By the time install day rolls around, you've been thinking about your new kitchen for months. Design, wood selection, finish, hardware, countertop coordination — all of it leads up to the moment when a truck shows up with the actual cabinets. Here's what that week actually looks like, so you know what to expect.
The Week Before
A few days before install, we confirm the schedule and run through any final details. This is a good time to double-check the access path — whether the cabinets will come through the front door or a side entrance, and whether there's anything along the route that needs to be moved or covered.
On your end, you'll want to: clear the kitchen completely (or whatever space is being worked on), pull down anything fragile from adjacent walls, and take photos of your electrical and plumbing locations if you haven't already — helpful for reference later.
If you've been living through a full remodel, you probably already know the drill. If this is your first time, prepare for your kitchen to be out of commission for the install week. Set up a temporary coffee station somewhere else.
Day One: Delivery and Dry Fit
The truck arrives. Cabinets come off carefully — real custom cabinets are heavy and expensive, and they get handled accordingly. We'll stage them in the adjacent space (often the dining room or garage) in the order they'll be installed.
Before anything gets attached to a wall, we do a dry fit. Every cabinet is placed in position to verify nothing has shifted since the last site measure and that every unit clears plumbing, outlets, and HVAC. This is the moment where small adjustments happen — scribing a cabinet to a slightly out-of-plumb wall, trimming a filler strip, fine-tuning a toe kick.
This step takes time. It's also the difference between cabinets that look like they were meant to be there and cabinets that look like they were trucked in and hung up.
Day Two and Three: Installation
Upper cabinets go in first, usually — it's easier to hang uppers against an empty wall than to work around lowers. Each cabinet is leveled, shimmed as needed, and anchored into studs. Adjoining cabinets are connected to each other so the face frames read as a single continuous plane.
Then the lowers go in. Same process: level, shim, anchor, connect. Toe kicks and light rails get scribed and fitted. Fillers bridge any gaps against walls or appliances.
If your project includes an island, that's usually installed toward the end — often built in place once the surrounding layout is finalized.
A typical residential kitchen install runs two to three days for a carpentry crew of two, depending on size and complexity. Very large projects or those with a lot of custom detailing can run longer.
What Homeowners Should (and Shouldn't) Do
Do: check in at the end of each day. Walk through with us, ask questions, flag anything that doesn't look right. It's much easier to adjust on day two than after everything's finished.
Do: keep pets and kids clear of the work area. Power tools, sharp tools, and heavy cabinets are all in play.
Don't: hover constantly. It's a craft that takes focus and good installers work better when they're not being watched second-by-second.
Don't: rearrange anything in the staging area. If you see a cabinet in the dining room facing a certain direction, it's there for a reason.
The Punch List
When install is "done," there's usually still a short punch list — a drawer that needs to be adjusted, a door that needs a hinge tweak, a piece of crown molding that needs to come back after the countertop is in. That's normal. We schedule a punch walk with you at the end and follow up on any items.
Countertops almost always get templated after the cabinets are in. Expect a few more days for counter fabrication, then another install day for the tops. After that, plumbing and appliances come back in, and you're cooking.
The First Week With New Cabinets
Once everything is done, give the finish a few days before you start loading things up. Any fresh finish needs a little time to cure. When you do load in, start slow — full drawers can reveal misalignments that you'd rather catch early.
And enjoy it. This is the part you've been waiting for.
Thinking about a cabinet project? Get in touch and we'll walk you through the process.