Full Kitchen Remodel

Rebuilding a Kitchen That Was Designed for Another Decade

A full remodel means the room goes back to the studs, or close to it, and comes back with new cabinets, counters, flooring, lighting, fixtures and appliances. In the Eastbluff and Harbor View Hills homes we work in, it also usually means bringing the hidden parts of the kitchen forward fifty years: the wiring, the venting and sometimes the plumbing.

The finished look is the easy part to picture. The order of work and the decisions made before demolition are what decide whether the project lands on budget.

Start With the Layout, Not the Cabinet Catalog

Original kitchens in these neighborhoods tend to be galleys or tight U shapes. Before we pick a single door style, we check the working distances. The aisle between counters should be somewhere around 42 to 48 inches: narrower and two people cannot pass, wider and you are walking laps between the sink and the stove. We look at the triangle between sink, cooktop and refrigerator, and at where groceries land when you walk in from the garage, because in many of these houses that path cuts straight through the cook’s space.

Moving the sink is the most expensive layout change in a house on a concrete slab. A channel has to be cut through the slab so a new drain can be laid, pitched correctly back to the existing line. Sometimes that is worth it. Often the old sink wall is a perfectly good place for the sink, and keeping it there frees money for better cabinets.

Cabinets: What the Boxes Are Made Of

Door style is what people notice. Box construction is what lasts. We generally recommend plywood boxes over particleboard, especially for the sink base, because a slow drip that particleboard swells from will barely mark plywood. Framed cabinets have a face frame around the opening and suit a traditional look; frameless cabinets give a little more usable interior width and a cleaner modern line. Inset doors sit flush inside the frame and cost more to build and adjust, while overlay doors cover the frame and are more forgiving.

Full extension drawer slides and soft close hinges are worth their small premium. In a coastal house, ask about the finish on the hardware too. Salt air reaches further inland than people expect, and bargain pulls and hinges can pit and discolor within a few years.

Counters and Backsplash

Quartz is the low maintenance choice and needs no sealing. Quartzite is a natural stone that is hard and heat tolerant but still wants sealing. Granite remains durable and varied. Porcelain slab is thin, stain resistant and handles heat and sunlight well, which suits kitchens with big windows. Butcher block is warm and repairable but needs regular oiling, so we tend to suggest it for an island top rather than the sink run. Counters are templated only after cabinets are set and level, and slab fabrication adds its own lead time to the schedule.

The Systems Behind the Walls

Most kitchens of this age need electrical work. Current code expects dedicated circuits for appliances like the dishwasher, disposal and microwave, GFCI protection at counter receptacles and AFCI protection on kitchen circuits. If you want an induction range, we check the panel’s capacity before you buy it. Under cabinet lighting goes in while the walls are open.

Ventilation should vent outside. A recirculating hood filters grease but leaves heat and moisture in the room. We size the duct for the hood, keep the run as short and straight as the framing allows, and plan for make up air if the hood is large enough that the code calls for it.

The Order of Work

1. Testing for lead and asbestos, then protected demolition.
2. Framing changes, then rough plumbing, electrical and ducting.
3. Inspections by the City of Newport Beach before walls close.
4. Drywall, flooring, then cabinets set and leveled.
5. Counter templating, fabrication and installation.
6. Backsplash, fixtures, appliances, trim and final inspection.

Call (949) 581-0087 and we will walk your kitchen, look above the soffits and give you a plan built on what is actually there.