Custom Kitchen Remodeling

Cabinet lead time usually sets the calendar, not the site work. Countertops add a second wait because they cannot be templated until the base cabinets are installed and verified, so there is a gap between cabinets going in and counters arriving. Appliance availability and any permit or inspection step can extend that further, which is why selections are locked before demolition rather than during it.

Often it does not. Many Metro Detroit kitchens improve enormously from better storage, taller cabinets, corrected counter runs, and lighting without moving a single wall or fixture. Relocating a sink, range, or vent brings plumbing, electrical, and ducting into the job, so a layout change should be justified by how the room actually fails you rather than adopted by default.

Common finds are wiring that predates current practice, drain or vent runs in an unexpected place, walls and floors that are out of level or out of plumb, and previous repairs hidden behind cabinets or a tiled backsplash. None of these are unusual in older housing stock. They are worth naming as possibilities before cabinets are ordered so the scope and schedule can absorb them if they appear.

Typically protection and demolition, then any structural or rough-in work with inspections where required, then wall and ceiling repair, flooring or floor preparation, cabinets, countertop template and installation, backsplash, plumbing and electrical trim-out, appliance setting, paint touch-up, and closeout. Each stage depends on the one before it being complete and verified, which is why a single delayed selection moves everything after it.

Usually yes, with planning. That means agreeing in advance on a temporary setup for the refrigerator, microwave, and sink access, dust separation at the openings, where debris leaves the house, protection on the path crews walk, and utility outages that need warning. Pets, work-from-home schedules, and stair access are worth raising early because they change how the site is staged.

A useful proposal is explicit about what is not in it. Common exclusions are appliance purchase, window and door replacement, floor structure repair found after demolition, asbestos or lead handling, drywall work beyond the kitchen opening, and any allowance overage on cabinets or counters. Naming the exclusions is what keeps a change order a conversation instead of a surprise.