How Long Does a Kitchen Renovation Actually Take? A Week-by-Week Timeline
Every kitchen remodel moves at its own tempo, however styles emerge once you've controlled dozens of them. Permits and inspections take what they take. Custom shelves arrive when the manufacturing facility says they'll. Drywall mud finds a way into closed rooms irrespective of how cautiously you zip the plastic. With a sensible timeline and a few contingency making plans, the journey feels conceivable, even even though you are cooking on a warm plate within the dining room.
This week‑by means of‑week timeline reflects an average complete protection with new shelves, countertops, floors, lights, and appliance hookups. Cosmetic refreshes land faster. Structural alterations, full gut, or reconfigurations with new plumbing lines add weeks. Chicago, the suburbs, or a dense high‑upward push will even impact logistics, lead instances, and inspections. Think in levels instead of specified days and construct a buffer into your expectations.
The variables that drive your timeline
Before jumping into the calendar, frame the titanic levers. Scope is the 1st driver. Painting cupboards, swapping hardware, and a brand new backsplash maybe a 1 to 2 week dash. A full tear‑out with customized cabinetry and new hardwoods is 6 to twelve weeks after design and permitting. Moving partitions or gasoline lines can push you into the 10 to 16 week band, enormously for those who desire structural evaluation.
Second, product lead times. Semi‑customized shelves most of the time take 4 to 8 weeks after closing approval. Custom can reach 10 to fourteen weeks in busy seasons. Countertop timing varies by means of material. Quartz is in most cases 1 to 2 weeks from templating to put in, common stone will be an identical, whilst area of expertise products like Thinscape counter tops set up rapidly as soon as in hand but nonetheless depend on organization availability. Appliances can wonder you, so lock those early and feature them warehoused if considered necessary.
Third, permitting and inspections. In municipalities that require kitchen allows for for electrical, plumbing, or structural paintings, finances 2 to 6 weeks for approval. If you're in a condo, the development’s management can also add evaluate windows and restriction running hours. Inspections is also same day in a few cities and stretch a number of days in others.
Finally, coordination. The such a lot powerfuble initiatives collection trades with little downtime among them. Miscommunication adds part days that stack into whole weeks. A builder who protects relevant trail goods and orders long‑lead material at layout signal‑off will maintain you in the direction of the constructive finish of the wide variety.
A practical week‑by way of‑week timeline
This timeline assumes a complete replacement kitchen without top structural changes. Adjust forward or backward centered on the variables above.
Weeks 0 to 6: Design, alternatives, ordering, and permits
This is the invisible part of the agenda for a lot of homeowners, but it determines how comfortable the again half of goes. You will degree the kitchen, refine the design, and make certain clearances. If you are identifying among a U‑shape and a galley, or adding a peninsula, here is for those who test sightlines and site visitors movement. Top Kitchen Layout Trends for Chicago Homes in 2025 desire wider work aisles, a cooking zone separated from the fridge path, and islands scaled to room length as opposed to shoehorned.
During this part you furthermore may pick out cupboards, door vogue, conclude, hardware, sink, faucet, flooring, lighting, and home equipment. If you're balancing funds and affect, concentrate on wherein paint, refacing, or alternative makes feel. Kitchen Cabinet Painting vs. Replacement: What’s Right for You? is dependent on cupboard field circumstance, format transformations, and conclude expectations. For many, cupboard refacing can compress timeline and spend even though still turning in a brand new look.
Permits are submitted the following if required. Good layout sets perfect circuits and lighting fixtures counts, so the electrical plan clears evaluate. Start appliance orders now. The refrigerator with the left hinge you prefer could be out six weeks. Stagger long‑lead orders with your cabinet time table so the birth lands just earlier deploy.
Where does this part pass fallacious? Delayed possibilities and past due transformations. If you pick out a backsplash tile which is out of inventory, you're able to lose two weeks at the conclusion even as partitions sit down ready. When you finalize early, you purchase time later.
Week 7: Site prep and protection
Once parts are tracking, the on‑website online work begins. Day one crews set airborne dirt and dust security, lay Ram Board on flooring, and installation zip walls to seal the kitchen from living regions. If you intend to reside at domicile in the course of the kitchen contractors chicago transform, feel with the aid of short-term kitchen logistics. How to Plan a Kitchen Remodel While Living in Your Home boils all the way down to putting in place a small prep region with a microwave, coffee maker, and a transportable induction burner, and relocating the refrigerator if you possibly can. Label pantry boxes, pre‑cook dinner some freezer food, and don't forget a short meal equipment subscription to lower chaos.
HVAC vents get sealed, and the crew creates a committed path for debris to slash mess. The first dumpster arrives. Demolition consistently uncovers a surprise or two, so enable a day for contingencies like a hidden 2nd layer of flooring or ungrounded wiring observed in the back of a backsplash.
Week eight: Demolition
Cabinets, counter tops, backsplash, and home equipment come out. If you're reusing home equipment, they get safe and stored neighborhood. Flooring comes up if you are changing it. When the room is down to subfloor, framing, and hard utilities, your task manager walks the space and confirms measurements for any on‑web page transformations. The most well known time to trap design concerns is correct here, beforehand new work goes in.
On a few initiatives, we have came upon vent chases that were not in which as‑constructed drawings counseled. Moving a vent stack several inches can keep a run of higher cupboards. It rates an afternoon, yet it prevents a mismatched seam line later.
Week 9: Rough mechanicals
Electrical first. New circuits for the microwave, dishwasher, fridge, and any lower than‑cabinet lighting fixtures get pulled. Outlets above counters need to satisfy existing code spacing and GFCI standards. If you favor layered lighting, now is the moment to add dedicated circuits and transfer legs. Kitchen Lighting Design: How to Brighten Your Cooking Space broadly speaking combines recessed cans for fashionable faded, pendants over the island, and challenge lighting fixtures beneath uppers.
Plumbing adjusts next. Sinks relocate or middle to the new window, the dishwasher feed shifts, and the ice maker line actions with the fridge. Gas lines for stages are drive verified and typically rerouted for the brand new structure. If your plan involves a pot filler, hard it in now.
HVAC follows, probably just a give sign in shift or a go back rework to accommodate an island. This can be the time so as to add blocking for heavy units like a wall‑mounted stove hood or floating shelves. The Pros and Cons of Open Shelving in Kitchen Design includes the reality that shelves want cast attachment elements. Add blockading while the partitions are open, now not after tile is mounted.
Week 10: Rough inspections
Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical inspections turn up here. In municipalities with quickly turnarounds, all 3 may well be cleared in an afternoon or two. In busy jurisdictions, guide them early so the time table does not stall. If an inspector asks for a further nail plate or GFCI place adjustment, cope with it immediate. A effectively‑controlled mission treats inspections as checkpoints as opposed to velocity bumps.
Week 11: Insulation and drywall
With tough approvals in hand, crews insulate any outdoors partitions and close all the pieces with drywall. Taping, mudding, and sanding take various days with drying time. Expect airborne dirt and dust despite air scrubbers and damaging stress. This is wherein persistence will pay off. A flawless paint finish depends on flat, good‑sanded drywall, extraordinarily in kitchens with stable natural mild that displays each and every ridge.
During this week, your countertop fabricator confirms the templating date and verifies sink type, faucet gap count, and any waterfall facts. If you chose a completely unique surface together with Thinscape countertops, make sure side profiles and seam plans with the shop prior to they minimize. Specialty material benefits early coordination.
Week 12: Paint and ceiling work
Prime and paint ceilings and walls previously shelves go up. It is sooner and produces purifier cut traces. If you intend to do away with an old popcorn ceiling, do it within the week after drywall however ahead of painting. The Benefits of Popcorn Ceiling Removal in Modern Homes cross beyond aesthetics, providing you with a comfortable backdrop for brand new lights and taller‑feeling spaces.
Finish colors normally echo traits, but neutrals nevertheless rule resale. The Best Neutral Paint Colors for Home Resale pair smartly with picket tones and white cabinetry, and they promote dealers on gentle and area. In compact kitchens, Modern Kitchen Design Ideas for Small Spaces lean in the direction of continuous mild surfaces that make corners recede.
Week thirteen: Flooring
Sequence ground headquartered on cloth and cabinet plan. If you might be installation website‑accomplished hardwood throughout an open plan, floors veritably cross in sooner than cabinets for a continuing appearance. If you might be driving tile, many installers favor to set tile earlier than cabinetry as effectively. Floating floors can also be put in after cabinets if the enterprise permits. Plan transitions to adjacent rooms now so threshold main points seem to be intentional.
Floors healing or set for the interval your installer specifies. Rushing this step results in dents or lippage later. In Chicago houses with seasonal humidity swings, precise acclimation reduces gaps down the line.
Week 14: Cabinetry installation
Cabinet day is one of the vital such a lot pleasing moments. Boxes cross in first, then faces and trim. Leveling things. An island that could be a area inch off can telegraph into crooked countertops or out‑of‑sq. drawer displays. How Custom Kitchen Cabinets Transform Your Cooking Space seriously is not about amazing wooden, it can be about a format that suits your cooking rhythm and properly‑constructed containers that continue to be aligned.
If you opted for cabinet refacing or painting other than substitute, this week appears to be like numerous. Cabinet refacing, wherein installers practice new veneer to bins and hold new doors and drawer fronts, can shave time and decrease demolition mess. Kitchen Cabinet Refacing: Save Money Without Sacrificing Style matches kitchens wherein the format works and the packing containers are structurally sound. Painting requires retailer time for doors and a dust‑managed approach for bins, but it could actually nevertheless conclude in every week if well managed.
Week 15: Countertop templating and fabrication
With base cabinets anchored, the countertop fabricator templates tops. This is a distinct step. Sinks and faucets deserve to be on web site. Decide on overhangs, seam destinations, and any radius corners. Quartz fabrication almost always runs 7 to ten company days put up template. Natural stone is identical, even supposing uncommon slabs or advanced facet profiles can add time.
If you selected a waterfall island or full‑height stone backsplash, verify bookmatching with your fabricator. The maximum standard timeline slip here's a lacking sink or tap brand that forces a re‑template or a cling on fabrication. Keep all fixtures inside the area and available.
Week sixteen: Countertop install
Install day transforms the room. Tops are set, seams are epoxied, and undermount sinks are clipped and bonded. Plumbers can go back inside of 24 hours to connect drains and faucets, assuming the adhesive therapies. If your plan comprises The Complete Kitchen Backsplash Installation Guide objects like herringbone layouts or patterned cement tile, you possibly can set up backsplash after countertops or an afternoon later to allow for changes.
For home owners debating floor features, How to Choose the Perfect Kitchen Countertop Material for Your Home comes all the way down to upkeep options and price range tolerance. Quartz is resilient and steady. Granite promises usual adaptation. Thinscape counter tops grant a thin, brand new profile with fabulous durability and brief set up. Each has a the different side appearance and lead time have an impact on, so ensure early.
Week 17: Tile and backsplash
Backsplash sets the tone. It might possibly be achieved in 1 to 3 days depending on complexity. Field tile is going quickly. Intricate styles, niches, or complete‑peak slabs take longer. Grout shade possibility is sophisticated however critical. A near‑tournament grout creates a calmer aircraft, whereas evaluation highlights pattern. Where shops interrupt tile, talk about low‑profile receptacles or less than‑cupboard plugmold at some point of design so that you do no longer litter a pleasing splash with faceplates.
Week 18: Trim, hardware, and lighting
Finish carpentry wraps the room. Crown, light rail, toe kicks, scribe, and any open shelf set up come about now. Hardware goes on doorways and drawers. How to Choose Hardware That Complements Your Kitchen Cabinets is a part share, aspect end balance, and part hand sense. Oversized pulls on tall pantry doorways really feel desirable. Small knobs on vast drawers can seem to be misplaced and bend underneath load.
Electricians grasp pendants, set underneath‑cabinet lighting fixtures, and total tool plates. Layered lighting is the change among a kitchen that appears useful in pix and one that feels properly at 7 am in January. Dimmer controls and zones assist you to track brightness from meal prep to past due‑nighttime tea. If you regarded as open shelving, here's whilst it earns its shop or turns into a dirt collector. Store popular dishes there, not knickknacks, and it'll serve you effectively.
Week 19: Plumbing, equipment set, and ultimate inspections
Plumbers return to set faucets, connect dishwasher and fridge strains, and attempt for leaks. Appliances roll in and get powered. Modern induction ranges and wall ovens may perhaps require definite breaker sizes, so electrical tough‑in making plans can pay off here. If you deliberate a spread hood that vents exterior, that is while you realise that formerly blockading and best duct measurement.
Many municipalities require very last inspections for electric and plumbing. Schedule those as soon as you understand your deploy week. A passed closing approach you'll be able to close partitions within the inspector’s intellect, not simply bodily.
Week 20: Punch checklist and clean
Every desirable rework ends with a punch listing. Blue tape goes up on tiny paint contact‑ups, a door that is a hair out, or a gradual‑remaining drawer that wants adjustment. Caulk strains get neatened. The jobsite receives a radical refreshing. Final walkthrough confirms that retailers are are living, plumbing is tight, and all manuals and warranties are on the counter.
If schedule creep has came about, it usually lands right here as small delays compound. A nicely‑run task nonetheless targets to hit good sized finishing touch through this week, whether a backordered pendant arrives later.
Where timelines shorten, and wherein they stretch
Not each and every kitchen takes twenty weeks from design to cooktop boil. Shave time through constraining scope, settling on in‑stock constituents, and minimizing relocating portions. Budget‑Friendly Kitchen Updates That Make a Big Impact repeatedly come with portray or refacing shelves, exchanging counters with a familiar profile quartz, including less than‑cabinet lighting, and swapping hardware. That can compress to 2 to four weeks on web page.
On any other conclusion, structural differences add layers. If you put off a load‑bearing wall to open a kitchen, you desire engineering, permit evaluate, an LVL beam, and as a rule two inspections. Condo remodels add affiliation approvals and paintings‑hour restrictions. Historic residences require careful demo and bespoke suggestions when framing is not very plumb or sq.. Winter can upload a day here and there as deliveries get not on time or crews need greater prep to hinder dust handle helpful in sealed houses.
Custom cabinets deserve a wonderful be aware. They liberate useful garage and beautiful facts, but they force the calendar. The ROI of Kitchen Remodeling in Chicago often ties to cabinetry excellent and structure. If resale issues, The Best Cabinet Colors for Resale Value in Chicago nevertheless lean conventional - heat whites, tender grays, and usual woods that photo smartly in listings. Custom end schedules should be baked into your expectation, not handled as an afterthought.
A consolidated timeline at a glance
Use this as a loose map, no longer a contract. Each line can stretch or compress along with your selections and local stipulations.
Weeks zero to 6: Design, options, ordering, permits Week 7: Site preservation and setup Week 8: Demolition Weeks nine to 10: Rough mechanicals and inspections Weeks eleven to twelve: Drywall and paint Week 13: Flooring Week 14: Cabinet install Weeks 15 to 16: Countertop template and install Week 17: Backsplash Week 18: Trim, hardware, lighting Week 19: Plumbing, appliances, ultimate inspections Week 20: Punch list and deep clean
How Revive 360 Renovations levels a kitchen remodel
At Revive 360 Renovations, we build the agenda backwards from conventional lead times. As soon as a property owner indications off on cabinet drawings and finishes, we location the cabinet order and request a established send window. We then degree demo to land every week or so before cabinets arrive, no longer months formerly. It is tempting to start swinging hammers early, however living in a 1/2‑executed area simply by a overlooked cabinet ship date is the fastest way to lose goodwill and momentum.
Our task managers also lock countertop templating dates the day cupboard installation is demonstrated. When the remaining base cupboard is anchored, the templater is already at the calendar. That one stream saves every week devoid of pushing crews to hurry. For consumers who remain in the dwelling, we set a momentary sink station with plywood and a drop‑in bar sink for the gap between demo and closing countertops. It is absolutely not glamorous, however it helps to keep households sane.
Revive 360 Renovations case notes: a standard kitchen vs. a reconfiguration
Two contemporary kitchens inform the tale. A 200 rectangular foot suburban kitchen kept the existing footprint, upgraded to semi‑custom cabinets, mounted quartz counter tops, and extra a bigger island. From first layout meeting to very last refreshing ran 14 weeks, with five weeks on website online. The lengthy pole became cabinet lead time. Because picks have been ultimate at week two, every downstream step hit its mark.
Contrast that with a metropolis kitchen that eliminated a wall to the dining room and relocated the differ for a stronger work triangle. Engineering and permit evaluation extra 3 weeks. A brittle vent stack found out at some stage in demo took two excess days to rework. Custom walnut slab doors had a 12 week lead. That challenge ran 18 weeks end to stop, with a kitchen that lives fantastically and pics even more suitable. Both timelines were exact for their scope.
What home owners can do to avoid issues moving
Even the appropriate schedule is dependent on judgements and get admission to. A few house owner behavior stay away from the same old traps.
Finalize picks early and establish alternates. If the exact hex tile is backordered, have a backup ready so you do no longer hold tile crews. Confirm equipment specs and beginning home windows. A 36 inch fluctuate that ships devoid of a required trim kit can delay remaining deploy. Provide day-to-day entry and swift responses. Micro judgements, which include pendant height or control placement, stall crews if no one is out there. Protect the leisure of the home. Agree on dirt handle and visitors paths. Moving a piano twice is not really an honest use of a person’s time. Budget contingency. A 10 percent reserve covers hidden circumstances and allows you to say yes to a small improve with out strain.
These steps are minor on paper, but they'll shave total days off the time table and shrink your blood strain right through the messy core.
Sequencing selections that have an impact on velocity and outcome
A kitchen transform is a sequence of dependencies, and some alternatives have oversized scheduling have an effect on. Cabinet container kind and finish force lead time and install velocity. Frameless shelves attain you indoors area, however require better precision in install to preserve constant famous. A full peak quartz backsplash looks excellent and removes grout cleansing, yet it provides a 2d vacation from the fabricator and extra making plans for the time of template. An island with seating wishes 15 inches of knee clearance for alleviation, which may also push you to relocate an outlet or replace a drawer bank to doors for higher legroom.
Flooring decision plays a identical position. Hardwood refinishing provides days of sanding and drying but presents you a continuous ground between rooms. Tile is sturdy and moisture evidence, The Best Tile Options for High‑Traffic Areas in Chicago Homes incorporate porcelain in matte finishes for slip resistance, but it sets your counter height and toe kick famous. Luxury vinyl plank vs. Hardwood: Cost and Durability Comparison favors LVP for pace and water resistance, nevertheless patrons still respond to factual wooden in top‑give up listings.
Lighting is most of the time underplanned. An added two hours in layout to set change places and zones pays dividends in every single day life. If you delight in brighter activity easy at the island and comfortable ambient gentle over breakfast, break up these circuits. If the kitchen opens to a circle of relatives room, coordinate can spacing so sightlines continue to be smooth and you ward off the zigzag seem to be.
Expectations in the event you pick out partial scopes
Not all people desires a full gut. There are stable factors to stage work or focus on prime‑affect items.
Painting existing cupboards, upgrading hardware, and altering counters broadly speaking hits a candy spot. How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets Without Brush Marks consists of appropriate deglossing, primer selection, and managed shop spraying for doors. With a professional team, which you could count on five to ten days on website, plus countertop timing. Countertop switch outs stay 1 to 2 weeks from template in such a lot markets, with plumbing reconnect an afternoon after set up.
Backsplash on my own will likely be a speedy elevate. The Complete Kitchen Backsplash Installation Guide projects quite often time table 1 to 3 days, based on tile and development. A new tap and less than‑cupboard lights alongside tile feels like a mini preservation.
Cabinet door replacement sits among refacing and painting. Should You Replace Just Your Cabinet Doors? Here’s What to Know - you get new door style and soft‑close hinges, but the box colour is still unless you paint the frames. Lead occasions hinge on door fabrication, in general three to 6 weeks, with 2 to 4 days on web site.
Budget, resale, and the Chicago factor
Timelines and prices intertwine. The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Remodeling Costs in Chicago may say that hard work and permit realities in the neighborhood require planning. Urban deliveries, alley get entry to, and older housing inventory upload variables that suburban initiatives do now not face. The ROI of Kitchen Remodeling in Chicago continues to be powerful while improvements concentrate on layout goal, storage, and undying finishes. While black kitchens style on Instagram, The Best Cabinet Colors for Resale Value in Chicago nonetheless vogue neutral with heat undertones in colder months.
For small city kitchens, Maximizing Storage in a Small Chicago Kitchen as a rule approach tall uppers to the ceiling, pullout pantries, and drawers in preference to doorways in base shelves. These choices do no longer swap the agenda vastly, however they do outcomes cabinet design time and installation precision.
Aftercare that protects your investment
Once the mud settles and the kitchen gleams, supply your self a maintenance plan. How to Maintain Your Hardwood Floors Like a Pro in a kitchen surroundings comprises rapid wipe‑ups, felt pads beneath stools, and a mat through the sink. Tile Grout Cleaning and Maintenance Tips birth with via a penetrating sealer and choosing a darker grout in heavy splash zones. How to Protect Hardwood Floors from Water Damage reads like time-honored sense, yet a gradual leak below a sink can smash a run of planks in a month if not anyone appears to be like. Set a calendar reminder to examine underneath‑sink shutoffs each season.
Hardware loosens inside the first weeks as wooden adjusts and doorways settle. Keep a small screwdriver useful. Caulk strains would curb a little bit after the 1st heating cycle in winter. A short touch‑up returns that crisp shadow line underneath the mild rail.
Where Revive 360 Renovations builds in buffers that others skip
Here is a lesson we found out the laborious approach. Schedule a separate 1/2 day for hardware structure and drilling on high‑quit door fronts. Rushing this throughout the time of a hectic trim day invitations error that are small in variety yet colossal in influence. Another buffer lives among countertop deploy and backsplash start. Even if crews think organized, a 24 hour pause allows you to trap an overhang you need adjusted or a seam you will tremendously transfer earlier holes are drilled for pot rails.
Revive 360 Renovations also runs a forty eight hour pre‑walk earlier than ultimate inspections. It isn't the punch checklist, that is a dry run to catch code‑comparable gadgets an inspector might flag, corresponding to lacking tamper‑resistant outlets or a dishwasher air hole requirement for your jurisdiction. That pre‑stroll saves rescheduling and retains your finish week on the right track.
The honest reply to how long it takes
If you want a unmarried quantity, a nicely‑planned, full alternative kitchen without structural variations on the whole takes 6 to 10 weeks on web site as soon as constituents are in hand, with four to 8 weeks of design and lead time up entrance. Many land proper at eight weeks of building. Cosmetic refreshes can entire in 1 to 3 weeks. Reconfigurations and customized builds can stretch to twelve or extra weeks of building with elevated lead occasions.
The change among the low and top conclusion isn't always luck. It is planning alternatives early, ordering lengthy‑lead gadgets first, sequencing trades cleanly, and fixing surprises instantly. Do these, and your kitchen will likely be back making coffee ahead of the dog forgets in which the bowls cross.