How Long Does a Long Island Kitchen Remodel Take? A Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly Timeframe

Planning & Budget

We have heard this kitchen remodeling question asked at least five times over the last few days, so I thank our Kitchen Designs clients for inspiring me to write this blog post. Actually this is the first of two posts I will write about job timing.

When can I start and how long will a kitchen remodel take? … is a two-part answer… the first part involves the timeframe to order your cabinets & have them delivered,  and the second involves the timeframe for your renovation and installation.

Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly Designer Oyster Bay Long Island

Timeframe for Cabinet Delivery: (approximately 8 weeks)

Cabinets are typically running with an approximate eight-week delivery time. Once we place an order, we have an eight-week lead time to get the cabinets made with most of our manufacturers. If you pick cabinets from our Bentwood line, they run closer to 12 to 14 weeks, but Wood-Mode, Brookhaven, and other manufacturers are typically running eight weeks. So, eight weeks from the time you sign your contract, you could have your cabinets.

Timeframe for Kitchen Renovation and Cabinet Installation: (typically 8 weeks)

If Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly is doing a complete redesign and gut of your kitchen, plumbing, electrical, installation, sheet rock, floors, windows, doors, cabinets, counters, and backsplash, it typically takes us eight weeks from the time we start your kitchen installation to the finished product. After 30 years of renovation kitchens on Long Island, we have this schedule down to clockwork.

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When is Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly going to start my project?

When does that eight-week clock start ticking?  Kitchen Designs can move very quickly, but the answer to this question is really going to depend on you and how fast you can make decisions to move the process forward. Generally speaking you (the client) are in control of that calendar. We could have a kitchen signed up and ready to go next week. Your designer measures it, designs it, draws it up, prices it, hands it to you, and then you sign a contract and are off and running within seven days. The decision-making process includes tweaking the design of the cabinets, picking the exact door style, color, finish, interior options, and appliances. Some clients cannot make decisions that quickly, and it takes them a little longer to decide. Once the contract is signed, we can either start the installation process in 4 weeks (while waiting for the cabinets to come in) or we can start in 8 weeks (once the cabinets are in). You can choose to get the entire job done in 12 weeks or in 16 weeks.

In the eight weeks that it takes us to do the job installation portion, we don’t need the cabinets during the first four weeks of our kitchen remodel installation schedule. During the first four weeks of the installation we have to do the demolition, plumbing, electrical, insulation, sheet rock, flooring, etc. After four weeks of working on your job installation, your kitchen cabinets will arrive, and we finish your job in four more weeks.

What if I want to be on the 12-week fast track to a finished kitchen?

We have several clients that are really interested in fast tracking it. If this is you, the thing you need to do first is agree on the layout (the easy part), pick appliances, and pick your cabinets. If you do this and make decisions within the next seven days, you can sign a contract for your cabinets and your cabinet order can go off to the factory in one week and your eight-week delivery clock starts ticking. That completes the cabinet order.

The next thing we need to do is wrap everything else up because we didn’t pick the exact floor, countertop, backsplash material, cabinet knobs, lighting, etc. We can continue to work on this part after the cabinet order is in while that 8-week delivery clock is ticking. So, if you’re okay with not precisely knowing your exact final budget number because you have not made all your shopping decisions, and you are okay with the budget range/allocations your designer accounted for, you can pull the trigger on the cabinets and get the ball going.

Once the cabinet order is in, what do I do next?

You will now pick the big design components of the space — countertop, floor, backsplash, sinks, faucets, lighting, appliances, etc. In order to stay on budget, you need to compare the budget allocations your designer set with the actual selections you are making.  If you’re really concerned about keeping within the budget we set, you need to make sure that the $5000 we budgeted for the granite can be achieved . You don’t want that $5000 to go to $8000 when you actually go shopping. You don’t want the floor that we budgeted $3000 for tile to go to $7000 when you actually start looking for tile. With that said, we give you a VERY realistic budget allocation based on our expertise, but the marketplace has huge swings. Do we think we can find you a nice floor tile at $10 square foot …yes, absolutely, but if you go shopping and you fall in love with something that’s $18 a square foot, you just changed your budget. We give you a realistic budget. We don’t lowball the budget so that every time you go shopping it is higher. We give you a true sense of what it’s really going to cost. If your shopping above the general range that we gave you, you can either be flexible and go up in budget if you have the room to do that, OR you need to pick something else that could also be beautiful at a lower price in order to stay within the budget. You need to find that comfort zone; otherwise it becomes a big stumbling block between that first week into why it takes longer to get the ball rolling. If you agreed in your head that you’ll spend $75,000 on the kitchen and no more, and you fall in love with something that is $18 a square foot when we allocated $10, you may have to keep looking because your situation doesn’t allow for you to keep upping your budget on every detail. Granted, you may even find things that are under budget giving you room to increase budgets in certain areas. Be sure to see our Client Resources Page Here, which is a tremendous help when  researching your options.

Bottom Line, What is the Fastest Way to a Ken Kelly Kitchen?

Week 1: Agree on design, price, select cabinets, door style, color, finish, interior options, sign the contract, and order cabinets. (Wait 8 weeks until the cabinets arrive)

Week 2-4: Make the rest of your decisions with your designer such as flooring materials, countertop, backsplash material, cabinet knobs, lighting, sinks, faucets, etc.

Week 4-8: Job installation begins

Week 8 – 12: Cabinet installation/job completion

 

HOPE THIS HELPS!

Also Read Part II of this post: How Long Does a Kitchen Renovation Take … Job Installation Timeline… for the Best Result?

Be sure to see our designers’ picks — we added some great finds for your kitchen.

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