The most frequent answer you'll find online is 6–12 weeks for a kitchen remodel. In Los Angeles, for a full remodel with permits, that estimate is wrong in almost every case. A realistic timeline for a comprehensive kitchen project — from initial design meeting to finished, fully operational kitchen — is 5–8 months. Sometimes longer.
That's not a reason to delay starting. It's a reason to start earlier than you think you need to, and to use the pre-construction period productively. Here's how the time actually breaks down.
Design phase: 4–8 weeks
The design process begins before a single product is ordered or a permit is filed. This phase covers everything from understanding your goals and lifestyle to developing the layout, selecting materials, specifying appliances and cabinetry, and producing permit-ready drawings.
A well-run design phase compresses the project overall — every decision made now is one fewer decision that has to be made on-site under time pressure. Clients who shortcut the design phase to "get started faster" almost always create delays later when decisions that should have been made at the drawing board have to be resolved mid-construction.
At JAC, our kitchen design process typically takes 4–6 weeks for the initial design development, with additional time for revisions, product sourcing, and drawing completion. We don't move to permitting until every major design decision — cabinetry, stone, appliances, lighting, layout — is resolved.
Permitting: 6–14 weeks
This is the phase that surprises most people. Most kitchen remodels in Los Angeles require permits — for electrical, plumbing, and any structural changes. The City of LA's permitting process involves submitting drawings, plan check review, corrections, and re-review before a permit is issued.
For straightforward projects, plan check can move in 4–6 weeks if submitted over-the-counter or electronically. For anything involving structural work, that timeline can extend to 10–14 weeks or longer. Some jurisdictions in the greater LA area (Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Malibu) have their own planning departments with their own timelines.
The practical implication: your cabinet order, stone fabrication, and appliance deliveries can all be initiated during the permitting phase. A well-managed kitchen project runs design, permitting, and procurement concurrently — so that when the permit is in hand, product is already on its way.
Kitchens
Product lead times: 10–20 weeks (running concurrently)
Custom and semi-custom cabinetry from quality manufacturers — the kind used in high-end LA kitchen remodels — has lead times of 10–16 weeks from order to delivery. European appliance brands can run 12–20 weeks. Natural stone slabs need to be selected, purchased, and scheduled for fabrication, which adds 4–6 weeks from slab yard visit to templating.
These aren't sequential — they run in parallel with permitting. But they do need to be initiated early. The single most common cause of kitchen project delays we see is product that wasn't ordered in time. If your cabinet lead time is 14 weeks and you order them the week you get your permit, your construction start is 14 weeks away regardless of how quickly everything else moves.
Construction: 8–16 weeks
Once the permit is in hand and product is staged for delivery, the construction phase begins. Here's how it typically unfolds:
Demo: 3–5 days. Existing cabinets, countertops, flooring, and fixtures come out. This phase frequently reveals conditions behind walls — old plumbing, undersized electrical service, subfloor damage — that affect scope and add time. Plan for it.
Rough plumbing and electrical: 1–2 weeks. Plumbing is relocated or extended as needed, electrical circuits are run for the range, hood, refrigerator, dishwasher, undercabinet lighting, and island outlets. This work has to be done before walls are closed.
Inspections: 1–3 days each, scheduled in advance. Rough plumbing and electrical inspections happen before walls are closed. In LA, scheduling an inspection can take 1–2 weeks. Factor this into your timeline — you can't drywall until the inspection passes.
Drywall, prep, and paint: 1–2 weeks.
Cabinet installation: 3–7 days. Custom cabinet installation is meticulous work. Allow a full week for a complex kitchen — longer if there's built-in cabinetry beyond the main kitchen run.
Countertop templating and fabrication: 2–3 weeks after cabinets. Stone fabricators come to template after cabinets are installed, then take the slabs back to the shop for cutting and finishing. This is a 2–3 week window during which countertop installation cannot begin.
Appliance installation: 1–3 days. Appliances go in after countertops. Some — particularly professional ranges and column refrigerators — require specific rough-in work done weeks earlier.
Tile, backsplash, and detail work: 1–2 weeks.
Final trim, hardware, and punch list: 1–2 weeks.
Kitchens
What causes delays — and how to avoid them
Late product decisions. Every week a product decision sits unmade is a week the order doesn't go in, and the lead time clock doesn't start. Resolve all major selections in the design phase, before construction begins.
Change orders mid-construction. Changes made after construction begins are the most expensive changes you'll make — both in direct cost and time. Every change that affects rough work (plumbing or electrical changes) means opening finished walls.
Inspection scheduling. You can't control inspection wait times, but you can anticipate them. Work with your contractor to request inspections as far in advance as possible, and plan the construction schedule around the expected inspection windows rather than hoping they'll fall conveniently.
Conditions revealed during demo. You can't fully predict what's behind a wall. What you can do is build a contingency into both budget and schedule — 10–15% is realistic — so that discovered conditions are absorbed by the plan rather than breaking it.
A realistic total
For a full kitchen remodel in Los Angeles — design through construction — plan for 5–7 months from first design meeting to finished kitchen. Projects with heavy structural work or complex permitting can run longer. Projects where decisions are made quickly, products are ordered promptly, and a strong project manager is keeping the schedule tight can move faster.
The best way to compress the timeline is to front-load the decisions. Every unresolved choice at the start of construction is a guaranteed delay somewhere in the middle of it.
If you're beginning to plan a kitchen remodel, our kitchen design service covers the full process from concept through construction. Get in touch to talk through your timeline and scope.
