How Long Does a Kitchen Remodel Take? A Realistic Timeline

A full kitchen remodel typically takes 3 to 6 months from the first design meeting to the final walkthrough, with 6 to 12 weeks of active construction inside the house. Cosmetic updates finish faster. In Colorado Springs, cabinet lead times and building inspections set most of that schedule.

We get it: six weeks without a kitchen can sound like a lot of hassle. But a remodel is a lot less intimidating when you know what to expect. A good plan with an experienced company keeps the project moving, helps you prepare for the weeks your kitchen is out of commission, and cuts down on the surprises that can throw the schedule off track.

We’ve been remodeling kitchens and bathrooms in Colorado Springs since 2010. Most homeowners don’t realize that a good portion of a kitchen remodeling timeline happens before anyone picks up a sledgehammer. Design, selections, permits, and cabinet lead time eat up the calendar. Construction is the short stretch at the end.

How long does it take to renovate a kitchen from start to finish?

Plan on 3 to 6 months as the typical range for a full kitchen renovation. It breaks into four overlapping stages.

For our projects, active construction usually runs 6 to 8 weeks, and the full stretch from your first showroom visit to the final walkthrough lands closer to six months.

Atlanta design-build owner Ili Hidalgo-Nilsson told HGTV that full renovations involving changes to plumbing and electrical locations “can take anywhere between 3 to 5 months depending on the size and complexity of the kitchen.” That matches what we see here in Colorado Springs.

How long will your kitchen be unusable?

Six to ten weeks for most full remodels. That’s the stretch with no working sink, no stove, and no counter space, and it’s the number that actually changes your daily life.

The clock starts at demo and it doesn’t stop until the countertops are in and the plumber reconnects the sink. Creating a temporary kitchen is sometimes worth the time and effort. We’ve found that a folding table, a microwave, a coffee maker, and your old refrigerator relocated to the garage will get most families through it without too much drama.

One gap homeowners should watch for is the wait between cabinet installation and countertop installation. Stone can’t be templated until the boxes are set and level, so you spend another 2 to 4 weeks looking at a kitchen that appears finished but has a plywood counter and no sink.

What a kitchen remodel schedule looks like, week by week

Here’s how the construction phase sequences on a typical Colorado Springs project. The inspection points are what make the order non-negotiable, because work can’t be covered until an inspector signs off.

• Week 1: Demo and haul-off. Cabinets, countertops, flooring, and appliances come out. Anything hidden shows up now.
• Weeks 2 to 3: Framing changes, then rough plumbing and electrical. Rough inspections happen before walls close.
• Weeks 3 to 4: Insulation, drywall, tape and texture, primer and paint.
• Weeks 4 to 5: Flooring. Tile and hardwood go in before cabinets; some floating floors go in after.
• Weeks 5 to 6: Cabinet installation. Boxes get set, leveled, and anchored to studs.
• Weeks 6 to 8: Countertop template, fabrication, and installation. Then backsplash, appliances, plumbing fixtures, and lighting.
• Weeks 8 to 9: Hardware, trim, paint touch-ups, final inspection, and the final walkthrough.

That’s a same-footprint remodel. Move a wall, relocate the sink, or open the kitchen into a dining room, and you’re adding two to four weeks in the middle of that schedule for framing, additional rough-in work, and another round of inspections.

Does a kitchen remodel require permits in Colorado Springs?

It depends on scope, but the line is clearer here than most homeowners assume. The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department says cosmetic improvements generally don’t require permits, and it lists replacing kitchen cabinets and most appliances as examples. Swap cabinets and counters in place, and you may not need one.

Permits kick in the moment trades or structure get involved, including electrical work, framing changes, gas line relocations, and adding or moving plumbing. Most kitchen remodels cross that line.

Two local Colorado Springs details are worth knowing. First, PPRBD doesn’t publish a fixed turnaround time; it posts a live plan review queue on its homepage showing which submittal date each department is currently working through, which has recently run around one to two weeks but shifts with volume. Second, residential plumbing and electrical aren’t plan reviewed here at all. They get inspected in the field instead, which means the inspection calendar drives your schedule more than the permit counter does. Same-day inspections have to be requested by 8:30 a.m. on weekdays.

Permit fees are modest. The PPRBD fee schedule sets a $50 minimum building permit fee plus $50 for each trade, and doing the work without a permit costs twice as much in the long run. Your contractor must also be licensed by the state and registered with PPRBD to pull any permit, which is worth verifying before you sign with anyone.

We handle permitting and inspection scheduling on every project. Here’s how our process works.

What usually pushes a kitchen remodel off schedule

Four things account for most of it.

• Decisions made after demo. Changing a cabinet finish or moving an outlet mid-build restarts lead times and re-sequences every trade behind it. The 2026 Houzz & Home Study found 37% of homeowners exceeded their planned budget in 2025 while only 3% came in under. Late changes drive a lot of that wait time.
• What’s behind the walls. El Paso County’s median home was built around 1989, and Colorado Springs sits near 1986. That can mean undersized electrical panels, ungrounded circuits, and plumbing that no longer meets code. 
• Trade availability. The NKBA Skilled Labor Workforce Study found 58% of kitchen and bath businesses report a moderate or severe skilled labor shortage, up from 41% five years ago, with installers and carpenters the hardest roles to fill. Companies that subcontract every trade feel this harder than companies with crews on payroll.
• Material backorders. One discontinued tile stalls everything.

The best plan is to add a 15% buffer to whatever schedule you’re handed. If a contractor tells you eight weeks of construction, put nine or ten on the calendar and let yourself be pleasantly surprised.

Can you speed up a kitchen renovation?

Yes, within limits. Four things can move the needle:

1. Finish every selection before demo. Cabinets, counters, tile, hardware, lighting, appliances. All of it decided, on paper, signed off.
2. Choose in-stock or semi-custom cabinetry. You give up some configuration options and get back six to ten weeks.
3. Keep the existing layout. Leaving the sink, range, and refrigerator where they are avoids most rough plumbing and electrical work, along with a round of inspections.
4. Start in the off-season. November through March is quieter for interior remodeling projects in Colorado Springs, which can mean shorter waits for crews and trades, and off-season labor here tends to run 15 to 20% lower than peak summer pricing.

Rushing the design phase to reach demo sooner doesn’t work. That’s the most reliable way to make a project longer because most homeowners don’t give themselves enough time to make decisions they can live with.

Getting a real schedule for your project

Every kitchen remodel is unique, so you have to consider where you fall within the range. Your timeline depends on your layout, your cabinet choice, and what’s waiting inside your walls, and no one honest can give you a completion date before seeing the space.

What you can get early is a clear picture. Planning your kitchen remodel starts with a conversation about what you want to change and what you’re willing to spend.

After that, it can move quickly with a site measure, a 3D kitchen design, and an itemized bid that separates product costs from labor costs so you can see where every dollar goes. Once you approve it, you get a project schedule with real dates and a project manager who keeps it current in our client portal.

Ready to see the timeline for your dream kitchen remodel? Stop by our showroom at 5020 N Nevada Ave in University Village and bring your current and inspiration photos. One of our designers will walk you through what your project looks like on a calendar. Schedule a conversation with our team to get started.

Frequently asked questions

Should we move out during a kitchen remodel? Most families stay put. Crews work business hours, and dust stays manageable with plastic barriers and a covered path in and out. Moving out makes more sense if you’re doing both a kitchen and a bathroom at once, or if you have small kids and no second living space.

Is winter a good time to remodel a kitchen in Colorado Springs? Often the best time. Kitchen work is entirely interior, so snow and cold don’t stop it. Schedules loosen up from November through March, which usually means faster booking, better crew availability, and lower labor pricing than a June start.

How far out are Colorado Springs remodelers booked? Expect several weeks to a few months between signing and demo day, driven more by material lead times than crew availability. The NKBA Kitchen & Bath Market Index put remodeling backlogs at 3.3 months in early 2026.

Do I need to be home while crews are working? No. Most homeowners provide access and follow along through photos and updates. Stay reachable for quick questions, though. A same-day answer on an outlet location keeps the schedule from slipping.

How long does a bathroom remodel take compared to a kitchen? Meaningfully less. There’s less cabinetry, fewer trades stacked on each other, and no countertop fabrication delay of the same scale. The design phase is shorter too. Here’s more on bathroom projects.

Further reading

• What Does a Kitchen Remodel Cost in Colorado Springs? If you’re figuring out your timeline, you’re probably figuring out your budget too. See what a $25K to $75K+ kitchen remodel looks like and which choices have the biggest impact on your final price.
• The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department homeowner permit page spells out which work needs a permit in El Paso County. Worth five minutes before you hire anyone.
• The 2026 Houzz Kitchen Trends Study breaks down what finishes homeowners are choosing and who they’re hiring to install them.
• Our 7-step process, from first visit to final walkthrough shows where you sit at every stage and what happens next.