The Dhaka Apartment Kitchen Renovation — Realistic 2026 Cost Bands
Every Dhaka apartment kitchen renovation ends up costing more than the initial quote — not because contractors lowball, but because the buyer keeps adding items after seeing the first draft budget. This is a working line-item breakdown for a Dhaka 8×10 to 10×12 kitchen in mid-2026, split into three tiers so you can see what actually changes as the number goes up.
The three tiers, at a glance
| Tier | Range | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Basic refresh | ৳80,000–130,000 | Laminated MDF cabinets, tile countertop, one new appliance, existing floor |
| Mid-tier | ৳180,000–260,000 | Marine ply carcass with laminate/veneer doors, granite countertop, chimney + hob, sink + tap, wall-tile refresh |
| Premium | ৳350,000+ | Soft-close plywood cabinets, quartz or engineered stone, full appliance suite, plumbing/gas rerun, floor tile |
The line items
Cabinets
- Laminate on MDF: ৳1,800–2,400 per running foot for base, ৳1,400–1,800 for wall.
- Marine plywood carcass with high-pressure laminate doors: ৳3,200–4,500 for base, ৳2,600–3,600 for wall.
- Plywood with soft-close hinges, acrylic or matte lacquer doors: ৳5,500–8,500 for base, ৳4,000–6,000 for wall.
A typical 8×10 kitchen has 8–10 running feet of base and 6–8 running feet of wall cabinetry. Do the math and cabinets alone vary from ৳36,000 to ৳140,000+ before hardware.
Countertop
- Ceramic tile on cement backing: ৳600–900 per sq ft installed.
- Standard local granite: ৳1,400–2,200 per sq ft installed.
- Imported granite / premium finish: ৳2,600–4,500 per sq ft.
- Engineered quartz: ৳3,800–6,500 per sq ft; imported to order, limited availability.
A typical kitchen has 20–28 sq ft of countertop.
Chimney and hob
Auto-clean chimney with 1,200 m³/hr suction, branded (Hindware, Faber, Elica): ৳18,000–35,000. Locally assembled options at ৳9,000–14,000 exist but service networks are patchy.
Four-burner glass-top hob: ৳9,000–22,000 depending on brand and burner type.
Sink and tap
Single-bowl 16-gauge stainless: ৳3,500–6,000. Double-bowl 18-gauge: ৳6,500–12,000. Composite/granite sinks: ৳11,000–22,000. Mixer tap: ৳2,500–8,000 for local brands; 2–3x for imported Grohe / Kohler.
Plumbing rework
Moving sink or gas point: ৳6,000–14,000 plumber + materials. Titas gas point relocation needs an authorised technician; expect ৳3,500–7,500 plus a wait for Titas approval on paperwork if the primary connection moves.
Electrical
Extra power points near countertop (kettle, mixer, air fryer, RO purifier): ৳600–1,200 per point installed. Under-cabinet LED strip: ৳150–350 per running foot.
Tiling
Wall-tile refresh above countertop (30 sq ft typical): ৳80–250/sq ft tile + ৳200–350/sq ft labour. Floor tile replacement: ৳120–280/sq ft tile + ৳180–320/sq ft labour.
Labour and finish
Carpenter labour for cabinet install: ৳6,000–14,000. Painter: ৳3,500–6,000. Cleaning and haulage: ৳2,000–4,000.
Where quotes typically go wrong
- Running-foot calculation — quotes often specify running feet without saying whether corner units, tall units and drawer stacks count linear or double. Ask explicitly.
- Chimney duct routing — venting through the external wall vs recirculation vs to the flat’s ventilator changes the install by ৳4,000–8,000 and is easy to leave out.
- Hardware is a hidden multiplier — handles at ৳80 vs ৳450 each across 25 handles is a ৳9,000 delta. Hinges and drawer slides likewise.
- Consumables — silicone, screws, fillers, edge banding. Real cost ৳3,500–6,000; almost never itemised.
- Removal of old cabinetry — ৳2,000–5,000 depending on how the old ones were installed.
Who to talk to
Four kinds of Dhaka vendors in 2026:
- Branded modular kitchen studios (KraftSmen, Studio 456, Iconic Kitchens, Hatil Furniture’s kitchen line) — premium end, quote in three days, warranty in writing.
- Interior contractors who do whole-flat work and take kitchens as one line item. Good if renovating multiple rooms.
- Independent carpenters from Naya Bazar or Rayerbagh — best for basic-tier work; you supply materials, they build to spec.
- Furniture-showroom kitchen kits (Hatil, Otobi) — convenient pre-built modular ranges, less flexible on layout.
Match the vendor to the tier. A branded studio pricing a basic-tier job will still quote premium numbers because their process is expensive; a Naya Bazar carpenter tasked with premium soft-close plywood cabinets will produce mid-tier quality at premium prices.
The one line to hold in the contract
Add a “no scope increases without written approval” clause. Every kitchen renovation ends with three or four ad-hoc changes agreed verbally on site — a chimney upgrade, an extra outlet, a granite upgrade — and every one of them appears on the final bill at a mark-up. A one-line clause forces even the small changes to go through a WhatsApp confirmation, which keeps the final number within 10% of the initial quote instead of the usual 25–40%.