How long does a full kitchen remodel take from first call to handover?

Design and decision phases typically run several weeks, and construction commonly runs one to two months for a kitchen, but the honest answer is that lead times, permits and condo approvals drive the calendar more than the work does. You get a sequence built around your actual scope rather than a generic number.

When do I have to make the hard decisions?

Layout comes first, materials second, and everything is locked before ordering. The rendering sign-off is the last point where changes are free. After that, a swap ripples into counters, tile and schedule.

What usually goes wrong in a remodel?

Three things, in order: demolishing before long-lead items are confirmed, discovering undocumented old plumbing or previous work once walls are open, and underestimating condo association requirements like acoustic ratings and approved work windows. Sequencing and early approvals are how each one is contained.

Do you handle permits and condo association approvals?

Yes — permit applications where the scope requires them, and association document packages including insurance certificates, work-hour schedules and material specifications. You supply the association contacts; we prepare the paperwork.

Can I live in the house during the remodel?

Often yes for a single-room project, with site protection and dust control, though a kitchen means planning where you will actually cook and wash up for several weeks. That conversation belongs in the first phase, not the third.

Start to punch list

The whole interior remodel, phase by phase

An interior remodel is a sequence, and most of the pain comes from doing the right things in the wrong order. This is the whole sequence — what happens, what you decide, what we handle, and the specific way each phase goes wrong.

Twelve phases, from the first call to the day the punch list closes.

Before anything else we establish whether this is a project we should be doing together — scope, city, rough timeline, budget direction, and whether a condo association is involved.
You decide
- What rooms are in scope
- Rough budget direction
- How soon you want to start
We handle
- Fit assessment
- Whether the scope needs a permit
- Which next step is right: showroom, call, or onsite
Skipping the budget conversation to stay comfortable. A design built for the wrong number wastes weeks and ends in a re-do.
A working visit to Pompano Beach. We establish direction on the design wall, walk the material library and the slab yard, and narrow thousands of options down to a shortlist you can live with.
You decide
- Overall direction and mood
- Shortlist of doors, surfaces and floors
- What matters most if something has to give
We handle
- Direction studies on the design wall
- Pulling physical samples that match
- Flagging lead-time risks on anything you love
Choosing finishes before the layout is settled. Direction first, specific SKUs after — otherwise you fall for a stone that does not suit the room you end up with.
We measure the existing space with laser equipment and build a dimensioned as-built — walls, ceilings, openings, soffits, plumbing positions and the things that are not where anyone assumed.
You decide
- Access, parking and pets
- Anything staying that must be worked around
We handle
- Laser measurement and as-built drawing
- Documenting existing conditions in photos
- Identifying structural or plumbing constraints
Assuming the room is square. It rarely is, and the discrepancy usually turns up at the worst possible moment — when a cabinet run will not close.
The plan gets drawn against real dimensions: work triangle, walkway clearances, appliance plan, storage, lighting positions, and any wall or opening changes.
You decide
- How you actually use the room
- Appliance package and sizes
- Whether walls or openings change
We handle
- Plan and elevation drawings
- Clearance and code checks
- Coordinating electrical and plumbing implications
Designing for the magazine instead of the household. An island that photographs beautifully and blocks the dishwasher door is a daily irritation for a decade.
Cabinet line and door profile, slab selection in the yard, tile, flooring, hardware, plumbing finish, window treatments — chosen together, against the layout, from inventory we carry directly.
You decide
- Final door, finish and hardware
- Your actual slab, chosen at full size
- Tile, flooring and window treatments
We handle
- Slab reservation and book-matching
- Checking every selection against lead time and budget
- Keeping the palette coherent across rooms
Selecting a natural stone from a chip. The chip is not the slab — for quartzite and marble, you should stand in front of the block you are buying.
Your room is rendered photorealistically with the materials you chose. This is the moment to change your mind — moving an island in a render costs nothing; moving it after cabinets arrive costs a great deal.
You decide
- Final approval of the room as rendered
- Any last swaps while they are still free
We handle
- Photoreal views from real sightlines
- Alternates where a decision is close
- Locking the approved version as the build reference
Approving quickly to keep the project moving. This is the cheapest hour in the entire remodel — spend it.
The approved room becomes a line-item specification: every cabinet, every square foot, every fixture, the labor sequence, exclusions, and what is explicitly not included.
You decide
- Scope adjustments if the number needs to move
- What is phase one versus later
We handle
- Itemized specification and pricing
- Naming exclusions plainly
- Allowances where a decision is genuinely still open
A proposal with vague allowances. If a line reads 'tile allowance', ask what it actually buys — that is where budget surprises are born.
South Florida runs on approvals. Municipal permits where required, and separately the association: work hours, elevator reservations, insurance certificates, floor sound ratings, and material restrictions.
You decide
- Association contacts and paperwork on your side
- Timing around building rules and seasons
We handle
- Permit applications where required
- Association document packages
- Scheduling around approved work windows
Underestimating the condo board. Buildings routinely require acoustic underlayment ratings and restrict work to specific months — find out before ordering flooring.
Everything is ordered against the approved specification and staged before demolition. Carrying our own inventory shortens much of this, but custom cabinetry and specialty items still run on the factory's calendar.
You decide
- Confirming final quantities and any last substitutions
We handle
- Purchase orders against the approved spec
- Tracking lead times and delivery windows
- Staging material so demolition does not start before the room can be finished
Demolishing before the long-lead items are confirmed. A kitchen torn out around a cabinet order that slipped six weeks is the classic remodel horror story.
Protection goes down, the old room comes out, and what was hidden becomes visible. Electrical, plumbing and framing changes happen now, and this is where genuine surprises surface.
You decide
- How you will live around the work — kitchen access, laundry, pets
- Fast decisions if something unexpected is uncovered
We handle
- Site protection and dust control
- Demolition and debris
- Rough electrical, plumbing and framing
- Inspections where permitted
Old plumbing and undocumented previous work. In older coastal homes this is common — it is why a contingency exists and why the schedule holds a little air.
The order matters as much as the work: substrate and waterproofing, flooring, cabinetry set and leveled, counter template cut from what is actually installed, tile, trim, paint, fixtures, then window treatments last.
You decide
- Nothing new, ideally — this is where earlier decisions pay off
We handle
- Trade sequencing and scheduling
- Counter templating after cabinets are set
- Tile layout and edge details
- Trim, paint, fixtures and final connections
Changing a finish mid-sequence. A door swap during installation ripples into counters, tile and schedule — the render exists so this never has to happen.
We walk the room together against the approved rendering and specification, build the punch list, resolve it, and hand over care instructions and warranty documentation for what was installed.
You decide
- Anything on the punch list that is genuinely not right
We handle
- Joint walkthrough against the approved render
- Punch list resolution
- Care, cleaning and warranty documentation
- Final clean
Signing off tired. Walk it in daylight, open every drawer, run every fixture, and check the edges — that is what a punch list is for.

Two things worth saying plainly

Where remodels actually break.

The calendar is set by lead times, not by labor

Homeowners assume construction duration is the schedule. It usually is not. Cabinet lead times, permit queues and condo approval windows decide when a project can start and finish, which is why ordering and approvals get treated as real phases here rather than paperwork.

Late decisions are the expensive ones

Changing a door profile during the render costs nothing. Changing it after cabinets are ordered means counters, tile and schedule all move with it. The whole design sequence exists to push decisions earlier, while they are still cheap.

Process questions

What people ask before starting.

How long does a full kitchen remodel take from first call to handover?: Design and decision phases typically run several weeks, and construction commonly runs one to two months for a kitchen, but the honest answer is that lead times, permits and condo approvals drive the calendar more than the work does. You get a sequence built around your actual scope rather than a generic number.
When do I have to make the hard decisions?: Layout comes first, materials second, and everything is locked before ordering. The rendering sign-off is the last point where changes are free. After that, a swap ripples into counters, tile and schedule.
What usually goes wrong in a remodel?: Three things, in order: demolishing before long-lead items are confirmed, discovering undocumented old plumbing or previous work once walls are open, and underestimating condo association requirements like acoustic ratings and approved work windows. Sequencing and early approvals are how each one is contained.
Do you handle permits and condo association approvals?: Yes — permit applications where the scope requires them, and association document packages including insurance certificates, work-hour schedules and material specifications. You supply the association contacts; we prepare the paperwork.
Can I live in the house during the remodel?: Often yes for a single-room project, with site protection and dust control, though a kitchen means planning where you will actually cook and wash up for several weeks. That conversation belongs in the first phase, not the third.