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How Long Does a Kitchen Remodel Take? The Two Clocks Every Homeowner Should Ask About · USA Cabinet Store Remodeling Podcast

• 0:05
  Welcome back to the Remodel Report, brought to
• 0:08
  you by USA Cabinet Store. I am Chris, and today
• 0:12
  we are answering the question every homeowner
• 0:14
  asks in the first five minutes of a design meeting.
• 0:18
  How long is this going to take? Jessica is here
• 0:20
  with the real numbers. Jessica, give me the short
• 0:24
  answer. Hey, Chris. The short answer is eight
• 0:27
  to 16 weeks from the first design meeting to
• 0:29
  the finished kitchen for most projects. But the
• 0:32
  part that matters to your daily life is shorter.
• 0:35
  The crew is actually in your house for about
• 0:37
  two to six weeks on a cosmetic update, six to
• 0:39
  ten weeks on a mid -range remodel, and 12 to
• 0:42
  20 or more weeks on a high -end renovation where
• 0:45
  walls or plumbing move. And those are general
• 0:48
  ranges across 13 showrooms in seven states. Where
• 0:52
  you live moves the number, and I will explain
• 0:54
  why in a minute. So there are two different clocks.
• 0:57
  Days the crew is there, and days until I can
• 0:59
  cook again. Exactly. And that is where most of
• 1:03
  the surprises come from. On site means a crew
• 1:06
  in your kitchen. Door -to -door includes the
• 1:08
  design meetings, the cabinet lead time, and the
• 1:11
  quiet days when your countertop is being cut
• 1:13
  in a shop across town. A kitchen that is six
• 1:16
  weeks on site can still be a 14 -week project.
• 1:19
  When you get a quote, ask which clock they are
• 1:22
  quoting. Now, if I search this online, I get
• 1:24
  three to six months everywhere. Why is your number
• 1:27
  shorter? Because those guides describe a typical
• 1:30
  general contractor. They buy cabinets from a
• 1:33
  dealer. wait for them, and then book five separate
• 1:36
  trades one after another. USA Cabinet Store is
• 1:39
  the cabinet store and the remodeling contractor.
• 1:42
  The order goes in the day you sign off on the
• 1:44
  design, delivery is scheduled to the install
• 1:47
  date, and the designer who drew the kitchen runs
• 1:49
  the build. That removes the two biggest gaps,
• 1:53
  the handoff between dealer and contractor, and
• 1:56
  the weeks a kitchen sits demolished waiting for
• 1:58
  boxes. And one more number you will see out there.
• 2:02
  Who's surveyed more than 20 ,000 homeowners this
• 2:05
  year and found kitchen projects average nine
• 2:07
  and a half months of planning and almost six
• 2:09
  months of construction? That sounds frightening
• 2:12
  until you realize it counts every month of thinking
• 2:14
  before anyone is hired. It is not a schedule.
• 2:18
  It is a warning that the calendar starts long
• 2:20
  before demolition. Let us talk about those boxes
• 2:24
  because you told me cabinets are the whole game
• 2:26
  on timing. They are the longest lead item in
• 2:29
  the kitchen, counting from the day the order
• 2:31
  is placed. Locally stocked, ready -to -assemble
• 2:34
  cabinets are ready in days. Stock lines take
• 2:37
  about 2 to 5 weeks. Semi -custom is 4 to 9 weeks.
• 2:42
  Custom is 7 to 12. And European frameless, the
• 2:46
  German -engineered, handle -less look is 10 to
• 2:48
  14 weeks because it is built in Europe. The spread
• 2:52
  inside each range is partly geography. Some lines
• 2:55
  ship from a plant or a distribution center that
• 2:58
  is close to one showroom and far from another.
• 3:00
  So the same order can land a few days apart.
• 3:03
  We plan the order date around that, and the shipment
• 3:06
  is ready for install day wherever you are. So
• 3:09
  the tier you pick is the single biggest decision
• 3:11
  on your calendar, and your showroom quotes the
• 3:14
  number for your address. And I'm guessing the
• 3:16
  lead time does not start until the order is complete.
• 3:20
  Right. A missing sync model or an unconfirmed
• 3:23
  range holds the whole order at the factory. That
• 3:26
  is why we ask for appliance model numbers at
• 3:28
  the first meeting. A 30 inch range and a 36 inch
• 3:32
  range need different cabinets on both sides.
• 3:35
  Decide the appliances first and the design is
• 3:37
  usually final in one round instead of three.
• 3:40
  Okay, the cabinets have arrived. Walk me through
• 3:43
  what happens once the crew shows up. Every kitchen
• 3:46
  follows the same order because each step depends
• 3:48
  on the one before it. Protection and demolition
• 3:51
  first. A few days for a cabinet swap. Up to two
• 3:54
  weeks if flooring or a wall comes out. Then rough
• 3:58
  and plumbing and electrical with an inspection
• 4:00
  if there is a permit. Anywhere from a few days
• 4:02
  to four weeks. Drywall and paint one to two weeks.
• 4:07
  Then cabinets go in three to five days. Then
• 4:10
  the countertop is measured on the installed cabinets
• 4:12
  and it goes off to fabrication for one to three
• 4:15
  weeks. Counters back in one to two days. Back
• 4:19
  splash two to three days. Then appliances, lighting,
• 4:24
  hardware, trim and the walkthrough. That fabrication
• 4:28
  stretch. Is that the part where people call and
• 4:30
  say, nobody came today? Every single time. The
• 4:35
  quiet week is not a stalled project. It is the
• 4:38
  slab being cut, or an inspection slot, or a delivery
• 4:41
  in the queue. Your designer can always tell you
• 4:44
  the reason and the next date. And here is the
• 4:47
  tell when you compare quotes. Ask whether the
• 4:50
  contractor's eight weeks includes those waiting
• 4:52
  days or only crew days. Two calendars can look
• 4:55
  identical on paper and be a month apart in real
• 4:58
  life. What about permits? Do they blow up the
• 5:01
  timeline? Only when the layout changes. A cabinet
• 5:04
  and countertop swap in the same layout usually
• 5:07
  does not need a building permit. Moving plumbing,
• 5:10
  adding circuits, relocating a gas line, or taking
• 5:13
  out a wall does. And then it adds roughly six
• 5:16
  to eight weeks and somewhere between $200 and
• 5:18
  $1 ,500 in fees, depending on where you live.
• 5:23
  The trick is to file it the day the order goes
• 5:25
  in, so the permit runs during the cabinet lead
• 5:28
  time instead of after it. That is how we do it
• 5:31
  in Fairfax County, and the same idea holds in
• 5:33
  Maryland, Houston, Tampa, everywhere we work.
• 5:37
  How long the county takes to review it is the
• 5:39
  part that changes by geography. Six to eight
• 5:42
  weeks is the general figure. Your showroom knows
• 5:45
  its local office. Let us do the honest part.
• 5:49
  Why do remodels run late? Six reasons, and most
• 5:52
  are decided before demolition, demolishing before
• 5:56
  the materials arrive, an incomplete order stuck
• 5:58
  at the factory, change orders after work starts,
• 6:02
  hidden conditions like a soft subfloor from an
• 6:05
  old dishwasher leak, which is why we recommend
• 6:07
  a 10 -20 % contingency at the top of that range
• 6:11
  in an older house, permit and inspection queues,
• 6:15
  and trades booked one after another instead of
• 6:17
  in advance. A contractor on Reddit described
• 6:21
  his in -laws' 1920s kitchen, a one -month estimate
• 6:24
  that finished after six months because of a load
• 6:26
  -bearing wall and a panel upgrade. His line was,
• 6:30
  the older the home, the more interesting stuff
• 6:32
  will be found. So give me the takeaways. Someone
• 6:36
  is signing a contract this month. What do they
• 6:38
  need to remember? Five things. One, ask for both
• 6:42
  clocks, on -site and door -to -door, and ask
• 6:45
  for a start date. because the average remodeler
• 6:48
  is booked about six weeks out right now. Two,
• 6:51
  pick appliances before the design is final. Three,
• 6:55
  match the cabinet tier to your deadline. A December
• 6:58
  kitchen signed in October is a stock kitchen.
• 7:01
  Four, order everything before demolition and
• 7:04
  make every decision before the order, because
• 7:06
  anything after that is a change order with a
• 7:09
  change order's delay. And five, do not anchor
• 7:12
  the finish date to Thanksgiving dinner. Give
• 7:15
  yourself a two -week cushion, and you will be
• 7:16
  pleasantly surprised. Perfect. The full week
• 7:20
  -by -week guide with the tables is on the USA
• 7:22
  Cabinet Store website, and a free design consultation
• 7:25
  ends with a real calendar for your kitchen, not
• 7:28
  an average. 13 showrooms across. Virginia, Maryland,
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  North Carolina, Texas, New Jersey, Florida, and
• 7:34
  Tennessee. Jessica, thanks as always. Anytime,
• 7:38
  Chris. Happy remodeling, everyone. Plan the calendar
• 7:41
  first, and the kitchen takes care of itself.
• 7:44
  you