Can you totally close up the kitchen space for the remodel? So the workers can go in/out through a door that doesn't impact the rest of the house? That would be a huge plus.

It can be done, and it's less expensive usually right around the holidays and right after the holidays.

The kids won't be a problem. They are weirdly adaptable!

We can't close up the space, unfortunately, as it's fairly open with vaulted ceilings. And everyone would need to come through the front door or garage door and trek through the foyer or lower living space. We have electric baseboard heat, so the dust wouldn't be sucked up in vents.

We are currently dragging our feet through a gut remodel of our master bath, and this experience has taught me that I don't want to attempt a major project during summer. I also learned that, although we have the skills to diy, with kids and jobs it takes waaaayyyy toooo looooong.

Unfortunately, my experience was not that the kids were fine. My preschooler was really bothered by the chaos of the house being remodeled. It really showed, in a bad way, in her behavior. My then twelve year old did not behave badly, but he was clear that he did not like the house being torn up.

Remodeling during the the school year would mean kids would be at school during the day, which might help. But it might also make it harder to grill dinner and escape the house by going to the park, pool, etc.

We did a full gut remodel on our kitchen, dining, and laundry room last winter. We have 3 kids ages 4, 8, and 11 and our remodel started in October and stretched through the beginning of February.

We did put up a zip wall that completely blocked off the kitchen for pretty much the entire span of time and that made a big difference. I didn't have to worry about my preschooler getting into anything dangerous. My big kids adapted easily. My preschooler was a bit of a challenge at first but he did fine. We routed all contractor traffic through the garage entrance.

The negative was we had several weeks -Thanksgiving, Christmas - with no progress.

Can you ask if the prices are any different? I'm in Cali so I'm pretty sure there is no seasonal variation even though it's still *much* nicer to remodel in the summer as far as I'm concerned. It was really lovely to have long warm light evenings to cook outside in. I'd also be worried about tracking in snow and muck.

We started a kitchen remodel in February, which I'd try to avoid at all costs ever doing again.

On the day they demo'd the kitchen, a cold spell began with temperatures in the single digits, leaving a giant freezing cold corner of the house. (Thankfully, our kitchen had a door to the outside, which meant workers could come in and out and have the rest of the house sealed off by plastic sheeting.)

Kids didn't mind much at all, but in hindsight, it would have been so much nicer to do the remodel in warmer weather when you could fire up the grill and eat outside, rather than dealing with a makeshift counter and microwave and hot plate in the living room.

Thanks everyone! This board is so helpful.

You all touched on ideas and topics I was wondering about...shorter winter days, kids being in school, cooking outside, etc.

i have no idea if it would be cheaper. I thought it might be considered the off season ( at least here) in the winter and therefore less expensive. I'll ask designer about it and report back.

I live on the Front Range as well and it seems like contractors are always BUSY now no matter the season. I've done three remodels here with kids, one in the middle of winter and two not. I'd try to avoid the winter if possible if you are living the in the house. You just never know about the weather! Our winter remodel was in the winter of the big December blizzard and January freeze, but even with mild winter weather, having walls open is no fun! Outdoor cooking is easier (more pleasant) unless of course you are lucky to have a solid kitchen set up elsewhere in the house.

I had a 2 and 4 year old when we did a total kitchen addition starting in November and finishing in January. It was one chilly Christmas. The worse day is when they were busy working on the addition and my 4 year old was horribly sick and ended up having to go to the ER because of dehydration (did I mention this was in the middle of a snow storm?). I spent 3 months cooking in the dining room and washing dishes in the laundry room.

All worth it in the end -- of course I can say that now, it was 12 years ago.

I'd start saving for the money to stay in a place such as the Residence Inn for the duration of most of the kitchen remodel. What you have planned is extensive and will be disruptive, even if you were a no-children couple. I'd move out and stay somewhere with cooking facilities and move back when it's finished. Your sanity will be worth every penny.