Dust
A sealed barrier at the kitchen opening, plus a negative-air machine running through demolition. Floors in the route to the door are protected with hardboard.
Home
How it runs
Six stages, one lead carpenter
The same sequence on every job, from a four-day refacing to a thirteen-week remodel. Nothing gets ordered before the drawings are signed, and nothing gets built before it is drawn.
The sequence
Stage by stage
- 01
Week 1
Survey
Two to three hours in your kitchen. We measure to the sixteenth, find the stack, the panel and the joist direction, open the electrical panel and photograph everything that will be hidden later.
- 02
Weeks 2-3
Layouts
Two or three scale plans, each solving the room differently. Aisle widths and work-triangle totals are written on the drawing so you can compare them like for like.
- 03
Weeks 4-5
Specification
Cabinetry, stone, tile, hardware, appliances, lighting and flooring fixed in one document with model numbers, finishes and lead times. This is what the fixed price is built from.
- 04
Week 6
Order and permit
Cabinetry goes on order the day drawings are signed, because it is the longest lead item. Permit drawings are submitted in the same week.
- 05
Weeks 7-17
Build
Demolition, rough-in, inspection, cabinetry set and levelled, stone template and install, tile, paint, floor and fit-off. One lead carpenter throughout.
- 06
Completion + 60 days
Hand-over
Punch list walked with you and dated. Appliance paperwork, circuit schedule and care notes handed over. We return at sixty days to adjust doors and drawers.
While the work runs
Living through it
Almost every client stays in the house. These six things are what make that bearable, and they are on every job whether or not anyone asks.
Water
The kitchen supply is isolated at the stop taps, not at the street. The rest of the house keeps water throughout.
Cooking
We help you set up a temporary sink, refrigerator and microwave in a utility room or garage before the old kitchen comes out.
Hours
On site 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday. No weekend work unless you ask for it.
Keys
One lock box, one code, changed at completion. The lead carpenter is the only person with the code.
Fridays
A written note every Friday: what happened this week, what happens next week, and any decision we need from you.
Hand-over
What you get at the end
- A dated punch list walked with you, item by item, before final payment
- Appliance manuals, warranty registrations and model numbers in one folder
- The circuit schedule, so the next electrician does not have to guess
- Stone and timber care notes specific to what we installed
- Touch-up paint in labelled jars, and spare tile from the same batch
- A return visit at sixty days to adjust doors and drawers after the seasons move them
Questions
About scheduling
The design and drawings questions are on the full question page.
All questionsOnly kitchens. We do not take bathrooms, basements, additions or whole-house remodels, and we do not subcontract them out either. One room type is how four people can keep the standard where it is.
A full remodel is typically 9 to 13 weeks on site once drawings are approved, and a small galley 6 to 8. Design and specification before that is usually 4 to 6 weeks, and cabinetry lead time runs alongside it.
Survey appointments are generally within two weeks. Build start dates are typically 10 to 14 weeks out (sample figure, updated as the calendar moves).
Almost every client does. We set dust barriers, run negative air during demolition, and help you set up a temporary sink and refrigerator elsewhere before the old kitchen comes out.
Three, maximum. Each has one lead carpenter who is on your site every day it is active.
Where we stand
A build is boring when it is planned properly. We aim for boring.
No surprises in week nine, because the surprises were found in week one with a tape measure and an open electrical panel.