A kitchen remodel runs in this order: plan and order cabinets and appliances, demolition, plumbing and electrical rough-ins under permit, inspections, drywall and paint, flooring, cabinets, countertop templating and installation, backsplash, then sink, fixtures and appliances. The biggest built-in waits are cabinet delivery before demo and countertop fabrication between templating and install.
Step 1: Decide and order before anything comes out
The kitchen should stay usable until the long-lead items are stacked in a spare room. Special-order cabinets, windows and some appliances can take a long time to arrive, and the cabinet layout depends on the exact appliances, sink and faucet you pick, so settle all of them before the cabinet order goes in. MasterBrand's installation instructions go further: check that the cabinets received match the order and aren't damaged, and don't remove the existing cabinets or plumbing fixtures until the correct products are on hand (MasterBrand).
Set up a temporary kitchen somewhere else in the house: the refrigerator, a microwave, a coffee maker and a utility sink or bathroom for dishes. A kitchen remodel can run in the middle of a Duluth winter because the work is all indoors, but plan for a real stretch without a working kitchen sink.
Step 2: Demolition, rough-ins and the permits they trigger
Demolition takes out the old cabinets, counters, flooring and anything else the plan replaces. Here's where Duluth's permit line falls. Cabinets, countertops and painting can be done without a permit, but if plaster or drywall is removed as part of the kitchen remodel, a building permit is needed, and a stove hood needs an HVAC permit, with plumbing and electrical permits for that work (City of Duluth). The city's FAQ puts the drywall threshold at alterations affecting more than half a sheet (City of Duluth FAQ). Superior exempts replacing kitchen cabinets without changing the layout, though plumbing and electrical permits may still apply (City of Superior).
With the walls open, the rough-ins go in: supply and drain lines moved for a new sink or dishwasher location under the required plumbing permit, and new circuits, outlets and lighting by a licensed electrician under an electrical permit. A ducted range hood gets its duct run now too. In older Duluth homes, this is also when the surprises show up: cast-iron drains, old wiring, framing cut by an earlier remodel. Rough-in inspections have to pass before insulation and drywall close the walls, so the schedule waits on the inspector here. Old plaster walls often come down to the studs at this stage rather than being patched; our plaster and drywall page covers that choice.
Step 3: Drywall, then the flooring question, then cabinets
Once inspections pass, the walls are insulated where needed, drywalled, taped and primed. Painting the walls before the cabinets go in saves cutting in around every box later.
Then comes the question every kitchen remodel has to answer: does the new floor go in before or after the cabinets? Tile, sheet vinyl and glue-down floors can run wall to wall under the cabinets, which makes a future layout change easy and keeps the floor height the same under the dishwasher and refrigerator. Floating floors are different. Mohawk's rigid vinyl click instructions say not to install cabinets on top of its vinyl flooring and to keep an expansion space around cabinets (Mohawk), so a floating floor goes in after the cabinets. When the floor comes second, raise the dishwasher's space to the finished floor height first, or the dishwasher can end up trapped under the counter. Our flooring page covers the materials.
Cabinets come next. Older Northland floors are seldom level, so the base cabinets are set from the floor's high point: MasterBrand's instructions call for finding the highest point along the cabinet walls and drawing a level line 34-1/2 inches up from it, then shimming every cabinet to that line and screwing into studs.
| Stage | What happens | What it waits on | Duluth permit note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Plan and order | Layout, cabinets, appliances, sink, faucet, lighting | Cabinet and appliance lead times | Permits applied for now if walls or trades are involved |
| 2. Demolition | Old cabinets, counters, flooring, wall finishes out | Cabinets delivered and checked | Removing plaster or drywall needs a building permit |
| 3. Rough-ins | Plumbing, new circuits and lighting, hood duct | Licensed trades' schedules | Plumbing, electrical and HVAC permits |
| 4. Inspections | Rough-in inspections before walls close | The inspector's visit | Required for each permit |
| 5. Drywall and paint | Hang, tape, prime and paint walls and ceiling | Joint compound drying | Part of the building permit, where one applies |
| 6. Flooring | Tile or glue-down now; floating floors after cabinets | The flooring type | No permit |
| 7. Cabinets | Set level from the high point, fastened to studs | A level line and stud layout | No permit |
| 8. Countertops | Template, fabrication, installation | Fabrication after templating | No permit |
| 9. Backsplash | Tile set on the new counter, grouted, sealed | Counters in place | No permit |
| 10. Fixtures and appliances | Sink, faucet, hood, appliances, trim | Counters and backsplash | Final inspections close the permits |
Step 4: Template, countertops, backsplash, then fixtures
Stone and quartz counters are measured on the cabinets, not from the plan. Cambria's installation page tells homeowners to make sure cabinets are installed, to have the sink, faucet and appliances on site for accurate cutouts or provide model numbers for any that can't be, and to arrange removal of old countertops (Cambria). After templating, the slab is cut and finished at the fabricator's shop, which leaves a stretch with no counters; ask your fabricator for their current lead time when you order. Laminate and butcher block tops are often cut to fit on site, so they may skip that wait.
The backsplash waits for the counters, because the first row of tile sits on the new top. Outlet boxes get extenders so the cover plates sit flat on the tile, and we caulk the joint where tile meets counter rather than grouting it, since the two surfaces move a little differently. Our planning range for a kitchen tile backsplash is $450–$1,200, with tile as its own line on the quote.
Last come the sink and faucet, reconnected under the required permits, the disposal and dishwasher, the range hood, the appliances, toe kicks, trim and cabinet hardware. Final inspections close out each permit, and then you walk the kitchen with a punch list.
National cost guides put a kitchen remodel at about $14,588–$41,559, according to HomeAdvisor, and minor remodels at $10,000–$20,000 in the same HomeAdvisor guide. Those are U.S. ranges, not our price. Our kitchen remodeling page covers the scope, and the permit guide covers other rooms.
How long a kitchen remodel takes, and how to live through it
How long a kitchen remodel takes depends less on the work than on the waits between the steps. A refresh that keeps the cabinets and layout, with new counters, a backsplash and lighting, moves fastest, because it usually has no rough-in inspections to wait for. A full remodel adds the long stretches in the table above: cabinet and appliance lead times before demolition, the licensed trades' schedules and the inspector's visit before the walls close, and countertop fabrication between templating and installation. Those waits change from supplier to supplier, so ask each one for a current lead time and build the schedule from their dates rather than from a rule of thumb.
The part you'll feel most is the stretch without a sink. It runs from demolition until the countertop is set and the faucet reconnected, so a longer fabrication wait means more days washing dishes somewhere else. Ask for that stretch to be marked on your schedule. Move the refrigerator and microwave to the temporary kitchen before demolition day, keep a dish bin and drying rack by a bathroom or laundry sink, and stock paper plates for the days in between.
Dust and access are the rest. Demolition and drywall sanding make fine dust, so the work area gets closed off with dust barriers, the path from the door is protected, and it's worth checking the furnace filter when the dusty stages are done. Settle where the crew parks and carries materials in; on a steep Duluth lot or after a snowfall, that can take some planning. Keep pets and small children out of the work area during working hours, and move back in once the final inspections pass and the punch list is done.
Should flooring go in before or after kitchen cabinets?
It depends on the floor. Tile and glue-down floors can go in first and run under the cabinets, which keeps the floor level under the dishwasher and makes future layout changes easier. A floating floor goes in after the cabinets when its maker says so; Mohawk's rigid vinyl instructions, for one, say not to install cabinets on top of it. If the floor goes in second, build the dishwasher space up to the finished floor height first.
When is the countertop measured during a kitchen remodel?
After the base cabinets are installed, level and fastened, and before the backsplash. The fabricator templates the actual cabinets, so the sink, faucet and cooktop should be on site, or their model numbers on hand, for the cutouts. Fabrication happens after templating, so expect a gap with no counters and ask your fabricator for their lead time.
Does a range hood need a permit in Duluth?
Yes. The City of Duluth lists an HVAC permit for the stove hood as part of a kitchen remodel, alongside plumbing and electrical permits for that work. Cabinets, countertops and painting need no permit, but removing plaster or drywall does need a building permit. A hood's duct and wiring go in during the rough-in stage so they can be inspected before the walls close.
When does the backsplash go in during a kitchen remodel?
After the countertops are installed and before the final fixtures. The first row of tile sits directly on the new counter, so the top has to be in place and level first. Outlet box extenders go on as the tile goes up, and the counter-to-tile joint is best caulked rather than grouted, since the two surfaces move slightly differently.
What can you cook while your kitchen is being remodeled?
Meals that need one plug-in appliance and little cleanup. A microwave, slow cooker, electric kettle, toaster oven or countertop induction burner can carry a temporary kitchen, and the grill works too when the weather allows, which in a Duluth winter it may not. Run one appliance at a time on a circuit so you don't trip the breaker. Plan simple meals for the days without a sink, since washing up is the hard part.
Send photos and a rough sketch of your kitchen, or call or text (715) 919-7956. You'll get the sequence for your kitchen and a flat written quote, approved before work starts.