How Long Does A Kitchen Renovation Take?

A common question clients often ask is how long a kitchen renovation takes. Like all projects, some can be done quickly, others take a little longer often due to the finishes, materials or work methods required for the kitchen renovation. This article outlines a realistic kitchen renovation timeframe, depending on the choices you make.

Generally speaking a kitchen renovation can take between 4 to 8 weeks to complete, depending on the finishes, materials and work methods required.

To illustrate the process this sample kitchen renovation schedule below steps you through a typical kitchen renovation timeframe.

1. Selections & design finalised. Once selection are finalised it enables the actual to commence. Tiles, tap fittings, appliances and finishes all have an impact on how the work throughout the kitchen renovation is done.
2. Demolition – usually completed within a day or so you will notice the kitchen is stripped back to the bare framing, enabling a clean start to the whole renovation
3. Framing – usually required if you’re making changes to the kitchen layout
4. Rough in for plumbing & electrical – installing all the pipes and wiring for your kitchen through the walls/floor and framing. If you’re not changing the locations of appliances, powerpoints, taps and sink this work is reduced (meaning less time and cost)
5. Plastering – this is required for any new walls or where the tiles came off the original walls
6. Cabinetry – Custom made cabinetry can take between 3 to 6 weeks to produce, again depending on the finishes you select.
7. Flooring – Such as tiling
8. Benchtop – Laminate benchtops can be installed by the cabinet maker, however stone benchtops will need to be installed by a stone mason, adding approximately 10 working days to the renovation timeframe
9. Fit off – connecting the taps and appliances
10. Splashback Tiling – this can generally be done within a day or so. A glazier’s required to install glass splashbacks (which are produced to size in a factory adding roughly 10 days)
11. Painting
12. Site clean up

As you can see there are many answers to the question ‘How long will a kitchen renovation take?’. Generally speaking, we can specify the timeframe once we know the selections & finishes. It’s fair to say that if you’re after a higher end finish, your kitchen renovation will take a little longer to achieve your preferred quality.

Richard Armstrong is a Director of Melbourne firm The Makeover Group. Educated in interior design, he is a Registered Building Practitioner. Richard has undertaken post-graduate property valuation research to identify the renovations that add the most value to homes in specific Melbourne suburbs. Over the last decade, he has helped hundreds of inner metro Melbourne clients undertake renovations to update their homes and create a new, fresh and modern look – all while growing the value of their property