"How long does a kitchen remodel take?" is the first question every homeowner asks. The honest answer is 6-10 weeks for a full remodel — but that number is meaningless without understanding what's happening each week. Here's the real timeline.
Weeks 1-2: Design and Selection
Before any demo happens, you finalize the layout, select cabinets, choose countertop materials, pick fixtures, and approve the design. This phase feels slow but it's the most important — changes during construction are expensive. Changes on paper are free.
Week 2: Cabinet Order
Custom cabinets have a 4-6 week lead time from order. We place the order as soon as you approve the design. This is the critical path item — everything else is scheduled around the cabinet delivery date. Semi-custom options can cut this to 2-3 weeks.
Week 3: Demo and Rough-In
Once the old kitchen is demolished, we inspect the framing, update plumbing and electrical to match the new layout, and address any surprises behind the walls. This is where hidden problems (water damage, outdated wiring, inadequate framing) get caught and fixed.
Week 4-5: Waiting for Cabinets
This is the gap most homeowners don't expect. While cabinets are being built, we can complete flooring, drywall repair, painting, and electrical trim. But the kitchen doesn't look like a kitchen yet — and that's normal.
Week 6-7: Cabinet Installation
Cabinets arrive and get installed. This takes 2-3 days for a typical kitchen. After cabinets are set, countertop templating happens — a fabricator comes to measure the exact dimensions with the cabinets in place.
Week 7-8: Countertop Fabrication
Quartz and granite countertops take 5-10 business days to fabricate after templating. This is another waiting period, but it ensures a perfect fit.
Week 8-9: Countertop Install and Finishing
Countertops go in, followed by sink, faucet, backsplash tile, appliance connections, and final electrical. This is when it starts looking like the kitchen you designed.
Week 9-10: Punch List and Final Walkthrough
We walk the completed kitchen together and address any items on the punch list — a door that's not aligned, a paint touch-up, a drawer pull that's loose. Nothing gets signed off until you're satisfied.
Common Delays
The most common delays are: cabinet damage in shipping (adds 1-2 weeks for replacement pieces), appliance back-orders (order early), permit inspection scheduling (varies by city), and homeowner change orders mid-project. The best way to stay on schedule is to finalize all decisions before demo starts.
How We Keep You Informed
At Legacy Design Group, you get a detailed timeline before we start and daily updates during construction. If something changes — and sometimes it does — you hear it from us first, with the revised timeline and any cost impact.
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