How long does a kitchen remodel take?

The three kinds of time in a kitchen remodel

Homeowners usually picture the construction phase when they ask how long a remodel takes. It is the most disruptive stage, but it is bracketed by two others that decide whether it goes smoothly.

1. Design and decisions: typically four to eight weeks

This stage runs from your first conversation to a signed proposal with the layout, cabinetry, appliances, surfaces and lighting settled. Its length is set mostly by how many options you want to consider and how quickly you decide. It ends when the design is fixed enough to order from.

In our Chicago projects this stage usually takes four to eight weeks, measured from the in-home consultation to the signed proposal. Homeowners who arrive with photos, a budget band and a short list of must-haves tend to finish it in about a month. Those weighing two layouts or several cabinet lines take closer to two.

2. Ordering and approvals: typically six to twelve weeks

Once the design is approved, cabinetry, appliances, stone and fixtures are ordered and permits are filed. Very little is visible in the house during this stage, but it is when the schedule is really made. Cabinet lead times, appliance availability, permit review and, in condominiums, association approval are the long items.

Semi-custom cabinetry is commonly quoted at six to ten weeks from order to delivery and custom cabinetry at ten to sixteen, and both stretch in the busy spring and early-autumn seasons. Chicago's Express Permits are applied for online without a plan review, while structural work goes through plan-based review: on September 14, 2026 the City's Department of Buildings reported 72 days from application to permit for recently issued plan-based permits, 43 of them spent with applicants answering review comments. Association approval in a condominium adds two to six weeks depending on how often the board meets.

3. Active construction: typically six to ten weeks

Demolition to final walkthrough. The trades follow one another in a fixed order: demolition, rough plumbing and electrical, framing and drywall, flooring, cabinet installation, countertop templating and then installation, backsplash, finish electrical and plumbing, paint and punch list. Countertops alone insert a pause, because they are measured only after cabinets are installed and then fabricated.

For a kitchen that keeps its layout, construction commonly runs six to eight weeks. Moving plumbing and gas adds a week or two of rough-in and inspections. Removing a load-bearing wall adds another two to four weeks for engineering, structural permit review and the framing itself. The countertop pause alone is one to two weeks.

A typical calendar, stage by stage

How long is the kitchen out of use?

Only for the construction stage. Design and ordering happen while you cook in the old kitchen. From demolition day to the final walkthrough, plan on six to ten weeks without a kitchen in most projects, and up to fourteen when a wall comes down. The temporary kitchen described below is what makes that stretch livable.

What can overlap and what cannot

What makes a project slower or faster

• Scope. Keeping the layout is quickest. Moving plumbing and gas adds trades and inspections. Removing a wall adds engineering and structural permit review before demolition can start.
• Decision speed. A design that changes after ordering forces re-orders and re-sequencing. Decisions made in order, once, keep the calendar intact.
• Cabinet lead time. Custom cabinetry generally takes longer to fabricate than semi-custom, and both vary by manufacturer and season. Confirm the lead time before the schedule is set.
• Appliance availability. A single back-ordered appliance can hold up cabinet installation if its dimensions or utilities are not final.
• Permit and approval review. Municipal plan review and, in condominiums, association approval have their own clocks that no contractor controls.
• What the walls reveal. Older homes can uncover wiring, plumbing or structure that needs attention once open. A thorough in-home visit reduces this; it cannot eliminate it.
• Condominium constraints. Restricted work hours, elevator reservations and delivery windows stretch the construction calendar compared with a house.

What is different in Chicago and the suburbs

Three local factors shape the calendar. Older housing stock: bungalows, two-flats and pre-war condominiums often reveal knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized supply lines or notched joists once cabinets come off, and updating them adds days to rough-in. Permits: Chicago's Express Permit Program handles qualifying electrical, plumbing and nonstructural work online without plan review, while each suburb runs its own review with its own clock. Buildings: in a condominium, restricted work hours, elevator reservations and delivery windows can turn a six-week build into an eight-week one without a single change to the design.

Can a kitchen remodel be done in a month?

The construction can, for a kept layout with quickly available cabinetry and no structural or permitted work. The whole project cannot, because design, ordering and permits happen before demolition. A four-week build is realistic only when everything it depends on is finished first, which is why Lakefront Interiors starts construction only after cabinetry and long-lead materials are confirmed and permits are in hand.

Setting up a temporary kitchen

You will be without a kitchen for the whole construction stage. A bit of preparation goes a long way.

• Choose a room with a water source nearby, such as a laundry room, basement bathroom or a bar sink, and set up a folding table, the old microwave and a toaster oven or induction hob.
• Keep the refrigerator plugged in somewhere reachable. If the old one is being replaced, moving it to the garage or basement for the duration is often the simplest solution.
• Pack the kitchen in labeled boxes by frequency of use, and keep a small box of daily items out: a pan, a pot, plates for the household, a knife, a board and dish soap.
• Plan for washing up in a bathroom or laundry sink, and buy a dish rack that fits it.
• Expect dust despite protection. Plastic barriers and floor protection help, but cover or move anything delicate in adjacent rooms.
• Agree on working hours and a daily end-of-day tidy before demolition, so the rest of the house stays livable.

How this maps to our process

Our four stages line up with the three kinds of time described here. Your inquiry and the in-home visit begin the design stage; the design and proposal stage ends with an approved scope; ordering, permits and construction follow. We start construction only when cabinetry and long-lead items are confirmed and permits are in hand, so the kitchen is not out of use while the schedule waits on a delivery.

• How our process worksThe four stages in detail.
• What shapes the costThe same scope decisions seen from the budget side.
• How long a bathroom remodel takesThe same three stages in a smaller room.