Installing New Kitchen Cabinets Doors
The process of remodeling your kitchen takes a lot of planning, time and effort. And there are many different moving pieces. One of the most significant elements of any kitchen remodel is the installation of the kitchen cabinets. Here’s how long it takes to install new kitchen cabinet doors , as well as some other frequently asked questions about kitchen cabinet installation.
Steps of Kitchen Cabinet Installation
To understand the process of “how long does it take to install kitchen cabinets,” it’s helpful to first get an understanding of the timeline of the process, and get a sense for how long each individual phase takes before choosing your kitchen cabinets . Here are the major steps of kitchen cabinet installation.
1. Plan Your Design
The first step of any redesign or remodel process is to gather inspiration and plan out the design. Depending on how many changes you are planning to make, and how long you’ve been thinking about executing the remodel (or the kitchen cabinet installation), the timeline of this step can vary greatly: anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months. This timeline shortens considerably if you enlist the help of an interior designer, who can help provide a vision and assistance on what specific kitchen cabinet options will best suit your desired look and feel.
Here are all the elements that you will need to consider as you map out your new kitchen cabinet installation:
Will you refinish, resurface, or replace your cabinets?
Depending on your budget, and exactly how great of a change you are looking to make in your existing cabinet setup, you may find you’d rather refinish or resurface your existing cabinets, instead of completely replacing them.
For the most part, refinishing or resurfacing cabinets is a cheaper option than installing brand new cabinets, and it can be significantly less complicated as well. If you are pleased with the functionality, size, and setup of your current kitchen cabinets, then an aesthetic upgrade by refinishing or resurfacing may be a better solution.
If you want to “start over” and rework the layout of your kitchen cabinets, or if your current cabinets are very old, then replacing them will be your best option. Decide which option will work best for you, and then you can begin to design and plan accordingly.
Do you need some design help?
If you are planning to do a full scale kitchen remodel, or a major kitchen cabinet rework, then it may make sense for you to enlist some extra help. This can be as simple as heading to your local home improvement store, perusing their selection of cabinetry, and striking up a conversation with one of their design team members.
You can also choose to seek out and hire the services of an interior designer, if you have the budget. This will cost you some extra money, but the benefit is that you will get recommendations that are completely customized to you and your space.
A third option is to work with a company that specifically deals with and specializes in remodels, whether in the kitchen, the bathroom, or other key areas of the home. If you’re interested in this option, you can always strike up a conversation, ask questions, and then get a quote for your project, no strings attached. You can even repeat this process with several remodeling vendors to compare quotes and price points – in fact, it is highly recommended that you do!
2. Decide on Your New Cabinets
Once you’ve determined which option between a new kitchen or a cabinet refinish will work best for you, decided if you are going to get some professional help with your remodel, and have locked down your initial design plan, it’s time to select your kitchen cabinet materials. This process will take about 1-2 weeks, depending on how quick of a decision maker you are.
Here are the elements you will need to consider as you decide on your new cabinets:
What material do you want your cabinets to be made out of?
There are many benefits and drawbacks associated with different types of kitchen cabinet materials. Hardwood is luxurious and durable, but expensive. Particleboard is affordable but can be weak and susceptible to sagging. At the end of the day, you’ll probably end up choosing a mix of materials, and if you decide to go with stock cabinets, your decision will be incredibly easy.
Do you want stock, custom, or semi-custom cabinets?
For the most part, kitchen cabinets can be purchased in three varieties: stock, custom or semi-custom. Stock kitchen cabinets are the most readily available to homeowners, and can be shopped for at your local hardware and home improvement store, or online. These types of cabinets are completely “buy as is,” and your installation team will install them directly. Stock cabinets are the most affordable option.
If you want something truly unique, and you have a sizeable budget, then you can consider custom cabinetry. Depending on how custom you want to get, you can even build cabinets completely from scratch with this option. But, it will cost you.
A great middle-ground option between stock and custom is semi-custom, which, as you can expect, is a more customized type of stock cabinet that you can choose to install in your home.
Take the time to decide what level of customization you need in your cabinets, and what fits in your price range.
What other aesthetic elements are important to you?
Your kitchen cabinets take up quite a bit of space in your kitchen, so you need to make sure you like the way they look. After deciding on material and your level of customization, think about any other aesthetic elements that you want to manipulate in the design and building process. For example, if you want to paint your cabinets a certain color to match your design aesthetic, or if you want to install custom fixtures for a special touch.
3. Hire Your Team
While it is probably possible for you to install your kitchen cabinets on your own it will be much more time efficient for you to hire a team of professionals to complete the installation process.
Reach out to family and friends, use review sites, and talk with your local home improvement vendors to find a contractor or cabinet installation specialist who can assist you with your specific needs. Depending on the level of specification you need, this process can take 2-7 days to find the right contractor for you.
Once you hire your team, make arrangements with them for when the installation will begin
4. Demo Day
Depending on which option you move forward with (refinishing, resurfacing, or replacing), you may have to completely remove your existing cabinet setup in order to install your new cabinets.
Fortunately, this is a pretty quick part of the process. Most demolitions for kitchen cabinet installation take less than a day, although it can take longer than a day if you are doing a full-scale kitchen remodel, and need to remove other pieces around the cabinets.
5. Install or Treat Your New Cabinets
Depending on which new cabinet option you’ve selected, you can expect a slightly different “installation” timeline for each.
How Long Does it Take to Install New Cabinets?
After you’ve done all the planning and prep work, the last step in the kitchen cabinet installation process is to actually install your new cabinets. Depending on the level of customization, and the unique setup of your kitchen, the length of time it actually takes to install your kitchen cabinets can vary. For the most part, it takes a week on average (usually closer to three working days) to complete a new kitchen cabinet installation.
If you are just installing new kitchen cabinets’ doors, through either refinishing or resurfacing, then you can expect this process to take a much shorter amount of time. You won’t have to make nearly as many design choices. You won’t have to worry about ordering new cabinets at all. And you won’t have to worry about new materials.
How Long Does it Take to Refinish Cabinets?
If you’re opting to refinish your cabinets, you have the easiest task in front of you. On average, refinishing it takes about 3-5 days to complete, according to Ehow.com. This timeline involves: preparation, stripping, sanding, and finishing with paint. Of all those steps, sanding takes quite a lot of time and varies greatly on the type of wood or material of your cabinet doors. Painting, or finishing the application, should be expected to take at least two days.
How Long Does it Take to Resurface Cabinets?
If you’re opting to resurface your cabinets, you have a similar timeline ahead of you to refinishing. In almost all cases, it is recommended that you enlist the help of a professional to complete resurfacing your new kitchen cabinet doors. According to Home Advisor, “most refacing can be done in 2-4 days,” although this does depend on the size and efficiency of the company working on your installation. This 2-4 day timeline does not include any time you need to spend planning or ideating your ideal design.
Other Elements That Impact Timeline of Kitchen Cabinet Installation
In addition to the steps listed out above, here are some other elements that can potentially impact the timeline of your kitchen cabinet installation.
Do you need to order your cabinets?
If you find your perfect cabinet set, and you need to order them either online or in-store, you might need to add in some time for delivery.
How busy is your contractor?
If you are dead-set on a certain contractor, you will have to be flexible with their schedule and wait until they have availability to work on your specific project. If time is more important to you than who your contractor is, then be sure to ask that question during the vetting process.
Are you making any major layout changes?
If you’re opting for a stock cabinet tear-down and install, that’s fairly simple. But, if you’re looking to adjust the layout of your kitchen, and install a differently-shaped kitchen cabinet setup, then you can expect for this to take more time.
Are there any additional changes you want to make?
The process of completing a kitchen cabinet installation or remodel takes a lot of time and effort, so you might as well make any other changes you’ve been considering for a while during the process. For example, if you want to install new flooring, or a new backsplash, or upgrade your appliances, you can easily enlist the help of a contractor to perform that work in addition to your kitchen cabinet upgrades.
Plus, the kitchen cabinet installation process is messy – you can expect lots of dust and exposed walls during the process. Capitalize on this teardown period to create the kitchen you’ve always dreamed of. Otherwise, it will probably be a long time until you’re ready to go through the process of hiring a contractor, demo-ing your space, and overturning your daily routine, all over again.
In Summary: How Long Does it Take to Install Kitchen Cabinets?
While the process of physically installing new kitchen cabinets can take about a week, the process of ideating your design, selecting materials, demolishing your existing setup, and fine-tuning details can take anywhere from two weeks to six months.
Either way, this is a decision that shouldn’t be rushed. Regardless of your worries around “how long does it take to install cabinets,” take your time to decide which styles, materials, and price options work best for you and your family. Do your best to enjoy the process, and keep the kitchen remodel process a positive one, where you are happy with the end result. Kitchen cabinets are truly an investment, so you want to make sure you completely love the final product. To learn more about kitchen and bathroom remodels, please contact our San Diego renovation experts at Remodel Works today.
Sources:
https://www.ehow.com/info_8317132_long-refinish-cabinets.html
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2693597/how-long-should-cabinet-install-take
https://sebringdesignbuild.com/how-long-does-a-kitchen-remodel-really-take-a-realistic-schedule/
