The process of a kitchen remodel can be quite devastating to your daily schedule, comfort of your home, and lifestyle.  An average kitchen remodel takes 6 to 8 weeks from start to finish.  Though you might not think you cook a lot or use your kitchen often, youll miss it quite a bit during the remodel.  Its like camping out in your own home.  No stove, no oven, no microwave, no sink, nowhere to put anything, and absolutely everything is going to be dusty and dirty during the process. Weeks go by slowly and your patience will quickly run thin. 

In the end you wont regret a thing except the months of removing dust from areas in your house that were thought to be completely closed off to the work area.  You might even find dust from the remodel in your car.

If you havent been discouraged from moving forward heres what to expect; 

1. Demo and prep work take on average about 2 to 4 days, we tape off the area to prevent as much dust as possible.  If removing walls and/or flooring the dust can be quite extensive and often difficult to tape off large open areas. 
2. During demo we keep a trailer in front of your home to load with waste materials. Each dump run is about $110. An average kitchen is typically one dump run.  Flooring can add one to two more depending on weight. From time to time we might need the trailer throughout the project for delivery/storage of materials and tools.
3. Once cabinets are agreed upon in size and type, they take about 10 days to build, and about a week to paint/finish depending on finish type.  Expect cabinets about 15 to 20 days from order to install.
4. Counter tops.  Slabs can be picked out and purchased within the first week.  Once cabinets are in place the fabrication company will come in and template for countertops.  The fabricator cannot template for the cuts until the base cabinets and the sink are set in place.  Once templated its about 4 to 7 days for install.
5. Doors & drawer covers take 3 weeks from order, its a good idea to not start doors and drawer faces until after the cabinets are installed to adjust for any changes in size, style, and cabinet preferences.  Some cabinets can be pre-ordered with door and drawer faces, expect 60 to 90 days for complete cabinets from time of order. 
6. Wood Flooring Delivery can take 1 to 3 weeks from date of order depending on type/manufacturer.  (a lot is readily available at home depot or lowes).  Install takes about 3 days per 1000 sq. ft. Baseboard and/or trim takes about 2 days with install and paint for the same sq. footage.
7. Tile Delivery can take 1 to 3 weeks from date of order depending on type/manufacturer. (a lot is readily available at home depot or lowes).  Tile installation takes about 1 day per 250 sq. ft., but varies greatly by type of tile and cuts required.
8. Sink & faucets, if not off the shelf, take about 1 week from date of order and will be needed prior to templating the counter.
9. Appliances range greatly in delivery times, order as quickly as possible to get installation and fabrication specs for cabinetry.

What to expect:  The first week everything is a bit messy with little access to the area available due to taped off areas.  Once all demo and prep work is done, the plastic comes down and we try to make the space livable as quickly as possible.  Week 2 & 3 is focused on refinishing, drywall repairs, and prep work for installation of cabinets if applicable. Directly after all prep work plywood is placed on cabinets and if the sink is in we will install it and make it usable.  Appliances can also be installed and used at that time.  Final install items such as doors & drawer covers go in around week 4 after everything else has been installed.

The team starts about 8am and works till 4 or 5 ish.  Though they do not work weekends or evenings they are available in the event of an emergency;  plumbing and/or electrical.

During the process it is very common for additions and changes to take place.  We use an online project managment application to track these changes and costs.  www.projectmanagerplus.com.  Though you get notifications of changes please login often to see the process.  Once a project is setup in the system you will get a email invite to participate.

I try to do initial CAD drawings for all large projects.  I use Sketchup Pro. All drawings are uploaded and viewable within the project management application.  The full file can be downloaded in the community area of Sketchup. a free version is available; www.sketchup.com.  The first renderings are free, additional work to drawings is available at only $65 per hour, billable in 10 hour increments.  Unused time is either applied to work being done or refunded upon request.  Design, creation and rendering time goes fast, expect about 5 to 15 hours on the average kitchen.

Whats the next step to get started?  Lets pick out some colors and styles to get going!   Building a color & texture pallet is a great start and helps in choosing finish colors, backsplash, and hardware quickly.  Great resources to find a style you like can be resourced online; 

www.pinterest.com

www.wayfair.com

www.houzz.com

www.daveraine.com