If you’re planning a kitchen renovation in Kitchener-Waterloo, one of the first things to pin down is how long custom kitchen cabinets take. The short answer: plan on 10 to 14 weeks from your first design meeting to the day the last door is hung. Custom cabinetry gives you the best fit, the best materials and the most storage for your space, but it is built to order, so it takes longer than anything you can pull off a shelf. Below is the full timeline, stage by stage, plus how it compares to big-box cabinets and what you can do to keep your project on schedule.
For more on what goes into a kitchen remodel with our team, see our Kitchen Renovations Kitchener page.
Quick answer: Custom kitchen cabinets in Kitchener-Waterloo take 10 to 14 weeks start to finish. About 1 to 2 weeks is design and ordering, 6 to 10 weeks is building and finishing in the shop, and 5 to 10 working days is installation. Changing the design after the order is placed is the most common reason a job runs to 16 weeks or more.
How Long Do Custom Kitchen Cabinets Take in Kitchener-Waterloo?
| Stage | Typical time | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Consultation, measuring, design and ordering | 1 to 2 weeks | How fast you sign off on layout, door style and finish |
| Shop build | 6 to 10 weeks | Shop workload, materials, number of boxes |
| Paint or stain and curing | 1 to 2 weeks (often overlaps the build) | Painted vs stained, colour match, drying conditions |
| Installation | 5 to 10 working days | Size of the kitchen, islands, crown and panels |
| Countertops, plumbing and electrical | Adds about 1 week | Countertop templating and fabrication, trade scheduling |
| Total | 10 to 14 weeks | Add a 1 to 2 week buffer for surprises |
Some stages overlap. A good shop starts finishing doors while the boxes are still being built, and your electrician can rough in while the cabinets are in production. That overlap is why the total is shorter than simply adding every stage together.
How Long Do Cabinets Take to Order?
Before anything gets built, the order has to be designed and signed off. For custom cabinets this takes 1 to 2 weeks for most homeowners. At Kitchen and Bath Reno Guys Kitchener Waterloo, we come out to the house, measure the room and talk through how you actually use your kitchen: who cooks, where the groceries land, what never has a home right now, and what drives you crazy about the current layout.
From there we put together a layout and walk you through the choices that lock in the order:
- Box material: plywood or MDF. See the most durable kitchen cabinet materials if you’re weighing the two.
- Door style: shaker, slab, raised panel or something custom.
- Finish: painted, stained or natural. See the most popular kitchen cabinet colours in Kitchener-Waterloo.
- Hardware and inserts: soft-close hinges, pull-out shelves, spice pull-outs, trash pull-outs, drawer organizers.
- Appliance specs: exact model numbers for the fridge, range, dishwasher and hood, so openings are built to the right size.
The single biggest factor in this stage is how quickly decisions get made. If you walk into the first meeting with your appliances already picked and a few photos of kitchens you like, ordering can wrap up in a week.
How Long Does It Take to Build Custom Kitchen Cabinets?
Once you sign off on the drawings, the order goes to the shop. This is the longest part of the job, and it is the part that makes custom cabinets custom. Nothing is pulled from a warehouse. Every box, face frame, door and drawer front is cut and assembled for your kitchen, your wall lengths and your ceiling height.
In the Kitchener–Waterloo area, the shop build usually runs 6 to 10 weeks. Where your job lands in that range depends on:
- How busy the shop is. Lead times stretch in the busy renovation seasons, when every homeowner wants a new kitchen before summer or before the holidays.
- The size of the kitchen. A galley kitchen with 12 boxes builds faster than a large kitchen with an island, a pantry wall and a coffee bar.
- Materials. Solid hardwood doors, specialty veneers or less common species can take longer to source than standard maple or MDF.
- Specialty pieces. Glass-front doors, open shelving, curved ends, appliance panels and built-in range hood covers all add shop time.
Paint and finish time. Most custom kitchens are painted, and painted cabinets need time. Each coat has to dry, and the finish has to cure before the doors can be wrapped, stacked and trucked without marking. This adds 1 to 2 weeks, though it often overlaps the end of the build. It is not a step worth rushing: a finish that goes out before it has cured is the most common cause of chipping along door edges. If your kitchen takes a beating from kids and pets, read about the best cabinet finish for a high-traffic kitchen.
How Long Does It Take a Professional to Install Kitchen Cabinets?
A professional crew installs a standard custom kitchen in about 5 to 10 working days. The crew sets the base cabinets first, levels and shims them to your floor, fastens the uppers to the studs, then hangs doors, adjusts hinges and fits drawer fronts so every gap is even.
Crown moulding, light rail, filler panels, appliance panels and island end panels all come at the end, and they are what make custom work look built-in instead of bolted-on. At Kitchen and Bath Reno Guys Kitchener Waterloo, every box is checked for level and square before the doors go on, because an out-of-level base is what causes doors that won’t stay shut and countertops that crack.
Can You Install Kitchen Cabinets in One Day?
In a small kitchen, an experienced crew can often get the boxes set in a single day. A finished install is a different job. Doors, drawer fronts, hinge adjustment, crown, panels and trim take longer, and on custom work that finishing is where most of the install time goes. Plan on more than one day for any full custom kitchen.
How Long to Install Cabinets in a Small Kitchen
A small or galley kitchen with no island is at the short end of the range, usually 3 to 5 working days for a finished install. An island, a pantry wall, tall ovens or a lot of crown and panel work push it toward two weeks.
How Long Does It Take to Install Kitchen Cabinets and Countertops?
Countertops can’t be measured until the base cabinets are installed and level, so they always come after the cabinets. For stone and quartz, the fabricator templates the installed cabinets, cuts the tops to that template, then comes back to install them. Coordinating that with your plumber and electrician adds about a week to the overall schedule.
- Plumbing for the sink, dishwasher and fridge water line is finished after the counters are set.
- Electrical for under-cabinet lighting and outlets is roughed in before the uppers go up, then finished at the end.
For the homeowner, what matters most is how long the kitchen is out of service. That usually runs from demolition until the countertops and sink are in, which is typically 2 to 4 weeks for a full cabinet replacement. Most of the 10 to 14 weeks happens in the shop, not in your house.
If your renovation moves plumbing, adds circuits or takes out a wall, check with the City of Kitchener, the City of Waterloo or the City of Cambridge building department about whether you need a permit. Permit timing is separate from the cabinet timeline and can hold up the start of a job if it isn’t sorted out early.
Custom Cabinet Lead Time vs Home Depot and IKEA
If the timeline matters more than a perfect fit, it helps to know how custom compares to what you can buy at a big-box store:
- Stock cabinets are pre-built in standard sizes and are the fastest option when they are in stock. The trade-off is fit: filler strips cover the gaps, and your size, door and finish choices are limited. See whether IKEA kitchen cabinets are worth it in Kitchener-Waterloo.
- Semi-custom cabinets are standard boxes with more size, door and finish options. They are ordered from a manufacturer, so the wait depends on the line and the season. Always ask for the lead time in writing when you order.
- Custom cabinets take the longest, but they use every inch of the room, fit older homes with walls that aren’t square, and are built to last decades.
If your boxes are solid and you mainly want a new look, refacing instead of replacing is usually faster, because only the doors, drawer fronts and exterior panels are new.
What slows a custom order down. The shop build is predictable. Most delays come from decisions and changes: design changes after the order is placed, appliances not picked yet, back-ordered hardware or appliances, and surprises behind the walls such as old wiring, water damage or floors that are badly out of level. That’s why we always recommend a 1 to 2 week buffer. At Kitchen and Bath Reno Guys Kitchener Waterloo, we keep you updated at every stage, so if something does shift, you hear about it right away.
How Much Should I Expect to Pay for Custom Cabinets?
Price follows the same things that drive the timeline: the number of boxes, the box material, the door style, the finish and the extras inside. A painted shaker kitchen with plywood boxes and a full set of pull-outs costs more, and takes longer, than a simple slab-door kitchen. For real numbers, see how much cabinets cost for a 10×12 kitchen in Kitchener-Waterloo and why custom cabinets cost more. Our guide on how to budget for new kitchen cabinets walks through setting a number before design starts, which is also one of the best ways to keep the order on schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do cabinets take to order?
For custom cabinets, the design and ordering stage takes about 1 to 2 weeks. After the order is placed, the shop build takes another 6 to 10 weeks.
How long does it take a professional to install kitchen cabinets?
About 5 to 10 working days for a standard custom kitchen, including crown moulding, panels and door adjustments. A small kitchen with no island is often 3 to 5 working days.
Can you install kitchen cabinets in one day?
The boxes in a small kitchen can often be set in a day, but a finished custom install with doors, trim and panels takes longer. Plan on more than one day.
How long does it take to install kitchen cabinets and countertops?
Cabinets first, then countertops. Stone and quartz are templated after the base cabinets are level, then cut and installed. The countertop and trade coordination adds about a week.
How much should I expect to pay for custom cabinets?
It depends on the number of boxes, the materials, the door style and the finish. Our cost guides for Kitchener-Waterloo break down real numbers by kitchen size.
Kitchen Cabinets Kitchener
So, how long do custom kitchen cabinets take in Kitchener-Waterloo? Realistically, expect 10 to 14 weeks from start to finish, with a 1 to 2 week buffer for anything unexpected. Custom cabinetry takes more time than stock options, but the result is a kitchen that fits your space and the way you live, built to last.
Ready to get your project on the calendar? Call Kitchen and Bath Reno Guys Kitchener Waterloo at (226) 894-0234 for a free estimate.
Kitchen and Bath Reno Guys Kitchener Waterloo
Serving Kitchener, Waterloo & Cambridge, ON
Phone: (226) 894-0234
kitchenandbathrenoguys.ca |
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Also proudly serving Guelph, Brantford, Stratford, Woodstock, and surrounding areas throughout Southwestern Ontario.
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Related reading: How to Budget for New Kitchen Cabinets in Kitchener-Waterloo