an item to included or no work excludes its saved amount, preventing a charge already in the base quote from being added twice.
Can I mix VAT-inclusive and exclusive line items?
All items within one scope must share one VAT basis.
Included prices receive no extra VAT; excluded prices add 10% of the subtotal.
Unknown VAT blocks comparison, and the calculator does not determine tax exemptions or deductions.
Are options equivalent if their annual costs match?
No.
The fictional KRW 1,210,000 and KRW 3,630,000 budgets divided by five and fifteen years both give KRW 242,000 annually, but require different upfront cash and deliver different functions.
Annualisation is only a simple reference.
Does a zero line mean free work?
Zero may represent missing input, an included charge or no work.
Read the accompanying state.
Quotes with unconfirmed base inputs, extras, tax or site suitability are not treated as complete comparisons.
Sources and update basis
- Value-Added Tax Act Article 30: law ID 001571, MST 276117, promulgated October 1, 2025, effective January 2, 2026, rate 10%.
The National Law Information OPEN API search and article text were checked September 7, 2026 (2026-09-07; effective date 2026-01-02).
- IKEA Korea installation services: used for the separation of cabinet, countertop, sink and tap installation items.
One supplier's installation fees are not treated as nationwide material prices.
- IKEA kitchen installation cost guidance: used for the individual layout and measurement-based quotation approach.
Checked September 7, 2026; prices and promotional terms were not copied into defaults.
Review law and quotation guidance every half-year, and recheck the actual rates, VAT basis and included work immediately before contracting.
Service years and contingency are user budget assumptions, not statutory figures.
Prepare a schedule to check against your quotes
Enter the kitchen measurements and quoted amounts, then resolve the unconfirmed items with the installer.
Review the difference between countertop-only and full replacement and the excess over your cap.
Keep the saved schedule aligned with the final conditions so that your comparison basis remains clear before contracting.
Enter kitchen replacement quotes