What Order Should a Bellevue Kitchen Remodel Happen In?

By Bellevue Kitchen Remodeling Ky School Breakfast Challenge · October 6, 2026

A kitchen remodel in Bellevue, WA is mostly a waiting game punctuated by a few loud weeks. The loud weeks are demolition, framing and installation. The waiting is cabinets, counters and inspections. Homeowners who understand the order of those pieces, and which ones can overlap, avoid the worst version of a remodel: a gutted kitchen sitting idle because one part has not arrived.

Why does the order of kitchen work matter so much?

Each stage depends on the one before it. Plumbing cannot be roughed in until the walls are open and the layout is fixed. Drywall cannot go up until the inspector has looked at the rough-in. Cabinets cannot be set until the walls are finished and the floor is flat. Counters cannot be measured until the base cabinets are level and fastened. Break that chain and something gets done twice, usually the most expensive thing to redo.

Lead times make the chain more rigid. Cabinets and stone are made to order, so their clocks start when the order is placed, not when the crew is ready for them. That is why the smartest sequencing starts with paperwork and phone calls long before a hammer swings.

What happens before demolition?

The first stretch is quiet and has nothing to do with dust. The layout is drawn and measured, appliances are chosen so their dimensions are known, and the cabinet order is placed. Appliance dimensions matter more than most people expect. A range that is thirty inches wide on paper may need a specific cutout depth, and a built-in refrigerator needs a precise opening with its own ventilation clearance. Those numbers go onto the cabinet drawing.

Permits are applied for in this period too. Work that moves plumbing, adds circuits or changes a wall generally needs a permit from the city, and the review can take longer than the work itself. In King County cities the reviewer wants a drawing that shows what is changing, so the layout has to be settled early.

Selections happen now as well: tile, faucet, sink, light fixtures, door hardware and paint. Anything that needs to be on site by a given stage gets a due date. A sink that has not been chosen cannot be templated for a counter cutout, and a faucet with a three-hole base needs a counter drilled for three holes.

How does the kitchen get through demolition and rough-in?

Demolition is fast compared with everything else. The old cabinets, counters, flooring and sometimes a wall come out in a matter of days. A crew in a Crossroads or Factoria rambler often finds the surprises described elsewhere on this site: old wiring, rusted pipe, a patched subfloor. Those finds are dealt with now, while the walls are open.

Rough-in follows. The plumber moves supply and drain lines, the electrician runs new circuits and boxes, and the hood duct goes in. The inspector visits, and nothing is covered until the inspection passes. A failed inspection sets the schedule back by however long it takes to correct the item and book another visit, which is why crews check their own work against the drawing before calling it in.

When do cabinets and counters actually go in?

After drywall, texture and a first coat of paint, the floor is prepared. Some homeowners put flooring in before cabinets and some after, and the choice depends on the material. Hardwood that runs under the cabinets is simpler to repair later if it was laid first, while a floating floor is usually cut around the cabinet bases.

Base cabinets are set first, leveled with shims, and screwed to the studs and to each other. A laser line makes the tops sit in the same plane, which the counter fabricator depends on. Wall cabinets follow. Crown, filler strips and end panels come last, since those are the pieces that hide the gaps.

Then the template is made. The fabricator comes with strips of thin material and traces the exact shape of the cabinet tops, the sink and the cooktop. From that point the slab is cut, shaped and polished off site. The wait between template and install is the quietest part of the project, and the kitchen is without a working counter. A temporary sheet of plywood with a sink on it, or a camp kitchen in the dining room, is a normal arrangement for that stretch.

A typical sequence in order

What can overlap, and what cannot?

Some tasks can run side by side. While the cabinets are being built, the demolition and rough-in can proceed, and the painter can work in the dining room. Backsplash tile can be planned while the slab is in the shop. What cannot overlap is anything that depends on a physical result from the previous stage. Counters need level cabinets, and a plumber cannot hook up a sink that is still in a box.

The common mistake is starting demolition before the ordered materials have a firm delivery date. A kitchen torn out in week one and waiting eight weeks for doors is a family eating off paper plates. Most experienced crews will not start until the cabinet ship date is in writing and the crew has verified the boxes against the order.

How does the Bellevue climate affect the schedule?

Wet months are slower for deliveries and for anything done outdoors, such as cutting stone, running a hood vent through the roof or loading a slab through a wet yard. Near Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish the air stays damp for long stretches, and paint and caulk take longer to cure. Hardwood and wood cabinets arrive acclimated to a dry warehouse and benefit from sitting in the house for a few days before installation, so they can adjust to the moisture they will live with.

Summer is the opposite problem. Crews are busier, fabricators have longer queues, and lead times stretch because everyone wants a finished kitchen before the holidays. Booking the work in the slower months can shorten the wait for stone and cabinets, though the rain slows deliveries.

What does a good week look like at the end?

The last stage is a series of small, fiddly tasks: backsplash tile and grout, plumbing fixtures, outlet covers, switch plates, cabinet hardware and adjustment of the doors. Doors get aligned so the gaps are even, and drawers are checked for smooth travel. The inspector returns for a final look. A punch list is walked through room by room, with painter's tape marking every small flaw, and the crew works through the tape until none is left.

Watching that list closely pays off. A cabinet door that rubs, a missing outlet cover or a caulk line that skipped a corner is cheap to fix while the crew is still on site and expensive to chase later.

A kitchen finishes when the last stage passes inspection, and the sequence is what keeps that day close to the planned one.