HOW TO PREPARE YOUR HOME
FOR A KITCHEN REMODEL

A kitchen remodel is one of the most disruptive home improvement projects you can do — your main food prep and gathering space is out of commission for days or weeks. The homeowners who have the best experience are the ones who prepared their home and their household before the crew arrived. Here's what we walk clients through before we start.

SET UP A TEMPORARY KITCHEN

This is the single most important step. Identify a space — usually a dining room table, a spare room, or a basement area — where you can set up a microwave, a coffee maker, and a small fridge. Stock it with paper plates, disposable utensils, and easy-prep food for the duration of the project. Planning to eat out every meal sounds reasonable until day 4. Have a backup plan.

If you have a garage, a folding table and a plug-in burner go a long way. Outdoor grilling season is a popular time to schedule kitchen work for a reason.

CLEAR THE KITCHEN COMPLETELY

Everything needs to come out of upper and lower cabinets before demo day — dishes, pots, food, small appliances, cleaning supplies. Don't leave it for the crew to work around. Box items by category and move them to the temporary kitchen area or another room. Leave cabinet hardware in labeled bags so reinstallation is straightforward.

Clear the walls of art, photos, and decorations in adjacent rooms too — vibration from demo can knock things off walls in neighboring spaces.

PROTECT ADJACENT SPACES

Dust is the biggest nuisance in any remodel. We use plastic sheeting and tape to seal off doorways, but having furniture in adjacent rooms covered adds another layer of protection. Pull rugs from nearby hallways and dining areas if you can. Hardwood floors in the path from the front door to the kitchen should be covered with rosin paper or cardboard runs.

PLAN FOR UTILITY SHUTOFFS

Depending on scope, the kitchen remodel may require shutting off water, gas, and circuit breakers at various points. Know where your shutoffs are before we start. If your main water shutoff is stuck or the valve is corroded, get that addressed before demo day — it's not a good surprise to discover mid-job. We always identify these before work starts, but homeowner awareness speeds things up.

KEEP THE WORK ZONE ACCESSIBLE

Make sure the crew can access the kitchen from early morning without disrupting the whole household. If you have dogs, arrange for them to be elsewhere during working hours — both for their safety (open cabinets, tools, unfamiliar people) and so the crew can work efficiently without managing a pet situation. Same logic applies for young children during the demo and framing phases.