Do you think the contractor took advantage of my friend (90 years old)?

well my parents were once charged 900 to replace a toilet.. about 20 years ago! Just the toilet,, nothing else, My hubs was so mad they didn;t ask him to do it. In the past 1 1/2 years we have replaced 8 for less than 1000 at todays prices, when he did it. So we figure they thought they could take advantage of my folks,, and they did! So I guess I am lucky that hubs can do this stuff.. lots of people out there will take advantage if they think they can. That is why it is good to keep an eye on repairs and such for your family members,

In constuction, there are direct costs vs indirect costs. So, material costs are usually marked up 10%, did you only look up the appliance prices? What was the amount of screws, wiring, outlets etc? A smart contractor buries overhead in labor since it is non taxable so you are paying at least $50 an hour per person on the site. Then lets say the contractor orders supplies at hypothetically speaking Sherwin Williams, they have a due date of the 20th of the month. A small scale contractor does not get paid until work is completed so interest accrued, a small contract such as this is not AIA with guaranteed funds, so no special job account can be created. You get the picture?

Is the remodel unreasonable? No, not at all.

Did the person get new cabinets, counter tops? Like said, did they have to put in special connections for the appliances. To tell u the truth, sounds like a lot of stuff foe a room that is maybe 12x10. Why would u have a remodel done at 90? I am 70 and when we get some small projects done, I don't plan on doing anything else with this house.

Have you seen the kitchen? Was there already a previous model in the same spaces in the kitchen for those appliances? If not, then it sounds like rewiring and movement of plumbing lines might have been involved. And the "adding drawers"...what does that mean? How much cabinetry was added?

We remodeled our kitchen, and we moved the spaces for three appliances and added a space for another (drawer microwave). That involved electrical and plumbing work.

Appears to be close to the going rate, hope your friend has no regrets.

The only scam would be if the contractor pushed unwanted services that the customer did not request, or if your friend was influenced to buy when there was no money for the project.

There is a "rule of thumb" for service work. Charge 3 x the material costs. (or if the service is all labor, then charge 3x the hourly rate you are paying). This ends up giving them enough gross profit to cover their overhead and their labor. Based on what I'm hearing from people getting work done, even appliances are hard to get because of covid supply chain issues and lumber is hugely inflated due to the fires. So I think it sounds pretty reasonable.

We remodeled three bathrooms in my parents' house three years ago to make them senior friendly, and it cost around $75,000, and bathrooms don't have appliances.

A $21,000 kitchen remodel isn't out of line.

And the cost of materials has skyrocketed!

Did your friend get a written estimate? Does your friend have obvious memory or cognitive problems? If not, then IMO he wasn't taken advantage of. My mom's been trying to "seniorize" her very tiny bathroom and all 3 bids came in at $15K or more (for just removing the tub and installing a zero clearance shower stall, new tiles and a half-wall with new fixtures). Kitchen and bathroom remodels are the most expensive because of working with plumbing, gas and electric. Also, there is a labor shortage right now. Also, there is high demand for remodeling work right now, and a lumbar and building supplies shortage as well.