As we review the typical schedule for a kitchen remodel, keep in mind you are attempting to execute something even more challenging. In a staged remodel, the likelihood and consequences of errors grow. If you make a misstep, such as demolishing your cabinets too early in the process, you could find yourself living with an unusable kitchen for years, rather than months.
Today we take you through scheduling the intricate production of your staged kitchen remodel.
See more in this series: Planning and Design | Detailing the Work and Costs
Paul Wiggins Architects
Scheduling Basics
The longing to jump right in can be irresistible. That old, beat-up kitchen sits there in its dreary, dilapidated state, with odd colors, finishes and fixtures, silent save for the drip, drip, dripping of your old faucet — but just hold on. Tighten up that faucet and be patient.
Starting anything, and replacing anything, without the whole picture in mind is a rabbit-hole-like trap. Enter that dark hole, and you may find it hard to get back on track. Your purchases may not work in your finished scheme or may be damaged in the subsequent remodel steps, and work completed out of sequence may need to be redone at a later stage.
Avoid this common misstep by building your schedule first, then sticking to it. Use an Excel spreadsheet (or Word document if that’s easier for you).
Frigidaire®
Typical Schedule
Books have been written about construction scheduling, and there is no way to cover everything that might be considered here. But there are some typical remodel scheduling rules to follow. Some of these might differ job to job, and not all contractors agree entirely on the order, but here’s a good framework of order to consider:
- Demo
- Rough work (framing, plumbing, electrical)
- Insulation (exterior walls, underfloor and under roof)
- Drywall
- Prime and paint
- Cabinet installation
- Slab and tile
- Floors
- Finish work (finish carpentry, electrical, fixture installations, finish hardware)
- Final paint
It’s not that simple, of course. Every job is different, and experienced professionals understand the necessity of looking at each job as its own operation. The remodel schedule above does not take into account exterior work, such as foundation, siding and roofing, which might be necessary for your project.
It also does not take into account window installations, doors and masonry work, which are only some of the tasks that might need to be included in your schedule.
The schedule must be created and reviewed carefully in association with the plan and the scope of work created in the first two parts of this series, confirming that each job requirement has been considered and accounted for.
We create our schedule on an Excel spreadsheet with target dates for start and completion related to each subcontractor and each task. We also note the dates fixtures, appliances and any other required selections need to be available on the job, as well as the date each respective selection needs to be finalized and then ordered to meet that requirement.
Richmond Bell Architects Ltd
Demo Schedule
Relating this typical remodel schedule to staged work is a challenging proposition. Typically, the demo goes first, but what if this remodel is going to take place over a few years? You need to give extra thought to this step and possibly complete demo work in its own stages.
For instance, if your remodel involves expanding the size of your kitchen, you may be able to totally demolish the relevant exterior wall only after the foundation and framing stages are completed outside.
You will likely not want to demo all the interior cabinets initially if you are planning to rough-in (complete framing and roofing to waterproof condition) the new space in one step and then wait to save up for the subsequent step. If that’s the case, you should save everything you possibly can in your existing kitchen, leaving it usable for the wait between.
Take-away: If you have kept your staged remodel simple, you want to make sure not to execute demo until absolutely necessary. Don’t demo the floor until the new floor is ready to install. The same goes for cabinets, countertops and anything else you are planning to replace.
Claudia Martin, ASID
Rough Work Schedule
For the purposes of this explanation, rough work includes all facets of the remodel that should be completed before the drywall stage. If you are trying to keep your remodel simple and trying to keep costs down, then minimizing the necessity for rough work is the place to start.
Adding space equals rough work, and revising locations of plumbing requires rough work. This also relates to relocated cabinets, lights and appliances.
Using existing layout and location is a big plus when we talk about the complexity of a kitchen remodel, and thus the cost of the remodel. Whatever rough work is required, your goal should be to complete as much of that work as possible while leaving the existing kitchen operational. This is not always the most efficient way to work, but in a staged remodel it has to be prioritized.
Take-away: Completing rough work to a dry-in state that ensures your home is properly waterproofed and protected from the elements can be a good break point in a staged remodel.
R.P. Morrison Builders, Inc.
Painting Schedule
There is some debate about painting when it comes to the schedule. Some like to bring the painter in at the end of the job. The painter comes in once, tapes and protects finishes and executes the job.
We typically bring the painter on the job in at least two stages: first, to prime and paint walls and ceiling, and then, after flooring, to paint or stain wood trim and put a second finish coat on walls.
The size of your job may give you the answer on this. If the remodel is small and simple, it can make sense to skip the first painter step and bring your painter in at the end of the job.
Another consideration is the cabinet finish. If you are refinishing existing cabinets, your painter may be able to remove drawers and doors and refinish them in the shop, leaving your kitchen mostly usable in the process. In that case, the painter would only refinish the cabinet frames on the job.
Take-away: In a simple, more manageable staged remodel, it can make sense to complete the painting as a final step on the job.
Studio West
Cabinet Schedule
You may be replacing cabinets, you may be refinishing them or you may be letting them be. In a staged remodel, the key is to make that determination early. If some cabinet demo is necessary, don’t demo cabinets until the new ones are ready to install.
It’s advisable to have a cabinet plan with designs completed before the start of your job. For custom cabinets it can take six weeks or more from the time cabinets are ordered before they are ready to install. You need to build this time into your schedule so you are not stuck with unexpected delays, minimizing the time you have to live in a nonoperational kitchen.
Cabinet measure, in which the cabinetmaker measures the existing space the cabinets will fill, typically cannot be completed until all rough work is completed. The reason for this is that cabinets need to precisely fit their spaces and accommodate architectural features, and cabinetmakers know finished spaces do not always end up precisely matching the original plan dimensions.
Take-away: In a staged remodel, refinishing existing cabinets, possibly replacing cabinet doors and drawers, is the most cost-effective way to improve the look of a kitchen, and it can be executed as a rather painless phase of a staged job over time.
See more on getting the cabinets you want
Pasquale Design Associates, Inc.
Tile and Slab Schedule
The biggest scheduling conflicts with tile and slab usually involve material delays. You can help avoid this by finalizing your design early in the process, with full selections for backsplash, slab and, if required, flooring. These selections, in coordination with accurate designs and timely deposit payments, go a long way toward avoiding delays in this category.
Some tiles are readily available at big box or other hardware stores, while other custom tiles may require months of lead time to manufacture. This is not something you want to leave to the last minute, as a likely one-week tile install could take months if the installer is waiting on material.
Take-away: Tile and slab replacement is also a step that can stand on its own as a significant phase of a staged remodel, and it makes a huge impact on the look of a kitchen at a reasonable cost.
Evgeniya Mlynchick
Flooring Schedule
Whether it’s hardwood or tile, kitchen flooring replacement is relatively painless and can stand alone as a significant phase of a staged remodel. In most custom kitchen remodels, flooring is installed after cabinet installation. You will want to consider this carefully, study the difficulty of your existing flooring demolition and confirm whether the existing floor abuts the existing base cabinets or the existing cabinets are set atop the flooring.
If the flooring abuts the cabinets, it makes replacing the flooring without replacing cabinets easier, but demolishing a tough-to-remove existing floor, like tile set on a concrete slab, can be difficult without causing some damage to the finish of existing cabinets.
Take-away: Plan to install flooring after cabinets, but consider protection of cabinets and pre-existing circ*mstances carefully.
R2 Studio Architects
Finish Work Schedule
In some simple kitchen remodels, the finish work may be most of the job and can be broken into stages itself.
Plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, cabinet hardware, finish trim and finish painting are all facets of finish work. Once you have finalized (or revised) your kitchen layout, changing fixtures is an easy task for any decent tradesperson and can be completed in whatever order suits you.
Trim carpentry work usually should be completed before final paint, but if you’re planning on finishing the trim at a later stage, you might bring in the painter to complete all other aspects of the job first. Once you get to the point where only finish work remains on your job, the stages become easier to handle and the likelihood of error is greatly reduced.
Errors discovered at this point are usually from poor planning earlier in the process. Did your cabinetmaker have the correct appliance models and plumbing fixtures to construct his or her cabinets around? If you gave your cabinetmaker an appliance list, you can’t change selections without confirming that the new appliances precisely fit the plan.
Take-away: You have some flexibility at the finish stage. This is a stage you can easily execute over time, installing the most necessary items first (such as a sink and required appliances), while possibly waiting on more decorative or superfluous items.
Up next: In the final installment of this series, we take you through the final execution of your plan, reviewing common pitfalls and recapping the process of your staged kitchen remodel.
More Remodeling Your Kitchen in Stages: Planning and Design | Detailing the Work and Costs
