How Long Does a Kitchen Remodel Take in Dublin, Ohio?
A week-by-week breakdown of what actually happens during a kitchen remodel in Central Ohio, why each phase takes as long as it does, and how to plan your life around the process with confidence.
Columbus Home & Design · 7 min read · Kitchens · 7.1.26
You've saved for this. You know what you want. The Pinterest board has been growing for two years and the kitchen you have right now doesn't come close. But every time you get close to making the call, the same question stops you: how long is my kitchen going to be out of commission?
It's a reasonable question and almost no one answers it directly. "Depends on the scope" is technically true and practically useless. You need weeks, not qualifications. You need to know whether Thanksgiving is realistic, whether the baby shower you're hosting in April is safe, whether you should warn your family now or wait until you have a contract in hand.
A Gentry kitchen remodel in Dublin averages 10 to 14 weeks of active construction. That number has a before and an after: design and planning typically add 12-14 weeks before a single wall comes down, and the final punch list, the small list of finishing details that Chris Alguire will not sign off on until they are right, adds a week or two at the end. From first consultation to finished kitchen, plan for 6-8 months total depending on project complexity.
Those numbers are specific because they come from real projects in Dublin, Powell, Upper Arlington, and New Albany, not from a national average calculated across markets that bear no resemblance to each other. What causes a project to land at the shorter end of that range versus the longer end is knowable in advance, and understanding it is the difference between a timeline that feels manageable and one that doesn't.
Before a Wall Comes Down: The Design and Planning Phase
The weeks before construction are the most underestimated part of the timeline. Most homeowners think of them as a delay before the real work starts. They are the real work. Every decision made during design is a decision that does not have to be made during construction, which is where decisions become expensive and slow.
Weeks 2 to 3: Consultation and Vision
The first two weeks are a discovery process. Gentry's design team walks the space with you, measures, photographs, and builds an understanding of how you actually use the kitchen, not just what you want it to look like. This is where the structural questions get asked: is the wall between the kitchen and dining room load-bearing, where does the electrical panel sit, what is the current plumbing configuration. The answers shape the scope before a number is put on paper.
Weeks 4 to 8: Design Development and Material Selection
Our design team leads the design phase, which is where your Pinterest board becomes a coherent plan. Cabinet style, countertop material, tile, hardware, lighting, flooring into adjacent spaces: every selection is made here, before anything is ordered. Dublin permits for kitchen remodels require construction documents, which are prepared during this phase and typically take 5 to 15 business days to receive approval. Gentry pulls the permits. You do not manage that process.
Weeks 9 to 12: Pre-Construction and Ordering
The third phase is where the plan becomes a build. Our trade partners walk the job with us, bids come in, and construction documents are finalized down to the detail. We build the job schedule and handle the pre-planning here, so the sequence of work is understood by everyone before the first day on site. Once the construction agreement is signed, material ordering begins. Every selection, cabinetry, stone, tile, hardware, lighting, is staged at Gentry as it arrives, so it is on hand and ready the moment the crew needs it. Nothing on your project waits for a delivery truck.
Why This Phase Cannot Be Rushed
Custom and semi-custom cabinets carry lead times of 6 to 12 weeks from order to delivery. If the design phase is compressed and cabinetry is ordered late, the build schedule gets pushed regardless of how ready the crew is. The projects that run on time are the ones where every material is ordered with enough lead time that nothing is waiting on a delivery when the crew is ready to install it.
Dublin permits for kitchen remodels require construction documents, which are prepared during this phase and typically take 5 to 15 business days to receive approval. Gentry pulls the permits, so you do not manage that process. This happens after design is complete and the contract is signed. We call it the pre-construction phase.
"We had a tight deadline to finish before our baby's due date and they pulled it off perfectly. We were updated daily regarding timelines and which contractors would be visiting."
Week by Week: What Happens During Construction
Once the permit is in hand and materials are on order, construction begins. This is the phase most homeowners are most anxious about, and it is also the most predictable. What follows is how a standard Gentry kitchen remodel progresses from demo to final walkthrough.
Existing cabinets, countertops, flooring, and fixtures come out. If walls are being removed, that happens here. HVAC technicians, electricians, and plumbers begin rough-in work: new circuit runs, relocated supply and drain lines, duct and vent adjustments, gas line adjustments for the range if needed. Inspections are scheduled before walls close.
After rough-in inspections pass, walls close. New drywall is hung, mudded, taped, and sanded. Insulation is addressed in any exterior walls opened during demo. This phase looks slow from the outside because the big visible changes have already happened, but the finish quality of the wall surface directly affects every finish that goes on top of it.
This is the week the kitchen starts to look like itself. Base and upper cabinets are installed, leveled, and secured. Custom cabinet installation moves slower than stock because each piece requires precise fitting to the specific room dimensions. A kitchen that looks right in the final photos is almost always one where cabinet installation was not rushed.
Stone countertops cannot be templated until cabinets are fully installed and settled. The template is cut from the exact cabinet configuration, fabrication takes 2 weeks, then installation happens in a single day. Natural stone and quartz both follow this sequence. The kitchen is not functional during this window, which is why planning a temporary cooking setup in advance matters.
Backsplash tile, new flooring, plumbing fixtures, electrical trim-out, cabinet hardware, and lighting all install in this phase. It requires precise sequencing: tile before hardware, flooring before toe kicks, lighting before final inspection. This is when the design decisions made nine weeks earlier become visible all at once, and the kitchen starts to read as a finished space.
Final inspections are scheduled with Dublin or the relevant municipality. The punch list, the remaining detail items, is completed by Chris Alguire's team. Nothing is signed off until everything is right. The final walkthrough happens with you in the room, going through every element. If something is not correct, it gets corrected before the project closes.
Completed Kitchen · Dublin, Ohio · Gentry Custom Remodeling
"Chad designed my dream kitchen with a giant island and awesome wine bar. Gentry's project manager made it all happen, kept things moving, and made sure I was happy every step of the way."
What Causes Timelines to Extend
Most delays in kitchen remodels are predictable in hindsight and preventable in advance. Understanding the common ones lets you ask the right questions before a contract is signed.
Premium appliance packages from brands like Wolf, Sub-Zero, and Thermador can carry 12 to 20 week lead times. A project that starts construction before the range is on order can finish a fully tiled, fully wired kitchen and then wait three months for the anchor piece. The fix is ordering appliances at design sign-off, not at construction start.
Dublin's permit review runs 5 to 15 business days for a standard kitchen remodel. Powell, Upper Arlington, and New Albany run similar timelines. Gentry submits permit applications at design completion, so the approval arrives before the crew does.
Changing a countertop material after cabinets are installed, or switching a tile after it has been ordered, resets the fabrication or procurement clock. Some changes add two to four weeks to an otherwise on-schedule project. The way to avoid this is to make final material selections during design, look at samples in your actual space, and commit before ordering begins.
Homes built in Dublin before 1985 and 2005 occasionally reveal conditions during demo that require additional work: electrical panels at capacity, plumbing that does not meet current code when opened, or unexpected structural conditions behind a wall targeted for removal. Even newer homes can present surprises behind the walls once demo begins. Good pre-construction scoping reduces but does not eliminate these. When they arise, a well-managed project absorbs them and adjusts the schedule transparently rather than letting them become surprises.
Kitchen details · Dublin, Ohio · Gentry Custom Remodeling
How Gentry Keeps Your Kitchen on Schedule
The difference between a project that finishes when it was supposed to and one that doesn't is rarely about skill. It is almost always about planning, communication, and whether the person managing the schedule is proactive or reactive. Gentry's project manager owns every project timeline with the same level of attention that our design team brings to design: specific, documented, and communicated to the homeowner before they have to ask.
Every homeowner gets regular and frequent updates during active construction: which trades are on site, what is being completed, and what is coming next. Not because something went wrong, but because knowing what is happening in your home every day is a reasonable expectation, and one that most contractors do not meet. Breanna Khourie had a deadline most contractors would not have committed to. Gentry committed, communicated daily, and delivered.
The full construction schedule, with permit submission, material delivery windows, and trade sequencing, is built before demo begins. Not estimated. Scheduled.
Gentry's project manager provides daily project updates throughout construction. You always know what happened today and what is planned for tomorrow. No chasing, no silence.
Chris Alguire conducts the final walkthrough with you. The project is not complete until every item on the punch list is resolved to your satisfaction.
"I've wanted a kitchen remodel for 7 years but was so worried about the process, I kept talking myself out of it. Now I couldn't be happier."
Frequently Asked Questions: Kitchen Remodel Timeline in Dublin, Ohio
How long does a kitchen remodel take in Dublin, Ohio?
A Gentry kitchen remodel in Dublin averages 10 to 14 weeks of active construction. Including the design and planning phase, which typically runs 4 to 8 weeks before construction begins, most homeowners should plan for 16 to 24 weeks from first consultation to finished kitchen, depending on project scope and complexity.
How long does the kitchen permit process take in Dublin, Ohio?
Dublin permit review for a standard kitchen remodel runs 5 to 15 business days. Gentry submits permit applications at the completion of the design phase so the approval is in hand before construction is scheduled to begin. The permit timeline does not delay construction when the application is submitted early.
Can I live in my home during a kitchen remodel?
Yes, most homeowners stay in their home during a kitchen remodel. The most disruptive phase is demo and rough-in, typically the first two weeks of construction. Setting up a temporary cooking station in a dining room or basement with a microwave, coffee maker, and mini fridge makes the middle weeks manageable. Gentry walks through a living plan with you before construction begins.
What is the fastest a kitchen remodel can realistically be completed?
A focused kitchen refresh with an existing layout, semi-custom cabinets already on order, and no structural work can be completed in 8 to 10 weeks of construction. Full transformations with wall removal, custom cabinetry, and stone countertops run 12 to 14 weeks of active construction. Design and permitting time is additional in both cases.
The homeowners who feel most at ease during a kitchen remodel are not the ones with the simplest projects. They are the ones who understood the timeline before construction started, had a clear picture of each phase, and were kept informed throughout. The anxiety that Jennifer carried for seven years was not about the kitchen. It was about not knowing what she was agreeing to.
A kitchen remodel is a significant disruption to the way you live in your home for a defined period of time. Knowing that period, and trusting that it will hold, changes the entire experience. The weeks are manageable when you can see them laid out in front of you, and when the person managing them has earned your trust before the first wall comes down.
Dublin's permit office, Central Ohio's trade scheduling, and the lead times on the materials you have been looking at for two years are all knowable in advance. Get a real timeline for your specific project, not an estimate built on national data that has nothing to do with your kitchen in your zip code.
Get a Real Timeline for Your Kitchen
A 45-minute in-home consultation produces a specific project schedule for your kitchen, not a range built from national data. Know exactly what you are committing to before you commit to anything.
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