How long does a custom kitchen take?

Almost everyone underestimates this, and the underestimate is usually the cause of the stress rather than the schedule itself. Here's the real shape of a custom cabinet project.

The whole timeline at a glance

From your first call to a finished kitchen is typically three to five months. The build itself is eight to twelve weeks of that; the rest is design, decisions and the other trades.

Weeks 1–2 · Consultation and design

We come to your home, measure, and talk through layout, species, finish and budget. You'll see a layout within a week or two, and then we revise it as many times as it takes. This stage runs long only when decisions stall — which is fine, but it's worth knowing that the clock doesn't start until the design is approved.

What speeds this up: having photos of kitchens you like, knowing roughly what you want to spend, and knowing whether you're moving plumbing or appliances.

Week 2–3 · Quote and approval

A firm written quote with an itemized scope and a delivery window. When you approve the design and sign, we order material and your slot in the shop schedule is booked. The deposit is due here — not before.

Weeks 3–14 · Build

Eight to twelve weeks in the shop. Lumber is milled, doors and face frames are made, boxes are assembled, everything is sanded, and the finish goes on last with proper cure time between coats. Finishing is the step people forget; rushing it is how you get a kitchen that scratches in year one.

This period is a good time to schedule your countertop template — but note that countertops can't be templated until the cabinets are actually installed, which is the single most common scheduling surprise.

Installation week

Most kitchens install in two to five days. Our crew sets the boxes, scribes them to the walls, hangs and adjusts every door and drawer, installs hardware and cleans up.

After installation · the countertop gap

Here's the part nobody warns you about. Once cabinets are in, your countertop fabricator templates the actual installed cabinets, then fabricates. That's usually another one to three weeks during which you have cabinets but no counters and no sink.

Plan for it. It's the stretch that wears people down, and it's entirely predictable.

What actually causes delays

• Decisions. By a wide margin the leading cause. A finish color left undecided for three weeks delays the kitchen by three weeks.
• Mid-build changes. Changing a cabinet after the material is cut means remaking it.
• Other trades. Electrical and plumbing rough-in has to be done before cabinets go in. If that slips, everything after it slips.
• Surprises behind the wall. Old houses hide things. Occasionally a wall opens up and reveals a reason to adjust.
• Specialty material. Unusual species or hardware can carry their own lead times.

What generally doesn't cause delays: the build itself. That part we control.

Living without a kitchen

Demolition through counters is usually three to five weeks of no functional kitchen. Practical advice from people who've been through it:

• Set up a temporary kitchen elsewhere before demo — microwave, kettle, coffee, toaster oven, and the fridge if it can be moved.
• Keep a real sink accessible. A laundry or bathroom sink is the difference between annoying and miserable.
• Pack the kitchen properly and label boxes by where things will go, not where they were.
• Budget for eating out. Everyone spends more than they planned here.
• If you can, schedule the gap over a stretch you'll be away for part of.

Planning backwards from a date

Want the kitchen done for Thanksgiving? Start the conversation in June or July. Want it for a spring gathering? Call in November or December. Working backwards from the date is the single best thing you can do for your own experience of the project — and if the date can't be met, we'd much rather tell you at the first phone call than at week ten.