The short answer
Most cabinet and countertop installs in Bellingham run 3 to 7 days of on-site work once the cabinets have arrived. The countertop is usually templated after the cabinets are set and installed a few days later, so the full kitchen comes together over a week or two of calendar time. The single biggest variable is lead time on the cabinets themselves, which is why we do not start demo until your boxes are on site.
Before day one: the lead time
The part that takes the longest is not the install, it is waiting on the cabinets. Custom and semi-custom cabinets are built to order, so there is a lead time after you approve the design. Stock cabinets are faster. We schedule your install for after the cabinets land, so you are not living around a gutted kitchen waiting on a delivery truck. That one rule saves homeowners the most grief.
The day-by-day
Day 1: Demo and prep
We remove the old cabinets and countertops, haul them out, and check the walls and floor. In older Bellingham homes this is where we find the surprises, an out-of-square corner, a sloped floor, or past water damage at the sink base, and plan to scribe and shim accordingly.
Days 2 to 4: Set the cabinets
We set the base cabinets first, level and plumb, scribed tight to the wall and shimmed level over a sloped floor. Then the wall cabinets, then fillers, crown, and toe-kick. Every door and drawer gets adjusted so the reveals are even. This is the bulk of the work and where a careful crew shows.
Day 4 or 5: Template the countertop
Once the cabinets are set, we template the countertops off the actual cabinets for a tight fit. For stone, the slab is then cut and fabricated, which adds a few days of off-site time before install.
A few days later: Install the countertop
We install the finished counter, place the seams where they will not show, and reconnect the sink and faucet. Then a final walkthrough together.
What makes it longer or shorter
- Cabinet lead time: custom takes longer to arrive than stock; the install itself is similar.
- Kitchen size: more cabinets, an island, and tall units add days.
- Stone vs other counters: stone needs a template-then-fabricate gap; butcher block and laminate can be faster.
- Older-home surprises: out-of-square walls, sloped floors, and hidden water damage add scribing and repair time.
- Plumbing or electrical moves: relocating a sink or adding circuits brings in a permit and another trade, which adds calendar time.
What you get from us
We give you a written timeline before we start, we do not begin demo until your cabinets are on site, and you get one named point of contact for the whole job. The goal is a kitchen that comes together on a schedule you can actually plan around, not an open-ended project that drags.