I have found it very easy to get people here quickly - unfortunately in this economy many craftsman don't have much on their plate! I was templated on a wednesday, installed the next wednesday, all appliances in thursday and hooked up friday ... so there is definitely hope!! good luck!

Well, if you and your contractor are on top of scheduling, I think there's hope. I used Atlas Stone Fabricators in Odenton, MD and they were great-- I am very happy with their work, pricing was excellent, they met my schedule for templating, and it was one week from templating to install. That was in November. Plumbing went in the next day, and appliances were hooked up the day after that.

If you don't have your stone yet, you might want to take a look at Atlas-- they have a nice selection of slabs at their shop, and I found the prices to be better than using a stone yard and then transporting the slab to the fabricator. They install soapstone, but don't know if they have any in right now.

I don't know if they have any in right now-- I'm sure they know what their stock is!

I used a smaller, local granite yard. They templated on a monday and the granite was installed Thursday morning.Then the electrician and the plumber came in right away. But, things came up where the cabinet maker had to order new crown and toe kicks....a light had to be moved and patched in the ceiling etc. Now we're just waiting for all the final details, which seems to drag out a little bit. I haven't loaded up the cabinets yet, till the cabinet guy comes with the hardware.But the kichen is functioning with appliances and water.

If you want to move fast, just make sure you have all your choices picked. Lights, hardware, faucets, GD etc. We are also wiring for TV and stereo, so I had to take time to pick those too.

Call ahead to the appliance and granite people to give them a heads up to when the cabs are being installed. And find out what there time frame is.

this is sounding promising. it's an extremely tight schedule-- I think once I know for sure when the cabinets will be installed, I'll schedule the templating. I guess I should also order my appliances-- would be terrible if something didn't arrive because I was too slow to order (I just can't stand the thought of spending so much money, but I guess that comes with the territory).

I would definitely order the appliances now, you never know if something will be a special order or take longer to get. They'll hold it for you till you need it.

It is hard to bite the bullet on the big purchases, but now is the time!!

Good luck!

I hate to be the naysayer, but.... well, there is a lot that can go wrong between now and then. I wouldn't plan on putting this in the 90% untill the actual cabinet install. I always tell people that the surest way to plan for something unexpected to come up is to plan to have the project complete by a certain important date. It's the kitchens where everyone is releaxed with no looming deadline where things tend to go the smoothest. THe kitchens where everyone is on edge to have it complete by Thanksgiving are the ones that tend to drag into the new year with a series of problems that no one gave themselves enough time to anticipate.

For instance, the appliances should have already been ordered. They needed to be on hand before the cabinet order was finalized in case something has changed from the manufacturer's specs and real life. That's a definite possibility.

Cabinets sometimes come in damaged or incorrect and need to be reordered. Sometimes the cabinet company has a rush of business and orders take longer than expected. We're experiencing quite a pickup of buisness after the inauguration and now that tax refunds are on the horizon for many. It's slowed lead times down some in our budget line.

And once the old cabinets are off of the walls, who knows what yoou'll find behind them that needs correcting! (That's assuming you're waiting for cabinet delivery before demolition.) If you're having other trades in to update or move the electrical/plumbing/HVAC, I always recommend doing that when the cabinets are ordered (or before, depending on the extent of the work). That gives you 3-6 weeks to move the sink, add undercabinet lighting and figure out what to do with that air duct that you forgot was there.

Granite templating is a whole other process that can go very quickly, or not, depending on whether or not you already know which slabs you want and have picked them out, or the company has to order more and wait 6 weeks on them. The fabricator that I use for granite has a 2-6 week lead time, depending on the granite picked out, the shape of the kitchen, and a whole host of other factors. I never promise the 2 weeks, just indicate it will probably be 6 weeks, and if it's one of the cases where it's only 2 weeks, the customer is pleasantly surprised instead of angry that it took 6.

So relax, and realize that whether or not things happen according to your schedule or that schedule goes haywire and out the window completely, the thing that your in-laws will remember most about the visit is how you're handling the renovation stress, and how you're treating them. If you're on edge and constantly apologizing because the project isn't done, they'll be uncomfortable and remember that discomfort more than a half done project. If you laugh about it use the opportunity to spend more time with them at the dinner table at a restaurant because you don't have to cook, they may remember this visit very fondly.

thanks, everyone.
& live wire oak.. we've started the demo and will have the room prepped before the cabinets arrive. It's an old house, so the contractor is redoing all the dry wall and then we'll see what's going on with the floor. hopefully everything will be reasonably level and plumb before the cabinets get here.

good idea to order the appliances. i'll probably do that this week.

thanks!

I would agree w/livewire -
But cabs were ordered w/o demo or appliance specs? That could change things - given it's an old house and new drywall going up I would want my cab measurements to be done After the demo and new dry wall going up - the floor is another issue - new dry wall will undoubtedly be different dimension than old ? is it plaster removal or old dw?
How did you place order w/CP w/o appliances?
Is there any electric or plumbing work to be done?
What flooring are you using?

I understand your wanting to have a kit when your in laws are there, as well as your unfortunate situation w/local cab place - but haste may cause for problems

When they gutted my kitchen there were several flooring & wall problems that required reframing, new sub floor etc...
Waited until that was completed before measuring for cabs then measured several times

Counter template can't be completed w/o the appliances so yes, they will need to be onsite

Does your GC have his/her own subs? who is doing the cab install - what does the stone yard say for lead time w/template & fabrication?

If your GC is good about pushing the people/vendors/subs you have a shot.... but honestly I would not count on it - I'd rather have a temp kitchen for visitors than to be so caught up with the timeline that things are not done correctly

good luck

I hope all goes smoothly. My kitchen renovation was going right on track, with half of the cabinets installed, until the contractor fully opened the box for the refrigerator panel, which was damaged. Everything cabinet- related had to stop, because of the location of the refrigerator, and we've been waiting 2.5 weeks for this to be delivered so that they can move on with the cabinet installation. After it's delivered (I hope on Monday), then another 3 days for cabinets to be finished, then template the counter, then a week to wait, then install the faucets and finally re-install my dishwasher--can't wait for that! So really another 2-3 weeks at the least. It's already been 5+ weeks of renovation but 3 of them have been 'waiting'. We ballparked 3- 5 weeks for the project (contractor told us 3 weeks). In reality it will be 7-8 weeks without a kitchen before the kitchen is at least functional. Even at that it will still need need final touches.

Needless to say my family is very sick of the inconvenience, but this is out of anyone's control (except, perhaps, the delivery company who crushed the panel). Sorry for venting but we are really really tired of no kitchen!

So plan for unexpected delays and ask that all the boxes be opened when they are delivered to your home. I asked the KD to do this but he told me there was no visible damage to the boxes so no need to do this. Live and learn...

Good luck with everything.

We diy'd our last kitchen and it was 13 weeks, working only on some (not all) weekends. Obviously slow, but we had babies and work commitments that required working Saturdays half the time. Not very relevant to Danielle's remodel, but I wanted to throw it out there for other diy'rs who might be reading this thread.

Next time, I'll plan a long visit TO the inlaws during the reno, just to get a break, lol!

I think there is hope! If you have a great GC and everything you need onsite, and a little luck, you should be OK. Sure, there are things that may/can happen. You can't control that.

My GC was great and completed my kitchen in 2 1/2 weeks! I was VERY lucky nothing went wrong. So it is possible.

I'll be wishing you a problem/stress free kitchen renovation! Good luck!

Babs

I think there is hope too! I think I will be 90% done by the end of next week - three weeks total. And that includes all my complicated issues - 2 whole days of electrical, 2 days of plumbing, 1 day of heating work and 1 day of asbestos removal. They did the counter template today and it will be installed next Wednesday. The floors will take the longest, as I think each coat of poly takes longer to dry? I hope your floors look good!

The carpentry itself seems like a breeze.

I think it is probably *do-able* but I would echo the others above who said not to count on it 100%. That's just setting yourself up for disappointment and angst! Work hard towards that goal, but realize that in the end, it will be a BONUS if it is all done by the visit. Just my humble 2 cents.

Keep us posted!

we've chosen our appliances, but haven't ordered them... we also had some exploratory demo done along with a chimney removal in Nov, so we are sure of our measurements. Mostly I'm wondering about the time between the cabinet installation and being 100% done.

thanks for all your help!

I would order your appliances ASAP. I had those measurements for the KD who used them for the measurement of the cabs. My kitchen is very small and my GC wanted to be sure that everything fit just so. He is even pickier than I am! I didn't know that was possible!

That being said, the appliances came within two weeks of ordering. However they sent the WRONG stove from what I ordered. They had to order it again. It was out of stock! I wouldn't be able to get it for another two months! From there, when I opened up the hood for the stove, it was demolished during transit. Had to order a new one. OUT OF STOCK! That puppy took another four months to get. Hopefully, that won't happen to you but get them in ASAP so all will go smoothly. It will also help your GC in the placement of the plugs, outlets, etc.

I went from an all electric kitchen to my dual fuel range. So knowing where the gas line had to be installed was important before they even dry walled.

I also decided at the last minute to get a different fridge. Of course, I didn't realize that the monster fridge would stick out so far from my cabinets. Luckily I was able to steal a little space from the garage so it sits flush with the cabs. Looks like a built in but I have all the space I need--unlike the cabinet depth fridges.

Also, my cabs were supposed to be in within a month. They took two weeks longer than that to arrive. I am not saying this to scare or worry you, it is just part of the "normal" process of remodeling. Things happen and you may change your mind (such as I did by getting a new fridge).

Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you that all will go well! Hope everything will be done and the kitchen is beautiful before you have company.