Kitchen remodeling in Palatine and the northwest suburbs

Two very different jobs both called a kitchen remodel

When people ask for a kitchen remodel they usually mean one of two things, and the difference is most of the price and most of the schedule.

A surface remodel keeps the layout exactly where it is. Sink, stove and refrigerator stay put, so no plumbing or gas lines move. You are replacing cabinets, counters, backsplash, flooring, lighting and appliances. Nothing structural happens, and in most cases no wall comes down.

A layout remodel moves things. Taking out the wall between the kitchen and dining room, putting in an island with a sink, relocating the range, adding a pantry where a closet used to be. Now you are into plumbing, gas, electrical and sometimes a load-bearing wall that needs a beam. That is a different job, and it needs drawings and a permit.

Tell us which one you are picturing on the first call and the estimate will be much closer to the truth.

The order we run a kitchen in

• Measure and plan. Field measurements, appliance sizes, where the water and gas actually run. Cabinet layout gets drawn before anything is ordered.
• Order first, demo later. Cabinets and counters have lead times. We do not open the kitchen until the long-lead items have a delivery date — that is what keeps families out of a plywood kitchen for two months.
• Demolition. Old cabinets, counters, flooring and appliances out. Floor protection down through the rest of the house.
• Rough-in. Any plumbing, gas and electrical that has to move happens now, while the walls are open. Inspection, if the work is permitted.
• Drywall, then floors. Patch, tape, sand, prime. Flooring goes in before cabinets so nothing is trapped.
• Cabinets, then template. Boxes set and levelled, then the counter fabricator templates off the real cabinets, not off a drawing.
• Counters, backsplash, plumbing and appliance hookups.
• Paint, trim and the punch list. We walk it with you and write down anything that is not right before we ask for the final payment.

Permits in Palatine

The Village of Palatine requires a building permit for work that changes structure, plumbing, gas or electrical — which covers most layout remodels and almost anything that involves opening a wall. A straight cabinet-and-counter replacement with nothing moving usually does not. Palatine also runs a contractor registration program, and the Village confirms what your specific job needs at plan review.

Permits are not the enemy. An inspected rough-in is the cheapest insurance you will ever get on hidden work, and unpermitted kitchen work is the sort of thing that surfaces later when you sell the house.

What actually moves the price

We give you an itemised written estimate before anything starts, and we would rather tell you what is likely to change than surprise you halfway through. In kitchens the usual culprits are:

• Cabinets. The single biggest line. Stock, semi-custom and custom are three different budgets for the same footprint.
• Moving water or gas. An island sink means running supply and drain through the floor. That is a real cost, not a small one.
• What is behind the old cabinets. Water damage under a sink, or plaster that comes off in sheets, is common in older Palatine and Arlington Heights houses.
• Load-bearing walls. If the wall you want gone is carrying the floor above, it needs a beam and a structural detail. Worth doing, but price it before you commit.
• Electrical that is not to current code. Older kitchens frequently need added circuits and GFCI protection once they are opened up.

How long you are without a kitchen

A surface remodel is usually a few weeks on site. A layout remodel with permits, inspections and a counter template is longer, and the counter template alone adds a wait between cabinets going in and counters landing. We give you a start date and a finish date in writing, and you hear from us whether or not there is news.

Most families set up a temporary kitchen — fridge, microwave and kettle in the dining room — and stay in the house. That is normally fine on a surface remodel. On a full gut with the water off, plan around it.

Common questions