Every kitchen transform moves at its possess tempo, but patterns emerge as soon as you could have controlled dozens of them. Permits and inspections take what they take. Custom cupboards arrive while the manufacturing facility says they're going to. Drywall airborne dirt and dust unearths a method into closed rooms whatever how rigorously you zip the plastic. With a practical timeline and some contingency making plans, the adventure feels viable, even even as you're cooking on a hot plate within the dining room.
This week‑by using‑week timeline reflects a common complete renovation with new cupboards, counter tops, flooring, lighting fixtures, and appliance hookups. Cosmetic refreshes land sooner. Structural variations, complete intestine, or reconfigurations with new plumbing strains upload weeks. Chicago, the suburbs, or a dense excessive‑upward thrust will also influence logistics, lead instances, and inspections. Think in levels other than precise days and construct a buffer into your expectancies.
The variables that power your timeline
Before leaping into the calendar, body the good sized levers. Scope is the 1st motive force. Painting shelves, swapping hardware, and a new backsplash should be would becould very well be a 1 to two week dash. A complete tear‑out with tradition cabinetry and new hardwoods is 6 to 12 weeks after design and allowing. Moving walls or gasoline lines can push you into the 10 to sixteen week band, exceptionally in the event you need structural review.
Second, product lead occasions. Semi‑tradition shelves most likely take four to 8 weeks after remaining approval. Custom can reach 10 to fourteen weeks in busy seasons. Countertop timing varies by drapery. Quartz is quite often 1 to two weeks from templating to put in, normal stone will probably be same, even though forte merchandise like Thinscape countertops install temporarily once in hand yet nonetheless depend on corporation availability. Appliances can shock you, so lock those early and feature them warehoused if necessary.
Third, allowing and inspections. In municipalities that require kitchen enables for electric, plumbing, or structural paintings, finances 2 to six weeks for approval. If you might be in a house, the development’s administration can also add evaluate home windows and limit running hours. Inspections shall be equal day in some cities and stretch a few days in others.
Finally, coordination. The such a lot powerful projects series trades with little downtime among them. Miscommunication provides part days that stack into complete weeks. A builder who protects indispensable course models and orders lengthy‑lead resources at layout signal‑off will avert you closer to the constructive cease of the differ.
A realistic week‑by‑week timeline
This timeline assumes a full substitute kitchen with out considerable structural adjustments. Adjust ahead or backward based totally on the variables above.
Weeks 0 to 6: Design, alternatives, ordering, and permits
This is the invisible component to the schedule for most homeowners, yet it determines how gentle the lower back half goes. You will measure the kitchen, refine the structure, and ensure clearances. If you are finding out among a U‑form and a galley, or adding a peninsula, this can be after you examine sightlines and traffic go with the flow. Top Kitchen Layout Trends for Chicago Homes in 2025 desire wider work aisles, a cooking quarter separated from the refrigerator path, and islands scaled to room dimension as opposed to shoehorned.
During this section you furthermore may make a choice cupboards, door model, finish, hardware, sink, tap, flooring, lights, and home equipment. If you are balancing finances and affect, remember where paint, refacing, or substitute makes sense. Kitchen Cabinet Painting vs. Replacement: What’s Right for You? depends on cabinet container situation, design differences, and finish expectations. For many, cabinet refacing can compress timeline and spend whilst nevertheless offering a sparkling glance.
Permits are submitted the following if required. Good layout units appropriate circuits and lighting fixtures counts, so the electrical plan clears overview. Start appliance orders now. The fridge with the left hinge you desire may well be out six weeks. Stagger lengthy‑lead orders with your cabinet agenda so the delivery lands just sooner than install.
Where does this phase go flawed? Delayed possibilities and past due variations. If you choose a backsplash tile this is out of inventory, possible lose two weeks on the finish although walls sit ready. When you finalize early, you purchase time later.
Week 7: Site prep and protection
Once supplies are monitoring, the on‑website online paintings begins. Day one crews set airborne dirt and dust coverage, lay Ram Board on flooring, and install zip walls to seal the kitchen from dwelling places. If you propose to stay at dwelling house at some stage in the redecorate, believe thru transitority kitchen logistics. How to Plan a Kitchen Remodel While Living in Your Home boils all the way down to organising a small prep area with a microwave, coffee maker, and a transportable induction burner, and moving the fridge if you'll be able to. Label pantry bins, pre‑cook dinner just a few freezer foodstuff, and recall a quick meal kit subscription to minimize chaos.
HVAC vents get sealed, and the team creates a committed route for debris to cut down mess. The first dumpster arrives. Demolition consistently uncovers a wonder or two, so enable a day for contingencies like a hidden 2d layer of ground or ungrounded wiring figured out in the back of a backsplash.
Week eight: Demolition
Cabinets, counter tops, backsplash, and appliances come out. If you're reusing home equipment, they get protected and stored within reach. Flooring comes up once you are exchanging it. When the room is down to subfloor, framing, and hard utilities, your undertaking supervisor walks the distance and confirms measurements for any on‑web page ameliorations. The top of the line time to capture design concerns is desirable here, until now new work goes in.
On a couple of projects, we now have stumbled on vent chases that have been now not the place as‑outfitted drawings mentioned. Moving a vent stack a couple of inches can shop a run of higher cupboards. It costs an afternoon, yet it prevents a mismatched seam line later.
Week nine: Rough mechanicals
Electrical first. New circuits for the microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator, and any beneath‑cabinet lighting get pulled. Outlets above counters desire to meet current code spacing and GFCI standards. If you wish layered lights, now's the moment to add committed circuits and switch legs. Kitchen Lighting Design: How to Brighten Your Cooking Space often combines recessed cans for time-honored pale, pendants over the island, and job lighting beneath uppers.
Plumbing adjusts next. Sinks relocate or core to the new window, the dishwasher feed shifts, and the ice maker line movements with the refrigerator. Gas traces for tiers are tension established and regularly rerouted for the new design. If your plan consists of a pot filler, difficult it in now.
HVAC follows, oftentimes just a delivery register shift or a return remodel to house an island. This is also the time to feature blocking for heavy gifts like a wall‑set up wide variety hood or floating cabinets. The Pros and Cons of Open Shelving in Kitchen Design comprises the assertion that cabinets need forged attachment features. Add blocking although the partitions are open, not after tile is put in.
Week 10: Rough inspections
Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical inspections turn up here. In municipalities with speedy turnarounds, all 3 is additionally cleared in an afternoon or two. In busy jurisdictions, guide them early so the time table does now not stall. If an inspector asks for a further nail plate or GFCI vicinity adjustment, handle it promptly. A effectively‑controlled challenge treats inspections as checkpoints in preference to speed bumps.
Week 11: Insulation and drywall
With difficult approvals in hand, crews insulate any exterior walls and shut every part with drywall. Taping, mudding, and sanding take a few days with drying time. Expect dust despite air scrubbers and negative drive. This is the place endurance can pay off. A faultless paint end relies on flat, smartly‑sanded drywall, notably in kitchens with amazing natural and organic easy that exhibits each and every ridge.
During this week, your countertop fabricator confirms the templating date and verifies sink style, tap hollow count number, and any waterfall particulars. If you selected a completely unique floor similar to Thinscape counter tops, make sure edge profiles and seam plans with the store ahead of they reduce. Specialty components benefits early coordination.
Week 12: Paint and ceiling work
Prime and paint ceilings and walls earlier than shelves go up. It is speedier and produces cleanser lower strains. If you plan to eliminate an historical popcorn ceiling, do it in the week after drywall however sooner than portray. The Benefits of Popcorn Ceiling Removal in Modern Homes cross past aesthetics, giving you a easy backdrop for fashionable lights and taller‑feeling spaces.
Finish colorations incessantly echo traits, but neutrals still rule resale. The Best Neutral Paint Colors for Home Resale pair well with timber tones and white cabinetry, and that they sell dealers on light and area. In compact kitchens, Modern Kitchen Design Ideas for Small Spaces lean toward non-stop light surfaces that make corners recede.
Week 13: Flooring
Sequence floor headquartered on subject material and cupboard plan. If you're installing website‑complete hardwood throughout an open plan, floors on the whole pass in ahead of cupboards for a seamless seem. If you're the use of tile, many installers opt to set tile beforehand cabinetry as nicely. Floating floors should be put in after cabinets if the organization allows. Plan transitions to adjacent rooms now so threshold data appearance intentional.
Floors therapy or set for the era your installer specifies. Rushing this step ends up in dents or lippage later. In Chicago residences with seasonal humidity swings, correct acclimation reduces gaps down the street.
Week 14: Cabinetry installation
Cabinet day is one of the vital most pleasant moments. Boxes pass in first, then faces and trim. Leveling topics. An island that may be a quarter inch off can telegraph into crooked counter tops or out‑of‑rectangular drawer unearths. How Custom Kitchen Cabinets Transform Your Cooking Space is not approximately wonderful wood, it truly is approximately a format that fits your cooking rhythm and nicely‑outfitted packing containers that keep aligned.
If you opted for cupboard refacing or portray as opposed to substitute, this week seems special. Cabinet refacing, wherein installers apply new veneer to containers and dangle new doorways and drawer fronts, can shave time and reduce demolition mess. Kitchen Cabinet Refacing: Save Money Without Sacrificing Style matches kitchens the place the format works and the packing containers are structurally sound. Painting calls for save time for doors and a grime‑controlled course of for bins, however it would nonetheless finish in every week if effectively controlled.
Week 15: Countertop templating and fabrication
With base cupboards anchored, the countertop fabricator templates tops. This is a good step. Sinks and taps must always be on site. Decide on overhangs, seam places, and any radius corners. Quartz fabrication normally runs 7 to 10 company days publish template. Natural stone is equivalent, besides the fact that infrequent slabs or tricky side profiles can add time.
If you chose a waterfall island or complete‑height stone backsplash, be sure bookmatching along with your fabricator. The most ordinary timeline slip here's a missing sink or faucet variation that forces a re‑template or a keep on fabrication. Keep all furnishings inside the condominium and obtainable.
Week 16: Countertop install
Install day transforms the room. Tops are set, seams are epoxied, and undermount sinks are clipped and bonded. Plumbers can return inside 24 hours to attach drains and faucets, assuming the adhesive healing procedures. If your plan consists of The Complete Kitchen Backsplash Installation Guide items like herringbone layouts or patterned cement tile, possible installation backsplash after countertops or a day later to allow for alterations.
For property owners debating surface chances, How to Choose the Perfect Kitchen Countertop Material for Your Home comes down to renovation alternatives and price range tolerance. Quartz is resilient and steady. Granite gives you usual edition. Thinscape countertops supply a thin, revolutionary profile with extraordinary longevity and quickly set up. Each has a one of a kind aspect glance and lead time influence, so ensure early.
Week 17: Tile and backsplash
Backsplash units the tone. It may be executed in 1 to three days depending on complexity. Field tile is going speedy. Intricate styles, niches, or complete‑peak slabs take longer. Grout shade possibility is refined yet predominant. A shut‑event grout creates a calmer plane, whereas comparison highlights pattern. Where shops interrupt tile, focus on low‑profile receptacles or below‑cabinet plugmold in the time of design so that you do not muddle a lovely splash with faceplates.
Week 18: Trim, hardware, and lighting
Finish carpentry wraps the room. Crown, light rail, toe kicks, scribe, and any open shelf setting up come about now. Hardware goes on doorways and drawers. How to Choose Hardware That Complements Your Kitchen Cabinets is part percentage, part end stability, and facet hand think. Oversized pulls on tall pantry doors think right. Small knobs on huge drawers can appear lost and bend underneath load.
Electricians hang pendants, set beneath‑cupboard lighting, and comprehensive device plates. Layered lighting fixtures is the big difference among a kitchen that appears awesome in pix and one that feels excellent at 7 am in January. Dimmer controls and zones assist you to music brightness from meal prep to past due‑night time tea. If you thought-about open shelving, this can be while it earns its stay or will become a airborne dirt and dust collector. Store regular dishes there, not knickknacks, and this may serve you well.
Week 19: Plumbing, equipment set, and final inspections
Plumbers return to set taps, join dishwasher and fridge strains, and verify for leaks. Appliances roll in and get powered. Modern induction tiers and wall ovens may perhaps require one-of-a-kind breaker sizes, so electrical difficult‑in planning will pay off right here. If you planned a variety hood that vents backyard, that's in the event you have fun with that previous blocking and suitable duct dimension.
Many municipalities require remaining inspections for electric and plumbing. Schedule those as quickly as you already know your installation week. A exceeded very last method you could near partitions inside the inspector’s thoughts, no longer just bodily.
Week 20: Punch record and clean
Every magnificent transform ends with a punch record. Blue tape goes up on tiny paint contact‑ups, a door that is a hair out, or a sluggish‑closing drawer that necessities adjustment. Caulk traces get neatened. The jobsite will get a thorough smooth. Final walkthrough confirms that stores are stay, plumbing is tight, and all manuals and warranties are at the counter.
If agenda creep has took place, it most often lands here as small delays compound. A good‑run mission nevertheless ambitions to hit big completion by means of this week, whether or not a backordered pendant arrives later.
Where timelines shorten, and where they stretch
Not each and every kitchen takes twenty weeks from design to cooktop boil. Shave time with the aid of constraining scope, picking out in‑stock fabrics, and minimizing shifting constituents. Budget‑Friendly Kitchen Updates That Make a Big Impact basically include painting or refacing cupboards, replacing counters with a primary profile quartz, adding below‑cupboard lighting, and swapping hardware. That can compress to two to 4 weeks on web page.
On the alternative end, structural variations upload layers. If you cast off a load‑bearing wall to open a kitchen, you want engineering, let review, an LVL beam, and in general two inspections. Condo remodels upload association approvals and work‑hour regulations. Historic houses require cautious demo and bespoke strategies while framing shouldn't be plumb or rectangular. Winter can add an afternoon right here and there as deliveries get not on time or crews need more prep to retain mud management powerful in sealed properties.
Custom shelves deserve a unique be aware. They liberate effective storage and wonderful important points, yet they force the calendar. The ROI of Kitchen Remodeling in Chicago commonly ties to cabinetry nice and format. If resale topics, The Best Cabinet Colors for Resale Value in Chicago still lean conventional - warm whites, comfortable grays, and ordinary woods that photograph effectively in listings. Custom conclude schedules deserve to be baked into your expectation, no longer taken care of as an afterthought.
A consolidated timeline at a glance
Use this as a unfastened map, not a contract. Each line can stretch or compress together with your possible choices and local prerequisites.
- Weeks 0 to six: Design, choices, ordering, permits Week 7: Site maintenance and setup Week 8: Demolition Weeks nine to 10: Rough mechanicals and inspections Weeks eleven to twelve: Drywall and paint Week thirteen: Flooring Week 14: Cabinet install Weeks 15 to 16: Countertop template and install Week 17: Backsplash Week 18: Trim, hardware, lighting Week 19: Plumbing, home equipment, closing inspections Week 20: Punch checklist and deep clean
How Revive 360 Renovations stages a kitchen remodel
At Revive 360 Renovations, we build the time table backwards from identified kitchen contractors chicago Revive 360 Renovations | Revive Studio lead instances. As quickly as a homeowner symptoms off on cabinet drawings and finishes, we place the cupboard order and request a confirmed send window. We then stage demo to land per week or so previously shelves arrive, not months until now. It is tempting to start out swinging hammers early, but living in a 0.5‑finished space by way of a ignored cupboard send date is the quickest method to lose goodwill and momentum.
Our challenge managers also lock countertop templating dates the day cabinet installation is verified. When the final base cabinet is anchored, the templater is already at the calendar. That one move saves a week devoid of pushing crews to rush. For prospects who reside within the residence, we set a momentary sink station with plywood and a drop‑in bar sink for the distance between demo and ultimate countertops. It isn't really glamorous, however it retains families sane.
Revive 360 Renovations case notes: a everyday kitchen vs. a reconfiguration
Two current kitchens inform the story. A two hundred square foot suburban kitchen saved the present footprint, upgraded to semi‑customized shelves, put in quartz countertops, and added a larger island. From first layout assembly to remaining clear ran 14 weeks, with 5 weeks on web page. The lengthy pole became cupboard lead time. Because possibilities were final at week two, every downstream step hit its mark.
Contrast that with a city kitchen that removed a wall to the eating room and relocated the quantity for a superior work triangle. Engineering and enable review further 3 weeks. A brittle vent stack came upon all over demo took two excess days to transform. Custom walnut slab doors had a 12 week lead. That project ran 18 weeks stop to conclusion, with a kitchen that lives beautifully and shots even better. Both timelines have been exact for his or her scope.
What owners can do to continue issues moving
Even the foremost time table depends on selections and entry. A few home-owner habits keep away from the same old traps.
- Finalize options early and discover alternates. If the precise hex tile is backordered, have a backup organized so that you do now not cling tile crews. Confirm appliance specifications and birth home windows. A 36 inch number that ships without a required trim kit can lengthen very last deploy. Provide every single day get right of entry to and short responses. Micro choices, inclusive of pendant top or control placement, stall crews if no one is readily available. Protect the rest of the house. Agree on dirt regulate and traffic paths. Moving a piano twice seriously isn't an efficient use of each person’s time. Budget contingency. A 10 p.c reserve covers hidden circumstances and enables you to say definite to a small upgrade with no rigidity.
These steps are minor on paper, yet they can shave complete days off the schedule and scale down your blood tension right through the messy center.
Sequencing selections that impression pace and outcome
A kitchen rework is a series of dependencies, and a few preferences have outsized scheduling impact. Cabinet field sort and finish pressure lead time and install tempo. Frameless shelves attain you indoors space, but require stronger precision in install to protect steady finds. A complete peak quartz backsplash looks superb and gets rid of grout cleaning, but it adds a moment travel from the fabricator and extra planning in the course of template. An island with seating wishes 15 inches of knee clearance for consolation, which can even push you to relocate an outlet or change a drawer financial institution to doors for superior legroom.
Flooring decision plays a equivalent role. Hardwood refinishing adds days of sanding and drying however supplies you a steady flooring between rooms. Tile is long lasting and moisture proof, The Best Tile Options for High‑Traffic Areas in Chicago Homes encompass porcelain in matte finishes for slip resistance, yet it units your counter top and toe kick finds. Luxury vinyl plank vs. Hardwood: Cost and Durability Comparison favors LVP for velocity and water resistance, regardless that buyers nonetheless respond to genuine wooden in top‑quit listings.
Lighting is most of the time underplanned. An greater two hours in layout to set switch places and zones can pay dividends in daily life. If you savor brighter assignment mild at the island and comfortable ambient light over breakfast, break up those circuits. If the kitchen opens to a circle of relatives room, coordinate can spacing so sightlines continue to be blank and also you prevent the zigzag seem to be.
Expectations should you elect partial scopes
Not anyone wishes a full intestine. There are cast factors to degree work or attention on excessive‑impact gadgets.
Painting existing shelves, upgrading hardware, and exchanging counters basically hits a sweet spot. How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets Without Brush Marks consists of right deglossing, primer selection, and managed store spraying for doorways. With a seasoned team, you're able to are expecting five to ten days on website, plus countertop timing. Countertop switch outs continue to be 1 to two weeks from template in so much markets, with plumbing reconnect an afternoon after set up.
Backsplash on my own is usually a fast carry. The Complete Kitchen Backsplash Installation Guide initiatives usually agenda 1 to a few days, relying on tile and pattern. A new tap and below‑cabinet lighting alongside tile seems like a mini renovation.
Cabinet door alternative sits between refacing and portray. Should You Replace Just Your Cabinet Doors? Here’s What to Know - you get new door form and cushy‑near hinges, however the container colour remains unless you paint the frames. Lead occasions hinge on door fabrication, in general three to 6 weeks, with 2 to 4 days on website.
Budget, resale, and the Chicago factor
Timelines and fees intertwine. The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Remodeling Costs in Chicago could say that exertions and let realities within the vicinity require planning. Urban deliveries, alley get entry to, and older housing stock add variables that suburban projects do no longer face. The ROI of Kitchen Remodeling in Chicago is still good when upgrades cognizance on format operate, storage, and timeless finishes. While black kitchens development on Instagram, The Best Cabinet Colors for Resale Value in Chicago still fashion neutral with hot undertones in less warm months.
For small city kitchens, Maximizing Storage in a Small Chicago Kitchen probably means tall uppers to the ceiling, pullout pantries, and drawers rather then doorways in base cabinets. These choices do not exchange the time table vastly, but they do have an impact on cabinet layout time and installation precision.
Aftercare that protects your investment
Once the airborne dirt and dust settles and the kitchen gleams, provide your self a upkeep plan. How to Maintain Your Hardwood Floors Like a Pro in a kitchen environment includes instant wipe‑ups, felt pads below stools, and a mat with the aid of the sink. Tile Grout Cleaning and Maintenance Tips bounce with through a penetrating sealer and picking a darker grout in heavy splash zones. How to Protect Hardwood Floors from Water Damage reads like straightforward experience, yet a sluggish leak less than a sink can spoil a run of planks in a month if not anyone seems. Set a calendar reminder to study less than‑sink shutoffs each season.
Hardware loosens in the first weeks as timber adjusts and doors settle. Keep a small screwdriver helpful. Caulk traces may additionally reduce just a little after the primary heating cycle in winter. A speedy touch‑up returns that crisp shadow line less than the mild rail.
Where Revive 360 Renovations builds in buffers that others skip
Here is a lesson we found out the arduous method. Schedule a separate half day for hardware format and drilling on excessive‑conclusion door fronts. Rushing this all the way through a hectic trim day invitations blunders that are small in wide variety but titanic in effect. Another buffer lives among countertop installation and backsplash leap. Even if crews feel organized, a 24 hour pause lets you trap an overhang you want adjusted or a seam you could possibly highly transfer prior to holes are drilled for pot rails.
Revive 360 Renovations additionally runs a 48 hour pre‑walk earlier remaining inspections. It isn't really the punch listing, it's miles a dry run to trap code‑appropriate units an inspector may perhaps flag, including missing tamper‑resistant stores or a dishwasher air hole requirement for your jurisdiction. That pre‑walk saves rescheduling and continues your conclude week not off course.
The truthful reply to how lengthy it takes
If you would like a unmarried range, a smartly‑deliberate, full replacement kitchen with no structural changes typically takes 6 to ten weeks on web site as soon as fabrics are in hand, with 4 to 8 weeks of design and lead time up entrance. Many land excellent at eight weeks of production. Cosmetic refreshes can comprehensive in 1 to three weeks. Reconfigurations and custom builds can stretch to twelve or greater weeks of creation with increased lead instances.
The distinction among the low and prime conclusion will never be luck. It is making plans possibilities early, ordering lengthy‑lead pieces first, sequencing trades cleanly, and fixing surprises immediately. Do the ones, and your kitchen shall be lower back making espresso sooner than the canine forgets the place the bowls move.