Plan a kitchen remodel with the right kind of contractor

Is it a layout change or a cosmetic refresh?

The first question is whether anything moves. A cosmetic refresh keeps the sink, range, refrigerator and walls where they are and swaps the surfaces around them: new cabinet doors or boxes in the same footprint, new counters, a new backsplash, paint, lighting fixtures on the existing boxes, and new appliances in the same openings.

A layout change moves things. The sink goes to an island, the range moves to another wall, a wall comes down to open the kitchen to the dining room, or a window is widened. Each move pulls in more work behind the walls and under the floor: new drain and supply lines, a gas line or a new circuit for the range, a vent hood ducted to the outside, and sometimes a beam where a wall used to carry weight.

Knowing which kind you are planning shapes everything after it: who should draw the plan, whether the city wants to review it, which license fits the contractor, and how long the kitchen will be out of use.

Which trades does a kitchen remodel touch?

Even a modest kitchen job often crosses several lines on the Contractors State License Board's list of license classifications:

• Cabinets, trim and built-ins: C-6, Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry.
• Tile floors, walls and backsplash: C-54, Ceramic and Mosaic Tile.
• Sink, dishwasher, disposal, gas line and water lines: C-36, Plumbing.
• Circuits for appliances, outlets, under-cabinet and ceiling lights: C-10, Electrical.
• Paint and drywall patching once the walls are opened and closed.

When the job is only one of those, a specialty contractor in that trade is often the natural fit: a tile setter for a new backsplash, or a cabinet shop for new doors and drawer fronts.

Who should run a full kitchen remodel?

For a remodel that combines plumbing, electrical and carpentry under one contract, CSLB's own guide, What Type of Contractor Do I Need?, points homeowners to a B, General Building contractor. A B contractor can sign the whole job, coordinate it, and bring in licensed specialty contractors for the trades it does not perform itself.

There is also a B-2, Residential Remodeling license, made for improvements to an existing wood-frame home when a contract covers at least three unrelated trades. Its CSLB description rules out structural changes to load-bearing walls, foundations and roof framing, and substantial new plumbing, electrical or mechanical systems unless a properly licensed contractor does that part. So if your plan removes a bearing wall or reroutes the drain lines, ask how that part of the work will be licensed.

A kitchen remodel is almost always well past the $1,000 point where California requires a licensed contractor. Our guide on checking a contractor's license walks through the lookup step by step.

Does a kitchen remodel need a permit?

It depends on what you change, and your city decides. Replacing a countertop in place is a very different request from moving a sink, adding circuits or taking out a wall, and the building department is the place that draws that line for your address.

Bay Area cities each run their own building or permit center with their own rules. In Dallas, the city names remodeling a kitchen as one of its own examples of work a residential permit covers, and applications go through its DallasNow portal. Elsewhere, ask your city's building department. Whatever the city, it is reasonable to ask the contractor to pull the permits and to make the final inspection part of the contract.

In what order does a kitchen remodel come together?

Most kitchens follow the same sequence, and knowing it helps you see where decisions are needed and when.

1. Measure and decide the layout. Appliance sizes come first, because cabinets are built around them.
2. Choose cabinets and order them early. Custom and semi-custom boxes can take a while to arrive.
3. Permits, if the city requires them for your scope.
4. Demolition and protection of the rest of the house from dust.
5. Rough plumbing, gas and electrical inside the open walls, then the inspection of that rough work where one is required.
6. Insulation, drywall and patching.
7. Cabinets go in. Counters are usually templated after the base cabinets are set, then fabricated and installed.
8. Backsplash tile, fixtures, appliances, paint and trim.
9. Final inspection and a walk-through list of anything left to finish.

Changes late in that order cost more than changes early, because finished work has to come back out. Deciding the layout and the appliances before demolition saves most of the surprises.

What to have ready before you call

• Rough measurements of the room, or a simple sketch with the doors, windows, sink and range marked.
• What has to stay where it is, and what you want to move.
• The appliances you plan to keep or buy, with their sizes if you have chosen them.
• A few photos of the kitchen as it is now, including inside the sink cabinet and the electrical panel label.
• Whether the home is a house, a condo or a rental unit. Condo buildings often have their own rules for work hours and for plumbing or wall changes.
• Pictures of kitchens you like, so a contractor can see the style you mean.

Questions to ask a kitchen contractor

• Which license do you hold, and which trades will your own crew do versus licensed subcontractors?
• Who draws the layout, and does the price include a revised drawing if we change it?
• Who orders the cabinets, counters and appliances, and who checks them for damage on delivery?
• Which permits will you pull, and which inspections should I expect?
• How will you keep dust out of the rest of the house, and where will you stage materials?
• What allowances are in the price for items I have not chosen yet, like tile or light fixtures?

Before you sign, read our guide to California home improvement contracts. In short, a contract over $500 has to be written, and the deposit is capped at 10 percent of the price or $1,000, whichever is smaller, per CSLB's contract rules.

What we do, and what we don't

We take your kitchen request at no charge, then call or email you to go over the layout you have in mind, which kind of licensed contractor fits it, and what to ask before you sign. We are not a kitchen contractor. We hold no contractor's license, we do not design or build kitchens, and we do not give prices, set schedules or stand behind anyone you choose to hire. Look up every license yourself on CSLB's site.

Sources: CSLB, What Type of Contractor Do I Need?; CSLB, License Classifications; CSLB, B-2 Residential Remodeling Contractor; CSLB, AB 2622 minor work exemption bulletin (2024); CSLB, Contracts and Binding Agreements; City of Dallas, Residential Permits.