How long does a kitchen or bath remodel take?

Homeowners usually ask "how many weeks of construction," but the honest timeline starts earlier and includes waiting on materials. Here's the whole arc for a typical project.

Design & selections — 2 to 6 weeks

Consultation, showroom selections, layout, and an itemized number you approve. Simple counter-and-backsplash projects are on the short end; a full kitchen with custom cabinetry and moved walls is on the long end. Nothing gets ordered until you sign off.

Ordering & lead times — 3 to 10 weeks (overlaps design)

This is the part outside anyone's control. Stock cabinetry can arrive in 2–3 weeks; semi-custom runs 6–10; full custom longer. Appliances, specialty tile and European fixtures have their own calendars. We order early and build the schedule around the longest pole, not the shortest.

Templating — 1 day, about a week before install

Once cabinets are set (or existing cabinets confirmed), we laser-template the counters. Fabrication then takes about a week.

Construction on site

• Bath remodel — 4 to 6 weeks. Demo, rough plumbing and electric, waterproofing, tile, fixtures, finish.
• Kitchen remodel — 6 to 9 weeks. Demo, rough-ins, cabinetry, template gap, counters, backsplash, appliances, finish and punch.
• Basement finish — 5 to 8 weeks.
• Addition — 4 to 7 months.

The one-to-two-week "dead zone" after cabinets go in — while counters are being fabricated — is normal and built into every schedule. It's not a delay.

What actually causes delays

• Selections made late. Every undecided finish is a potential stall. We front-load selections for this reason.
• Change orders mid-build. Deciding to move a window in week three resets part of the schedule.
• Hidden conditions. Rot, knob-and-tube wiring, failed subfloor. Older Monadnock-region homes have all three; a contingency in the contract keeps a discovery from becoming a standoff.
• Backordered materials. We flag long-lead items at design and won't start demo until the critical ones are in hand or firmly scheduled.

The takeaway

Plan on roughly three to four months from first consult to a finished kitchen, most of it spent before demo. The construction weeks are the visible part; the schedule is won or lost in selections and ordering.