How Long Kitchen Renovations Take

Governing dependencyStone is templated after cabinetry is installed — never before

Reference photograph — a finished kitchen: white cabinetry, stone benchtops, timber island. Stages seven to twelve are the part that builds it.

The sequence sets the duration, not the calendar

A kitchen renovation is not one long job; it is twelve stages, several of which cannot begin until the stage before them is physically finished and measured. Durations move with scope, supply and what demolition uncovers. The order does not. Read the sequence first, then you can see exactly where a late decision or a back-ordered appliance pushes everything behind it.

The twelve stages

In the order they can physically happen

Stages one to five are planning and selection, and they happen while you still have a working kitchen. Stages six to twelve are the build, and that is the only part of the sequence your household actually lives through.

Planning & selection

01 ConsultationScope, layout intentions and site constraints discussed.02 MeasureDimensions, service positions, wall and floor variance.03 DesignPlan and elevations; appliance and cabinet sizes fixed.04 QuoteScope set out line by line against the drawings.05 Material selectionCarcass, doors, benchtop, splashback and handles confirmed.06 DemolitionOld kitchen out; walls, floors and services assessed.

On site

07 CabinetryCarcasses fixed, levelled and scribed to the walls.08 Plumbing & electricalRough-in follows the new setout, not the old one.09 Benchtops & splashbackTemplate, fabricate, fit — then the splashback follows.10 InstallationDoors, drawers, handles, appliances, sink and tapware.11 FinishingSilicone, kickboards, filler panels, hardware adjustment.12 HandoverWalk-through, care notes per material, final checks.

Four hard gates in the programme

What waits on what

Four dependencies carry almost all of the risk in a kitchen programme. Each one is a hard gate: the stage behind it cannot be brought forward by goodwill, only by making the decision earlier.

Cabinetry installed and levelled → stone templated, then fabricated → benchtop fitted and joins fixed → splashback set out → plumbing and electrical fitted off → finishing, then handover

The gate that sits earlier than most people expect is the appliance schedule. Model numbers have to be confirmed before cabinetry is cut, because every cut-out, filler panel and clearance is drawn from them. Confirmed late, it is the cabinetry that waits, not the appliance.

The build-phase gates are coordinated during Kitchen Installation & Trade Coordination.

Reference photograph · Slab selectionChosen from current supplier stock; batch and veining decide what is available on the day

What commonly moves the date

Delays rarely come from the trades on site. They come from information arriving later than the stage that needed it.

Late selectionsDoors, stone and handles hold the cabinetry run

Appliance lead timesCutouts cannot be made for an unconfirmed model

Stone availabilitySlab stock shifts, so second choices matter

Site conditionsOut-of-square walls and old services found at demolition

Mid-build changesOne layout change re-dates every stage after it

Stage durations are quoted against a confirmed scope and current supply, so no fixed timeframe is guaranteed in advance of design and selection.

Shorten the build by deciding earlier

Nearly every week that can be saved is saved in stages three to five. Bring the layout, the appliance schedule and the material choices to a decision before demolition, and the on-site sequence runs without gaps. Bring them late, and the gates simply wait. Start with our 12-step process, then work through the renovation checklist.