How Much Time Does a Typical Kitchen Remodel Project Require to Complete?
Do you wonder how much time you have to dedicate to a kitchen upgrade? The time frame of any kitchen renovation depends on its scope of work primarily. If you go for a full-scale upgrade involving a change of plumbing, electrical service line, and others, you can expect it to need about three to five months to finish.
The complex design and size of the kitchen will be the ultimate indicator. For smaller upgrades, you don’t have to worry much. Many things can be easy to achieve within a few weeks. And if you focus on a few cosmetic improvements here and there, you don’t even have to spend weeks. These can happen more quickly. Cabinets, backsplash, countertops, and new cabinets can be part of this.
At the same time, if you decide to work with just one or two features, for example, a spotless stainless steel kitchen farm sink or something else, you don’t even require a week. You can finish this job in a day or two unless you plan to move the plumbing. Remember, no cosmetic or light renovation project will include changes in floor plans. Since budget plays a critical role in this, you must allot a realistic amount to your home improvement goal. It will allow you to speed up the process with the quick availability of materials and products.
However, you cannot eliminate the risk of delays due to the possibilities of back-orders or unavailability of the subcontractor. Keeping some extra time for these situations can be helpful. Also, renovation work can disrupt your routine. Hence, you must prepare yourself to avoid postponing essential tasks for lifestyle needs. Another area to be careful about is demanding sudden changes to designs or plans. Let’s now explore the time frame thing explicitly.
Expected Kitchen Renovation Timeline
An average American kitchen requires 6 to 8 weeks if a reliable contractor handles the job. They can take care of the construction, plumbing, electrical wiring, and installation. The same project can take more days or weeks when you turn a DIYer or hire a new contractor with minimal experience.
So precisely, average kitchen renovation projects can complete within 6 to 8 weeks. Extensive and complicated designs can demand 10 to 12 weeks. As hinted, a completely renovated kitchen layout will need 3 to 5 months.
Everyone understands that a complex area like a kitchen includes smaller and larger details, such as electrical service connections, plumbing, heavy appliances, etc. With this, you also have to consider the role of architectural intricacies, flooring, countertops, and cabinets.
The more you change these designs, the more your project will get delayed or require additional time. If you don’t want any stress, make sure to have alternative cooking and food arrangement for the anticipated length of time.
Reasons Behind Such Kitchen Remodel Timelines
Because of the amount of work or details one has to manage in kitchen remodeling, it is no surprise that this tends to be a long project. You have to change multiple things in a short span compared to other rooms in the house, which tend to have almost similar requirements in terms of heating, lighting, walls, etc.
But with kitchens, you need to consider electrical outlets, plumbing, cabinets, flooring, countertops, etc. A kitchen demands a near-perfect job with everything to help you perform your daily tasks efficiently and comfortably.
Before the actual design and decoration work starts, you must prepare the place for demolition for a fresh start. It happens when you change the location of the sinks, ovens, and others. These changes essentially involve relocating plumbing and electrical connections, which tend to be a massive task.
The Order Of A Kitchen Remodel Plan
Regardless of the amount of time any project needs, from 2 weeks to 6 months, they usually follow a similar work order. Although task completion depends on multiple factors, remodeling starts with the planning and designing phase.
You consult your designer or contractor for theme, purpose, and schedules. After this, the demolition part comes in based on your requirements. Then, the workers will install the kitchen skeleton with pipes, wires, and other elements to ensure a smooth supply of power, gas, and water.
Before continuing the building work, you may want to get everything examined by health and safety experts. It can take some time as the inspectors may not always be accessible.
After approval, the workers can work on walls and conceal pipes and wires. Then, window and door installation will happen. The exact layout will not consume much time. But a new floor plan will have to adjust to new windows and doors, which can take a while. Then, flooring work will start.
Although it can have different priorities based on the contractors’ choice, many believe flooring jobs usually follow after the windows and doors.
The next on the list will be cabinets and plumbing fixtures – the two critical characteristics of a kitchen. Once this gets done, your kitchen can start looking like one. You can round up the final appearance with the choice of appliances, like microwaves, ovens, fridges, and other items. In the end, the contractor may only have to add the finishing touches to deliver the desired impact as per your taste and preferences.
The main point is kitchen remodeling can be exciting and overwhelming. The amount of work and time can give you stress even if you hire professionals because you have to monitor the progress in the end. They can have a supervisor; still, you cannot leave everything to them. However, once your new kitchen is ready after the successful design and planning, you can only have good things to talk about it. So, instead of worrying, it will be better to look at the end part of the journey and its result. You can feel happy as things move from level 1 to level 2. Make sure you allocate an adequate budget to this for some flexibility.
For a better experience, you should engage in an open discussion with your designer or contractor. It reduces the chances of miscommunication or misunderstanding.