A beautiful, functional kitchen can enhance the joy of your living spaces and increase the value of your home on the market. Whatever your reason for updating or remodeling your kitchen, you will likely feel the pressure during this notoriously stressful process, making it important to approach it with planning and preparation.
Here’s how you can redesign your kitchen in 7 phases:
- Demolition
- Framework, Plumbing, and Electrical
- Drywall and Paint
- Layout
- Flooring
- Appliances
- Surfaces
This outline is a simplified look at the steps you’ll need to take to redesign your kitchen, and you may need to make adjustments based on your budget, materials used, or your new kitchen design and layout. Read on to find out how to tailor these steps to your specific kitchen remodel.
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The Order of Kitchen Remodeling
By completing your kitchen remodel in this order, you can keep the project organized and cost-effective, especially in the long run. After extensive research, getting quotes from contractors, and browsing countless design ideas online and in person, you may be tempted to go with the quickest timeline a contractor offers you.
Going through these seven phases is important because the order in which you install items like cabinets, heavy appliances, plumbing fixtures, and flooring is crucial. Choosing the right sequence can save you money on materials and make future changes or repairs to your kitchen easier.
In some phases, especially when it comes to flooring, there is debate in the home improvement industry as to what is the “correct” order. Overall, the order of phases recommended here is a logical way to approach your kitchen remodel, but the coming sections will discuss optimizations you can make and why they might better suit your project.
Phase 1: Demolition
The first phase of your remodel will be the messiest and may also be the one that makes you question your decisions. Seeing your kitchen empty can be a bit of a shock, but it’s a necessary part of the process.
Depending on which parts of your kitchen you plan to renovate, the demolition process may vary, but the first step is always the same: shut off water and electricity. Then, the demolition team you employ (which may just be you and a few friends if you’re looking to save money) can get to work.
In a standard kitchen overhaul, you’ll need to first clear out any items stored in the kitchen so that the following parts can be removed:
- Cabinets
- Old appliances
- Flooring
- Countertops
- Sink
- Framework/Drywall (for layout changes)
Even though it may seem counterintuitive, the demolition of your kitchen can still cost a chunk of money, even if you’re saving labor costs by doing it yourself. You will need to rent a dumpster, which will be dropped off and picked up in front of your home, for which you may need a permitting or HOA approval depending on your location.
Most dumpster rental prices are “all-inclusive,” thankfully meaning you’ll know the total cost upfront for “delivery, pickup, disposal (landfill fees), fuel charges, and taxes,” but you can reduce some of the demolition costs by donating some of your old kitchen to charity.
While you may be tired of looking at those old cabinets, any that are in decent condition and are carefully removed can be donated to Habitat for Humanity. Your local Habitat ReStore may also accept functioning appliances, doors, windows, wood, flooring, light fixtures, handles, knobs, and even old furniture.
Not only will you divert waste from your local landfill and donate to a valuable charity, but the donation will also benefit you. According to the organization’s website, “many Habitat ReStores offer donation pickup services, and your donations may qualify for a tax deduction. Donating is a win-win!”
Phase 2: Internal Work
The second stage of the remodel can be the most frustrating and costly, but you’ll want all the internal work done by experienced, reliable professionals with the proper training and certifications.
The kitchen is often the most heavily used room in your home, and this high traffic in combination with the convergence of plumbing and electrical installations means that solid workmanship is a must. This phase of your remodel involves installing framework, plumbing, and electrical work, as well as the necessary inspections.
Professional or DIY? What to Choose for Phase 2
While the allure of pride and savings through DIY upgrades may be tempting, this is not an ideal area to try it out unless you are an expert and/or have plenty of time and money to learn through the process.
Even then, you must be extremely cautious, not to mention willing to take the risk of setting yourself up for future headaches. According to Renovation Planners, a certified building company, an estimated 30% of contractor jobs consist solely of fixing homeowner DIY mistakes.
Knowing the average cost of a professional kitchen remodel ($20,000 according to HomeAdvisor) during the budgeting and planning phase, it may seem almost reasonable to do your remodel yourself. But keep in mind that you may end up spending just as much, if not more, to correct your mistakes in the future.
If you want to attempt to do this phase of the remodel (partially or entirely) yourself, consider hiring a renovation consultant to assess your list of desired changes and help you plan the remodel. Then, if there are smaller projects within the remodel that you’d like to take on even during Phase 2, you may also want to hire a general contractor to advise on your project and provide helpful guidance, instructions, and occasional supervision.
Order of Framework, Plumbing, and Electrical Work
One of the biggest benefits of working with a reliable general contractor is that they will take care of scheduling when the skilled workers needed for your kitchen remodel need to come in. During Phase 2 of your remodel, framing needs to happen first. Until then, plumbers and electricians have no wall structure within which their work needs to sit.
Many people who remodel older homes like the idea of “opening up” traditionally segmented living spaces so that the kitchen and family room have clear sightlines. To do this, any unwanted walls (that would be torn down during demolition) need to be replaced by framing wall posts that will determine where new walls will go.
Once this is complete, plumbing and electrical work that you need if you plan to move kitchen appliances can be carried out. It may also be necessary if your home is of a certain age, as building codes change over time and the original plumbing and electrical work may have been up to code at the time but needs updating to comply with current regulations.
Once the work is completed, you or your general contractor will need to ensure that work requiring an inspection is approved by a district inspector before work can proceed. If the inspector decides to check something that has been closed off, the cost of undoing and subsequently redoing the work will come out of your pocket, which is just a waste of time and money.
Phase 3: Drywall and Paint
After the new walls of your kitchen are framed and the internal work has completed all necessary inspections, it’s time to start making the workspace of your kitchen feel like a real home. Phase 3 begins with finishing the new framework with drywall walls.
If you’re particularly handy and want to get your hands dirty with some of the less glamorous sides of DIY, drywall is a fairly reasonable place to start as there are many detailed tutorials available online that can help you get started. Of course, this is not a one-person job, and you’ll need several tools you may not already own, but you can often rent them from hardware stores.
For professionals, drywall is a quick job. After the drywall sheets are installed and sealed, the team typically needs to let everything dry for at least 24 hours before sanding the drywall smooth.
Once that’s done, you’ll have brand new walls ready for painting. Today’s wall paints often indicate that you don’t need a primer, but the general advice is to do it anyway, and most contractors have their teams do so regardless of what the paint can says. If you’re taking care of the painting yourself, you should do the same.
Before settling on a color, also make sure to do patch tests with the smallest amount of paint you can buy for the color you’re considering. While big-box hardware stores offer generous return policies, this is not always the case when purchasing custom colors, and it would be better to avoid the hassle of lugging gallons of paint back and forth.
Phase 4: New Layout
The scope of work done in Phase 4 depends entirely on how different your old and new kitchen designs are from each other. If you’re completely changing the layout of your kitchen, this may mean a new layout for cabinets and moving, expanding, or adding an island, among other changes.
If you follow the order of steps outlined here, the items installed in Phase 4 will sit on a level subfloor that’s underneath the entire kitchen. Then, the flooring material you’ve chosen will be laid to be flush with the cabinets, island, and appliances installed during this phase. However, not everyone agrees that this is the right way to go.
Should Flooring Come First?
During this phase, you begin to have all the major elements of your kitchen area installed, which will determine where countertops, appliances, and entries will go. But as mentioned earlier, there is some debate among remodeling professionals as to whether this is the correct sequence.
Professionals who believe that flooring should come first argue that otherwise, unsightly gaps may appear in the floor tiles or planks, obstructing future repairs or changes to the layout. On the other hand, some argue that the flooring should be installed when the kitchen is empty so that the material extends uninterrupted across the entire floor space of the kitchen.
However, this argument has several downsides, including:
- Many homeowners aren’t interested in spending money on expensive flooring that won’t even be seen.
- Floating hardwood floors should not be installed under heavy appliances, which is why this approach is only suitable for nailed-down or glued-down hardwood floors.
- Many kitchen remodels do not need to be top-notch jobs for an appealing outcome, and in these cases, a second installation of flooring is the more cost-effective and sensible option.
Deciding on Timing of Installation
For the above reasons, this overview lists flooring after countertop installation, but there is one caveat: the installation of floor appliances. While some permanent appliances like wall ovens can be installed alongside the cabinets, appliances that go all the way to the floor, like dishwashers and stoves, should always be installed after the flooring.
While installing your dishwasher just after your cabinets have been installed doesn’t have any obvious downsides, you’ll need to consider years down the line when that appliance needs repairing or replacing. If the flooring is not installed beneath your dishwasher, it would be resting directly on the subfloor.
Appliances like dishwashers have leveling feet on the front end that are adjusted during installation to make the appliance sit level on the subfloor. Regardless of whether you have tile or hardwood flooring installed, the additional thickness of the material, ranging from 1/8 inch to 3/4 inch, can make the difference between your dishwasher being easily accessible or having to remove the flooring just to get it out.
However, before appliances, you’ll need to have basic elements such as new windows, doors, cabinets, and an island installed, bringing your new layout to life. At this stage, it can be much easier for nervous homeowners to finally “see” how the changes will look, so try to remain patient and trust your contractor (within reason) until this point.
From here, all the fun parts of your kitchen remodel will come together as you move on to the installation of your chosen flooring, appliances, and surfaces.
Phase 5: Flooring
Depending on whether you choose to follow this order or want to install your flooring before setting up the kitchen layout, the steps required for the flooring may vary. If your contractor leaves the floor installation for an empty kitchen, there will be fewer precuttings that need to be planned in advance since they won’t have to be adjusted to sit flush with installed cabinets and kitchen islands.
Regardless of which order you choose, you’ll need the flooring material and any baseboards that need to be installed in this phase. For both tile and hardwood floors, you’ll need to wait before appliances can be installed, and you may not even be able to walk on the floor for at least 24 hours after installation.
Make sure to do your research or ask the professionals about the type of floor installation so you don’t prematurely step on your freshly paid work. Two things to watch out for in this phase:
- Make sure you or your contractor check that the subfloor is in good condition before laying down the flooring, so you don’t leave water-damaged wood under your new floor, a common yet disastrous situation in any kitchen.
- If you have extra flooring, you may be able to return unused boxes or pallets, but be sure to keep some of the tiles or planks, as flooring designs can be discontinued, and having a matching replacement floor can save you from having to replace your floor or settle for an unsightly mismatch in the future.
Phase 6: Appliances
The last two phases, the installation of appliances and surfaces, are when most of the stressful parts of your kitchen remodel are behind you. In Phase 6, you will need to have your dishwasher, flooring, and refrigerator installed, but in addition to these obvious parts, you’ll also need to have anything that fits under a new countertop installed.
If your kitchen has a separate combination of a range and wall oven, the range needs to be present before solid-surface countertops, such as prefabricated stone slabs, can be installed. This also applies to your kitchen sink if you are planning an undermount or farmhouse/apron sink, while a drop-in sink would be installed last.
Phase 7: Finishing Touches
In Phase 7, you finally give your kitchen the finishing touches by installing countertops, backsplash, furniture surfaces, and lighting fixtures. What options you should choose will depend on your style and budget, and there are plenty of online sources to inspire your ideas for your new kitchen design.
Aside from aesthetics, you’ll want to make sure to choose the right countertop material in terms of longevity, return on investment, and durability. For example, while quartz may be a popular way to get the look of a stone countertop at a more affordable price, it doesn’t offer the same heat resistance as granite or the long-term feasibility of non-traditional design ideas, so consider these aspects carefully before committing. Splashless countertops, a new trend in modern kitchen design, may seem like a stylish concept that even saves you money, but it can make your base cabinets susceptible to water damage over time.
Sometimes, the process of remodeling your kitchen may seem overwhelming. However, if you ensure that you research your plan step-by-step, seek reliable