Build Your Dream Kitchen
How long does it take to remodel a kitchen? Well, the reality is that it depends on several factors. To answer the question of how long does a kitchen remodel take, let’s look at the different factors that can impact a project.
Much of how any home remodeling turns out has to do with how the homeowner handles things as well as how effective they are at making decisions in terms of what they want and their budget.
The better at planning and product selection, the easier and less expensive the whole renovation process will be. Making decisions and not changing them will also enable a faster, easier and more successful project. Determining a budget and sticking with it also will make a huge difference in terms of the results.
So, let’s see how to remodel a kitchen and how long it might take.
Planning
This is the most important phase of any kitchen remodel. Miss some steps along the way and there’s going to be headaches later! The goal of planning is to determine the following:
- Project Scope – exactly how much work do you want to do.
- Budget – Here’s where project scope meets reality. It’s also where there is a lot of editing until scope and budget are in agreement with each other.
- Finding the Team – While you can go it alone, that will take a lot of man hours to manage and coordinate. And for many homeowners, the headaches, delays and additional cost overruns are far greater than having a pro handle all of these headaches for you.
- Estimates and Final Budget – Once you have a team in place, the budget can be finalized and the scope of the project as well.
Demolition
The demolition process creates quite a noisy environment but it’s the first step in moving towards the kitchen of your dreams. Make sure everything that isn’t being used in rooms close to the kitchen are either removed or well covered. The dust that can be created seeps everywhere.
This process can usually be done in a day or up to three days depending upon the size of the space and how much removal needs to be done.
Layout
Once the area has been cleared, it’s time to layout the design and mark where everything from cabinets, appliances and outlets will go. This is also when issues that couldn’t be seen before might arise. With the right team in place, modifications and adjustments will be made as needed. This step is frequently completed within one day.
Mechanical Rough Ins
Mechanical rough-ins are when the plumber, electricians and HVAC teams show up for the first time. It can be chaotic if not scheduled appropriately.
The HVAC and plumbers should arrive first and the electricians follow behind. Barring any surprises plumbers should take 1-2 days, HVAC 2-3 days and electrical is 2 days. If you allocate up to one week, the project should stay on track.
Walls and Floors
Now it’s time for the space to start taking shape and begin to look like what you’ve been dreaming about. Up until now, many homeowners wonder what they’ve gotten themselves into and if it’s ever going to look like they imagined … don’t worry, the magic is about to happen!
Dust and debris are flying and the kitchen is beginning to show itself. Wall removal or installation can move a bit slowly and take anywhere from a day to a week depending on the reconfiguration of the spaces.The process requires installing drywall, taping, sealing and priming the walls. Depending on the space and layout of the kitchen, this could be a good time to paint the walls.Drywall installation and painting can take anywhere from 2 days to over 1 week.
Once that’s completed, the flooring is installed. Tile is probably the slowest to install due to the number of steps in the process, however, it does create a beautiful look. Estimating time to complete this phase is based on on several factors. Laminate flooring can take at least a day at minimum. Hardwood or tile can take up to 5 days for installation.
Cabinet Install
Cabinets and appliances should be on site and ready for installation. At this point, the realization dawns that a beautiful new kitchen is coming to life.
Kitchen cabinets can be installed within one to three days based on the number of cabinets and layout.
Countertops
All countertop designs would have been calculated off of the kitchen design plans that were laid out at the outset of the project. The countertop vendor will verify that the plans were accurate and see if any adjustments are needed prior to installing the counters. Once ordered it can take anywhere from one day to a few weeks for the counters to be ready to be installed.
Once they are ready to be installed, most countertop installations are completed within two days
Appliances
Appliance installation doesn’t actually have its own time slot in terms of when the appliances are installed. Factors such as when the appliances arrive, amount of storage space and the contractor team impact this phase of the project. Many times the appliances are set in place to ensure that they fit but not hooked up or fully installed until after the counters are installed.
Finish work
Now’s the time when it seems like there are more contractors coming through than ever before – and that is the case. This usually takes place over two days and up to one week depending upon how big the project was. At this time all the trim work, final mechanical work, touch ups, painting, and installations are happening. It might even appear that contractors are climbing all over each other and that wouldn’t be too far from wrong.
Finish carpenters are installing toe kick at the base of cabinets, handles, pulls and other finish features on cabinetry. Mechanical contractors are coming in to hook everything up and install lighting wherever it’s been planned. Final touch-ups to countertops, painting, and flooring are also done now.
And best of all…..all the mess and debris is cleared away and the kitchen is clean and ready to become a focal point of your home.
Determining exactly how long a kitchen remodel will take depends on cost estimates as well as contractor availability. At a bare minimum, assume two months for a small project and up to five months for larger more extensive projects that include wall changes and room reconfigurations. While there might be some headaches along the way, the end result will be something that you and your family will live in and love for decades to come.
If you’ve decided that you are ready to take on this home improvement project, and are saying “I need to find someone that will do a kitchen remodel near me!” then contact Coastal Contracting! We’d love to help you create the kitchen of your dreams starting today.