Full remodels and the layout changes that make them worth doing — walls out, ceilings opened, services relocated, floors made level.
The real question
Two very different projects get called a kitchen renovation, and it's worth being clear which one you're planning.
A refit keeps the layout and replaces what's in it — cabinets, counters, appliances, flooring, lighting. Faster, considerably cheaper, and the right answer when the plan already works.
A rebuild changes the layout. Removing a wall, relocating the sink or range, moving a doorway, opening to the dining room. This is where the plumbing, electrical and often the structure all move, and it's where most of the cost and most of the value live.
The trap is a refit in a kitchen whose layout is the actual problem. You spend a lot and still walk around the same peninsula. We'd rather tell you that at the assessment.
Structure
The wall between the kitchen and everything else is load-bearing more often than not, particularly in the colonials and capes common around here where it frequently runs under the centre of the house.
A flush beam and a dropped beam cost differently and look completely different. That's a decision, not a detail.
Sequence
Layout, cabinetry, appliances and finishes chosen before demolition starts. Long-lead items ordered early — cabinets and stone are the usual delay, and both are worse if decided late.
Contained, with services safely capped. This is also when we find out what's actually behind the walls and under the floor.
Beam and post work, floor levelling, subfloor repair. Everything structural happens before anything else goes back.
Electrical, plumbing and HVAC moved to suit the new layout, then inspected. Anything going inside a wall gets photographed first.
Insulation, drywall, taping and priming. The point at which the room starts looking like a room.
Cabinets installed and scribed level, then templated for stone. Countertop fabrication typically adds one to two weeks between template and installation.
Backsplash, flooring, trim, paint, appliance installation, lighting and hardware. Then the punch list, walked with you.
Typical range: 5–7 weeks for a refit · 8–14 weeks where structure moves
On a house built before 1980, demolition almost always turns something up. None of these are disasters, but they're worth knowing about before you're standing in the middle of them.
We carry a contingency line in the quote for exactly this, discussed up front rather than sprung on you.
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