How Long Does a Kitchen Remodel Take?

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Free Kitchen Remodeling Guide and Timeline

Many people have asked me to help define a timeframe for their IKEA kitchen project. It’s not that hard to give a ballpark estimate.

A kitchen remodeling project or a new construction installation are two different things. With a remodel, there’s the question of the condition of the walls, floors, plumbing. Once the old cabinets are removed, which takes a takes a day with a strong crew of two and a dumpster outside, you have to inspect the walls and plumbing to see if they need any repair. Sheetrock work can add a few days if it’s major.

There is also the question of electrical work. Every kitchen remodel is going to have some electrical, even if it’s just adding or moving an outlet. But some projects can require adding a new electrical panel to the house, which can add $2000 or more and a week or more if there is a lot of wiring needed. Don’t worry about this, just have am honest contractor look at the electrical situation in your house and figure out what is needed, if anything.

Our design service takes a minimum of three weeks. We have found that it is CRAZY to try to design a kitchen remodel in one day. You might try working on it on your own, but ultimately, having professional plans for a major project like a kitchen remodel is wise and cost-saving. Plan errors are costly and it’s not so easy to design an elegant and optimal layout of IKEA components. The free online software is very limiting and those limits will show up in your finished kitchen, which we feel is very sad.

Adding a month for design, you’ll then order your cabinets and you might be purchasing other items from stores other than IKEA. You have to get the delivery timeline from each store. IKEA is usually VERY quick, a major selling point of their cabinets. You can sometimes take them home on the spot. but more likely their inexpensive delivery service works well. Typically you’ll get your order in a week, on average. There could be a backordered part or two, but almost never anything that will hold up the project.

Once you have your delivery of a pallet or two of heavy, flat-packed IKEA boxes, you can start installation IF you have prepped the kitchen. If not, the prep, which means removing old cabinets, perhaps some sheetrock (wall board), making wall repairs, any electrical, plumbing or flooring repairs or demo. Assembling the boxes of your new cabinets is easy and could be done in one day. Hanging takes 1-2 days. Putting in doors, handles, and trim (toe kick or crown molding) takes another day or two. So, really, if your kitchen is prepped, you can have a new kitchen in one week.

That’s not to say it can take lots longer. Try to get a timeline in a contract from your installer. List every bit of work you are contracting for and even add a penalty for lateness day by day.

So, how long does it take, really? I’d say estimate two weeks, expect a month.

Susan

PS: You are welcome to schedule a time to talk with me, we offer a completely free 30-minute phone consultation and can often give guidance or answer questions that can save you headaches, time and money. If you are interested in our professional IKEA kitchen design service, we can talk about that, too: