How Long Does a Kitchen Remodel Take?

While we live  in an age of instant gratification, there are certain things that simply can’t be rushed. For example, you can’t expect a five star meal to be prepared in less than three minutes, or whiskey worth drinking if it hasn’t aged in an oak barrel for the last decade. The same can be said for home remodeling projects; quality work takes time and to rush the work is to invite a disappointing result or catastrophe (the best case and the worst, respectively).

But all that doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with being a little curious about how long you can expect a home renovation project to take. After all, you want to know how long you’ll need to plan your life around the comings and goings of various contractors, electricians and plumbers.

This article will help you gain insight into what goes into one of your home’s largest projects: a kitchen remodel.

The Planning Process

To anyone who’s given some thought to their home renovation project, it quickly becomes clear that a great deal of work needs to go into the planning process even before you can start pairing color swatches, choosing a backsplash or designing custom cabinetry. While planning every single detail can be arduous, even excruciating, your close attention to detail will be rewarded when you see the finished product. Here’s a list of a few things that’ll help you get there:

• Know your goals: Are you renovating purely to add value to your home, or is this project simply to make your space more functional for you and your family? You’d be surprised how your answer to this relatively simple question can affect the finished product of your project.

• Crunch the numbers: Before setting a budget for the work, sit down with your financial advisor and see what you can reasonably spend on your project without significantly altering your lifestyle. Remember that while financing options will help you get the project over and done with sooner, the amount of interest you pay over the course of the payment schedule will ratchet up the final cost.

• Create a list of priorities: Prioritizing the work means that you’ll be able to get the “must have” done in the event of an unforeseen financial hurdle.

• Write out the plan: Now that you know what to accomplish and what you can afford, it’s time to put pen to paper. Consider hiring a design firm to help you draw up the plans for your project. They’ve got the experience to know how long each item on your list should take, and they can give you advice on how to most efficiently schedule the work.  

• Price out contractors and materials: There’s nothing wrong with getting more than one quote, nor is it bad to wait for a sale to stock up on materials. In both cases, your patience will pay off in a big way financially.

• Organize the work: Create a schedule based on the various phases of the job. What will you need to have done before the demo, or before construction begins? What can you do during the construction phase and what needs to be done when finalizing the reno?

What Do You Want To Change In Your Kitchen?

Part of the planning process means that you really need to reflect on what exactly you want to change in your kitchen. Of course, budget and time frames have to be considered, but it’s really important to iron out exactly what you want this renovation to achieve before you (or a contractor) lift a hammer. It’s certainly reasonable to change your mind about one detail or another during the project (in fact, this is probably inevitable), but the more detailed your vision is, the smoother your project will go.

Ensure to set aside some time during each of the phases to evaluate how things are proceeding so you can make changes to the next phase of the project if necessary.

How Much Time Will My Kitchen Remodel Take?

This is really the million dollar question. You might be a little disheartened to hear that we don’t have an exact, concrete timeline for your project. Every kitchen is different, desired materials can be difficult to come by, or you may need to switch contractors halfway through. While we can’t know exactly how your kitchen renovation will play out, here’s what we do know:

• Being organized expedites the process: You have the ability to make your plan as detailed as you’d like, right down to the last screw. The more detailed you are, the less likely you’ll change your mind on the fly, thus expediting the process.

• Replacing a kitchen can take anywhere between 6-8 weeks on average: A kitchen replacement project involves swapping out the old components and fixtures for new ones from off-the-shelf solutions. This type of project requires little customization and less time.

• In a custom kitchen renovation, the timeline can be 10-12 weeks or more: This, of course, depends on the complexity of the project. Are you moving walls, adding plumbing, etc.?

Could My Kitchen Remodel Take Even Longer?

The short and, perhaps undesirable, answer is, Yes. Even if you’re organized and clear about your vision, hire the right people and have sourced all of your building materials ahead of time, your renovation project can be plagued by delays. There are a lot of moving parts with a kitchen renovation, from specialized subcontractors to specially ordered fixtures, so the occasional hiccup is inevitable. In the face of these unexpected delays, it’s important to take the time to remind yourself how well the project has gone up to now, and perhaps embrace the opportunity to stop and take a breath. Evaluate your plan and see if there’s any work that can be rescheduled and completed so that you’re still making progress.

Fulfilling your kitchen remodel plans will take a lot of work on your part, even if you’re not the one physically doing the remodeling. Hopefully, this article has been helpful in outlining the steps you’ll need to take in order for you to end up with the kitchen of your dreams, on time and most importantly, on a budget!