A major kitchen remodel must be done in the right order for maximum efficiency. Time is money, and remodeling your kitchen in the right order will save you loads of it. Because of the time required to remodel a kitchen, it is best to understand the order to expect, regardless of whether you do the work yourself or you hire a pro.
Tear out all of the old stuff and get rid of whatever is not going to be reused.
The demolition process is one area that many homeowners can handle, and you save some money if you tackle this process yourself.
After demolition, rough-in work can begin, which includes any framing, plumbing, or electrical changes.
Don’t be in a rush to get beyond the rough-in stage until you’ve had the first inspection, called the rough-in inspection.
Have all of the framing, plumbing, electrical, or other work inspected.
If you’ve followed your codes, you should pass the inspection. If not, or if you didn’t understand the code clearly (many people make errors!), make the necessary changes and have the work reinspected and approved.
After your kitchen passes inspection, finish the walls.
In most cases, you’ll be hanging, taping, and finishing drywall. Don’t forget you need to prime the drywall, too; now’s a good time to prime it even though you won’t be painting for a while. (Priming drywall involves applying a coat of primer paint, which is like a thinned version of white paint. The primer seals the drywall’s facing paper.)
Install doors and windows.
You need these items installed and have the trim installed, too, so that you’ll work with “finished” dimensions from the edge of the door and window trim and not from the rough opening in the walls when installing the cabinets.
Install cabinets.
Hang the wall cabinets first and then install the base cabinets. You can hang the wall cabinets more easily when you’re not reaching over the base cabinets.
Install countertops, the sink, and faucet.
Install new appliances.
Install new light fixtures, if they’re part of the plan.
Finally, you can put down the new floor.
Don’t install the floor, no matter what material you’re using, before you install the cabinets.
